Bulletin 128

SAINT AGNES CATHEDRAL 533 South Jefferson Springfield, MO 65806

EXTRAORDINARY FORM OF THE MASS (LATIN)

CELEBRANT Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

November 25th, 2012; Last Sunday after Pentecost

Epistle: Col. 1: 9-14; Gospel: Mt. 24: 13-25

Mass schedule November 26th through November 30th

Monday: Saint Sylvester, Abbot--No Latin Mass

Tuesday: Requiem Mass + Catherine Dias

Wednesday: Requiem Mass + Anne Machado

Thursday: Requiem Mass + Joyce Spencer

Friday: Requiem Mass + Austin Machado

Saint Paul exhorts us to give thanks to God the Father for the countless gifts He has bestowed upon us in the person of Jesus Christ. God has made us worthy to share the lot of the saints in light and delivered us from the powers of darkness by the blood of Jesus Christ. Today we rejoice because we have been freed from our sins through the death of Jesus Christ. We should be reminded that we cannot neglect to show our appreciation for what God has done for us without suffering the consequences. Indifference towards God love permeates our culture. Many are choosing death over life in Christ Jesus. Let us embrace life with the saints and pray for those who do not.

The month of November is dedicated to the Holy Souls. Indulgences, which remove temporal punishment due to forgiven sin, may be gained by the living for themselves or applied to the souls in purgatory but they cannot be applied to other living persons. Indulgences are called plenary if they remove all temporal punishment and partial if they remove only some of it. A plenary indulgence can be acquired only once in the course of a day but a partial indulgence may be acquired more than once a day. To gain an indulgence for oneself one must be baptized, in the state of grace at least at the completion of the prescribed work and subject to the one granting the indulgence. He must also have at least a general intention of gaining them and must perform the works enjoined at the time and in the manner prescribed.

Some works to which are attached plenary indulgences are: a visit to the Blessed Sacrament which lasts for a half hour, the Stations of the Cross, recitation of five decades of the Rosary while contemplating the mysteries, and reading of Scripture for one half hour.

Partial indulgences are granted to those who recite Lauds or Vespers of the Office of the Dead, and to those who recite the prayer “Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domini, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescant in pace” (“Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace”).

All indulgences whatsoever may be applied to the Poor Souls at any time by way of suffrage. The simple intention to offer them for the Poor Souls is sufficient.

Bulletin 123

SAINT AGNES CATHEDRAL 533 South Jefferson Springfield, MO 65806

EXTRAORDINARY FORM OF THE MASS (LATIN)

CELEBRANT Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

October 21st, 2012; 21st Sunday After Pentecost

Epistle: Eph. 6: 10-17; Gospel: Mt. 18: 23-35

There will be NO LATIN MASS October 22nd through October 26th due to the annual clergy conference in Branson, MO.

Jesus had willed to be as entirely dependent upon His Mother as a tiny infant. If I am to please God as a priest, Christ must be allowed to continue toward her through my ministry that humble and loving subjection. I undertake nothing without her, without her counsel, without having asked her to enlighten me. Jesus willed to have her consent not merely to receive His human life, but also to lay it down on the Cross, for she had received a mother’s power over Him from His Father. So I also pay her the homage of my whole priestly life, of my activity, of my joys, of my suffering, even my death, because I am her son, I belong to her.

Christ’s well-beloved Mother, after having given Him His human existence, the material of His Sacrifice, offered Him to the Eternal Father as a holocaust at the foot of the Cross. And so, invisibly present at every Mass, she continues with me, her priestly son, to offer Christ as a Victim to the Divine Majesty. Before His death, Jesus gave into her motherly care Saint John, the disciple whom He loved. He represented all the faithful but especially his favored ones, His priests.

He gave me then to His Mother as well and placed my priestly career under her maternal protection. She marked me off from that moment from among all her future children and she placed on my shoulders her maternal mantle. As He gave Saint John to his Mother, so He also gave his Mother to Saint John, that he should take her home with him, that he should take care of her and console her in Christ’s absence during the rest of her pilgrimage on earth.

In like manner, Christ has given me His Mother, her honor, her glory, the defense of her privileges. I have to help spread her devotion everywhere; inspire in others the faithful confidence and love for their Mother in heaven, the Mother of Perpetual Help! Remember the tears that she shed, the anguish she endured in her Mother’s heart at the time of Christ’s Passion. Remember that in its apostolic task the Church rightly looks to the one who bore Christ. In the words of Lumen gentium: “Christ who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin in order that He might also be born and grow in the hearts of the faithful. In her whole life this virgin mother showed herself as an example of that motherly love that must animate all who share in the apostolic mission of the Church for the regeneration of mankind.”

In Christ,

Father Jeffery Fasching

Bulletin 122

SAINT AGNES CATHEDRAL 533 South Jefferson Springfield, MO 65806

EXTRAORDINARY FORM OF THE MASS (LATIN)

CELEBRANT Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

October 14th, 2012; 20th Sunday After Pentecost

Epistle: Eph. 5: 15-21; Gospel: Jn. 4: 46-53

Mass Schedule October 15th through October 19th

Monday –Saint Teresa of Avila, Virgin-- NO LATIN MASS

Tuesday-Saint Hedwig, Widow

Wednesday-Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin

Thursday-Saint Luke, Evangelist

Friday-Saint Peter of Alcantara, Confessor—NO LATIN MASS

There will be NO LATIN MASS on Friday, October 19th. There will be NO LATIN MASS October 22nd through October 26th due to the annual clergy conference in Branson, MO.

The purpose of the rosary is to help us meditate on the great mysteries of our salvation. Pius XII called it a compendium of the gospel. The main focus is on Jesus—His birth, life, death and resurrection. The Our Father’s remind us that Jesus' Father is the initiator of salvation. The Hail Mary’s remind us to join with Mary in contemplating these mysteries. They also make us aware that Mary was and is intimately joined with her Son in all the mysteries of His earthly and heavenly existence.

The rosary’s appeal lies in the fact that it is simple. The constant repetition of words helps us to contemplate the mysteries of God. We sense that Jesus and Mary are with us in the joys and sorrows of life. We grow in hope that God will bring us to share in the glory of Jesus and Mary forever. In his apostolic letter “The Rosary of the Virgin Mary” Pope John Paul II states:

“The rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at heart a Christ-centered prayer. It has all the depth of the gospel message in its entirety. It is an echo of the prayer of Mary, her perennial Magnificat for the work of the redemptive Incarnation which began in her virginal womb.... It can be said that the rosary is, in some sense, a prayer-commentary on the final chapter of the Vatican II Constitution Lumen Gentium, a chapter that discusses the wondrous presence of the Mother of God in the mystery of Christ and the Church.”

Although Jesus 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 receive everything from her mother’s hand. Jesus is infinitely good and powerful. He is ready to give us all! But He will not do so except on receiving a sign from His Immaculate Mother! She is the distributor, the Mediatrix of All Graces.

In Christ,

Fr. Jeff Fasching

Bulletin 106

SAINT AGNES CATHEDRAL 533 South Jefferson Springfield, MO 65806

EXTRAORDINARY FORM OF THE MASS (LATIN)

CELEBRANT Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

June 10th, 2012 External Solemnity of Corpus Christi

Epistle: 1 Cor. 11:23-29; Gospel: Jn. 6:56-59

Mass Schedule June 11th through June 15th

Monday –Saint Barnabas, Apostle-NO LATIN MASS

Tuesday-Saint John of San Facundo, Confessor

Wednesday-Saint Anthony of Padua, Confessor & Doctor

Thursday-Saint Basil the Great, Bishop, Confessor & Doctor

Friday-Sacred Heart of Jesus

JUNE 10, 2012 IS THE SOLEMNITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI. MASS WILL BEGIN AT 2:00 PM. A PROCESSION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT WILL IMMEDIATELY FOLLOW MASS BEGINNING AT 4:00PM. JOIN HIS EXCELLENCY, BISHOP JAMES V. JOHNSTON FOR THIS DIOCESAN EVENT.

THERE WILL BE NO CONFESSIONS ON SUNDAY, JUNE 10 BEFORE THE 2:00PM MASS.

Friday, June 15, 2012: A plenary indulgence may be gained by saying the Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus publicly in front of the Blessed Sacrament today. I will lead those who attend Mass on the Feast of the Sacred Heart in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament Exposed. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament will continue for a period followed by Benediction.

Corpus Christi is a special day in the life of the Church. What an infinite treasure Christ has bestowed upon us in giving Himself in the Blessed Sacrament! Our Lord Jesus Christ is truly present—Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the consecrated host. The words of our Savior are clear: “Take ye and eat, this is my Body, which shall be delivered for you…This chalice is the new testament in My Blood; this do ye, as often as you shall drink, for the commemoration of Me.”

We must take great pains to consume the Body and Blood of Christ in a worthy manner, lest we be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. Saint Paul is very explicit when he says: “For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the Body of the Lord!”

Jesus says in the Gospel: “My Flesh is meat indeed, and My Blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My Flesh, and drinketh My Blood, abideth in Me, and I in him…He that eateth this bread shall live for ever!”

Sincerely in Christ,

Fr. Jeffery Fasching

The Eucharist

Consider how our God chose to save us. He could have redeemed us by simply willing it, but He chose to become one of us. He chose to take upon Himself our human nature. Since God created man in His own image, He did not consider it beneath Himself to dwell in the flesh. We must therefore always remember our great dignity as Christians. We must always strive to embrace the virtue of humility because our God by His very nature is humble.

If we consider how God chose to become one of us-to live, work, sleep, eat, suffer and die as a human being, we should be filled with the deepest gratitude. But God didn't stop there. He continues to humble Himself by making Himself present in the Eucharist. Do we take advantage of this great gift? Do we receive the Eucharist frequently and with sincere devotion? Do we make Eucharistic Adoration a regular part of our lives?

God invites us. God gives us the gift of Himself. Do we make use of this incomparable gift?

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Worship of the Blessed Sacrament

Eucharistic Adoration is a tremendous help in fostering a closer friendship with Jesus Christ. It is an extension of our reception of Holy Communion. It also brings about a deeper longing for receiving the Sacrament again. Eucharistic Adoration is the best means to prepare for receiving Holy Communion and offering up the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Exposing oneself to the presence of Jesus Christ guarantees reception of His graces, provided one remains in the state of grace.

In order to grow in humility and holiness, we must also approach the Sacrament of Penance frequently. This is a great aid in helping one benefit from receiving the Eucharist as well. Without penance, we lose a sense of sin in our lives. If we neglect confession, we tend to overlook how sin becomes a stumbling block in our lives.

Finally, we must foster greater devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mary's role in the life of the Church is such an important part of our Catholic Tradition and spirituality. Mary is Mother of the Eucharist. She gave Jesus Christ to the world. She always leads holy souls to her Son. When we grow in our devotion to Mary, especially through the recitation of the Holy Rosary and Consecration to her, she always leads us to Jesus Christ.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Institution of Holy Orders

New Testament authors tell us that Jesus commanded (and therefore empowered) the Twelve to celebrate the Eucharist (Lk 22.19; 1 Cor 11.24f), to forgive sins (Jn 20.23), and to baptize (Mt 18.19), but they do not say that these tasks were entrusted exclusively to the apostles, or that Christ instituted a special rite by which certain individuals are to be consecrated and empowered to carry out these tasks. For these reasons, it is impossible to prove from the New Testament alone, without the Tradition of the Church, that Christ instituted the sacrament of Holy Orders.

We can say that since apostolic times, the Church, enlightened by the Holy Ghost and following the pattern received from the beginning, has set aside chosen members of the community to exercise roles of leadership and pastoral ministry in the community, by imposing hands on them and praying that they be assisted by the grace of the Holy Ghost. The Church of the patristic period firmly believed that through this gesture and prayer those ordained to the episcopacy, presbyterate, and diaconate, received gifts of the Holy Ghost to carry on their ministry, as Saint Paul's words imply. Since only Christ can make an infallible connection between sacred rite and conferral of grace, medieval theologians understood that this rite must have been instituted by Christ.

