The CatholiCity Message
Volume XVIII, Number 5 – April 17, 2014
Dear CatholiCity Citizen,
As is our practice, this final message in Lent will be brief with only short items.
The Passion Movie, Ten Years Later
I have decided to watch The Passion of the Christ movie on Good Friday on its tenth anniversary, but I admit reluctantly, the movie had such a powerful impact on me that I have not been able to bear watching it again since it was released. Will you watch it with me? You can read my 2004 review here.
The King of Silence in the Eucharistic Prayers
I was deeply heartened and grateful when Pope Francis added Saint Joseph to the Eucharistic Prayers during Mass. Two things strike me when I hear Joseph's name. First, how did it take this long to add him? Second, doesn't it feel like he was always there?
100,000 Confession Booklets
With your help, we've distributed around 100,000 Going Back to Confession booklets in just a few short months. Surely a great number of people have returned to the sacrament this Lent who otherwise may have stayed away forever. Thank you. You guys are the best.
Jesus Crucified Thank You Gifts Still Available
If you would like to make a last minute Lenten donation or support us on a monthly basis, our beautiful limited-edition Jesus Crucified art-house prints and lapel pins are still available as thank you gifts:
http://www.catholicity.com/support/donation.html
Father Benedict on Resisting Temptation
Father Benedict Groeschel offers encouragement: "Every temptation resisted is a great act of worship of God. To put up with temptation and not seek the easy way out is a powerful acknowledgement of the sovereignty of God. Even if one falls later on, he has accomplished an act of obedient worship that will not be erased." (The Courage to Be Chaste, p. 90).
Believing Something Does Not Exist Does Not Make it Not Exist
Did you know Jesus had an angel take Saint Faustina on a tour of hell, which she describes in her Diary (741), including this surprising truth: "What I have written is but a pale shadow of the things I saw, but I noticed one thing: that most of the souls there are those who disbelieved that there is a hell."
Some Upcoming Feast Days
- Monday, April 28, Saint Louis de Montfort, Apostle of Consecration to Mary
- Tuesday, April 29, Saint Catherine of Siena, Doctor of the Church, her parents' twenty-second child and a twin (her sister Giovanna died soon after birth).
- Thursday, May 1, Saint Joseph the Worker
- Tuesday, May 13, Feast of Our Lady of Fatima
- Thursday, May 29, the Ascension of the Risen Jesus
When Was The Last Time You…
…took a gander at our CatholiCity homepage. We've made a few a changes and just posted Father John McCloskey's Holy Week reflection.
Hear Father Roger's Lenten Homilies
Many of you are familiar with Fr. Roger Landry's articles but are not aware you can hear several years worth his solid and inspiring talks and homilies (usually accompanied by written notes and the Scripture texts) online. Here is the link to his Priestly Reflections website.
Praying an Easter Act of Love
Let us return Jesus' great act of love on the Cross by praying this beautiful prayer composed by Saint John Vianney together, tens of thousands of us together, beginning in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit…
"I love you, O my God, and my only desire is to love you until the last breath of my life. I love you, O my infinitely lovable God, and I would rather die loving you than live without loving you. I love you Lord and the only grace I ask is to love you eternally. My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love you, I want my heart to repeat it to you as often as I draw breath. Amen."
On behalf of all my coworkers, thank you again for letting us be a part of your spiritual life in during Lent. Happy Easter to one and all!
With Immaculate Mary,
Bud Macfarlane
