Category: Christ

CATHOLIC FAITHLINK: “MASS DEDICATED TO THE HEART OF CHRIST – HOMILY OF POPE JOHN PAUL II (1984)” – VaticanVa

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Saint Pope John Paul II file photo, adapted from image at archives.gov

“‘My soul, give thanks to the Lord, all my being, Bless His Holy Name'” (Ps. 103 (102), 1).

1. With these words of today’s liturgy, dear brothers and sisters, I wish to address myself, together with all of you, to the God of Love. And I wish to do so through the mystery of the Heart of Christ.

I choose these words because they speak of our human heart – what the Psalm refers to as “all my being”. It is precisely this that we have in mind when we speak of the “heart”: our whole being, all that is within each one of us. All that forms us from within, in the depths of our being. All that makes up our entire humanity, our whole person in its spiritual and physical dimension. All that expresses itself as a unique and unrepeatable person in its “inner self” and at the same time in its “transcendence”.

The words of the Psalm – “My soul give thanks to the Lord, all my being bless his holy name” – say that our human “heart” addresses God in all the unimaginable majesty of his divinity and his holiness and, at the same time, in his wonderful “openness” to mankind: in his “condescension”.

In this way “heart” meets “Heart”; “heart” speaks to the “Heart”. …”

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CATHOLIC FAITHLINK: “Encyclical Letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia” – Saint John Paul II/ VaticanVa 2003

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Saint Pope John Paul II file photo, adapted from image at archives.gov

“The Church draws her life from the Eucharist. This truth does not simply express a daily experience of faith, but recapitulates the heart of the mystery of the Church. In a variety of ways she joyfully experiences the constant fulfilment of the promise: “Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Mt 28:20), but in the Holy Eucharist, through the changing of bread and wine into the body and blood of the Lord, she rejoices in this presence with unique intensity. Ever since Pentecost, when the Church, the People of the New Covenant, began her pilgrim journey towards her heavenly homeland, the Divine Sacrament has continued to mark the passing of her days, filling them with confident hope.

The Second Vatican Council rightly proclaimed that the Eucharistic sacrifice is “the source and summit of the Christian life”.1 “For the most holy Eucharist contains the Church’s entire spiritual wealth: Christ himself, our passover and living bread. Through his own flesh, now made living and life-giving by the Holy Spirit, he offers life to men”.2 Consequently the gaze of the Church is constantly turned to her Lord, present in the Sacrament of the Altar, in which she discovers the full manifestation of his boundless love. …”

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CATHOLIC FAITHLINK: “Foundations of the Faith Part 4: The Central Mystery of Our Faith: Christians Worship the Holy Trinity, One God in Three Persons — Father, Son and Holy Spirit” – OSV Newsweekly/ David Werning

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Holy Trinity and Scenes From Scripture

“… The Athanasian Creed, written around the fourth or fifth century, puts it this way: ‘We worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the persons nor dividing the substance.’ …”

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CATHOLIC FAITHLINK: “One and One and One Are One – A Homily for Trinity Sunday”- Archdiocese of Washington/ Msgr. Charles Pope

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Holy Trinity and Scenes From Scripture

“… On the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity we do well to remember that we are pondering a mystery that cannot fit in our minds. A mystery, though, is not something wholly unknown. In the Christian tradition, the word “mystery” refers to (among other things) something that is partially revealed, something much more of which remains hidden. As we ponder the Trinity, consider that although there are some things we can know by revelation, much more is beyond our understanding. Let’s ponder the Trinity by exploring it, seeing how it is exhibited in Scripture, and observing how we, who are made in God’s image, experience it. …”

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CATHOLIC FAITHLINK: “IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT” – Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992)/ VaticanVa

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Holy Trinity and Scenes From Scripture

“… The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the “hierarchy of the truths of faith”.56 The whole history of salvation is identical with the history of the way and the means by which the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, reveals himself to men “and reconciles and unites with himself those who turn away from sin”…. ”

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CATHOLIC FAITHLINK: “[Christ the Good Shepherd] – Homily on the Gospels” – Saint Gregory the Great, Pope/ VaticanVa/ Divine Office

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View of St. Peter's Basilica at Vatican from River

“… Ask yourselves whether you belong to His Flock, whether you know Him, whether the light of His Truth shines in your minds. I assure you that it is not by faith that you will come to know Him, but by love; not by mere conviction, but by action. John the Evangelist is my authority for this statement. He tells us that anyone who claims to know #God without keeping His #Commandments is a liar. … our Lord’s sheep will finally reach, their grazing ground where all who follow Him in simplicity of heart will feed on the green pastures of eternity. … the spiritual joys of Heaven. There the elect look upon the Face of God with unclouded vision and feast at the Banquet of Life for ever more. Beloved brothers, let us set out for these pastures where we shall keep joyful festival with so many of our fellow citizens. May the thought of their happiness urge us on! Let us stir up our hearts, rekindle our faith, and long eagerly for what heaven has in store for us. To love thus is to be already on our way. …”

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CATHOLIC FAITHLINK: Homily, 4th Sunday of Easter 2014 – Fr. Christopher Wyvill/ St. Anselm’s Abbey

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Jesus the Good Shepherd, adapted from antique Currier & Ives image at loc.gov

“… What about us? Hopefully we do understand what #Jesus is trying to tell us. We heard at the end of the first reading from St. Peter’s letter: “… you had gone astray like sheep, but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. Shepherding connotes actions like guarding, mentoring, guiding, providing for and protecting those in one’s care. We can see that richness in the metaphors of psalm 23, where the shepherd provides water and green pasture for his flock, is a guide who knows and leads them safely even through dark valleys. Then is a host who prepares a meal for his guests and offers them hospitality for the rest of their lives.

The Son of God incarnate, Jesus of Nazareth, fulfilled all of these roles in his earthly life and continues to do so now seated in glory. He also invites each of us to follow his example of self-emptying in order to rise to that new full life he promised to give. …”

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CATHOLIC FAITHLINK: “Mass on the Move – A Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter” – Archdiocese of Washington/Msgr. Charles Pope 4.29.17

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Image of Town Associated with Historical Emmaus, adapted from image at loc.gov attributed to American Colony (Jerusalem). Photo Dept.,

“In today’s Gospel we encounter two discouraged and broken men making their way to Emmaus. The text describes them as ‘downcast.’ …. They are also moving in the wrong direction, West, away from Jerusalem, away form the resurrection. They have their backs to the Lord, rising in the East. The men cannot see or understand God’s Plan. They cannot ‘see’ that He must be alive, just as they were told. They are quite blind as to the glorious things that happened hours before. In this, they are much like us, who also struggle to see and understand that we have already won the victory. Too easily our eyes are cast downward in depression rather than upward in faith. …”

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CATHOLIC FAITHLINK: “Emmaus and Us: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Third Sunday of Easter” – St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology 4.24.17

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Christ Breaking Bread, Photograph of Painting, adapted from image at loc.gov with credit to Detroit Publishing Co.

“How does #Jesus make himself known at #Emmaus? First, He interprets ‘all the Scriptures’ as referring to Him. In today’s First Reading and Epistle, Peter also opens the Scriptures to proclaim the meaning of Christ’s death according to the Father’s ‘set plan’ — foreknown before the foundation of the world. … In every Eucharist, we reenact that Easter Sunday at Emmaus. Jesus reveals Himself to us in our journey. He speaks to our hearts in the Scriptures. Then at the table of the altar, in the person of the Priest, He breaks the bread. The Disciples begged him, ‘Stay with us.’ So He does. Though He has vanished from our sight, in the Eucharist—as at Emmaus—we know Him in the breaking of the bread.”

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CATHOLIC FAITHLINK: “PERFECT TIMING” – Presentation Ministries (Cincinnati)

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Last Supper by Duccio, adapted from image at openi.nlm.nih.gov

“… The early Church realized that Jesus’ timing of the first two Masses (Eucharists) was very significant. Led by the Spirit (Jn 16:13), they devoted themselves to the breaking of the bread, that is, the Mass (Acts 2:42). Wherever the Church has emphasized devotion to the Mass throughout its history, it has seen the love, power, and glory of God. Therefore, let us fully enter into the Sunday celebration of the Mass. May it be the center of our Sunday and of our life. Let us pray the Mass daily or as often as possible. Let us visit the Blessed Sacrament frequently. A life eucharistically centered is a life centered on the crucified and risen Christ.”

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