Sacrifice

Saint Paul writes: "I appeal to you by the mercy of God to present your bodies as a sacrifice, living and holy." Saint Peter Chrysologus reminds us that "Each of us is called to be both a sacrifice to God and His priest. Do not forfeit what divine authority confers on you. Put on the garment of holiness, gird yourself with the belt of chastity. Let Christ be your helmet, let the cross on your forehead be your unfailing protection. Your breastplate should be the knowledge of God that He Himself has given you. Keep burning continually the sweet-smelling incense of prayer. Take up the sword of the Spirit. Let your heart be an altar. Then, with full confidence in God, present your body for sacrifice. God desires not death, but faith; God thirsts not for blood, but for self-surrender; God is appeased not by slaughter, but by the offering of your free will."

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Christian Persecution

The world hates Christianity. Much of the world hates Catholic Christians. What we hold to be near and dear to us with respect to our great Catholic faith goes against many people's mistaken notion of "freedom." These people will argue that nobody or no institution may dictate to them what they may freely do or not do, particularly when it comes to moral issues.

We believe that God gives us the moral law. He knows what is good for us. We are only truly "free" when we cling to this law and live by it faithfully. God's law is not burdensome. We represent Christ on earth as Christians. As such, we must expect to be persecuted and hated. People will even want to slander our good name. These are the people who need our prayers the most.

Our God has led us into the fullness of the faith in the Catholic Church. Part of embracing this faith completely inevitably involves suffering. Let us carry our cross with Christ.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Christ's Death and Resurrection has saved us

Even though we had disobeyed God and sinned God did not abandon us. God our Savior chose to raise us up again by becoming one of us. Christ came in the flesh, He taught us the Gospel way of life, He suffered and died on the Cross, was buried and rose from the dead.

If we want to be holy we must therefore pattern our lives after the example of Christ. We must be patient, gentle and humble of heart. We must also imitate Christ in His death. We do this by being buried with him in baptism. We must die to our old life of sin completely. Baptism cleanses the soul from worldly thoughts and inclinations to sin. Baptism is a symbol for the death and resurrection of Christ.

This Easter season let us renew our baptismal promises with sincerity. Let us truly die to our sins and live for Christ alone.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Amendment

We must always focus on the Crucified Christ. It is often easy to find fault with others. When we do, we must make sure we are not doing the same thing ourselves. We must study always to amend our lives and pray for this grace. We must stop turning our minds to things which are not our business.

When we focus on the Passion of Christ we will find there absolutely everything that is necessary and useful for our well being. We must pray that Christ the Crucified come into our hearts so that we can overcome our passions and vices. We must watch over ourselves and mortify ourselves. We must amend our lives.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Litany of the Passion

Jesus, unknown and despised, (Have mercy on me.)
Jesus, calumniated and persecuted,
Jesus, abandoned by men and tempted,
Jesus, betrayed and sold for a paltry sum,
Jesus, blamed, accused and unjustly condemned,
Jesus, clothed with a garment of opprobrium and shame,
Jesus, buffeted and mocked,
Jesus, dragged with a rope round Thy neck,
Jesus, scourged unto blood,
Jesus, reputed to be a fool and to be possessed by a devil,
Jesus, to whom Barabbas was preferred,
Jesus, shamefully stripped of Thy garments,
Jesus, crowned with thorns and saluted in derision,
Jesus, laden with the Cross, and disowned by Thy people,
Jesus, overwhelmed with insults, sorrow, and humiliations,
Jesus, sorrowful unto death,
Jesus, insulted, spat upon, beaten, outraged and scoffed at,
Jesus, hanged on the infamous tree in company with robbers,
Jesus, set at nought and deprived of honor before men,
Jesus, overwhelmed with all kinds of sorrow,

O Good Jesus, who has suffered an infinity of insults and humiliations for love of me, imprint deeply on my heart a great love and appreciation for them, and the desire to endure them willingly for Thee. Amen.

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Unselfishness

Christ had no place to lay His head. He was born and brought up in poverty. He died upon the Cross and was buried in a borrowed tomb. How ashamed we should be to engross ourselves in the goods of this world. Our kingdom as Christians is not of this world. We have here no fixed abode. Why do we attach ourselves to things that pass away?

Seek first to extend the kingdom of Christ on earth. If we agree to be co-workers with Christ, all other things will be given to us in due time by God the Father Who is in heaven. Do good while there is still time. Give up your convenience and your rest. Christ came to serve and not be served. He left the glories of heaven to seek the lost sheep.

Let us imitate Christ in our own zeal to serve.

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

Easter Joy

As we enter the Easter season we must truly be thankful for the gift of Christ our Savior and the victory He has won over sin and Satan. The resurrected Christ is God's supreme and wholly marvelous work as Saint Augustine says. What a great gift God gives us to have a firm faith in the resurrection! Because of the resurrection we are assured of our own victory over sin and Satan as well. We have the ability to always resist temptation if we so choose because Christ offers the grace to do so. The decision is ours.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching