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Mar 21 – Homily – Fr Bonaventure: The Passion of Jesus Christ

apostolate — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 23:56:40 +0000

Homily #080321 ( 24min) Play – “It is consummated” (St John 19:30). As we honor the day of Our Lord’s Passion and Death, Fr Bonaventure reflects on this act of God’s love for man.
Ave Maria! Mass readings
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Divine Mercy Novena

Sr. JosephMary f.t.i. — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 23:00:03 +0000

Ave Maria Meditations

DIVINE MERCY NOVENA begins on Good Friday

The Divine Mercy Novena

Divine Mercy Devotionals at EWTN

Jesus asked that the Feast of the Divine Mercy be preceded by a Novena to the Divine Mercy which would begin on Good Friday. He gave St. Faustina an intention to pray for on each day of the Novena, saving for the last day the most difficult intention of all, the lukewarm and indifferent of whom He said:

“These souls cause Me more suffering than any others; it was from such souls that My soul felt the most revulsion in the Garden of Olives. It was on their account that I said: ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass Me by.’ The last hope of salvation for them is to flee to My Mercy.”

In her diary, St. Faustina wrote that Jesus told her:

“On each day of the novena you will bring to My heart a different group of souls and you will immerse them in this ocean of My mercy … On each day you will beg My Father, on the strength of My passion, for the graces for these souls.”

The different souls prayed for on each day of the novena are:

DAY 1 (Good Friday) – All mankind, especially sinners

DAY 2 (Holy Saturday) – The souls of priests and religious

DAY 3 (Easter Sunday) – All devout and faithful souls

DAY 4 (Easter Monday) – Those who do not believe in Jesus and those who do not yet know Him

DAY 5 (Easter Tuesday) – the souls of separated brethren

DAY 6 (Easter Wednesday) – The meek and humble souls and the souls of children

DAY 7 (Easter Thursday) – The souls who especially venerate and glorify Jesus’ mercy

DAY 8 (Easter Friday) – The souls who are detained in purgatory;?

DAY 9 (Easter Saturday) – The souls who have become lukewarm.

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy

Ave Maria!

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Apr 10 – Homily – Fr Ignatius: Great Friday

apostolate — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 20:13:23 +0000

Homily #090410 ( 08min) Play – Today is Good Friday the greatest day ever because it is the day that Christ won our salvation through such great suffering that flowed from his great love. Let us let us make an act of great thanksgiving.

Ave Maria! Mass readings

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FEAST OF THE DIVINE MERCY

Sr. JosephMary f.t.i. — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 20:00:53 +0000

Ave Maria Meditations

“BE MERCIFUL EVEN AS YOUR FATHER IS MERCIFUL”

(Lk 6:36)

The Feast of the Divine Mercy is the Sunday after Easter

“Jesus Christ taught that man not only receives and experiences the mercy of God, but that he is also called ‘to practice mercy’ towards others. ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy’ (Mt 5:7). The Church sees in these words a call to action, and she tries to practice mercy …. Man attains to the merciful love of God, His mercy, to the extent that he himself is interiorly transformed in the spirit of that love towards his neighbor.”

(John Paul II, Rich in Mercy, 14)

The Church teaches us to be merciful in various ways:

THE CORPORAL WORKS OF MERCY

1. Feed the hungry.

2. Give drink to the thirsty.

3. Clothe the naked.

4. Shelter the homeless.

5. Comfort the imprisoned.

6. Visit the sick.

7. Bury the dead.

TIlE SPIRITUAL WORKS OF MERCY

1. Admonish sinners.

2. Instruct the uninformed.

3. Counsel the doubtful.

4. Comfort the sorrowful.

5. Be patient with those in error.

6. Forgive offenses.

7. Pray for the living and the dead.

Our Lord told St. Faustina in 1936 :My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day are open all the divine floodgates through which graces flow.

Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate my love and mercy throughout eternity.

The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.

To observe this feast we should commence a Novena to the Divine Mercy on Good Friday, the Novena includes special intentions for each day and is concluded with the recitation of the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
Celebrate the feast on the first Sunday after Easter.
Come to Jesus with a humble and contrite heart, repent of all your sins.
Firmly trust in the Divine Mercy of Jesus.
Go to confession (with a priest) on that day if possible, otherwise seven days before or after the feast, as approved by the Church..
Receive Holy Communion on the Day of the Feast.
Venerate the image of Divine Mercy.
Be merciful as God is merciful. Practice works of Mercy, physically by helping others or spiritually by prayers of intercession.

PRAYER TO BE MERCIFUL

O Most Holy Trinity! As many times as I breathe, as many times as my heart beats, as many times as my blood pulsates through my body, so many thousand times do I want to glorify Your mercy. I want to be completely transformed into Your mercy and to be Your living reflection, O Lord. May the greatness of all divine attributes, that of Your unfathomable mercy, pass through my heart and soul to my neighbor.

Help me, O Lord, that my eyes may be merciful, so that I may never suspect or judge from appearances, but look for what is beautiful in my neighbors’ souls and come to their rescue.

Help me, that my ears may be merciful, so that I may give heed to my neighbors’ needs and not be indifferent to their pains and meanings.

Help me, O Lord, that my tongue maybe merciful, so that I should never speak negatively of my neighbor, but have a word of comfort and forgiveness for all.

Help me, O Lord, that my hands may be merciful and filled with good deeds, so that I may do only good to my neighbors and take upon myself the more difficult and toilsome tasks.

Help me, that my feet may be merciful, so that I may hurry to assist my neighbor, overcoming my own fatigue and weariness. My true rest is in the service of my neighbor.
Help me, O Lord, that my heart may be merciful so that I myself may feel all the sufferings of my neighbor. I will refuse my heart to no one. I will be sincere even with those who, I know will abuse my kindness.

And I will lock myself up in the most merciful Heart of Jesus. I will bear my own sufferings in silence. May Your mercy, O Lord, rest upon me.

You yourself command me to exercise the three degrees of mercy. The first: the act of mercy, of whatever kind. The second: the word of mercy – if I cannot carry out a work of mercy, I assist by my words. The third: Prayer – if I cannot show mercy by deeds or words, I can always do so by prayer. My prayer reaches out even there where I cannot reach out physically.

O my Jesus, transform me into Yourself, for You can do all things.

O Blessed Host, in golden chalice enclosed for me. That through the vast wilderness of exile. I may pass – pure, immaculate, undefiled: Oh grant that through the power of Your love this might come to be.

O Blessed Host, take up Your dwelling within my soul, O Thou my heart’s purest love! With Your brilliance the darkness dispel. Refuse not Your grace to a humble heart.

O Blessed Host, enchantment of all heaven, Though Your beauty be veiled, And captured in a crumb of bread, Strong faith tears away that veil.

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The Friday that is called Good

Sr. JosephMary f.t.i. — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 19:00:17 +0000

Ave Maria Meditations

“His Blood Be on Us!”

Jesus, Man of Sorrows, the crime of the Jews reminds me of my own sinning. I heard Your Father say to me, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased,” and yet my sins made me cry out, “Away with Him! Crucify Him!” I have loved death and slain the God of my salvation.

Give me an attitude toward sin like unto Yours; yes, one with Yours. because of the infinite iniury it causes the sovereign goodness of Your heavenly Father and its fatal hurt to my own immortal soul. When I sinned, I cried out that Your Blood might be upon me. May it be upon me henceforth, because I come to You in repentance for my sinful past. May Your Blood be upon the outward life I live, a sign that Your love now reigns within my soul, as a proof of my sincerest love. gratitude and loyalty. May Your Blood be upon my children, namely, upon all my works and words, and ever redden with Its glorious merit the whole stream of my life. And when life’s day is done, may the seal of Your Blood be a lasting, shining mark upon my soul, to place me among those of whom it is said, “These are they who have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb” (Rev. 7:14).

The Meeting of Martyrs

Jesus, Man of Sorrows, there is one who remains close to You in joy and in pain – Your own dear Mother. Who will describe the sorrow that pierces her loving soul when she catches sight of You, the dear and beloved Son of her heart of hearts, with Your head crowned with thorns, Your face stained with blood and spittle, miserably swollen and disfigured? She had once known You beautiful, with the freshness of Divine innocence and peace upon Your sacred face; now she sees You so changed and deformed that she can scarcely recognize You. Not a feature, not a limb but speaks of the frightful guilt of sin, of punishment, of agony.

Jesus, in Your glance upon her so desolate, every fiber of Your Heart seems to be torn. And she feels all Your pain together with You. How she would have snatched that hideous crown from Your head, cleansed and kissed Your wounds, knelt down and adored You, taken You away and nursed You to health. But no! She remembers why You are suffering all this. That dear Mother of Sorrows gives You up to die for my redemption.

That blessed meeting when only a word of love passes between you is full of love, for never did son love his mother as You love Yours. When You, when her hands and Yours touch the Cross together as a pledge of joint suffering, lasts but an instant, and then Your Mother is thrust back into that mob, thirsty for Your death, by the soldiers who know not who she is, nor care.

The Divine Mediator

Jesus, Man of Sorrows, at last the dearest wish of Your life is granted You are crucified. You have been the Victim of the envy of the high priests, of the mockery of Herod, of the weakness of Pilate, of the ingratitude of the people; but You will to die unavenged. Patiently You hang there on the open wounds of Your hands and feet, exhausted almost to death by the long stretch of the physical and mental suffering You have undergone. Your Sacred Body, which suffers so much because It has so great a Soul, is now turned into a crucible of pain where all the sufferings of the world burn together.

My Savior, I am surprised at the cruelty of Your enemies and the greatness of Your torments, but what have I done to ease or lessen Your suffering? On the contrary, how much I have done to increase it! Never before did You appear more lovable in Your prayer than now, as You hang between heaven and earth, an intermediary between an infinite God and His sinful creatures. With extended arms, and hands dug with nails, in an upright penitential posture of prayer, as our elder Brother, You plead the cause of wayward children before Your offended Father and offer Yourself to Him as a Victim for the sins of the world. Your bleeding wounds are proofs of a love unto death.

I see Your head bent down to reach me in my sinfulness ; Your arms extended to embrace me, though it was I who nailed them there; Your Body hanging to redeem me, though I sometimes hardly seemed to care. You love me with a Heart I myself have broken, and offer Your death, the most painful and most disgraceful known to the human race, to save me from eternal death; yet too often You have found me so slow to appreciate all You have done.

“I Will Draw All Things to Myself”

Jesus, hatred lifted You up on a cross; hut once on it You said You would lift all lovers up to Your Heart, which is Love, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to Myself” (John 12: 32) . You are now fulfilling that promise, for You are drawing heaven to Yourself, as You hang on the Cross, to give me the possession of it, and God, to make me His child and friend again. Oh, draw also my poor heart, so cold and ungrateful, to Yourself to inflame it with Your own love and generosity; my sinful soul as well, to cleanse and save it. You are true to me till death.

Then draw me, Lord, and make me true to Yon forever, both in my innermost soul by faith in Your doctrine, hope in Your Divine promises and love of Your holy Person, and in my outward behavior by daily imitation of Your crucified life and by an unceasing union of my life with Your Sacrifice on the Cross. Dear Savior, draw all the world to Your crucified Self, as You promised, that all men may find in Your broken Heart, peace, consolation, and joy here, and eternal life and bliss hereafter.Let me at last learn that the Crucifix does not teach pain, but sacrifice, for sacrifice is pain with love. Let me mount the cross with You so that the pain I hear in life may he transformed through love into a joyful sacrifice.

Fr. Lawrence Lovasik : Heart Talks with the Man of Sorrows

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Apr 02 – Homily – Fr Bonaventure: Silent Bells of Good Friday

apostolate — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 21:28:36 +0000

Homily #100402 ( 23min) Play – On Good Friday all the Church bells are silent starting from yesterday at the Last Supper Mass, not to be heard again until the Vigil Mass on Saturday. It is replaced by the wooden clapper to remind us of the Cross and specifically of the nails being pounded through Our Lord’s venerable hands and into the Cross for the remission of our sins. Listen as Fr Bonaventure unfolds the events of Good Friday on this silence, looking forward to the joy of the bells of Easter.
Ave Maria! Mass readings
1: Isa 52:13-53:12
R: Ps 31:2,6,12-13,15-17,25
2: Heb 4:14-16; 5:7-9
G: Jn 18:1-19:42

Audio (MP3)

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Apr 06 – Homily – Fr Bonaventure: God Submits to Death

apostolate — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 20:31:26 +0000

Homily #120406 ( 17min) Play – Fr. Bonaventure preaches at the Good Friday communion service on how unbelievable the Gospel message is today, that God could submit himself to death. But thanks be to God we have the highest authority available to help us believe, Holy Mother Church and Holy Scripture. Listen as Fr. Bonaventure sets forth how this great event is the culmination of all the history of man and the reparation of for every sin committed before and after this pivotal moment.
Ave Maria!
Mass: Good Friday – Wkdy – Form: OF
Readings:
1st: isa 52:13-53:12
Resp: psa 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 25
2nd: heb 4:14-16, 5:7-9
Gsp: joh 18:1-19:42

Audio (MP3)

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Video – Variety #228: What happens on Good Friday?

apostolate — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 08:44:03 +0000

Variety #228 – The First Station ( 01min) >>> Play

Ave Maria!

PRACTICE TEST: Canon 5D, After Effects, Slow Motion, Snow Flakes

Ave Maria!

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Mar 25 – Homily – Fr Elias: The Annunciation and Good Friday

apostolate — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 11:15:49 +0000

Homily #130325b ( 14min) Play – Fr. Elias gives he homily on Monday in Holy Week which this year falls on the 25th of March, the Annunciation (which will be celebrated after Easter). He uses this fact to highlight the connection between the Annunciation, and therefore Christmas and Good Friday and Easter. Isaiah is a summary of the faith and foresees many of these events, again connecting them all together. This will give us confidence that all the events in our lives are connected and fitting in with God’s wise and holy plans and will reconcile and interconnect many things that seem like opposites like charity and dogma as well as rich and poor and even love and duty to God with that which we owe to our neighbor.
Ave Maria!
Mass: Monday Holy Week – Wkdy – Form: OF

Readings:
1st: isa 42:1-7
Resp: psa 27:1, 2, 3, 13-14
Gsp: joh 12:1-11

Audio (MP3)

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Mar 29 – Homily – Fr Ignatius: Good Friday, Center of All Human History

Griswold Friars — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 21:32:02 +0000

Homily #130329 ( 12min) Play – Fr. Ignatius explains how Good Friday is the center of all human history and should be a day of silence, recollection, and meditation on the many lessons God wants to teach us on Calvary.

Ave Maria!
Mass: Good Friday – Wkdy – Form: EF
Readings:
1st: exo 12:1-11
Passion: Jn 18: 1-40, 19: 1-42

Audio (MP3)

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