GetToMass.com

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve: to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us O Holy Mother of God, That we may be worthy of the promises of Christ.

I think blog readers need a rote prayer every now and then. After praying the Hail Holy Queen why don’t you take a couple of minutes to pray to God in your own words and with your heart.

While my friend Ed’s funeral Mass was today my friend Scott is being ordained to the Deaconate tomorrow. May you say a prayer for Scott and his vocation. In addition my friend Andrew is being ordained a Priest next Saturday.

May God Bless all three of them and let His face shine upon them, Amen.

I just got back from a visitation service for my friend Ed who passed away last Saturday. His funeral is tomorrow. When someone I know dies I always wonder about where their soul will end up, Heaven or Hell..

I can honestly say with Ed I’m not too concerned. If Ed’s not in Heaven, then I’m not sure who else is up there. Even with that said I ask you to say a prayer for my friend Ed and his family.

Lord Jesus Christ I ask you to receive your servant Ed into your Heavenly Kingdom, Amen.

Join a Faith & Scripture webinar tonight from 8:30pm to 9:30 CST right at your very own computer put on by AwakenCatholic.org you can register at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/626404815

Tonight’s agenda/scripture passages…
• Holy Water, Sign of the Cross, Our Father
• Eucharist – Central to our Catholic Faith
• Prefiguring and Effects of the Eucharist
• Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ
• Last Supper Discourse and Road to Emmaus
• More than just an oyster cracker and grape juice
• Paul’s warning to the Early Christians
• Review of weekend Mass scripture readings

Scripture passages…
• John 6:47
• Exodus 12;14
• Matthew 26:17
• Matthew 26:26
• Luke 24:29
• 1 Corintians 11:27

Continue reading Online Faith & Scripture Study

I hope everyone remembered to start their FOCA Novena yesterday if not start it today.

Continue reading FOCA Novena

The feast of Our Lady of the Rosary was established by Pope Pius V on October 7th, 1572 to commemorate the great sea victory of the Christian forces over the Turks at Lepanto the previous year. It’s ironic that the most inspiring devotional prayer to our sweet Lady is also, well, a weapon. A spiritual weapon to be sure, and always effective in our battle for minds, hearts and souls. While the Rosary defies strict classification by any one image, it is nonetheless a spiritual resource of immense power if only we will deepen our appreciation of it and use it for the work of the Kingdom.

Militant imagery to describe the Rosary is not just due to its deployment during the Battle of Lepanto but also to the example of some of the greatest saints who used it for spiritual warfare. St. Dominic, who is credited with inventing the devotion in the 12th century (actually it existed in some form much earlier and he popularized it), used the Rosary to combat a pernicious heresy of his day and bring people back to the Catholic Faith. St. Maximilian Kolbe led his companions in the Nazi starvation bunker by singing hymns and reciting the Rosary to keep them from losing hope in such cruel circumstances. Padre Pio, no stranger to spiritual warfare, always told the people, "The Rosary is the weapon!" That saint was known to pray as many as ninety Rosaries a day in a shortened form for which he received ecclesiastical permission. He knew what was needed to fight the devil!

Mary’s Rosary is a powerful spiritual weapon for three main reasons: it is biblical, humble and repetitive. As St. Louis Marie de Montfort noted, the Rosary is not just a devotion to Mary – rather, it is a prayer through Mary directly to the Heart of Christ! That is the way Catholics pray it. Protestants, who reject Catholic prayers as being too Mary-centered, need to be shown that the Rosary consists of purely biblical prayers (the Our Father and the Hail Mary)! We also need to educate them that the goal of the prayer is meditation on the Mystery of Christ revealed to us in Scripture and Tradition. With the addition of the Luminous Mysteries by Pope John Paul II in 2002, the biblical reflection on the Life and Ministry of Christ is complete.

The Christian virtue of humility inevitably shatters the devil’s pride, and to that end, the Rosary is not a glorious sacrament but a humble devotion. The Rosary can be prayed communally but it can never really be prayed ostentatiously. The meditation of the Rosary is not on one’s self, it is on God. The Rosary teaches the most important lessons of faith with simple images, not esoteric learning. It also teaches the fundamental Christian virtues which St. John Vianney says are bound together by humility like the chain of a Rosary binds together all the beads! There is nothing about the Rosary which inspires arrogance, and that is why the devil hates it with a passion. He just can’t break its humility.

Finally, its repetitive intercession gives the Rosary a transformative strength that can only be likened to the slow force of the ancient streams that cut the Grand Canyon out of solid rock over thousands of years. It is an unstoppable force of good if only the people who pray it will not cease to pray for their intentions! This prayer is meaningful, meditative and pregnant with Our Lady’s presence which is always the most sure way to send any prayer to heaven. After all, She is the one who, we are told, will crush the head of the serpent; She reverses the ancient curse of Eve; She batters the gates of hell with a weapon in the form of a chain.

Pray the Rosary assiduously each day, and Mary will battle with you. Whatever gates of hell you are fighting…they shall not prevail!

Sincerely Yours in Christ,

Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer,
President, Human Life International

Continue reading The Rosary Batters the Gates of Hell

Sorry folks but I’m still stuck on politics which is probably why I’ve been a bit depressed lately. I’m starting to get a little scared about the Pro-Life chances in this election. I’m not sure how many people noticed after the debate last night when the candidates and their families were talking on stage, but Joe Biden walked up to Gov. Palin and grabbed her arm to get her attention and then proceeded to started rubbing it almost as if we were making an unconscious pass at her. It was absolutely vial. Would Joe have done that if he had been trying to get Mit Romney’s attention or even Hillary Clinton’s?

Obviously there is a gigantic double standard in our society when it comes to those who have become fixtures in Washington and the rest of our citizens. Where is media outrage? Where is public outrage? I wish Palin would have stepped back and slapped him. Joe’s actions at that moment was totally out of line and he should be held accountable. It wasn’t a “Gaffe” but it was Gross. God save us.

Watch it on this video from at the 1 hour 33 minute and 17 seconds mark on this video. 

1:33:17 to 1:33:20 to be exact.

Continue reading Post Debate Arm Rubbing