Pilgrimage to the Holy Land
Blog posts : "General"
This Is, This Is, This Is my Body
The picture above is of the Eucharistic miracle of Lanciano, Italy
Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. Jesus says this is my body and this is my blood. He does not say it is similar or it represents my body and my blood. He says this is my body and my blood. At Mass today Jesus offers himself up again for us in an unbloody manner. Their have been many Eucharistic miracles such as the Miracle in Lanciano, Italy which occred in 1730. A priest doubted that the bread and wine really become the body and blood of Jesus. The host turned into human flesh and bleed. Upon further investigation it was discovered that the flesh was from a human heart and that the blood type was the same as on the Shourd of Turin. As you well know the Shroud of Turin was used to cover the body of Our Lord when it was laid in the tomb. When we are at Mass Jesus is literally present. He literally comes to be united with us if we are in a state of grace! We ought to have reverence at Mass. It is God who is their waiting for us. Remember Jesus said This Is my body and blood.
p.s. it is Jesus himself through the priest who makes the bread and wine turn into his body and blood. This is known as Transubstantiation.
Lent do over
Today is Tuesday of the fourth week of Lent. At the beginning of Lent we all made a Lenten promise. How are we doing with that promise? If we are doing well then great keep it up. If we have failed in our Lenten promise it is time to get back up and start over.
How are we doing this Lent? Have we gone to confession? If not we should go in order to prepare to receive Jesus this Easter! Are we afraid of the confessional? Do not be. The priest can't tell anyone anything that he hears in the confessional and he probably won't remember anyway. Has it been a long time since we've been to confession? It doesn't matter how long it has been since our last confession. It could be 10 years, 20 years, 50 years or 100 year since your last confession. Do not be afraid for in the confessional you will find a merciful Jesus waiting for you. Remember that it is Jesus through the priest in the Sacrament of Penance (also known as Confession or Reconciliation) who takes away our sins!
God Bless You!
Ash Wednesday 2018
Today we are once again beginning the holy season of Lent. Ash Wednesday is once again upon us. Interestingly this year it is also Valentine's Day in the United States of America. I wonder which will win tonight, the restaurants or the Church. For us Catholics today is both a day of fasting (one full meal for the day) and abstinence (no eating of meat today.) Today a wonderful thing happens. Catholic churches are filled. For those who do not come regularly today is a day not to come and see but to come and stay! The ashes remind us of what Pope Francis said, the Church is a hospital for sinners and not a museum of saints. Confession is available for whoever wishes to be forgiven and come back to the fold. As we walk around with the crosses on our forehead we remind all about God. God is love and he loves you very much.
For further reading on Ash Wednesday, Lent, Fasting and Abstinence please see: www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/lent/questions-and-answers-about-lent.cfm
Be prepared! Death comes like a thief in the night.
Lately, in my life many people have been dying. My mom died in March of 2017, my friend Eugene passed away in August of 2017, somewhere in between my aunt died. Another aunt died just a few days ago. I also have two friends, recently one lost his grandmother and the other his father. We have also had many funerals at our parish. Upon reflecting on all of this I thought that death comes like a thief in the night. Some people die suddenly and unexpectedly while others die after a long illness. Therefore we must be ready at all times to see Our Lord. We must change our ways, go often to the sacrament of reconciliation. I suggest going once a month. The church requires that we all go at least once a year however why not go more often? In the sacrament of reconciliation not only do we have our sins forgiven by Jesus through the priest but we also receive sanctifying grace. Sanctifying grace is the grace that helps us to become saints. We all want to be saints because a saint is a person in heaven. If there is a sin that we are attached to we must let it go and go to confession. We ought to avoid people, places and things that lead us to sin. God wants us to be with Him in heaven. We must be ready at all times to meet Our Lord for our particular or final judgment. God has given us the sacraments so that we can go to heaven. We should also pray and read sacred scripture. God is love and He loves you very much.
