20th November, 2024
BLESSED MIGUEL PRO, AMERICAN MARTYR
Many Americans are unaware of a series of violent religious conflicts that occurred in the 1920s in Mexico. It is easy to picture prosecution of the Catholic faith as an 'Old World' or 'Ancient' occurance the image on our heads is usually lions in the amphitheatre and the United States was still recovering after the Great War. Anticlerical reforms had gradually put Catholic, Clergy and religious especially, in an adverse position towards the government and slowly the Church was crowded out of public life. Gradually, churches were shut and religious communities dissolved. Clergy were prevented from wearing religious dress, barred from voting and not allowed to speak publicly.
25th November, 2024
THANKSGIVING TO GOD
"Was no one found to return and give praise to God....? (Lk 17:18) Contemplating God's abundant gifts in a prayerful spirit of gratitude enables the human heart to truly benefit from them. The greatest gift is that of our Lord Himself in the Eucharist. The word itself comes from the Greek word for "Thanksgiving" and the experience of the faithful throughout Church history attests to the benefit of taking time after Communion to thanks the Lord for His coming. Deacon Chris Kabat who serves at the Shrine of Our Lady Guadalupe, comments on the place of this practice in his own spiritual life and the lives of all believers.
30th November, 2024
WHAT DOES THE BOOK OF REVELATION TEACHES US ABOUT THE MASS?
The Mass is the highest expression of Christian prayer. Through our focus on the liturgy over the past years, we've seen how God prepared His people for the Mass through the worship of the Old Testament, how Jesus establishd the Mass at the Last Supper, and how the early Church celebrated the Mass.
But why did God choose the Holy Mass as our highest form of worship? Because the Mass reflects the Liturgy of heaven itself. This is the focus of this month's Full of Grace Youth Journal.