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Volume 2004 Issue Four
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Priests for Life Canada Volume 2004 Issue Four We can rely on our patrons Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Joseph & St. Michael |
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The Holy Eucharist and Pro-Life |
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PRIESTS
FOR LIFE, CANADA HOLDS 6th ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM in Halifax. Nova Scotia
THE GOSPEL OF LIFE Special Guest: Most Rev. Bishop Smith Bishop of Pembroke, Ontario Saturday,
October 22, 2005, Halifax, Nova Scotia |
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Pope John Paul II has proclaimed “A year of the Holy Eucharist”
from October, 2004 to October, 2005. He has once again shown us a way to grow in
true devotion to the Eucharistic Jesus, so that all who accept and receive Him
can be formed and transformed. This is especially true in terms of pro-life
formation. The Holy Eucharist is God with us, Emmanuel (Mt 1:23), the unique way
Jesus chose to stay with us and to nourish us, His brothers and sisters. He is
really present, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, in the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass, and remains with us in the Blessed Sacrament. The Holy Eucharist is the
main weapon of strength and defense for pro-life disciples. He is present as
daily food, preparing us for pro-life evangelization, enabling us to build a
culture of life and love.
Pope Pius X left us a clear message, “Devotion to the Eucharist is the noblest
of devotions, because it has God as its object”. Our work as pro-lifers is to
present the Eucharist as a sacrament of life and love: a life and love that is
crucified; a life and love that unites; a life and love that adores; a life and
love that contemplates; a life and love that prays; a life and love that
satisfies; a life and love that shares; a life and love that forgives; a life
and love that heals.
God has truly given us all when He gave us the Eucharist. St. Augustine
explains: “Although God is omnipotent, He is unable to give more; though
supremely wise, He knows not how to give more; though vastly rich, He has not
more to give” (Jesus, Our Eucharistic Love, p. 4). Whereas St. Bernard reminds
us the Eucharist is love that surpasses all love in Heaven and on earth; St.
Thomas emphasizes that the Eucharist signifies and produces love; St. Peter
Eymard tells us that the Eucharist is the supreme proof of the love of Jesus.
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Pope John Paul II challenges young people in his message for World Youth Day
2005: “Make courageous choices...come and worship Christ. He is the rock on
which to build your future and a world of greater justice and solidarity” (Aug.
26, 2004).
To find the riches of the Eucharist involves exercising the mind, the heart and
the will. We must exercise our minds by reflecting, praying, and pondering on
the mystery of love before the Blessed Sacrament, the gift of God Himself. We
must exercise our hearts with acts of mercy imitating the Immaculate Heart of
Mary so that we will long for unity with the Sacred Heart of Jesus. We must
exercise our wills through acts of self sacrifice so as to become humble and
self-effacing, imitating Christ’s Incarnation.
The value of the Holy Eucharist, the value of Holy Mass, is so great that even
martyrdom pales in comparison. The Cure of Ars, St. John Vianney, helps us to
understand by pointing out the infinite value of the Mass: “Martyrdom is
nothing, in comparison with the Mass, because martyrdom is a sacrifice of man to
God, whereas the Mass is the sacrifice of God for man” (Ibid, p. 18). St. Pio of
Pietrelcina states that when one understands the unlimited value of the Mass,
great effort will be made to attend and participate as often as possible. “If
men were to understand the value of the Holy Mass, such crowds would come to
church that police would be needed to keep order at every Mass” (Ibid. p. 19).
As pro-life disciples, let us make the Holy Eucharist a priority in our lives.
There is no better way of formation than daily Mass and daily reception of
Communion. In this way we will be prepared for whatever we have to do whenever
we are called upon to defend and protect life and build a civilization of love.
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Footnote: Jesus our Eucharistic Love, Fr. Stefano M. Manelli, FI, pub. by
Immaculate Mediatrix, New Bedford, MA, 1996, pp. 147.
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 Our
Lady of Guadalupe
Patroness
of the Americas
Would you like to
learn more about Our Lady of Guadalupe and why she is the patroness of
life?
click here.
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HOLY FATHER, POPE JOHN PAUL II INTRODUCES A SPECIAL PLENARY INDULGENCE TO MARK THE YEAR OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST
According to a decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary (a Tribunal of the Roman Curia, Vatican), during the Year of the Eucharist a plenary indulgence may be gained by participating in acts of worship and veneration of the Most Holy Sacrament, as well as by praying vespers and compline of the Divine Office before the tabernacle. The decree, dated Dec. 25th and published by the Vatican press office, is signed by Cardinal James Francis Stafford, Major Penitentiary, and Father John Francis Girotti, Regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary. The decree reminds the faithful that to obtain a plenary indulgence, it is necessary to observe the “usual conditions”: “sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion, and prayer in keeping with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff, with the soul completely removed from attachment to any form of sin”. In the Year of the Eucharist, which
began October 2004 and will end October 2005, when the world Synod of
Bishops will be held on the Eucharist -- the plenary indulgence may be
obtained in two ways:
2. In the second place, it is granted “to the
clergy, to members of institutes of consecrated life and societies of
apostolic life, and to other faithful who are by law obliged to recite the
Liturgy of the Hours, as well as to those who customarily recite the
Divine Office out of pure devotion, each and every time they recite -- at
the end of the day, in company or private -- vespers and night prayers
before the Lord present in the tabernacle”.
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EUCHARISTIC GEMS |
THE REAL PRESENCE OF JESUS CHRIST
by Fr. Jim Whalen, Priests for Life Canada - National Director
The
Real Presence of Jesus Christ cannot just be believed to be retained. It must be
understood. There is no alternative for Catholics. There is no option for those
involved in Catholic pro-life ministry. The single most fundamental mystery of
Christianity today is the Real Presence of Jesus Christ on earth today: His
unique, total, real, substantial, human, divine, Body and Blood Presence in the
Holy Eucharist, the Most Blessed Sacrament. The future of all human life and
family life depends largely on faith in the Real Presence. The whole meaning of
the Catholic Faith, the Catholic Church, the Mass, and Catholic apostolic work,
including pro-life evangelization, depends on the fact of the Real Presence.
When Jesus foretold and later instituted the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper, many did not believe and many left Him, including some of His own disciples. Jesus did not waste words. He explained He would nourish His followers with his own Body and Blood. “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood will have eternal life” (Jn 6:54). Some were astonished, scandalized, and rejected Jesus and His teaching. “This is intolerable language! Who can believe it?” (Jn 6:62). What Jesus said at the Last Supper: “This is My Body… This is My Blood” must be taken literally, not interpreted or re-interpreted. This is not figurative or symbolic interpretation, as some would believe. The precondition for accepting literally, Christ’s words of institution, the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, is faith in Christ’s Divinity and faith in the Church’s infallibility. Faith in the Incarnation is the condition of our faith in the Real Presence.
What we believe as Catholics is that the whole Christ, everything which belongs to Christ, everything which makes Christ, is present in the Blessed Sacrament. Christ is present in many different ways, in persons in the state of grace, in the believing community, wherever two or three are gathered in His name, in His Word, and in our Lady, etc. However, He is not present everywhere with the wholeness of His divinity and humanity. Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist is absolutely unique. Christ is present in the fullness of His being, with the wholeness of His divinity and humanity, only in the Eucharist. When transubstantiation takes place, when the substance, the ‘breadness’ and ‘wineness’ are replaced, changed into the living Jesus, true God and true man, whole God and whole man, the Real Presence is the whole Christ, while the qualities of bread and wine remain. The appearances of bread and wine acquire a new meaning… a new finality… and contain a new reality, which we call ontological (Mysterium Fidei, #146).
Eucharistic Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, by implication and proclamation, is part of our mandate as Church to make disciples of all nations and teach them all that Jesus taught. There is no truth more fundamental than the fact that God-became-man, died for our salvation, and remains with us in the world, in the Eucharist - in the Blessed Sacrament. We have an obligation to honour and follow the priorities of our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, the Vicar of Christ, as well as his directives when possible. Perpetual Adoration is very dear to his heart. He and Blessed Mother Teresa have made it abundantly clear that this is part of the solution for our Church and the whole world situation at this time. Pope John Paul II stated what he hoped would happen: “the establishment of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration in all parishes and Christian communities throughout the world” (45th International Eucharistic Conference, Seville, Spain, June 1993). Blessed Mother Teresa’s thoughts are to the point: “The time you spend with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the best time you will spend on earth”.
If we are to be apostles of the Real Presence in the world today, it means we need greater understanding of he Church’s teaching on the Holy Eucharist, how the Sacrament of the Eucharist is Sacrifice, Communion and Presence, and how the Real Presence is fundamental for the Mass and Communion. There is also a need for training and motivating priests to promote Eucharistic adoration. We are to live and to practise what we believe. Popes Pius X, Pius XII, Paul VI, and John Paul II have given us abundant teachings on Eucharistic doctrine. It is available but requires a willingness to take time to study, digest, and assimilate. Pope John Paul II writes about priesthood: “In a certain way, we derive from the Eucharist - we exist for the Eucharist. We are also, and in a special way, responsible for the Eucharist” (On the Mystery and Worship of the Eucharist). The most influential and primary teachers in religious doctrine are the parents. No one can replace them. No one can substitute for their example - their role. They are the primary channels of grace for their children. They have a responsibility not only to bring children into the world but into Eucharist, so that the Blessed Sacrament becomes part of their lives. Parents must be Eucharistic believers and lovers. We need Eucharistic priests, Eucharistic parents, and Eucharistic teachers, who allow themselves to be instruments, of Christ, to pass on God’s graces to all we encounter.
