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4. But since the salvation of our race was accomplished by the mystery of the Cross, and since the Church, dispenser of that salvation after the triumph of Christ, was founded upon earth and instituted, Providence established a new order for a new people. The consideration of the Divine counsels is united to the great sentiment of religion. The Eternal Son of God, about to take upon Him our nature for the saving and ennobling of man, and about to consummate thus a mystical union between Himself and all mankind, did not accomplish His design without adding there the free consent of the elect Mother, who represented in some sort all human kind, according to the illustrious and just opinion of St. Thomas, who says that the Annunciation was effected with the consent of the Virgin standing in the place of humanity.(5) With equal truth may it be also affirmed that, by the will of God, Mary is the intermediary through whom is distributed unto us this immense treasure of mercies gathered by God, for mercy and truth were created by Jesus Christ.(6) Thus as no man goeth to the Father but by the Son, so no man goeth to Christ but by His Mother. How great are the goodness and mercy revealed in this design of God! What a correspondence with the frailty of man! We believe in the infinite goodness of the Most High, and we rejoice in it; we believe also in His justice and we fear it. We adore the beloved Saviour, lavish of His blood and of His life; we dread the inexorable Judge. Thus do those whose actions have disturbed their consciences need an intercessor mighty in favour with God, merciful enough not to reject the cause of the desperate, merciful enough to lift up again towards hope in the divine mercy the afflicted and the broken down. Mary is this glorious intermediary; she is the mighty Mother of the Almighty; but-what is still sweeter - she is gentle, extreme in tenderness, of a limitless loving-kindness. As such God gave her to us. Having chosen her for the Mother of His only begotten Son, He taught her all a mother's feeling that breathes nothing but pardon and love. Such Christ desired she should be, for He consented to be subject to Mary and to obey her as a son a mother. Such He proclaimed her from the cross when he entrusted to her care and love the whole of the race of man in the person of His disciple John. Such, finally, she proves herself by her courage in gathering in the heritage of the enormous labours of her Son, and in accepting the charge of her maternal duties towards us all.
5. The design of this most dear mercy, realised by God in Mary and confirmed by the testament of Christ, was comprehended at the beginning, and accepted with the utmost joy by the Holy Apostles and the earliest believers. It was the counsel and teaching of the venerable Fathers of the Church. All the nations of the Christian age received it with one mind; and even when literature and tradition are silent there is a voice that breaks from every Christian breast and speaks with all eloquence. No other reason is needed that that of a Divine faith which, by a powerful and most pleasant impulse, persuades us towards Mary. Nothing is more natural, nothing more desirable than to seek a refuge in the protection and in the loyalty of her to whom we may confess our designs and our actions, our innocence and our repentance, our torments and our joys, our prayers and our desires - all our of fairs. All men, moreover, are filled with the hope and confidence that petitions which might be received with less favour from the lips of unworthy men, God will accept when they are recommended by the most Holy Mother, and will grant with all favours. The truth and the sweetness of these thoughts bring to the soul an unspeakable comfort; but they inspire all the more compassion for those who, being without Divine faith, honour not Mary and have her not for their mother; for those also who, holding Christian faith, dare to accuse of excess the devotion to Mary, thereby sorely wounding filial piety. Leo XIII Preparation day for the Easter Vigil has always been a hubbub of activity. This was a much quieter affair with two deacons and three faithful Marian Sisters. The Bishop will be here tonight for The Vigil. No Baptisms, but all seven readings. I Hope the elect do not need to wait until next year This is the night wrapped in wondrous mystery when Jesus gave us the precious gift of the Most Holy Eucharist. This is the night Jesus made his apostles priests of the new covenant to share this gift with the whole world. The priesthood of Jesus Christ is a tremendous mystery, an extraordinary gift that is held in earthen vessels. He, who was made flesh for our salvation, has entrusted weak human flesh with the gifts of heaven, the Holy Word of God to be shared with all, and the Most Sacred Eucharist, his very flesh and blood given for the life of the world.
It is God who always takes the lowest place. In a world drunk on its own power, with tyrants and kings in the Middle East who enact violence against their own people, and Presidents and Governors and judges in our country where the dignity and preciousness of human life is in doubt or dispute, it is for us to rejoice in the majesty of the living God who takes flesh in the silence of a young girl's womb in a town far from the centers of the world's power, who makes himself fully present in the smallest piece of bread, and who kneels down, taking the form of a slave whose task is to wash your feet. He did not call the great and powerful. He calls weak and inadequate men that he might be, in us, present, present to all men and women, and to act for them on his behalf. Pope Benedict call this God's bravery; he gives himself to human beings. He is conscious of our faults and our weaknesses, yet still considers men capable of acting and being present in his stead – this audacity of God is the "true grandeur concealed in the word 'priesthood'". That God thinks that we are capable of this; that in this way he calls men to his service and thus from within binds himself to his priests, and to his people. For me, this is my 29th year as a priest of Jesus Christ. And each year I have a greater appreciation of the magnitude of his gift. As that appreciation increases, so also increases the knowledge of my own unworthiness. But this also increases the conviction that our lives must be centered in him. There is no greater encounter than to know Christ Jesus, to spend time with him and learn from him. For St. Gaspar del Bufalo the glory of the priesthood was to apply the grace, to make present the gift of the life-giving precious blood, both in the mercy poured from his side in the sacrament of Confession, and the gift of his body and blood in the Most Holy Eucharist. This is not a re-enactment, or a celebration of some past memory. We are not simply passing on a story. This is not merely a moral exhortation or an example of service; we are not encumbered by the limits of time and space: In the mystery of God's time, it is Jesus Christ himself who on this night washes your feet and breaks the bread. In the past year as my own family struggled with the mystery of life and death, on a human level it simply appeared as a brother and sister. But at one moment I was able to turn to Kathy and say, "Jesus is here. He has come to bring you home" as I was able to give her communion for the very last time and anoint her with the precious and sacred oil. And as she lifted her hand to make the sign of the cross, in her weakness the very presence of Jesus Christ was palpable. This figure was a gift to us from St. Augustine: By ourselves we have no power to live, subject as we are to death and decay. In his majesty as God, he did not have in himself the power to die. So, we enter into the sacred mystery of a marvelous exchange. Though he was in the form of God, it was not equality with God that he exploited for our sake, but he humbled himself and took the form of a slave. In this marvelous exchange, he who did not have the power to die would die for us, so that we who did not have the power to live, might live in him. How then can we fail to give honor and glory to his name? How then can we fail to raise our voices in adoration and praise? How then can we fail to treat this most wonderful sacrament with the greatest of reverence and respect? So in these strange days, these holiest days of the year, we keep the feast. We attend to the sacred mysteries. We listen to his word and listen to him. That may mean making some extra time for prayer, sitting quietly with the Lord in the Eucharist As Pope Benedict said during his visit to New York in 2008, we do not need to be "afraid of silence." This is not any day. It is a day filled with silence. There is no blessing or dismissal. We have not finished. We have begun. On this night the tradition is for absolute silence. In the silence we can focus. We can listen. We can attend to his voice. Rest here in silence, adoring his presence. Give your time to him. God is never outdone in generosity. This is the night wrapped in wondrous mystery when Jesus gave us his most precious gifts. If we give him our attention in a special way during these holy days, he will give us everything we need; He will give us himself. This is the chapel for the Newman Center at Sonoma State University. I was made Chaplain there in June 2019. There have bee some good things that happened there with some major interruptions. First was the fires in Sonoma County that shut the school, and now it is this pandemic that brought everything to a halt. The renovation project is not finished. There are a few items that remain, not the least of which is the floor. And sadly, regular Masses are not held in the chapel now because of the Corona-virus quarantine. But you can begin to see the beauty that will take hold in the old space. Instead of a garage that is used to say Mass, we now have a chapel that is deigned for the heavenly worship. Donations are greatly appreciated for this project.    Death is a moment in time, not in Eternity Francis Walton Keyes April 2, 1920 ----April 2, 2020 Deceased July 10, 1976 Happy 100th Birthday |
Omnia Christus Est NobisChrist is everything for us! 
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Sacristy Art I Sacristy Art II Sacristy Art III Sacristy Art IV Sacristy Art V Sacristy Art VI Years in Review 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 AuthorI am a Roman Catholic Priest from California. I spent 13 wonderful years years as a member of the Province of the Pacific in the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. The outline of my life can be traced here. Friend's Blogs |
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