Pope Leo at Sagrada Familia: “We are all the living stones of this work, which has Christ as its foundation and culmination, beginning and end. The Basilica of the Sagrada Família is still today a construction site, which reminds us that the Christian life is always a journey, a project that God brings to completion.”
PRAYER FOR A HEART THAT DESIRES HOLINESS
Lord Jesus Christ,
The saints were not born holy.
They became holy because they allowed Your grace to transform them.
Give me a heart that desires sanctity more than comfort,
truth more than applause,
and heaven more than the passing attractions of this world.
When I become distracted, call me back.
When I become discouraged, strengthen me.
When I become proud, humble me.
May I never settle for being merely good when You are calling me to become a saint.
Let every prayer, sacrifice, and hidden act of charity bring me closer to Your Sacred Heart.
Amen. 🙏
Price of coats of many colours
The fate of four ministerial nominees who reportedly hold citizenship of other countries now hangs in the balance.
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ROME 155 AD
Justin Martyr wrote of how he and other early Christians attended Mass:
'This food is called among us Eucharistia [the Eucharist], of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined.
For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Saviour, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh.
For the apostles, in the memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels, have thus delivered unto us what was enjoined upon them; that Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks, said, ‘This do ye in remembrance of Me, this is My body;’ and that, after the same manner, having taken the cup and given thanks, He said, ‘This is My blood;’ and gave it to them alone.”
This Sunday the Church celebrates the fundamental dogma of the Christian faith—that of the Blessed Trinity in whose name all Christians are baptized.
In this one God there are three Divine Persons; the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. Yet there are not three Gods, but one, eternal, incomprehensible God.
The Father is not more God than the Son, neither is the Son more God than the Holy Spirit. The Father is the first Divine Person; the Son is the second Divine Person, begotten from the nature of the Father from eternity; the Holy Spirit is the third Divine Person, proceeding from the Father and the Son. No mortal can fully fathom this sublime truth. But I submit humbly and say: Lord, I believe, help my weak faith.
Why is this feast celebrated at this particular time? It may be interpreted as a finale to all the preceding feasts. All three Persons contributed to and shared in the work of redemption. The Father sent His Son to earth, for "God so loved the world as to give His only-begotten Son." The Father called us to the faith. The Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, became man and died for us. He redeemed us and made us children of God. He ever remains the liturgist par excellence to whom we are united in all sacred functions. After Christ's ascension the Holy Spirit, however, became our Teacher, our Leader, our Guide, our Consoler.
On solemn occasions a thanksgiving Te Deum rises spontaneously from Christian hearts.
The feast of the Most Holy Trinity may well be regarded as the Church's Te Deum of gratitude over all the blessings of the Christmas and Easter seasons; for this mystery is a synthesis of Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension and Pentecost.
This feast, which falls on the first Sunday after Pentecost, should make us mindful that actually every Sunday is devoted to the honor of the Most Holy Trinity, that every Sunday is sanctified and consecrated to the triune God. Sunday after Sunday we should recall in a spirit of gratitude the gifts which the Blessed Trinity is bestowing upon us. The Father created and predestined us; on the first day of the week He began the work of creation. The Son redeemed us; Sunday is the "Day of the Lord," the day of His resurrection. The Holy Spirit sanctified us, made us His temple; on Sunday the Holy Spirit descended upon the infant Church. Sunday, therefore, is the day of the Most Holy Trinity. (Source: The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch)