Fr. Larry Richards on Surrender

FR. LARRY RICHARDS

On Surrender

Fr. Larry Richards is possibly the most popular priest on the internet. This uncompromising but funny priest is also the founder of the highly successful Reason for Our Hope Foundation. In this video he highlights in his typical uncompromising way that it is all about surrender to God.

CATHOLIC MARRIAGE GODS DESIGN FOR LIFE & LOVE

CATHOLIC MARRIAGE:

GODS DESIGN FOR

LIFE & LOVE

Some of our most faithful clergy & laity of the Catholic Faith, Cardinal Raymond Burke, Bishop Mark Davies, Fr. Marcus Holden, Fr. Andrew Pinsent, & Fiona Mansford (Pure in Heart & Former National Director of Youth 2000) are highlighted in a film & DVD entitled Marriage: God's Plan for Life & Love.  The film presents the Catholic vision and understanding of marriage and the natural law, the beauty and meaning of human sexuality, family, and of the gift of children. It also addresses the challenges we face in our world today. The trailer is on the video below.

Does God Make You Suffer?

 Does God make 

you suffer?

POPE JOHN PAUL II ON THE MEANING OF HUMAN SUFFERING

A summary of Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter

Salvifici Delores 

Why does God make bad things happen? This comment seems to be the second biggest stumbling block to Christianity after general disbelief in God. This excellent apostolic letter which is summarised below starts to deal with the subject in more depth. The texts are from Fr. Stan Fortuna CFR. 

  

1. Man in his sufferings remains an intangible mystery.

Look closely at this first point. It states that man, even before the suffering begins, is ‘an intangible mystery’. Pope John Paul II does not shy away from the difficult point that suffering is something that humans simply will never understand. This in turn is something that the culture will not accept because modern society will not tolerate 'mystery' and wants immediate answers. Also the answers that can be gleaned from suffering involves inward soul searching which often means admitting to difficult realities that many people are not prepared to acknowledge in their lives. 

2. Man suffers when he experiences any kind of evil. Note that Satan, and not God, is the source of all evil.

 3. Suffering must serve for conversion, that is, for the rebuilding of the goodness within us so that we become more Christ like. This goodness is further strengthened by repentance.

4. Love is the 'ultimate source' of the 'meaning of suffering', and this will always remain a mystery.... 

....However, Christ does call us to search for answers as to the 'why?' of suffering. This is difficult to understand. How can 'love' be the 'ultimate source of the meaning of suffering'? God never causes suffering, but He sometimes allows us to experience suffering so that we might overcome the evil that caused us to suffer in the first place. We may be surprised to hear that this is one of the ways that God shows His love for us, but God’s genuine version of Love is not the same as the secularised version that we are used to. God may test us, not to prove that we love him, but so that we might conquer evil. This is because God made us so that you might overcome the world. 

5. Suffering is conquered by love and God gives His son to the World to ultimately free man from evil.

6. Evil (which is caused by Satan) has a grip on 'why humans do not understand suffering', but whilst humans do everything to avoid suffering they cannot get a grip on how to overcome suffering.

.

7. Salvation gives us liberation from evil, but unless we start to concentrate on the 'source of suffering' then we will continue to concentrate 'on the suffering', and not 'on our salvation'. 

In other words, when we start to concentrate on the source of the suffering then we start to move towards our salvation. Satan wants us to concentrate 'on our actual suffering' rather than the 'source of suffering' so that he moves us away from our salvation so that we will end up in hell. Those who search and admit to the deepest problems and issues in their lives start to learn why the suffering is there, which may then lead them on a path to removing that suffering, which in turn will lead to salvation. 

8. With the help of Christ's salvific work on Earth He leaves us with the hope of eternal life and holiness. 

St. Blaise & the Blessing of Throats

St. Blaise &the 

Blessing of Throats
AT MASS

3rd February, 2015 (in both Novus Ordo 
& the Traditional Roman Rites)

1622 "Suffering and illness have always been among the greatest problems that trouble the human spirit. Christians feel and experience pain as do all other people; yet their faith helps them to grasp more deeply the mystery of suffering and to bear their pain with greater courage. . . . Part of the plan laid out by God's providence is that we should fight strenuously against all sickness and carefully seek the blessings of good health, so that we may fulfill our role in human society and in the Church"

Saint Blase was the bishop of Sebaste in Armenia during the fourth century. Very little is known about his life, though according to accounts he was a physician before becoming a bishop. His cult spread throughout the entire Church in the Middle Ages because he was reputed to have miraculously cured a little boy who was choking to death. From the eighth century he has been invoked on behalf of the sick, especially those afflicted with illnesses of the throat.

Apostleship of Prayer Video with Fr. James Kubiki

 Reliquary of St. Blaise in Dubrovnik

Blessing of throats at a Traditional Roman Rite Latin Mass

Candlemas & the New Evangelisation

CANDLEMASS &

THE BLESSING OF CANDLES

To rediscover our Catholic identity and culture we often have to look to other strong Catholic countries that have never lost the Catholic Faith. In Poland, the candles brought from home to be blessed are decorated with symbols and ribbons. 

This tradition gives Candlemas its Polish name "Matka Boska Gromniczna," 

or "Mother of God of the Blessed Thunder Candle."

There, the custom is to let a blessed candle burn all night before an icon of Our Lady who, when the world still had forests, was relied upon to keep the wolves away during these cold nights. Now, our "wolves" tend to be of a different sort, but the pious burning of a blessed candle tonight, with powerful prayers offered to Our Lady, still help keep the world at bay.

 

The mystery of today's ceremony has frequently been explained by liturgists, dating from the 7th century. According to Ivo of Chartres, the wax, which is formed from flowers by the bee was always been considered as the emblem of virginity, and signifies the pure nature of the body of the Divine Infant, who is diminished not, either by His conception or His birth, and was born through the spotless purity of His Blessed Mother. The same holy bishop would have us see, in the flame of our Candle, a symbol of Jesus who came to enlighten our darkness. St. Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, asks us to consider three things in the blessed Candle: the wax, the wick, and the flame. The wax, he says, is the Flesh of our Lord; the wick, is His Soul within; the flame, which burns on top, is His divinity.

From: Dom Prosper Guéranger, OSB The Liturgical Year

With a return to Catholic tradition in this country, especially in the home, many more will be lighting blessed candles on Candlemas and many other nights as well.

THE RETURN OF THE CATHOLIC HOME ALTAR

THE RETURN OF THE

CATHOLIC HOME ALTAR

ALTARISIMO DOMESTICUS

  

The Catholic home is the Domestic Church.
Two main reasons for this very true saying is that parents are primarily responsible for children’s catechesis, and of course, families spend much more time in the home than they do at the parish. The Catholic home altar is also one of the simplest means of evangelising friends and family. So, like an increasing number of Catholics, why not bring some of those Catholic devotional sacramentals from Church, that draw souls to God, and incorporate them into your home?