Going to Confession

How frequently should we go to confession? We should avoid receiving the sacrament in a merely routine, mechanical fashion; but this does not mean we should not receive it regularly and frequently. If we are serious about advancing in the spiritual life, as every Catholic should be, we should go often to confession. Pope Pius XII in his encyclical Mystici Corporis wrote:

They are in error who have asserted that frequent confession of venial sins in not to be highly regarded…To hasten daily progress along the path of virtue, we wish the practice of frequent confession to be especially commended, a practice introduced by the Church, but not without the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. By it genuine self-knowledge is increased, Christian humility grows, evil habits are uprooted, spiritual neglect and tepidity are resisted, the conscience is purified, the will strengthened, a salutary control of one’s affections gained, and in virtue of the sacrament itself grace is increased. Therefore let those among the clergy who make light of and lessen esteem for frequent confession, realize that they are approaching a course which is foreign to the Spirit of Christ and destructive of the Mystical Body of our Savior.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Eternal Punishment

Jesus Christ spoke often about the reality of hell. He left no room for doubt that Hell exists. "If thy eye scandalize thee, pluck it out. It is better for thee with one eye to enter into the kingdom of God, than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire" (Mk 9:46). "After the judgement, the good will go into life everlasting, the wicked into everlasting punishment" (Mt 25:6). "Fear ye Him Who hath power to cast the body and the soul into hell" (Lk 12:5).

We must remember that God does not predestine anyone to damnation. Jesus Christ died for the redemption of all men. Everyone has received the graces necessary for salvation. Damnation is what a man chooses for himself. He refuses to accept God's love and prefers instead to turn away from God for ever. The individual take personal responsibility in the loss of his soul.

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Eucharistic Adoration III

How can we ever spend enough time with our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament? Our Lord has instituted the Eucharist because of His ardent desire to remain with us and be united with us always. He makes Himself present in all the tabernacles throughout the world so that we may visit Him whenever we wish. Why are we so cold and indifferent toward placing ourselves at the feet of our Creator?

When we adore our Lord before the Blessed Sacrament exposed it is like a window into heaven. Time can seem to stand still when we immerse ourselves into the infinite abyss of Christ's treasures and graces found in the Blessed Sacrament. Our spiritual lives should truly revolve around our time spent with our Lord. Christ is the source of all our hope, longing and aspirations. He is the source of our strength. He waits for us...

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Purgatory Revisited

The justice of God is terrible, and it punishes with extreme rigor even the most trivial faults. These faults may be light in our eyes, but to God they are not! The least sin displeases Him infinitely and demands enormous atonement. This is why the pains of Purgatory are so severe and should arouse in us a holy fear!

However, we should allow this fear to turn into a charitable compassion towards the poor suffering souls, but also with a vigilant zeal for our own spiritual welfare. If you truly think of the fires of Purgatory, you will avoid the least faults, and you will practice penance. The idea being that you expiate your sins in this life, rather than in the next!

We should be careful of excessive fear and not lose confidence. We must also remember the Mercy of God, which is not less infinite than His Justice! “In te, Domine, speravi, non confundar in aeternum—“In Thee, O Lord, I have hoped; let me never be put to confusion.”

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Praying for the Dead

The Holy Church of God is composed of three parts: The Church Militant, the Church Triumphant, and the Church Suffering or Purgatory. This triple Church constitutes the mystical body of Jesus Christ, and the souls in Purgatory are no less His members than are the faithful upon earth and the elect in Heaven. In the Gospel, the Church is usually called the Kingdom of Heaven. Purgatory is a part of this vast kingdom!

The Book of Maccabees reminds us that: “It is a holy and wholesome thought, to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.” Prayer for the dead, sacrifices, and suffrages all form a part of Christian worship and devotion towards the souls in Purgatory which the Holy Ghost Himself infuses with charity into the hearts of the faithful.