When we examine our present world situation, we realize no earthly or human
means can solve the problems. In terms of global conflict between nations, more
people have been killed in wars in the 20th century than in all wars of mankind.
Legalization of abortion is almost world-wide. Over 55 million per year have
been slaughtered through surgical abortion and 250 million through chemical
abortion. Divorce is rampant: over 50% of marriages in some countries; family
life breakdown has reached the point where school children from families where
both parents live together has become more and more rare. Contraception is
widely accepted even by Catholics. Over 80% still practice contraception
avoiding their responsibilities of child bearing and child rearing - directly
opposing Church teaching. Euthanasia has become more predominant with the
murdering of the aged with or without consent. Suicide has been legalized in
some countries. The institution of Marriage is under attack by same-sex union
advocates. Pornography has augmented to the point where parents have to
scrutinize even the daily programs on TV and the Internet. Embryonic stem cell
research uses unborn living human beings for experimentation, irregardless of
consequences to human life.
Believing Catholics are the ‘hope of the world’. Pro-life Catholics are called
to be heroic in declaring the truth, in defending the unborn, in protecting the
handicapped, in rescuing the vulnerable, the chronically ill, and the aged.
“Where sin has abounded grace has abounded even more” (Rom 5:20). Graces are
available. Jesus Christ transformed the world. He can do now, in the present,
what He did before, in the past.
Lord, we need your Real Presence. Stay with us today. Stay with your threatened children. Stay with your unborn brothers and sisters. Stay with your suffering sick. Stay with your isolated handicapped. Stay with your oppressed families. Stay with your persecuted priests. Stay with your confused parents. Stay with us in Your Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. We ask you, Lord, to work your miracles of mercy and love. Change us. Convert us. Transform us into apostles of your Real Presence. +
PRIESTS FOR LIFE CANADA
and the
OFFICE OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
ARCHDIOCESE OF HALIFAX
PRESENTS
SYMPOSIUM ON
THE HOLY EUCHARIST
AND THE GOSPEL OF LIFE
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2005 - 9 a.m.
to 5:15 p.m.
St. Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia
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Featuring:
Archbishop Terrance Prendergast
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DEFENDING
THE
“SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE”
Name of your MP, House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
The Honourable Irwin Cotler,
Minister of Justice and Attorney General
284 Wellington, Ottawa, ON K1A OH8
The Right Honourable Paul Martin, Prime Minister of Canada
House of Commons, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Email: pm@pm.gc.ca
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Priests
for
Life, Canada - members’ newsletter
Catholic Life and
Family - parishioners’ newsletter
Facts for Life -
students’ newsletter
In the past, mailings have been sent to supporters four times per year. In addition to the ‘Priests for Life, Canada’ newsletter, sample copies of both the ‘Catholic Life and Family’ and ‘The Facts for Life’ have been sent. In response to requests from members, and with the additional support provided by our new Ottawa Pro-Life Centre, mailings will now be increased to six times per year as follows:
Month Newsletters being mailed
September Priests for Life, Canada
November
Catholic Life and Family
Facts for Life
December Priests for Life, Canada
February
Catholic Life and Family
Facts for Life
March Priests for Life, Canada
June
Priests for Life, Canada
Sixth Annual Priests for Life Canada Symposium to be held in Halifax, NS: Special Guest: Bishop Richard Smith, Bishop of Pembroke. Including guest speakers: Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, S.J., Halifax; Fr. Jim Whalen, National Director of Priests for Life Canada; and Dr. Donald deMarco. Saturday, October 22, 2005, Halifax, Nova Scotia. See above for details.
Eighth National March for Life, Ottawa: “Life is the Only Choice” is the main theme of the eighth annual march on Parliament Hill, Thursday, May 12, 2005. For details, call (613) 729-0379.
Marriage Legislation: It is expected that legislation concerning the definition of Marriage will be voted on in Parliament by the end of June, 2005. It is possible that this may happen sooner. Contact your Member of Parliament now to voice your opposition.
Priests for Life Canada is not responsible for the accuracy of information contained on linked sites. These are only provided for your further interest.
Take
part in praying the International Perpetual Rosary for Life
