The saints were all very diligent in guarding the purity of their souls since they so often found it necessary to receive the Bread of Angels. They were always well aware of their own sinfulness. Their disposition was always like that of the publican who prayed: "O God, be merciful to me a sinner."
Most of the great saints went to confession every single day. Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus would not even think of receiving communion if she was conscious of even a single venial sin. Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Frances de Sales, Saint Ignatius, and many others went to confession each day before celebrating the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
"Let everyone first examine himself, and then eat of that Bread and drink of that Chalice; because he who eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks unto his own condemnation" (1 Cor. 11:28-29).
It was natural for the saints to daily examine themselves, to repent, and to ask God's pardon. The more we strive to conform our lives to Christ, the more fruit we will derive from our frequent communions. The Sacrament of Penance is an excellent way to maintain similarity between one's soul and that of Jesus Himself.
Sincerely in Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
Prayers at the Foot of the Altar
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
The Passion II
Christ was offered up because He willed it, for the sins of the world. By the will of His heavenly Father, weariness, fear and sadness broke His heart. What a lonely stranger Christ was on earth, without true friends and in the midst of perverse, sensual and ungrateful men! How He must have longed for heaven, for His Father’s house, for the company of angels and saints, for the loving embrace of His heavenly Father!
But instead He saw God’s face averted from the sins with which He was covered, and God put Christ away from Him. God sent Christ on earth and led Him to a frightful desert, without way and without water, and He commanded Christ to hang on the Cross, dejected and despised. Fear entered Christ’s heart and hurled it into strange agonies. He trembled at the sight of the cruel prods which were to tear His flesh, the long thorns which would pierce His head, and the nails which would transfix His hands and feet.
An indescribable confusion fell upon Christ at the sight of the humiliations that were to come. He saw Himself in the fool’s robe at the house of Herod, stripped of His garments and shamelessly exposed to the eyes of the jeering, sensual multitude, ridiculed as a king in the court of Pilate, esteemed more vile than Barabbas, and suspended at last on a gibbet between two thieves. On top of all that, as Christ hung on the Cross, Satan himself hurled his defiance in His face: “If thou be the Son of God, come down from the Cross: He has saved others; Himself He cannot save.”
But how could the God of Justice and Holiness come to Christ’s rescue while He still bore, by His own will, the iniquities of men? Christ accepted that supreme desolation that His brothers might not be separated from His heavenly Father, and inclining His head He died in an agony of unmitigated pain.
Let us meditate upon the Passion of Christ each day.
In Christ,
Fr. Jeffery Fasching
But instead He saw God’s face averted from the sins with which He was covered, and God put Christ away from Him. God sent Christ on earth and led Him to a frightful desert, without way and without water, and He commanded Christ to hang on the Cross, dejected and despised. Fear entered Christ’s heart and hurled it into strange agonies. He trembled at the sight of the cruel prods which were to tear His flesh, the long thorns which would pierce His head, and the nails which would transfix His hands and feet.
An indescribable confusion fell upon Christ at the sight of the humiliations that were to come. He saw Himself in the fool’s robe at the house of Herod, stripped of His garments and shamelessly exposed to the eyes of the jeering, sensual multitude, ridiculed as a king in the court of Pilate, esteemed more vile than Barabbas, and suspended at last on a gibbet between two thieves. On top of all that, as Christ hung on the Cross, Satan himself hurled his defiance in His face: “If thou be the Son of God, come down from the Cross: He has saved others; Himself He cannot save.”
But how could the God of Justice and Holiness come to Christ’s rescue while He still bore, by His own will, the iniquities of men? Christ accepted that supreme desolation that His brothers might not be separated from His heavenly Father, and inclining His head He died in an agony of unmitigated pain.
Let us meditate upon the Passion of Christ each day.
In Christ,
Fr. Jeffery Fasching
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
The Passion
How sad it must have been for Christ to see around Him at the foot of the Cross so few compassionate friends. There before Him, then, was his whole Church, the fruit of so many labors, the reward for so many favors, the result of so many miracles! His heart was filled with anguish as He beheld His poor mother at the foot of the Cross. The approaching tragedy, the farewells, had broken her heart and His own, and the thought of her distress was present with Him until death.
As she looked upon Christ’s pain, she clearly saw that He was suffering more for her sake than for all others, and that but for the foreseen merits of His suffering she would not have been Immaculate. The Blessed Virgin knew that if Christ had not loved her to that extent, He should not have suffered so much. So she considered herself the cause of His suffering. In the divine plan she could not but wish to see Him suffer, and that wish tortured her mother’s heart.
In pity Christ looked long and sadly upon her, there at the foot of the Cross. That long last look of His, veiled as it was by the shadow of death, plumbed her soul to its deepest depths and never left her as long as she lived. The executioners tortured Jesus and the Justice of His Father did not restrain their blows.
In Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
As she looked upon Christ’s pain, she clearly saw that He was suffering more for her sake than for all others, and that but for the foreseen merits of His suffering she would not have been Immaculate. The Blessed Virgin knew that if Christ had not loved her to that extent, He should not have suffered so much. So she considered herself the cause of His suffering. In the divine plan she could not but wish to see Him suffer, and that wish tortured her mother’s heart.
In pity Christ looked long and sadly upon her, there at the foot of the Cross. That long last look of His, veiled as it was by the shadow of death, plumbed her soul to its deepest depths and never left her as long as she lived. The executioners tortured Jesus and the Justice of His Father did not restrain their blows.
In Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
Friday, August 20, 2010
Prayer and Sacrifice
How painful it must be for our Lord to see each morning His churches all but deserted while the fearful tragedy of Calvary is being re-enacted for the sins of men! How much more painful it must be for Him to see His priests assist at Mass without devotion, and perform the rite with haste and irreverence that take Christ painfully back to the treatment He received on Calvary’s hill.
We should make every effort to attend and assist at Mass whenever possible. When we do so, we must always participate with a spirit of reverence and awe. We must realize that there is no greater prayer we can offer to God the Father than Christ Himself in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
We cannot let our sinfulness keep us away from the Sacrament of Sacraments. In fact, it is precisiely through frequent reception of the Eucharist that we make ourselves less unworthy to recevie the Body and Blood of Christ. If however, we are conscious of mortal sin we must of course make a sacramental confession before receiving the Eucharist.
Let us pray for our priests who offer sacrifice. Let us pray for ourselves that we make every effort to approach the Eucharist with humility and confidence in order to mold ourselves better into the image of Christ.
Sincerely in Christ,
Father Jeffery A. Fasching
We should make every effort to attend and assist at Mass whenever possible. When we do so, we must always participate with a spirit of reverence and awe. We must realize that there is no greater prayer we can offer to God the Father than Christ Himself in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
We cannot let our sinfulness keep us away from the Sacrament of Sacraments. In fact, it is precisiely through frequent reception of the Eucharist that we make ourselves less unworthy to recevie the Body and Blood of Christ. If however, we are conscious of mortal sin we must of course make a sacramental confession before receiving the Eucharist.
Let us pray for our priests who offer sacrifice. Let us pray for ourselves that we make every effort to approach the Eucharist with humility and confidence in order to mold ourselves better into the image of Christ.
Sincerely in Christ,
Father Jeffery A. Fasching
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
The Blessed Virgin Mary II
Christ has placed no limits on His tender affection for the Blessed Virgin Mary. I therefore as a priest who am always at her side with Christ have absolutely no fear of lavishing filial love on my Mother. She is the Virgin Most Faithful. All the love which her children give to her, she in turn gives to Christ Who is the Principle and End of all things.
Althought Christ is God, He willed while on earth to receive everything through His Mother. It is to her that He made known all His needs, and addressed all His requests. I likewise address to her all my prayers and I receive all from her mother's hand. Christ is infinitely good and powerful; He is ready to give me everything as His priest. Nevertheless He will not do so except on receiving a sign from His Immaculate Mother.
Mary is the distributor, the Mediatrix of all graces. Let us turn to her each day with confidence as we present to her all our needs.
Sincerely in Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
Althought Christ is God, He willed while on earth to receive everything through His Mother. It is to her that He made known all His needs, and addressed all His requests. I likewise address to her all my prayers and I receive all from her mother's hand. Christ is infinitely good and powerful; He is ready to give me everything as His priest. Nevertheless He will not do so except on receiving a sign from His Immaculate Mother.
Mary is the distributor, the Mediatrix of all graces. Let us turn to her each day with confidence as we present to her all our needs.
Sincerely in Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The Blessed Virgin Mary
The Immaculate Virgin Mary is Christ's Mother; she is also mine. Christ has chosen her for both of us. He has adorned her with grace and purity. He has given her all the gifts that a mere creature can have. Christ received the fullness of the priesthood in her all-pure womb. I, although infinitely unworthy, was also conceived a priest with Christ in that virginal sanctuary. In Christ's divine plan He did not will to become incarnate and to become a priest without the previous consent and cooperation of His Blessed Mother. I would not have become her child and Christ's priest unless she had willed it also, unless she chose me as her adopted son.
How happy and grateful I am to belong to her not only through my own choice, but by the personal choice of her maternal heart and by an eternal decree of God the Father! Although Christ is God, He willed that while on earth He should receive everything through His mother. It is to her that He made known all His needs, and addressed all His requests. I likewise address to her all my prayers and I receive all from her mother's hand. Christ is infinitely good and powerful; He is ready to give me everything I ask for. Nevertheless He will not do so except on receiving a sign from His Immaculate Mother.
Mary is the distributor and Mediatrix of all graces. Let us pray to God through her. Let us offer all that we have and are to God in and through her always!
In Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
How happy and grateful I am to belong to her not only through my own choice, but by the personal choice of her maternal heart and by an eternal decree of God the Father! Although Christ is God, He willed that while on earth He should receive everything through His mother. It is to her that He made known all His needs, and addressed all His requests. I likewise address to her all my prayers and I receive all from her mother's hand. Christ is infinitely good and powerful; He is ready to give me everything I ask for. Nevertheless He will not do so except on receiving a sign from His Immaculate Mother.
Mary is the distributor and Mediatrix of all graces. Let us pray to God through her. Let us offer all that we have and are to God in and through her always!
In Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Obedience
Obedience alone is the sure sign that we are carrying out God's will. Obedience is the only way that leads to true wisdom. It is through obedience that we truly offer glory to God. If there were another more effective way, Christ would have shown it to us by both word and example. Scripture, however, tells us that the entire life of Christ is summed up in the following words: "He was subject to them." Christ lived His entire hidden life in subjection to His parents. He came into the world to do the will of His Father in heaven.
If we want to love God with all our hearts we must allow obedience to increase that love, especially when it means surrendering our own will. We can learn from the Blessed Virgin Mary whose will represents the will of God Himself. The more we dedicate ourselves to her, the more we learn to do the will of God. Mary watches over us, provides for us and answers all our needs.
Mary, Mother of God, pray for us!
In Christ,
Fr. Jeffery A. Fasching
If we want to love God with all our hearts we must allow obedience to increase that love, especially when it means surrendering our own will. We can learn from the Blessed Virgin Mary whose will represents the will of God Himself. The more we dedicate ourselves to her, the more we learn to do the will of God. Mary watches over us, provides for us and answers all our needs.
Mary, Mother of God, pray for us!
In Christ,
Fr. Jeffery A. Fasching
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
The Love of Christ
Christ loves all men tenderly. He died for us with an unspeakable love and desire for our salvation. He would be ready to die again for each one of us in particular if that evidence of love could soften the hardness of so many of our hearts.
Christ often sits at the side of the road much like He once sat at Jacob's well, hoping to draw some thirsty soul to whom He may offer the waters of His grace. Christ thirsts for the love of men. In heaven He is surrounded by His angels and saints. These love Christ with a love that is pure.
Sadly, all too often countless blasphemies, injustices and nameless impurities rise from this earth to Christ's Heavenly Father. Despite all this, Christ loves men. Without Him we have neither peace nor happiness. Without Christ we are destined for eternal misery.
Let us accept this infinite love of Christ and count ourselves among those who return His love.
Sincerely in Christ,
Father Jeffery A. Fasching
Christ often sits at the side of the road much like He once sat at Jacob's well, hoping to draw some thirsty soul to whom He may offer the waters of His grace. Christ thirsts for the love of men. In heaven He is surrounded by His angels and saints. These love Christ with a love that is pure.
Sadly, all too often countless blasphemies, injustices and nameless impurities rise from this earth to Christ's Heavenly Father. Despite all this, Christ loves men. Without Him we have neither peace nor happiness. Without Christ we are destined for eternal misery.
Let us accept this infinite love of Christ and count ourselves among those who return His love.
Sincerely in Christ,
Father Jeffery A. Fasching
Monday, August 9, 2010
The Passion of Christ
Christ never backed down from the suffering that was foretold in the Scriptures concerning Him. Christ's disciples were slow to accept the fact that their leader and master would suffer His passion, and Christ rebuked Peter for this. Christ knew that it was only through His suffering that He would save the world, therefore He remained quiet when He was apprehended and accused.
Christ allowed Himself to be beaten, spat upon, scourgred, insulted, tortured and crucified in order to work out our salvation. Today we remember Saint Lawrence who was a deacon of the Church at Rome. Saint Lawrence shed his blood for the sake of Christ. We too must imitate Christ if we truly love Him. Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow in His steps.
The holy martyrs followed Christ even to the shedding of their own blood. We too can follow Christ even though we may not shed our blood for Him. Saint Paul says of Christ: "Though he was in the form of God He did not consider equality with God a prize to be clung to. But He emptied Himself, taking on the form of a slave, made in the likeness of men, and presenting Himself in human form." What humility!
Christ humbled Himself. We must do the same. Christ became obedient. How can we be proud?
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Jeffery A. Fasching
Christ allowed Himself to be beaten, spat upon, scourgred, insulted, tortured and crucified in order to work out our salvation. Today we remember Saint Lawrence who was a deacon of the Church at Rome. Saint Lawrence shed his blood for the sake of Christ. We too must imitate Christ if we truly love Him. Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow in His steps.
The holy martyrs followed Christ even to the shedding of their own blood. We too can follow Christ even though we may not shed our blood for Him. Saint Paul says of Christ: "Though he was in the form of God He did not consider equality with God a prize to be clung to. But He emptied Himself, taking on the form of a slave, made in the likeness of men, and presenting Himself in human form." What humility!
Christ humbled Himself. We must do the same. Christ became obedient. How can we be proud?
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Jeffery A. Fasching
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Worship of the Eucharist II
When we pass by the tabernacle, we should reflect on all the abominations that were committed against Christ under the Sacred Species the night before by impious men in sinful gatherings. After such a night of insult and blasphemy, Christ’s face once more covered with spit and filth, how deeply does He feel the need of being welcomed by His priests with affectionate compassion and loving hearts. My brothers, pray for your priests! Christ is in the holy tabernacle to lavish favors on all His children, but especially upon His priests.
Do not our hearts feel the need of support in difficult times, on bad days when everything goes wrong, when everything is pain and opposition? How gladly Christ would support us if we would simply go and find Him in the tabernacle! The human heart longs for the comfort of real friendship. Go then and encounter Christ! He is our brother and friend.
In Christ,
Fr. Jeffery A. Fasching
Do not our hearts feel the need of support in difficult times, on bad days when everything goes wrong, when everything is pain and opposition? How gladly Christ would support us if we would simply go and find Him in the tabernacle! The human heart longs for the comfort of real friendship. Go then and encounter Christ! He is our brother and friend.
In Christ,
Fr. Jeffery A. Fasching
Thursday, August 5, 2010
The Worship of the Eucharist
Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist principally for His priests. He remains there with them as Friend with friend. He is there alone in solitude and He longs to find souls who will keep Him company. It is I as a priest who have locked Christ in His prison of love. This is why each morning I unlock Christ and expose Him on the altar in a feeble attempt to comfort Him.
In order for Christ to remain among men He must multiply miracles without limit, but He gladly does so for the pleasure of those who will love Him. He performs them in spite of the indifference and coldness of Christians, in spite of the hostility of His enemies and the betrayal of so many of the faithful.
How Christ is sorely afflicted when His priests enter the church in the morning and go about various tasks without even saluting Him, without saying a single heartfelt word, without asking pardon for their own sins and for those of their flocks!
Let us pray for our priests!
In Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
In order for Christ to remain among men He must multiply miracles without limit, but He gladly does so for the pleasure of those who will love Him. He performs them in spite of the indifference and coldness of Christians, in spite of the hostility of His enemies and the betrayal of so many of the faithful.
How Christ is sorely afflicted when His priests enter the church in the morning and go about various tasks without even saluting Him, without saying a single heartfelt word, without asking pardon for their own sins and for those of their flocks!
Let us pray for our priests!
In Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
The Mass Continued
We must guard the purity of the holy vessels which will touch the Immaculate Lamb; and the decency of the vestments which must cover Christ in the person of His priest while the Holy Sacrifice is being offered. If Christ’s priests truly loved Him, they would perform with dignity and with great reverence the slightest ceremonies of the Sacred Liturgy; and with attention, with mind and heart united with Christ, the High Priest.
After Holy Mass we should not hurry away and leave Christ. We should remain with Him some time in a heart-to-heart intimacy to thank Him and ask pardon for the irreverence's we have committed during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
When the Holy Sacrifice is offered, the souls in purgatory lift their hands in supplication to Christ’s priests. They beg us priests to pour upon them a few drops of Christ’s Precious Blood. They beg us to remember their burning desires, to hear their loving cries and their groans, and to have them in our priestly hearts so Christ can console and deliver them.
When a priest offers the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, heaven itself bends down toward him with reverence and gratitude. The angels and the blessed surround Christ’s priests with veneration and urge them to offer the Divine Victim. They pray that we unite their adoration with that of the Sacred Host which we hold in our hands.
The Blessed Virgin Mary herself, the Queen of all priests, is present each day at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. She is happy to renew, thanks to her priests, the offering of her Son which she once made in tears at the foot of the Cross.
Sincerely in Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
After Holy Mass we should not hurry away and leave Christ. We should remain with Him some time in a heart-to-heart intimacy to thank Him and ask pardon for the irreverence's we have committed during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
When the Holy Sacrifice is offered, the souls in purgatory lift their hands in supplication to Christ’s priests. They beg us priests to pour upon them a few drops of Christ’s Precious Blood. They beg us to remember their burning desires, to hear their loving cries and their groans, and to have them in our priestly hearts so Christ can console and deliver them.
When a priest offers the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, heaven itself bends down toward him with reverence and gratitude. The angels and the blessed surround Christ’s priests with veneration and urge them to offer the Divine Victim. They pray that we unite their adoration with that of the Sacred Host which we hold in our hands.
The Blessed Virgin Mary herself, the Queen of all priests, is present each day at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. She is happy to renew, thanks to her priests, the offering of her Son which she once made in tears at the foot of the Cross.
Sincerely in Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
The Holy Sacrifice
Holy things must be treated in a holy manner. We must always give a proper preparation for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. God’s angels remain bowed in deepest adoration all night before His altar awaiting the priest’s arrival with a holy impatience and profound reverence.
How painfully astonished those holy angels must be when in the morning they see Christ’s priests arrive in turbulent haste without even suspecting their presence. If only our souls were pure enough to come into contact with the Lamb without blemish!
We must constantly be on guard against approaching the Sacred Mysteries with a conscience soiled by mortal sin. Will you have the audacity to give Christ the Judas kiss? Saint Paul warns us against living according to the flesh, lest we die. We must not be outdone by the children of this world in zeal when it comes to the salvation of our souls.
Zeal for my Father’s house has eaten me up, says Christ. Our Lord cannot tolerate disorder or anything unbecoming in His Holy Sanctuary. The Church is a House of Prayer and the palace of the King of Kings. Let us always approach the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with reverential awe and wonder.
In Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
How painfully astonished those holy angels must be when in the morning they see Christ’s priests arrive in turbulent haste without even suspecting their presence. If only our souls were pure enough to come into contact with the Lamb without blemish!
We must constantly be on guard against approaching the Sacred Mysteries with a conscience soiled by mortal sin. Will you have the audacity to give Christ the Judas kiss? Saint Paul warns us against living according to the flesh, lest we die. We must not be outdone by the children of this world in zeal when it comes to the salvation of our souls.
Zeal for my Father’s house has eaten me up, says Christ. Our Lord cannot tolerate disorder or anything unbecoming in His Holy Sanctuary. The Church is a House of Prayer and the palace of the King of Kings. Let us always approach the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with reverential awe and wonder.
In Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
Sunday, August 1, 2010
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
The angels fill the sanctuary of God; the Cherubim and Seraphim tremble as they surround the altar of God. How can I, a poor mortal priest, dare ascend the altar steps to aid the Almighty to continue His Sacrifice of Calvary?
Christ is the Victim; He is also the sanctifying priest who offers His life to the heavenly Father. However, Christ has willed to have a need of His priests to bring Him down upon the altar. Reflect upon the depths to which Christ has abased Himself and to what heights He has exalted His priests.
As the human body united to the soul makes up the creature, man, and as man enriched by grace makes the Christian, so analogously does the Christian invested with the sacerdotal character become a priest, Christ’s other self. When a priest repeats the words of consecration, it is no longer simply a mortal who pronounces them. Christ Himself, the High Priest, living in His priest, pronounces them with His priests and by their mouths.
We should all tremble at the thought of a mere mortal constituting one and the same principle of action with the Almighty to produce the Man-God. Why is there no feeling of emotion and gratitude when we see Christ’s priests the objects of such confidence and love on the part of God?
In Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
The angels fill the sanctuary of God; the Cherubim and Seraphim tremble as they surround the altar of God. How can I, a poor mortal priest, dare ascend the altar steps to aid the Almighty to continue His Sacrifice of Calvary?
Christ is the Victim; He is also the sanctifying priest who offers His life to the heavenly Father. However, Christ has willed to have a need of His priests to bring Him down upon the altar. Reflect upon the depths to which Christ has abased Himself and to what heights He has exalted His priests.
As the human body united to the soul makes up the creature, man, and as man enriched by grace makes the Christian, so analogously does the Christian invested with the sacerdotal character become a priest, Christ’s other self. When a priest repeats the words of consecration, it is no longer simply a mortal who pronounces them. Christ Himself, the High Priest, living in His priest, pronounces them with His priests and by their mouths.
We should all tremble at the thought of a mere mortal constituting one and the same principle of action with the Almighty to produce the Man-God. Why is there no feeling of emotion and gratitude when we see Christ’s priests the objects of such confidence and love on the part of God?
In Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
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