How as the Church Militant do we obtain relief for the souls in Purgatory? Prayers, alms, fasts, and penances of any kind, indulgences, and above all the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass are all means by which we can gain relief for the poor souls, provided we are in a state of grace. The merciful assistance which God allows us to give to our suffering brethren is of excellent profit to ourselves as well. It is a work not only advantageous to the departed, but also holy and salutary for the living. "Sancta et salubris est cogitatio pro defunctis exorare."

The Duty of Preaching

Saint Lawrence of Brindisi reminds us that we are formed and made in the image of God. We need God's grace to live uprightly in this life. Above all we need faith. Faith is our greatest gift. We cannot have faith unless the Word of God is preached. "Faith comes through hearing, and what is heard is the Word of Christ." The preaching of God's Word is a necessity for the spiritual life.

Christ came to preach His Word. He sent the apostles and the prophets before them to do the same thing. Saint Lawrence reminds us that preaching is therefore the source of faith, hope, charity and all the other virtues!

"For the Word of God is a light to the mind and a fire to the will. It enables man to know God and to love Him. And for the interior man who lives by the Spirit of God through grace, it is bread and water, but a bread sweeter than honey and the honeycomb, a water better than wine and milk...Against the world, the flesh and the devil it serves as a sword that destroys all sin."

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

From the Imitation of Christ

Turn to the Lord with your whole heart and leave behind this wretched world. Then your soul shall find rest. For the kingdom of God is the peace and joy of the Holy Spirit. If you prepare within your heart a fitting dwelling place, Christ will come to you and console you.

His glory and beauty are within you, and He delights in dwelling there. The Lord frequently visits the heart of man. There He shares with man pleasant conversations, welcome consolation, abundant peace and a wonderful intimacy.

So come, faithful soul. Prepare your heart for your spouse to dwell within you. For He says: If anyone loves me, he will keep my word and we shall come to him and make our dwelling within him.

Make room for Christ. When you possess Christ you are a rich man, for He is sufficient for you. He Himself shall provide for you and faithfully administer all your cares. You will not have to place your hope in men. Put all your trust in God; let Him be both your fear and your love. He will respond on your behalf and will do whatever is in your best interest.

You have here no lasting city. For wherever you find yourself, you will always be a pilgrim from another city. Until you are united intimately with Christ, you will never find your true rest.

Let your thoughts be with the Most High and direct your prayers continually to Christ. If you do not know how to contemplate the glory of heaven, take comfort in the passion of Christ, and dwell willingly in His sacred wounds. Endure with Christ, suffer for Him, if you wish to reign with Him.

Once you have entered completely into the depths of Jesus, and have a taste of His powerful love, then you will not care about your own convenience or inconvenience. Rather you will rejoice all the more in insults and injuries, for the love of Jesus makes a man scorn his own needs.

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Saint Bonaventure

From the Journey of the Mind to God by Saint Bonaventure:

...We must suspend all the operations of the mind and we must transform the peak of our affections, directing them to God alone. This is a sacred mystical experience. It cannot be comprehended by anyone unless he surrenders himself to it; nor can he surrender himself to it unless he longs for it; nor can he long for it unless the Holy Ghost, whom Christ sent into the world, should come and inflame his innermost soul. Hence the Apostle says that this mystical wisdom is revealed by the Holy Ghost.

If you ask how such things can occur, seek the answer in God's grace, not in doctrine; in the longing of will, not in the understanding; in the sighs of prayer, not in research; seek the bridegroom not the teacher; God and not man...

Today let us strive to be people of prayer and fulfil our duty to God.

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Christ Must Come First

"Come my sons, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Hurry, while you have the light of life, so that death's darkness may not overtake you." "Which of you wants to live to the full; who loves long life and the enjoyment of prosperity?"

If you desire true and everlasting life then the Lord says: "Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceit; turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it." When we do this God will listen to our prayers.

Saint Benedict writes: "Just as there exists an evil fervor, a bitter spirit, which divides us from God and leads us to hell, so there is a good fervor which sets us apart from evil inclinations and leads us toward God and eternal life."

We must strive to adopt this good fervor. It is only obtained through a well-ordered, disciplined life of prayer. It takes effort on our part, but God always provides the grace when we seek His aid.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

The Mission of the Holy Ghost

Re-establishment of the order of the world willed by God is the particular mission of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost works to bring the whole world to fulfil its true purpose. God is all-powerful. His love for man is infinite. We must remember that absolutely everything comes from God and is directed toward Him.

Often the action of the Holy Ghost goes unnoticed because God does not always reveal His plans to us. Our sins and faults often get in the way of God's divine gifts. However, we believe that God is always at work in creation. Without Him we would cease to exist.

We must constantly pray to be free from sin so that the action of the Holy Ghost may be made manifest in and through us.

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

The School of Jesus Christ

It would truly be quite shameful for a person who studied many years in a particular school of discipline under the teaching of excellent professors to remain ignorant! We should be ashamed because we have lived so many years in the school of Jesus Christ and have seemingly learned nothing of His holy humility! Humility is essential to all those who wish to be saved. In other words, we must truly have the lowest opinion of ourselves.

"My sin is always before me. To thee only have I sinned, and have done evil before thee." (Ps. 50:5, 6).

Let us acknowledge our sins any humbly beg God's forgiveness.

Sincerely Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

The Peace of Christ

He who hates his brother is a murderer. Our duty as Christians is to promote peace and cultivate harmony as best we can. Saint John says that love comes from God. Whoever is not with God does not possess love. We must therefore keep God's commandments. They lead us to true life. They lead us to peace. We must keep peace before all other virtues.

If we embrace peace we contribute to tranquility in the world. We acknowledge the tie that binds us together, namely charity.

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

The Sacred Heart of Jesus

Jesus Christ shows us an infinite love in the Blessed Sacrament where He is so little known by men and still less loved even by those who know Him. The focus of this feast day is to grieve over the extreme ingratitude of men and their indifference toward Jesus Christ truly present in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. We must also learn to make reparation by our own acts of love, adoration and visits to the Blessed Sacrament.


What then do we do to repay this love?! We must appear before Him with the greatest reverence. We often appreciate our God so very little, we regard Him with indifference, and time spent in His presence passes ever so slowly for us! The first Christians would have considered it the most blissful time of their lives if they could have spent days and nights in the church, to praise God and weep for their sins! Nowadays it is so very different! It is so hard for us to spend just a few minutes in God’s presence and we see so much indifference and frivolity in our Catholic churches.

Let us beg God for the grace to love Him as He deserves!

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

The Immaculate Blessed Virgin Mary

From the dogmatic constitution on the Church of the Second Vatican Council:

The Blessed Virgin was predestined to be the Mother of God in the eternal plan for the incarnation of God's Word. By decree of God's providence she was, here on earth, the loving mother of the divine Redeemer, the noblest of all his companions, and the humble servant of the Lord. In conceiving Christ, in bearing him, in nursing him, in presenting him to the Father in the temple, in sharing her Son's passion as he was dying on the cross by her obedience, her faith, her hope and burning love, she cooperated, in a way that was quite unique, in the work of the Savior in restoring supernatural life to souls. She is therefore a mother to us in the order of grace.

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

The Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ and Humility

God put us all on this earth to become saints. The choice is ours. Not one single saint in heaven lacked the virtue of humility. The Angels in Heaven fell from grace because of their lack of humility. We must always strive to keep ourselves in a state of humility. We simply cannot be saved without the virtue of humility.

Jesus Christ Himself says to learn from Him not because He worked miracles, but because He is gentle and humble of heart. "Learn from Me, because I am meek and humble of heart." (Matt. 11:29). Jesus gives us all the power to learn humility from Him.

On this feast day of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, there are an infinite number of qualities worthy of imitating when it comes to our Savior Jesus Christ, but He only asks that we imitate His humility.

Christ's infinite and burning desire to always remain with us is manifested in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. Christ waits for our visit. He humbles Himself because His delight is to be with the sons of men.

Today let us take advantage of our Lord's presence in the tablernacle. Let us not be indifferent. Let us pray for those who are.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching