As we begin this solemn season of Lent, I would like to encourage our parishioners to make the practice of Catholic devotions a permanent part of our prayer life. Devotions have deep and powerful roots in Catholic spirituality and a millions of people, over the ages, have found divine favors, spiritual strength, and growth through these devotions.
The Stations of the Cross: The Stations of the Cross is a powerful and unique way of contemplating and entering into the mystery of Jesus’ gift of Himself to us. It takes the reflection of Jesus’ passion out of our heads and turns it into an imaginative and visual exercise, thereby allowing our senses, experiences, and emotions to get involved. It allows us to make the Passion of Our Lord as personal an experience as one would like it to be. It helps us to realize that Jesus is with us as one who knows our sufferings and tribulations. We have Stations of the Cross every Friday, at 7:00 pm during Lent.
The Sacred Heart of Jesus: The devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is one of the most well known and widely practiced Catholic devotions ever. It centers on the physical Heart of Jesus as a symbol of God's boundless love for us. On December 27th, 1673, Jesus, in an apparition to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, charged her to spread this devotion so that people may be enriched with its precious treasures of sanctifying graces and its protective power against eternal damnation. In that apparition, Jesus made 12 promises with regard to devotion to his Sacred Heart. The twelfth promise says, “I promise thee, in the excessive mercy of My Heart, that My all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months, the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in My disgrace nor without receiving their Sacraments; My Divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.” What a promise!
The Rosary: One of the last things Jesus said on the Cross was, “Son, [Children] behold your mother; mother behold your son [children]. In an apparition to Fr. Cobbi, on Oct 7th, 1983, Our Lady said: “Beloved sons, on the battle in which you are daily engaged against the mighty armies of evil,… it is necessary for you to employ a weapon which is both secure and invincible. This weapon is prayer,” and she goes on to say that the prayer most dear to her heart is the Rosary. The Rosary is a weapon against sin and evil and a prayer that allows us to reflect on specific events in the life of Jesus and through this reflection come to understand more about Jesus, His great love for us, and our need to be more like Him.
Eucharistic Adoration: The richest gift in the Catholic Church is the Blessed Eucharist where Jesus Christ is wholly and truly present — body, blood, soul, and divinity—and is not only adorable but also entreatable. Eucharistic adoration is known to have the power to illuminate the mind, provide abundant graces, and give ordinary people supernatural power to accomplish extraordinary deeds.
My friends, I pray that our parishioners will begin to find, in these devotions, tremendous source of spiritual and temporal graces. Every First Friday of the month, we have devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus beginning with Mass at 6:30 pm. We have Eucharistic Adoration every first Friday and every first Sunday of the month beginning at 7:00 pm. We have devotion to our Blessed Mother every Monday and Friday on our online platform (www.gotomeeting.com, ID: 574150285) at 7:00 pm and every Wednesday, in the Church, with Eucharistic Exposition at 7:30 pm. I pray that we will deeply consider embracing these devotions beginning from this Lent. They are very helpful in giving God priority in our lives and in helping us grow in our Christian commitment.
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