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Names of the Sacrament of the Eucharist

The very first expression used to designate the Eucharist seems to have been "the breaking of the bread." Saint Luke uses the following words to describe the life of the first Christians immediately after Pentecost: "They devoted themsleves to the apostle's instruction and communal life, to the breaking of bread and prayers...They went to the temple area together every day, while in their homes they broke bread" (Acts 2.42,46). "On the first day of the week when we gathered for the breaking of bread, Paul preached to them" (Acts 20.7). There is probably a eucharistic allusion in Luke's report of the supper at Emmaus, "...He was made known to them in the breaking of the bread" (Lk. 24.35).

Saint Paul also uses a form of this expression to designate the Eucharist: "Is not the bread that we break a sharing in the body of Christ?" (1 Cor 10.16).

In Jewish writings of the first century, the expression "to break bread" was used with reference to the introductory rite of a meal, not to the entire meal. It was this initial act of breaking and sharing bread that Jesus made an effective sign of communion with Him and with one another.

Saint Paul refers to the Eucharist as "the Lord's Supper" (1 Cor 11.20) and "the Table of the Lord" (1 Cor 10.21), but there is no evidence to suggest that these were commonly used names for the Eucharist in the early Church.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Jesus Christ's Words are to be Taken Literally

The Catholic response is that Jesus’ words are to be taken literally and not merely in a metaphorical sense. Why? Whenever Jesus speaks figuratively, the use of metaphor can be easily recognized from the content or context of the saying; but there is nothing in the content or context of the Eucharistic words to suggest that He was speaking metaphorically.

Jesus Himself gives us a key for interpreting His Eucharistic words in the Bread of Life discourse recorded by John (6.52-69), in which He clearly states that His “flesh is real food” and His “blood real drink”, given as nourishment for eternal life. When some of His disciples murmured at the unreasonableness of His words, Jesus did not retract or try to explain away His words, but allowed the unbelieving disciples to walk away from Him.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Christ's Real Presence in the Eucharist

Christ is Present in the Eucharistic Species. Christ is really present in the Eucharist, in the proper reality of His humanity and divinity, under the appearances of bread and wine.

The day before Jesus multiplied the loaves and fish to feed the multitudes, reminding them how God had fed the Israelites in the desert. When Jesus returned to Capernaum on the following day, the people asked Him what sign He would perform so that they might believe in Him. Would He give them bread from heaven as Moses had done? Jesus responded by saying that He Himself is the true bread come down from heaven; those who believe in Him shall have everlasting life.

Jesus says that the bread that He will give is His flesh for the life of the world. His flesh is real food and His blood real drink. Those who eat His flesh and drink His blood will have everlasting life! Let me solemnly assure you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has life eternal and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood real drink. The one who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. (Jn 6.53-56)

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Modes of Christ's Presence

Of the various modes of presence mentioned in these documents, there are four that are especially applicable to the Eucharistic liturgy; Christ’s presence in the assembly,in the minister, in the word, and in the Eucharistic species.

Each of these modes of presence is real in its own way, but only in the Eucharist is Christ’s humanity present in its physical reality, although not in the same way that other bodies are present in a given place. These modes may be briefly explained as follows.

Christ’s Presence in the assembly. Christ promised that He will be present wherever two or three are gathered in His name: “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in their midst” (Mt 18.20). This does not mean that in such gatherings Christ’s bodily humanity is present as it is in the Eucharist, but He is present in His divine person, His attention and affection, and the gift of His grace.

Christ’s Presence in the Minister. Christ is present in the minister inasmuch as He acts through the minister to achieve the purpose of the sacrament. The celebrant of the Eucharist does not act in his own name and by his own power and authority, but in the person of Christ, and by Christ’s authority. He is the instrument or agent through whom Christ acts...

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

The Eucharistic Liturgy

The Eucharistic Liturgy shows forth Christ's redemptive sacrifice in the words spoken and under the sign of the two-fold consecration. The words of consecration spoken over both the bread and the wine denote sacrifice. They speak of Christ's body given for us; His blood poured out for us; His blood as blood of the covenant; His blood shed for the remission of sins. All of these expressions denote sacrifice.

