“Remember me, Lord, you who are at the center, you who are in your kingdom”

Today is the closing of the Year of Faith, a time given to us to foster a renewal of faith, but not in the sense of a one-time renewal and they we go back to life as before. Instead, our faith should be ever new, ever fresh and vibrant, in a constant state of turning toward the Lord, who makes all things new, and growing closer to him. Each of us are a work in progress and will be until our pilgrim journey on earth ends. So while the Year of Faith technically closes today, the spirit of this time should continue on as a life of faith remembering that the Lord is at the center of all creation and, hence, should be at the center of our lives, just as we also ask that the Lord remember us, we who are poor sinners, and that He, the King, help us and accompany us as we journey toward His heavenly kingdom.



Homily of Pope Francis
Closing of the Year of Faith
November 24, 2013

Today’s solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, the crowning of the liturgical year, also marks the conclusion of the Year of Faith opened by Pope Benedict XVI, to whom our thoughts now turn with affection and gratitude for this gift which he has given us. By this providential initiative, he gave us an opportunity to rediscover the beauty of the journey of faith begun on the day of our Baptism, which made us children of God and brothers and sisters in the Church. A journey which has as its ultimate end our full encounter with God, and throughout which the Holy Spirit purifies us, lifts us up and sanctifies us, so that we may enter into the happiness for which our hearts long. . . .

The Scripture readings proclaimed to us have as their common theme the centrality of Christ. Christ is at the center, Christ is the center. Christ is the center of creation, Christ is the center of his people and Christ is the center of history. . .

[Thus,] the attitude demanded of us as true believers is that of recognizing and accepting in our lives the centrality of Jesus Christ, in our thoughts, in our words and in our works. And so our thoughts will be Christian thoughts, thoughts of Christ. Our works will be Christian works, works of Christ; and our words will be Christian words, words of Christ. But when this center is lost, when it is replaced by something else, only harm can result for everything around us and for ourselves.

Traditions and history behind the conclave

Photo credit: http://vaticanvisitor.wordpress.com 

Anytime a conclave takes place, the entire world it seems is focused on Vatican City and the small chimney above the Sistine Chapel where the cardinals are gathered in complete secrecy discerning the will of the Holy Spirit and electing our next Holy Father.

The Catholic Church is awash in tradition and a conclave is certainly no exception. The handwritten ballots from each cardinal are burned in a special furnace after each vote - when a new pope is chosen, white smoke emerges from the chimney and when there is no decision, black smoke appears.  The tradition of letting the world know what is happening inside the conclave with smoke signals is a relatively new one in Church history.  A brief and interesting history can be found at the St. Michael Society blog here: http://stmichaelsociety.com/2013/03/12/the-traditions-and-history-behind-the-white-smoke-over-the-vatican/.

And what about the actual politicking, so to speak, of choosing a new pope. Do the cardinals have heated debates inside the conclave? Not really. The atmosphere is truly one of prayer and contemplation as the cardinals open their hearts and mind to the will of the Holy Spirit. After the first ballot is taken and the results come in, the cardinals can get a feel for which candidates have the higher vote totals and proceed from there. However, a certain amount of campaigning can take place during the dinners and lunches during breaks in the conclave. This article from John Thavis, a Catholic journalist, answers some of these questions in more detail: http://www.johnthavis.com/conclave-day-1-praying-and-politicking

And lastly, we need to pray for the cardinals as they choose our next Holy Father. It is an enormous responsibility. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York who is experiencing his very first conclave, wrote early this morning on his blog asking for prayers: “…ask the Lord to send His grace and His mercy upon His Holy Church, and upon us cardinals who have the frightening task of electing a new Bishop of Rome!”

Come Holy Spirit and watch for the white smoke!

Sherry Weddell on Forming Intentional Disciples

Sherry Weddell, co-founder of the Catherine of Siena Institute and author of the book Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Know and Follow Jesus spoke at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church last Friday and Saturday about the current state of affairs in the Church in the United States. The talks drew large crowds of people, many from other parishes.

Photo courtesy of Jennifer Reed

Ms. Weddell, who gave her talks here on the eve of World Mission Sunday, has been giving similar presentations to parishes and dioceses all over the country, making it her mission to help people to understand their mission of being a fruitful witness of Jesus Christ. In her talks at Blessed Sacrament, she took as her starting point various survey results and statistics (which confirmed what many have suspected all along) showing a disappointing level of knowledge of the faith and involvement in the Church, but more importantly, a failure of so many to understand that our faith is not about simply knowing some religious facts or adopting certain moral and ethical guidelines or about following a bunch of rules.

