ASH WEDNESDAY 2015 GOSPEL / MASS SCHEDULE

ASH WEDNESDAY

February 18, 2015

Schedule of Masses

Morning

5:30, 6:30, 7:30, 8:30 AM

Afternoon / Evening

12:15, 5:00, 6:00, 7:00 and 8:00 PM

GOSPEL [Mt 6:1-6, 16-18]

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order 
that people may see them; 

Otherwise, you will have no recompense from your Heavenly Father.

When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, 

as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets 

to win the praise of others.

Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.

But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know 

what your right is doing, so that your alms-giving may be secret.

And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, 

who love to stand and pray in the synagogues 

and on street corners so that others may see them.

Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 

But when you pray, go to your inner room, 

close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.

And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.

They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear 

to others to be fasting.

Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.

But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 

so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father 

who is hidden.

And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”

LENTEN 2015 MESSAGE: WE ARE WHAT WE LOVE

WE ARE WHAT WE LOVE

Are you hungry for God and do you thirst for his holiness? God wants to set our hearts ablaze with the fire of his Holy Spirit that we may share in his holiness and radiate the joy of the gospel to those around us. St. Augustine of Hippo tells us that there are two kinds of people and two kinds of love: "One is holy, the other is selfish. One is subject to God; the other endeavors to equal Him." WE ARE WHAT WE LOVE. God wants to free our hearts from all that would keep us captive to selfishness and sin. "Rend your hearts and not your garments" says the prophet Joel (Joel 2:12). The Holy Spirit is ever ready to transform our hearts and to lead us further in God's way of truth and holiness.

Why did Jesus single out prayer, fasting, and alms-giving for his disciples? The Jews considered these three as the cardinal works of the religious life. These were seen as the key signs of a pious person, the three great pillars on which the good life was based. Jesus pointed to the heart of the matter. Why do you pray, fast, and give alms? To draw attention to yourself so that others may notice and think highly of you? Or to give glory to God? The Lord warns his disciples of self-seeking glory - the preoccupation with looking good and seeking praise from others. True piety is something more than feeling good or looking holy. True piety is loving devotion to God. It is an attitude of awe, reverence, worship and obedience. It is a gift and working of the Holy Spirit that enables us to devote our lives to God with a holy desire to please him in all things (Isaiah 11:1-2).

What is the sure reward which Jesus points out to his disciples? It is communion with God our Father. In him alone we find the fulness of life, happiness, and truth. May the prayer of Augustine of Hippo, recorded in his Confessions, be our prayer this Lent: When I am completely united to you, there will be no more sorrows or trials; entirely full of you, my life will be complete. The Lord wants to renew us each day and give us new hearts of love and compassion. Do you want to grow in your love for God and for your neighbor? Seek him expectantly in prayer, with fasting, and in generous giving to those in need.

The forty days of Lent is the annual retreat of the people of God in imitation of Jesus' forty days in the wilderness. Forty is a significant number in the scriptures. Moses went to the mountain to seek the face of God for forty days in prayer and fasting. The people of Israel were in the wilderness for forty years in preparation for their entry into the promised land. Elijah fasted for forty days as he journeyed in the wilderness to the mountain of God. We are called to journey with the Lord in a special season of prayer, fasting, alms-giving, and penitence as we prepare to celebrate the feast of Easter, the Christian Passover. 

The Lord gives us spiritual food and supernatural strength to seek his face and to prepare ourselves for spiritual combat and testing. We, too, must follow in the way of the cross in order to share in the victory of Christ's death and resurrection. As we begin this holy season of testing and preparation, let's ask the Lord for a fresh outpouring of his Holy Spirit that we may grow in faith, hope, and love and embrace his will more fully in our lives.

"Lord Jesus, give me a lively faith, a firm hope, a fervent charity, and a great love of you. Take from me all lukewarmness in the meditation of your word, and dullness in prayer. Give me fervor and delight in thinking of you and your grace, and fill me with compassion for others, especially those in need, that I may respond with generosity."

A meaningful and sincere Lenten Season to you

Rev. Fr. Victor Y. Apacible

Parish Priest / Rector

NATIONAL SHRINE OF THE SACRED HEART

MY UNCONDITIONAL LOVE AND MERCY IS GIVEN IN CONFESSION

"I AM IN THE CONFESSIONAL, AND IT IS I, MYSELF,

WHO ABSOLVES YOU AND WHO EXTENDS TO YOU
MY MERCY AND LOVE UNCONDITIONALLY."

Message from JESUS OF MERCY

TO THE WORLD

April 13, 2008 through Chris Courtis,
a visionary in Maryland USA

My Dear and Beloved Children of My Father’s earth,

My Dear Ones, I come today to invite you to complete surrender and trust in Me. I have spoken very often of trust in Me, but yet you have very little trust in Me. Take small steps by reaching out to Me through prayer and by going to Mass, but the greatest and the biggest trust that you can give to Me is by going to Confession. I am Love and Mercy itself, and it is true I am present in the Blessed Sacrament and for Adoration, but My unconditional love and mercy is given to you through Confession.

You desire peace, My little ones. There I point the way to My peace, through Confession. How can I give you My love or My mercy when you will not open your heart to receive it, or even be willing to go to Confession to be forgiven of your sins? I have come to free you from the bondage of sin, but yet how many of My little ones desire to remain in bondage.

The door of My mercy is easily accessed through the door of Confession. My Mother is a key for you to opening that door through her merits, her graces, her beauty, her love, and her intercession for you. She will give you the strength to turn the key to open the doors and to confess with all your mind and with all your heart. Then you will truly be set free, and you will feel My love and mercy wash over you, and you will understand that I am in the Confessional, and it is I, myself, who absolves you and who extends to you My mercy and love unconditionally.

My message for the world is one of hope. If people repent and turn back to Me, I will save many souls. I will build a new ark in My mother’s heart, consecrated to God the Father’s Fatherly Sacred Heart, but I will only do this as long as the world responds to my invitation of love and mercy and peace. Do not think to yourself, “Tomorrow I have time to decide,” for I call you to decide right now where you stand and who you stand with. Go to Confession, receive forgiveness, and pray.

Never cease praying because through prayer there exists hope, hope from the Holy Spirit of renewal and peace. (He’s looking at every one. He’s looking around the room. He’s looking past the room.) My words of love and mercy and peace should be enough. If the world will not respond to these gifts, then I will be forced to show My Justice.

I love you, and I bless you all, and I take your prayers and your petitions into My Heart, and I will present them to My Father and your Father. And I bless you in My name, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Go in My peace.


movingheartfoundation.com

TRANSFORMING POWER OF PRAYER: DIALOGUE WITH GOD

THE TRANSFIGURATION

This Second Sunday of Lent is like a breather in our Lenten pilgrimage which is characterized by penance and sorrow. Weak and wounded in many ways, we fix our gaze on the transfigured Christ, to derive from him the inspiration we need to undertake or continue our quest for the values of the Kingdom and the splendor of a holy life.

Let us remember that Jesus was transfigured while he was praying. It was in his dialogue with the Father that the glory of his true self was revealed. May our participation in this Eucharistic celebration bring about the same effect in us, both as individuals and as a community.

Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray. While he was praying, his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.

Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But he did not know what he was saying.

While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen.

THE TRANSFORMING POWER OF PRAYER

Prayer meant so much to Jesus. It was an essential dimension of his life. The Gospels contain numerous references to Jesus’ praying in seclusion or waking up before everybody else to pray in some quiet place.

Every prayerful encounter with his Father brought out the best in Jesus. Three of his disciples – Peter, James and John – witnessed this outpouring of the best in their Master in the episode we call the “Transfiguration.” That was an unforgettable visible manifestation of the transforming power which prayer had on Jesus as a human being.

There are good reasons to believe that such a “transformation” did not take place only on that occasion. It is much more probable, instead, that Jesus was transfigured every time he prayed. The only difference, on Mount Tabor, was that the event had eyewitnesses who could just marvel and rejoice in what they were seeing.

There was a time, however, in the earthly life of Jesus, on another mountain; the Mount of Olives! – when the loving dialogue of prayer turned into a monologue of distress. The usual “Partner” the Father, seemed absent. He appeared to have turned a deaf ear to what Jesus was saying. Nor did He talk to His pleading Son. It was as if God had “hidden His face” from Jesus.

Fortunately, on that occasion, too, Jesus closed his conversation in the way he had taught his disciples to pray: “Your will be done!” Then an angel appeared to console him in his distress. That, too, produced in him a transfiguration of sorts. The presence of the angel said that prayer had “worked.” Jesus’ Partner had been listening, after all. His full answer would come at the Resurrection, the “permanent transfiguration,” which Jesus has been enjoying ever since and which he will enjoy for ever.

Of that “eternal transfiguration,” the transfiguration undergone by Jesus on Mount Tabor was only a preview. It was a “foretaste,” meant to tell the astonished disciples to set their hearts on what really matters: their relationship with God, their filial conversation with Him.

Such is also the lesson for us, as we reflect on the transfiguration of Jesus while he was at prayer. (See Lk 9:29.) If we understand this point clearly, prayer will never be “boring” or “routine” or a monotonous “monologue.” It may happen that we, too, find ourselves praying fervently, crying our hearts out, apparently to no effect, for God seems not to be listening. In such situations the temptation is great to conclude that God does not care anymore about us.

But we know that God is always there. He is always listening even when we can’t see Him and we can’t hear His voice, there and then. His answer will come at the proper time – in His time – which is always the best time.

PILLARS OF LENT

PRAYER, FASTING, ALMSGIVING are the pillars of LENT. They are integrated parts of a whole-disciplines that pull our spirit and body together.

PRAYER is good for our souls, FASTING for our bodies and ALMSGIVING for the good of our neighbor.

PRAYER is not meant as a detachment from the world but is an integration of the Gospel message with our daily human experience. Prayer is not only vocal prayers, reading the prayers or devotional prayers. It means putting our prayers into practice.

For example read the Gospel for the day and decide what it calls you to do in relation with your neighbor, your household, your family, your workplace, and your community. It is good practice specially for Lent to spend quality time reading the Scriptures. Contemplating and reflecting on the Word of God nourishes our soul and strengthens our spirit.

FASTING OR SELF DENIAL is completed beyond the self in its reinvestment of service and ministry to others. It does not just mean giving up some kind of food or your favorite dessert or drinks or smoking during Lent.

It means going out of your way, giving up some of your time/effort/or money or going out of your comfort zone to help someone in need like visiting a friend or relative who is elderly, sick, lonely, or having difficulties. Rather than just giving up something, it must be accompanied by a positive and resolute action on one's part.

ALMSGIVING is not just a monetary paying off of our guilty conscience but a challenge to love our neighbor with unselfish concern. It means practicing the corporal works of mercy such as:

1. Feeding the hungry

2. Clothing the naked,
3. Giving drink to the thirsty,
4. Welcoming the stranger.
5. Visiting the prisoners or the sick,
6. Sheltering the homeless,
7. Burying the dead,
8. Kind acts in selfless service to others.

PILLARS OF LENT

What is the purpose of Lent one may ask? Foremost, the purpose of Lent is the intimate renewal of our baptismal vows which were acquired as a child but were not spiritually aware of.

Lent is the time to assess our faith and experience the relevance of the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ in the form of self-denial and voluntary sacrifice as it relates into our own personal life.

Lent immerses us in God, just as in Baptism, we are immersed in water to cleanse us from original sin to be reborn to a new life in the Spirit. The following three pillars of Lent puts our relationship with God ahead of pleasure, property and power.

PRAYER

Through prayer, we humbly admit our need for a power that is greater than ourselves. We acknowledge our human limitations and let go of the drive to control everything within our realm. In the process, we spiritually open ourselves to all that God offers us.

FASTING

According to St. Augustine, prayer without fasting is pale. Fasting expresses our desire to find ultimate happiness in God rather than in the satisfaction of our physical needs. The discipline and control we gain over our insatiable appetites helps to recognize the true and lasting pleasure coming from God.

Through fasting, our relationship is more focused and re-oriented towards God. Without fasting, we are full of self, in fasting God enters us. We must learn to rid self and let God in. Pope Benedict XVI describes fasting as the "detoxification of our soul from the poison of sin." Fasting brings us to doing good, cures our selfishness and promotes social justice.

On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, fasting of one full meal only with no meat is required for every Catholics from age 18 to 59. Abstinence means no meat consumption during all Fridays of Lent.

ALMSGIVING

Again St. Augustine says that Prayer and Fasting without Almsgiving is lame. It falters, it is weak, it lacks vitality. Almsgiving helps us recognize that God is the true source of our security. It is a way of bringing our relationship into the essence of Christ's love by sharing and helping others in need. It is also an affirmation of His Commandment to love your neighbors as yourself.