168 1
God loves you! He created the world, He created us, He is all powerful, the only God and He is good. He gives us 168 hours in a week and only asks us for one hour back. God loves us so much he waits for us at Mass every Sunday (remember that Sunday Masses begin Saturdays at any Mass which begins at 4pm.) The bread at Mass literally changes into the Body of Christ. The wine at Mass literally becomes the Blood of Christ. You see God loves us so much that he bothers to come to Mass to unite Himself with us (if we are properly disposed to receiving Him.) The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is awesome. That one hour can transform our lives for ever. I hope to see you in heaven.
How to find out informaiton from your family in Puerto Rico
As you well know Hurricane Maria has devastated Puerto Rico. According to certain news outlets including NBC: The information is as follows according to NBC:
Puerto Rico's government has asked people who have not been able to determine the status of friends and family who live in the island to reach out to its staffers.
The territory's Federal Affairs Administration (PRFAA) on Thursday provided a phone number and an email address.
Phone: 202-800-3133 (This line was full as of Friday morning. NBC has reached out to the government of Puerto Rico to ask when it will be re-opened.)
Email: maria1@prfaa.pr.gov
For those looking to make donations or volunteer, contact:
Phone: 202-800-3134
Email: maria2@prfaa.pr.gov
Those communicating with the agency are urged to provide contact information and as many details about the person whom is sought as possible, including name, age and possible locations.
The PRFAA is experiencing a high email volume, so officials have urged people not to send more than one email until the status of their loved one is updated.
USA.gov is also encouraging friends and family seeking information to call Puerto Rico's WIPR local radio station at 787-777-0940. Concerned loved ones can also used the American Red Cross' Safe and Well registry.
Source: How to Contact, Determine Status of Loved Ones in Puerto Rico - NBC 6 South Florida http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/How-to-contact-determine-status-of-loved-ones-in-Puerto-Rico-446633433.html#ixzz4tQgrstU8
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Source: How to Contact, Determine Status of Loved Ones in Puerto Rico - NBC 6 South Florida http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/How-to-contact-determine-status-of-loved-ones-in-Puerto-Rico-446633433.html#ixzz4tQgYIIBd
Follow us: @nbcmiami on Twitter | NBCMiami on Facebook
Happy New Year
I hope 2017 is an awesome year for you! I wanted to share some insights with you. As priests we are able to witness the profound love Jesus has for us. Recently I went on two sick calls and I was amazed. Here is Jesus, body, blood, soul and divinity in my pyx. He is with me as I walk around Washington Heights. He is with me visiting the sick. Jesus' love is amazing. What humility, the only true God, King of the Universe in a pyx traveling with me to visit the sick. What love, what love!
FREE Rosaries (no rosaries are left sorry)
I rebranded the store on this website with a new logo and url. [expired domain name ]is the new store of my website. I give some stuff away on the site. October s the month of the Rosary! I'm giving away free Rosaries this month. You can pick them up here in New York if you live in New York. Simply click on the image below and checkout to get your free rosaries. Please note I only have the blue rosaries. If you live outside of New York just pay shipping and I'll ship them to you.
(All Rosaries have been given away.)
The Church Is Young!
This past July and August I went to my first World Youth Day in Poland! It was great to see that the Church is young. For the first time in my life their were so many priests hearing confessions that I was told I had to wait for one of them to leave before I could hear confessions. The best times for me at World Youth Day were the same as anywhere else, celebrating Mass and spending time in front of our Eucharistic Lord. I am very happy that the next World Youth Day will be in Panama. I hope to start preparing for that World Youth Day soon. I hope to see you there!
What is Advent?
As I was preparing to explain the Season of Advent to our Youth Group I found the video above from Concordia Publications. It is a good brief description of advent. During this season I recommend that we all make a good confession so that we can better receive Jesus this Christmas. I plan to go in the Third week of Advent.
The video by De La Salle below is also good.