"This is my body given for you..." (Luke 22.19; 1 Cor 11.25)

"This cup is the new covenant in my blood..." (1 Cor 11.25; Luke 22.19)

"Which will be shed for you." (Luke 22.19f)

"And for many for the forgiveness of sins." (Mt 26.28)


Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

More on Christ's Sacrifice

Remember that a sacrament is an outward sign of invisible grace, which not only signifies (i.e., points to) grace, but also makes really present the reality of grace that it signifies. This notion can be applied to show how the Eucharist makes present the sacrifice on Calvary. To do this, we must see that the Mass shows forth Christ's sacrifice through visible signs of bread and wine declared to be Christ's body and blood, and that, under these signs the essential reality of Christ's sacrifice on Calvary is made really present in an unbloody manner, so that the faithful can join in offering Christ and themselves in union with Him to the Father.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

The Mass as Sacramental Renewal of Christ's Redemptive Sacrifice

The Mass is best understood as the sacramental offering of Christ's once-for-all redemptive sacrifice. Vatican II's Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests affirms that "Through the hands of priests and in the name of the whole Church the Lord's sacrifice is offered in the Eucharist in an unbloody and sacramental manner." The General Instruction of the Roman Missal states "The Sacrifice of the cross and its sacramental renewal in the Mass are one and the same, differing only in the manner of offering.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

The Eucharistic Sacrifice

Who offers the Eucharistic sacrifice? Christ or the Church, the priest or the people? If all of these how do their roles differ and how are they related?

The Church Offers:

The whole family of God, the Church, offers the Eucharistic sacrifice, especially the faithful who are present. This is clearly indicated in the very words of the liturgy. Christ instituted the Eucharist precisely in order that the Church, His beloved spouse, might have a visible sacrifice to offer to God, as the nature of the human creature requires.

But who in the Church offers? Obviously the priest does. But in what capacity? Simply as leader of the congregation? Or does the priest have a special role as representative of Christ or as representative of the Church? If both, how are these roles related? How about the people? How is their offering related to that of the priest? Is their mode of offering the same or different from that of the priest?

The Priest Offers:

The priest offers in the person of Christ, in the name of the Church, and in his own name. The Protestants see the presiding minister of the Lord’s Supper acting simply as the leader of the congregation, certainly with a special responsibility and authority, but without any unique sacramental empowerment through the sacrament of Holy Orders.

But according to Catholic teaching, the priest, through the sacrament of Holy Orders, is so configured to Christ the High Priest that in the celebration of the Eucharist he acts in the very person of Christ. Only the priest, in virtue of the special character of priestly ordination, can speak the words of consecration in the very person of Christ. In doing so, he acts not merely as Christ’s representative, but in His person, as His sacramental representation. It is for this reason that the priest alone is able to confect the Eucharist. If there is no priest, there can be no Mass.

Pius XII, in his encyclical: Mystici Corporis writes: “The sacred ministers represent not only our Savior, but also the whole mystical Body and each one of its members. In that sacrifice the faithful are associated in the common prayer and supplication and, through the hands of the priest, whose voice alone renders the Immaculate Lamb present on the altar, they themselves offer to the eternal Father this most pleasing victim of praise and propitiation for the needs of the whole Church.”

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass IV

Any attempt to explain the Mass must make it clear that it is not a new or different sacrifice from that of Calvary, but is the same sacrifice. The Council of Trent, in its Decree on the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, explains that the sacrifice of the Mass is essentially the same as that of Calvary because it contains the same priest and the same victim. The mode of offering alone is different:

“In this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ who offered Himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody manner…For the victim is one and the same: the same now offers through the ministry of priests who then offered Himself on the cross; only the manner of offering is different.”

The sacrifice of the cross and its sacramental renewal in the Mass are one and the same, differing only in the manner of offering. The reason why the sacrifice of the Cross is renewed in the Mass is so that Christ’s faithful may be able to unite themselves to it. We join with Christ in offering Him and ourselves together with Him to the Father. In this way we personally and communally say yes to what Christ has done for us. We express our complete dependence on Christ’s offering and offer ourselves to God in union with Him. When we do this, we receive a participation in the graces which Christ won for us through His once-for-all perfect sacrifice.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

The Eucharist in Relation to the Church

What about the Eucharist in relation to the Church? When Catholics assemble to offer sacrifice together, they show forth by sacred signs that they are a community of brothers, the family of God; not only a community but also a living body which draws its life and is made one by its union with the same Christ. By celebrating and receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ together, they increase their sense of being one body with one another, of belonging to one another and of caring for one another.