These survey results demonstrate that, for various reasons, so many people fail to grasp that our Catholic faith is actually primarily about relationship -- having an encounter with our Lord Jesus Christ and establishing and fostering a joyous personal relationship with Him. Our faith must become a living and dynamic lived faith, a faith that reflects that relationship of love that we are called to have with our Lord, and not merely a begrudging or passive faith, much less a joyless or even an antagonistic one.

Accordingly, as Ms. Weddell implored, there is a need for us to become "intentional disciples" of Jesus, not merely for ourselves, but so that we might be better able to spread the light of His love and truth to others. Perhaps this need is most pressing with respect to our brothers and sisters in Christ who have drifted or fallen away or ran away from the Church or those still in the Church but who are at risk of leaving now in favor of something else, either Protestant congregations, secular worldly concerns, or outright agnosticism or atheism.

The summary for Ms. Weddell's recent book describes the situation this way:

How can we transmit a living, personal Catholic faith to future generations? By coming to know Jesus Christ, and following him as his disciples.

These are times of immense challenge and immense opportunity for the Catholic Church.

Consider these statistics for the United States.

•Only 30 percent of Americans who were raised Catholic are still practicing.
•Fully 10 percent of all adults in America are ex-Catholics.
•The number of marriages celebrated in the Church decreased dramatically, by nearly 60 percent, between 1972 and 2010.
•Only 60 percent of Catholics believe in a personal God.

If the Church is to reverse these trends, the evangelizers must first be evangelized -- in other words, Catholics-in-the-pew must make a conscious choice to know and follow Jesus before they can draw others to him. This work of discipleship lies at the heart of Forming Intentional Disciples, a book designed to help Church leaders, parish staff and all Catholics transform parish life from within. Drawing upon her fifteen years of experience with the Catherine of Siena Institute, Sherry Weddell leads readers through steps that will help Catholics enter more deeply into a relationship with God and the river of apostolic creativity, charisms, and vocation that flow from that relationship for the sake of the Church and the world.

Learn about the five thresholds of postmodern conversion, how to open a conversation about faith and belief, how to ask thought-provoking questions and establish an atmosphere of trust, when to tell the Great Story of Jesus, how to help someone respond to God's call to intentional discipleship, and much more.

And be prepared for conversion because when life at the parish level changes, the life of the whole Church will change.

Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Know and Follow Jesus is available for purchase at the Catherine of Siena Institute website (where proceeds will go toward helping the Institute's mission of equipping parishes for the evangelization and formation of lay Catholics for the sake of their mission in the world) or at other places where books are sold. The website also includes the Intentional Disciples Blog, where Ms. Weddell posts and continues the discussion she began in her book and speaking tour.
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See also "Called to radiate the Word of truth," Message of Pope Benedict for World Mission Day 2012.

Easter Sunday - Christ the Lord is Risen Today! Alleluia!

Today on Easter Sunday, throngs of parishioners gathered in Blessed Sacrament Church to celebrate Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead.

In his homily, Father Anthony Killian preached to an overflowing church about the significance of Easter – the opportunity to begin a clean slate, the chance to strengthen one’s faith through daily prayer and regular Mass attendance and the gift of eternal life after death.

The psalm from today’s Easter Sunday Mass proclaims, “This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad!” It is truly a day to rejoice and be glad about the many wonderful works that God has done for his people through Christ. Rejoice and be glad!

I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD.
— Psalm 118:17

Happy Easter to you and yours!

Holy Saturday - Blessing of the Easter Food

     In keeping with a Catholic custom traditional in many Eastern European countries, the blessing of the Easter food was held in the daily chapel at 2:00 p.m. at Blessed Sacrament. Beautifully decorated baskets brought to the church by single people, couples or families were placed in front of the altar. The baskets held various Easter foods, such as eggs or bread, or even items to be used on the Easter table like a candle or flowers. After the blessing by Father Dyer, families took their basket home to enjoy for their Easter meal on Sunday.

Good Friday - "Behold the Wood of the Cross..."

  

       At the 3:00 p.m. liturgy at Blessed Sacrament on Good Friday, the church was filled and the Passion from the Gospel of John was read.  Father Rich Dyer said in his homily that it is from the cross that all of the sacraments come forth.  While there is a certain sadness on Good Friday, there is also joy because it was through the cross that Jesus was victorious and triumphed over sin and death.  Father Dyer noted, “His whole purpose was to save every one of us."

Following the homily was the ancient practice of the Veneration of the Cross as people come forward one by one to kiss the crucifix in a humble act of honoring the Lord's cross.  May we always be thankful for the gift of Christ’s Passion and death on Good Friday.

  "Behold the wood of the cross on which hung the Savior of the World.  Come, let us worship."

"Christ is born for us! Come, let us adore Him!"

"Today, our Savior is born; let us rejoice.  Sadness should have no place on the birthday of life.  The fear of death has been swallowed up; life brings us joy with the promise of eternal happiness....Christian, remember your dignity, and now that you share in God's own nature, do not return by sin to your former base condition.  Bear in mind who is your head and of whose body you are a member.  Do not forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of God's kingdom." -- Pope St. Leo the Great

Pope's Message for Christmas



"Prepare the Way of the Lord!"

On this second Sunday of Advent, we once again meet St. John the Baptist, the last of the prophets, who, challenges the people of Israel to repent and to prepare for the coming of the long-expected Messiah.  It is an immediate invitation that causes many to escape to the wilderness to meet St. John, to be washed in the waters of the Jordan, and to confess our sins.  We, too, await the Christ, not just as we commerate His birth, but as we wait to meet Him again at the end of our days. 

As Pope Benedict writes,

And it is today, in the present, that we decide our future destiny. It is with our concrete everyday behavior in this life that we determine our eternal fate. At the end of our days on earth, at the moment of death, we will be evaluated on the basis of our likeness or otherwise to the Baby Who is about to be born in the poor grotto of Bethlehem, because He is the measure God has given humanity.  Through the Gospel, John the Baptist continues to speak down the centuries to each generation. His hard clear words bring health to us, the men and women of this day in which even the experience and perception of Christmas often, unfortunately, reflects materialist attitudes. The 'voice' of the great prophet asks us to prepare the way for the coming Lord in the deserts of today, internal and external deserts, thirsting for the water of life which is Christ.

This Advent, consider one way in which you can better prepare to meet Christ.  Perhaps you have not sought Him in the sacrament of Reconciliation for months or years.  Emulate the people of Judea and run to meet Him in the person of our priests in the confessional.  Perhaps you might find time to meet Him more frequently in the Eucharist--come to daily Mass.  Or perhaps you might renew your intentions to meet Him in our brothers and sisters who are in need of help. Hasten to meet Him today!

Links for the Second Sunday of Advent:

1. Blessed Sacrament Confession Schedule; Confessions are also heard M-F after the 6:30AM Mass
2. Find Confession Times at other Parishes in Arlington
3. Information on the Archdiocese of Washington's Come Home for Christmas Program
4. Holy Father's Angelus Remarks

"Be Watchful! Be Alert!"

Jesus exhorts His disciples in today's Gospel to "Be Watchful! Be Alert!"  We, too, are exhorted to be watchful and alert as we prepare for the coming of Christ.  As we begin our journey this Advent, we are reminded, amidst shopping, cookie-baking, and holiday parties, that we are to prepare to celebrate the birth of Our Lord and to prepare for His Second Coming.  As St. Cyril of Jerusalem reminds us in a reading from today's liturgy of the hours,

We do not preach only one coming of Christ, but the second as well, much more glorious than the first.  The first coming was marked by patience; the second will bring the crown of a divine kingdom....At the first coming he was wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manager.  At his second coming he will be clothed in light as in a garment.  In the first coming he endured the cross, despising the shame; in the second coming he will be in glory, escorted by an army of angels.  We look then beyond the first coming and await the second. 

Today, our Holy Father, in his Angelus, also reminds us to "heed the message in today’s Gospel by entering prayerfully into this holy season, so that we may be ready to greet Jesus Christ, who is God with us."  As you start your Advent journey, take a moment to consider how you are preparing to meet Christ.  Renew your commitment to prayer this Advent, to corporal and spiritual works of mercy, and to living an authentically Christian life.

Resources for the First Sunday of Advent

• The History of the Advent Wreath
• Blessing of the Advent Wreath at Home

Solemnity of Christ the King and Diocesan Consecration to the Sacred Heart



The Sacred Heart of Jesus

     This Sunday, November 20 is the Solemnity of Christ the King, the last day of the liturgical year.  As the Opening Prayer for Mass says, "Almighty and merciful God, you break the power of evil and make all things new in your Son Jesus Christ, the King of the universe."

   Also on this day, Bishop Paul S. Loverde of our Diocese of Arlington consecrated our diocese to the Sacred Heart.  Writing about today’s consecration, Bishop Loverde said in his Nov. 9 column in the Arlington Catholic Herald, “At the Cathedral of Saint Thomas More at 9:30 a.m., I will consecrate our diocese to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Similarly, each parish will be led in a consecration on that same weekend at each of the Masses.  As part of this consecration, parishioners will be provided with an image of the Sacred Heart to enthrone in their homes, with a place for families and individuals to sign their names in recognition of their own consecration to the Sacred Heart." 

    The Bishop explained how this consecration can help us grow in faith as we engage in the new evangelization, “I am concerned that our hearts are increasingly prone to distraction, anxiety, fear and sin.  Therefore, our need for the Heart of Christ is all the more urgent.  Devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Divine Mercy have greatly helped me in my own life, and I cannot help but hope that others will find them worthy aides to faith.  We can’t share what we don’t have.  If we are not daily cultivating our gaze on the Heart of Christ, then we are not being all that we are called to be.  I hope Fountain of Life, Fire of Love will play a part in spurring men and women of faith to a deeper love of Jesus, and a deeper desire to share His love with others.  This is at the heart of the new evangelization.”    

   The Bishop's column, his pastoral letter on the Sacred Heart of Jesus "Fountain of Life, Fire of Love"  and many resources about the Sacred Heart are available on a new page on the diocesan website about of the Heart of Christ.



 

An Invitation to Adoration….

By Father Anthony J. Killian

Adoration at the main altar, St. Peter's Basilica.  

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At all Catholic parishes, but especially ours which is named Blessed Sacrament, the Eucharist is to be the center of parish life. Everything we do as the Church, as “the assembly which is called out” by God, must have as its source the Eucharist – which is Christ present with his people. Of course, we Catholics act on our faith in Jesus Christ present in the Eucharist when we go to Mass each Sunday.

           

Yet Jesus remains, imprisoned we could say, in the tabernacle of the church. The lighted lamp is the sign of Christ’s abiding presence in the tabernacle. He is there above all so that the Blessed Sacrament can be brought to the sick. Another reason why the Sacrament is reserved is for the adoration of the faithful. Adoration is an important aspect of our spiritual life.

Why Adoration?

To adore is to gaze lovingly.  Parents do so with their children.  Spouses do so with each other.  Blessed John Paul II, in his encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia, said “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.”(Ecclesia de Eucharistia, No. 1.)  We gaze at the Lord in order to better understand what love truly is because God is Love and therefore the source of our love.  Pondering the words of Blessed John Paul it becomes clear that adoration of the Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament is not only a personal act, but an ecclesial one.  The members of the Mystical Body, as it were, unite mystically with their Head who in turn fills them with spiritual blessings.

We should have a natural desire to visit the Lord often in the Blessed Sacrament.  And our motivation is love.  Our love is nothing other than a desire for a deeper communion with God in Christ.  In his presence, we should thank him for the blessings God has given to us: our family, our friends, our talents, and above all our Catholic faith. From our hearts, we should speak honestly to the Lord about our needs, and ask him to help us to grow to be better disciples. Perhaps there is a particular fault or sin that one wants to root out of his life; or someone may be dealing with a particularly challenging situation, a particularly difficult person, or a decision that needs to be made. All of these can be topics of conversation with the Lord. We speak; but we also need to be quiet and listen to the Lord as he prompts us from within the quiet of our hearts. This is nothing other than friendship, real friendship, with the Lord!

The time spent in adoration allows God to shape us more and more into the image of his Son.  The graces Christ gives us make us into better lovers both of God and our brothers and sisters. Our devotion to the Holy Mass increases. 

Adoration and the Saints

Many saints have been devoted to adoring the Lord in the Eucharist.  One thinks especially of St. John Neumann who was the first to organize the Forty Hours devotion throughout a diocese.  St. Katherine Drexel founded a religious community of sisters named for the Blessed Sacrament.  St. Thomas Aquinas wrote the liturgy for Corpus Christi as well as the great Eucharistic hymns Pange Lingua and Adoro te Devote. An important influence for St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s conversion to Catholicism was the Eucharistic devotion of Catholics in her day.

Make an Appointment with Christ

Blessed Sacrament Church is open Monday through Friday from 5:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Thus, there is plenty of opportunity for anyone to visit the Blessed Sacrament.  There is Exposition every Friday after the 8:30 a.m. Mass with Benediction times varying according to the liturgical season.  We also have Exposition on the first Sunday of each month after the 2:00 p.m. Mass with Benediction beginning at 3:50 p.m.
 

Making adoration of the Blessed Sacrament a regular part of our devotional life can change our lives! Let us not pass up the opportunity to strengthen our friendship with the Lord and with one another by making visits to Christ in the tabernacle. What a joy to see spouses, parents and children, and laity praying in the Blessed Sacrament chapel! It is before the tabernacle or the monstrance that we find the answers to the challenges and or difficulties of life as well as the peace for which our hearts long. So, say yes to this invitation and let us become even more strongly and actively a Eucharistic parish – the parish of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

The author, Fr. Anthony Killian, is a Parochial Vicar at Blessed Sacrament Parish