Thursday, October 7, 2010

ROSARY PRAYERS

The Rosary is often misunderstood. This devotion is not about Mary, but is a meditation on the life of Christ; Our Lady is simply our teacher and chaperone. The fruit of this prayer is to enter deeper into the life of Christ.

MYSTERIES of the ROSARY

The Joyful Mysteries (prayed Mondays & Saturdays) | fruit of the Mystery

The Luminous Mysteries (Thursdays)

1. The Baptism of Jesus | openness to the Holy Spirit
2. The Wedding at Cana | to Jesus through Mary
3. Proclaiming the Kingdom | repentance and trust in God
4. The Transfiguration | desire for holiness
5. The Institution of the Eucharist | Adoration

The Sorrowful Mysteries (Tuesdays and Fridays)

The Glorious Mysteries (Wednesdays and Sundays)

PRAYERS of the ROSARY

(Prayer title in bold. Leader’s spoken words. Responses are in italics.)

Sign of the Cross. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Apostles’ Creed. I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sin, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Our Father. Our Father, who art in Heaven; hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come; They will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed are thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Glory Be. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Fatima Prayer. Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy. Amen.

Hail, Holy Queen. Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, or life, our sweetness and our hope, to thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee to we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears; turn, then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us, and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of they womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!

V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.

R. That we may be worthy of the promises of life.

V. Let us pray.

R. O God, by the life, death and resurrection of Your only begotten Son, You have purchased for us the rewards of eternal life; grant, we beseech Thee, that while meditating on these mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Friday, September 24, 2010

WHY OH WHY OH WHY?

...HIS will or "my" will be done?

...do I practice what I preach?

...am I a leader or a SERVANT?

...am I to SERVE or be served?

...can't attach and detach?

...can't I go back to being a member again?

...where is the LOVE?

I'M SORRY, I REALLY NEED TO ASK 'COZ...

I LOVE YOU!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME by Kirby Llaban

Listen to ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME

KIDS ADVENTURE SONG: Adventure of a Lifetime

Download Song MP3: Adventure of a Lifetime

Download Lyrics and Chords: Adventure of a Lifetime

Download Action Video: Adventure of a Lifetime

Adventure of a Lifetime

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

ECHOOOOooooooo

ANCOP FAMILY FUN DAY!

LET'S HAVE FUN ON OCTOBER ONE!

CFC UGNAYAN - CBCP Monitor Vol. 14 No. 19

CBCP Monitor September 2010

click here

Friday, September 17, 2010

Does the Holy Spirit work with those outside of the Church?

Posted on July 27th, 2009 by Dan Burke

Q: I thought I understood, more or less, how the Holy Spirit works in our lives. But in a recent faith sharing group, a question came up that made me wonder. Someone asked if the Holy Spirit would or would not be with un-baptized persons if they ask Holy Spirit to dwell in them or to give them fortitude in a difficult situation. This came up while we were discussing how God’s grace can touch the lives of those who have never even heard of Jesus. I was hoping you could shed some light on this for me.

A: I am glad you asked this question. It reminds us that the vast treasure of theological reflection that our Church has accumulated through the centuries isn’t just irrelevant abstraction. It has grown up organically, in order to help us understand better and better how God works, so that we can cooperate with him more and more effectively.

In the first place, remember that God is not limited to working through the sacraments. Therefore, he can make saints without them if he so pleases; he can pour his grace into souls however and whenever he sees fit. At the same time, however, he himself established the sacraments as the normal, ordinary way to communicate his grace. For us to belittle them or treat them as optional, therefore, is presumptuous. He established them because in his wisdom he knows that human nature always experiences and expresses spiritual realities through material realities. And so, something real changes in our souls at baptism: God comes to dwell in us, adopts us, and actually alters (elevates) our souls at a deep, ontological level. In other words, it is not indifferent whether or not someone gets baptized.

“Types” of Baptism

The Church has long pointed out, however, that this grace of baptism can come in three ways: through the validly administered sacrament of baptism; through baptism by blood; and baptism of desire.

Baptism of blood refers to the martyrdom of someone who dies for the Christian faith before actually receiving the sacrament of baptism. In this case, the effects of martyrdom include some of the effects of baptism: the complete remission of sin and the privilege of immediate entrance into heaven. This concept of baptism of blood came into focus during the first centuries of the Church’s existence. During the many waves of Roman persecution, men and women who were still only catechumens (receiving instruction in the faith and preparing for baptism), and pagans who suddenly converted to the faith (for example, upon seeing the heroic courage of a martyr) were often executed along with baptized Christians.

Baptism of desire is a bit different, a bit more mysterious. It too is the equivalent of sacramental baptism, and therefore sufficient for obtaining the state of grace and the promise of salvation. Yet the circumstances by which it comes to pass or known only to God. Here’s how the Second Vatican Council explained it: “Those who through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do His will as they know it through the dictate of their conscience – those too may achieve eternal salvation” (Constitution on the Church, I, 16).

As you can see, we simply cannot fathom all the wonderful ways in which God works in the souls of us sinners. God’s action is so rich!

The “Types” of Grace

As regards your specific question, about someone who is not baptized asking for help from the Holy Spirit, it may be useful to recall the different types of grace.

There is sanctifying grace (the state of being in friendship with Christ, of being an adopted child of God, of having been redeemed from original sin). This is introduced into our lives at baptism, and it is increased, or deepened, through prayer, fidelity to God’s will, and the other sacraments.

There is also sacramental grace, a specific strengthening or benefit unique to each sacrament. For example, the sacramental grace of confession is the forgiveness of personal sins and the strengthening of our will towards future fidelity. The sacramental grace of marriage is the marriage bond which helps both spouses grow in communion with God through living their communion with each other, etc.

Then there is what is commonly referred to as actual grace. This is a boost of supernatural help that comes to assist us in a specific situation. When we talk about “graces,” this is usually what we mean – a light from the Holy Spirit, an added dose of patience when I really needed it… These actual graces are distinct from sanctifying grace. So, when non-baptized persons, who probably don’t have sanctifying grace, ask for help from the Holy Spirit, they are asking for this kind of grace, actual grace. And God is always ready to give actual graces, even when we don’t ask, to draw us closer to him.

These distinctions may seem persnickety. But let’s not lose sight of the forest for the trees. Reflecting on the many ways in which God reaches out to us and stays involved in our lives reminds of the most important thing: that he is our Father, passionately interested in the smallest details of our little, limited world.

Yours in Christ, Father John Bartunek, LC

Saturday, August 28, 2010

The Word Exposed-First Reading (Aug29)

The Word Exposed-Second Reading (Aug29)

The Word Exposed-Gospel part1/2 (Aug29)

The Word Exposed-Gospel part2/2 (Aug29)

Monday, August 23, 2010

THE HOLY SPIRIT

Pope Benedict XVI, Shepherd of Truth

Notable quotations from Pope Benedict XVI and official
teachings of the Roman Catholic Church

"A SAILBOAT WITHOUT THE WIND"

The Church ... lives constantly from the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, without which she would exhaust her own strength, like a sailboat without the wind.

MARY AND PENTECOST

... There is no Church without Pentecost... I would like to add that there is no Pentecost without the Virgin Mary... Wherever Christians gather in prayer with Mary, the Lord grants His Spirit.

A GIFT FROM JESUS

The Spirit is ... the gift that Jesus asked and continues to ask of His Father for His friends: the first and principal gift that He obtained for us through His Resurrection and Ascension into heaven.

UNITED BY THE SPIRIT

The Spirit triggers a process of reunification of the divided and dispersed parts of the human family. People, often reduced to individuals in competition or in conflict with each other, when touched by the Spirit of Christ open themselves to the experience of communion...

"THE FIRE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT"

The fire of God, the fire of the Holy Spirit, is that of the bush that burned but was not consumed... It is a flame that blazes but does not destroy, on the contrary, that, in burning, brings out the better and truer part of man, as in a fusion it elicits his interior form, his vocation to truth and to love.

TRANSFORMED BY THE SPIRIT

The flame of the Holy Spirit ...enacts a transformation, and thus must also consume something in man, the waste that corrupts him and hinders his relations with God and neighbor.

FRIGHTENED BY THE FIRE

This effect of the divine fire ... frightens us; we are afraid of being "scorched" and prefer to stay just as we are. This is because our life is often based on the logic of having, of possessing and not the logic of self-gift.

"COME, HOLY SPIRIT!"

Come, Holy Spirit! Enkindle in us the fire of Your love! We know that this is a bold prayer, with which we ask to be touched by God's flame; but ... we know that this flame and it alone has the power to save us... We need the fire of the Holy Spirit, because only Love redeems.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Understanding the Scriptures

I've posted about it before, but this Bible study is so good I think it deserves a second go. You'll hear things here that you won't hear in any of the other talks on my site -- believe me, I've listened! In any case, Carson Weber, the Catholic layman who gave these talks (and freelance web designer - you know your parish website needs it give him a call!) wrote in and gave me some updated links. If you've been pining for a Catholic Bible study, here's your chance!

Saturday, August 21, 2010

CFC UGNAYAN - CBCP Monitor Vol. 14 No. 17

CBCP Monitor August 2010

click to read

Thursday, August 19, 2010

WE ARE...

Monday, August 9, 2010

The Word Exposed-First Reading (Aug8)

The Word Exposed-Second Reading (Aug8)

The Word Exposed-Gospel part 1/2 (Aug8)

The Word Exposed - Gospel part 2/2 (Aug8)

Sunday, August 8, 2010

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) 8/9

Saint of the Day
Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives. Each saint the Church honors responded to God's invitation to use his or her unique gifts. God calls each one of us to be a saint. Click here to receive Saint of the Day in your email.

August 9
St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)
(1891-1942)

Size: A A

A brilliant philosopher who stopped believing in God when she was 14, Edith Stein was so captivated by reading the autobiography of Teresa of Avila (October 15) that she began a spiritual journey that led to her Baptism in 1922. Twelve years later she imitated Teresa by becoming a Carmelite, taking the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.

Born into a prominent Jewish family in Breslau (now Wroclaw, Poland), Edith abandoned Judaism in her teens. As a student at the University of Göttingen, she became fascinated by phenomenology, an approach to philosophy. Excelling as a protégé of Edmund Husserl, one of the leading phenomenologists, Edith earned a doctorate in philosophy in 1916. She continued as a university teacher until 1922 when she moved to a Dominican school in Speyer; her appointment as lecturer at the Educational Institute of Munich ended under pressure from the Nazis.

After living in the Cologne Carmel (1934-38), she moved to the Carmelite monastery in Echt, Netherlands. The Nazis occupied that country in 1940. In retaliation for being denounced by the Dutch bishops, the Nazis arrested all Dutch Jews who had become Christians. Teresa Benedicta and her sister Rosa, also a Catholic, died in a gas chamber in Auschwitz on August 9, 1942.

Pope John Paul II beatified Teresa Benedicta in 1987 and canonized her 12 years later.

Comment:

The writings of Edith Stein fill 17 volumes, many of which have been translated into English. A woman of integrity, she followed the truth wherever it led her. After becoming a Catholic, Edith continued to honor her mother’s Jewish faith. Sister Josephine Koeppel, O.C.D. , translator of several of Edith’s books, sums up this saint with the phrase, “Learn to live at God’s hands.”

Quote:

In his homily at the canonization Mass, Pope John Paul II said: “Because she was Jewish, Edith Stein was taken with her sister Rosa and many other Catholics and Jews from the Netherlands to the concentration camp in Auschwitz, where she died with them in the gas chambers. Today we remember them all with deep respect. A few days before her deportation, the woman religious had dismissed the question about a possible rescue: ‘Do not do it! Why should I be spared? Is it not right that I should gain no advantage from my Baptism? If I cannot share the lot of my brothers and sisters, my life, in a certain sense, is destroyed.’”

Addressing himself to the young people gathered for the canonization, the pope said: “Your life is not an endless series of open doors! Listen to your heart! Do not stay on the surface but go to the heart of things! And when the time is right, have the courage to decide! The Lord is waiting for you to put your freedom in his good hands.”