Through the liturgy we are united with all members of the Church, wherever they may be; that is, with the Church Militant on earth, with the Church Suffering in Purgatory, and with the Church Triumphant in heaven. We unite our prayer with them and pray for all in need.

When we offer sacrifice in an authentic manner, we pledge ourselves to live the truth of what we celebrate by committing ourselves to love one another and spend ourselves for one another as Christ has loved us and spent Himself for us. We are called upon to imitate what we receive, and to model our lives on Him whom we receive by being ready to lay down our lives for one another as He has laid down His life for us.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

The Proper Order of Prayer

When God sends us trials and temptations we must have recourse to prayer. God has solemnly promised to always answer our prayers, even though most of us are constantly complaining that He does not do so. The answer is not because of the kind of things we ask for, since God included everything in His promise—all things whatsoever you shall ask. Nor can we attribute it to the unworthiness of those who ask, for His promise extended to everybody without exception—whoever asks shall receive. Why is it then that so many prayers remain unanswered? The answer is because we ask for way too little and we are not insistent enough.

Christ promised on behalf of His Father that He would give us everything, even the very smallest things. But He also laid down an order to be observed in all that we ask, and if we do not obey this rule we are not likely to obtain anything. Seek first the kingdom of God and His justice and all these things shall be given to you besides. This is the order God observes in the distribution of His benefits. We must not be surprised then if our prayers have so far been unsuccessful. People give alms, make vows to God, fast, or have Masses offered for the success of their temporal affairs. They are of little use because their offerings should be for the intention of amending their lives, for greater patience, contempt of the things of the world and detachment from creatures. Then afterwards they could pray for return of health or success of business. God would answer these prayers.

Prayer and Contemplation

Do not pour yourself out over many things. Do not permit your soul to be immersed in doubts, scruples and preoccupations concerning the past, the present or the future; do not bind yourself by an inordinate attachment to any occupation or to any person. Your intelligence has been given you to know your God, to propose to your will its Sovereign Good, and to adopt in action the best means to attain it. All that you give to creatures outside of this order you take away from God.

Keep a rein on the liberty of your heart, and you will be happy and you will find Christ at the center of your soul. Do not let your desires be multiplied. Restrain the dreams of pleasure, of prosperity and of honor that keep teasing your imagination. Christ has a divine jealousy. He has reduced Himself to naught to come and seek you in your nothingness and sin. Keep for Him then, untouched, all the affection of your heart.

Your heart should always rest with Christ. Do not permit your heart to open freely and attach itself to everything that attracts it. Without that safeguard, your life will be absorbed in other things. Do not think yourself stronger than others who have allowed themselves to be seduced by trivial things. Avoid the occasion of sin. Be resolute and persevering in stamping out any affections that are dangerous to your virtue or injurious to your reputation.

Give your heart into the keeping of the Virgin of virgins. She will watch over its comings in and its goings out and she will see to it that it loves Christ with a perfect love. Your are in the world but not of the world. When all the duties of your state of life have been fulfilled, bury yourself with Christ in the silence of quiet contemplation. Your place of repose after the burden and the heat of the day should be Christ’s Sacred Heart. There you will find your rest and renew your strength.

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Pray for your Priests

Pray that your priests will not endanger their fervor under the pretext of zeal. If they are not watchful, that may be preaching to others and losing their own souls at the same time! Pray that your priests will not expose themselves to dangers without necessity or without proper precautions. Pray that they will always guard their hearts and their eyes. Pray that your priests will learn patience and await the success of their labors. We may cast the seed, but it is Christ Who will give, in His own time, the increase. Priests cannot become discouraged when they meet with lack of success. They must humble themselves before God. This humility will have more value in God’s eyes than any success.

A priest is a soldier of Christ. The good soldier does not allow himself to become absorbed in the things of this world. He seeks to please the leader under whose banner he fights. The weapon which God places in the priest’s hands is prayer. With it he is invincible. Sadly, many priests do not use this weapon. You have seen the results firsthand. Pray for souls consecrated to God’s service, but above all pray for Christ’s priests, that at the last judgment they may not be a reproach before the whole universe.

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching