Catholic Tidbit: Works of Mercy!

Here's a quick Catholic Tidbit!  Remember way back when you were getting ready to be confirmed and you talked about the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy?  Are you scratching your head, trying to recall what they are?  Well here's a little reminder.

Blessings to you and yours,

Catholic Tidbit: Divine Mercy Chaplet at the Moment of Death

Did you know there is something you can do for your loved ones at the hour of their death to incite the Lord's mercy for them?  Yep, that's right!

Through her visions of Jesus, Sr. Faustina Kowlaska experienced, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy was given to our world.  It is a beautiful prayer, one that can be prayed daily, and numerous times a day.  It can be prayed for both the living and the dead.  Maybe even more importanly, it can be prayered for those who are at death's door.

In her diary, Sr. Faustina recalls Jesus' words: "My daughter, encourage souls to say  the chaplet which I have given to you. It pleases Me to grant everything they ask of Me by saying the chaplet. ... Write that when they say this chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person, not as the just Judge but as the merciful Savior" (Diary, 1541).

Jesus also promised:  "At the hour of their death, I defend as My own glory every soul that will say this chaplet; or when others say it for a dying person, the indulgence is the same" (Diary, 811).  It is important to note that one does NOT have to be in the physical presence of the dying person for this indulgence to take place.

So you see the power you have to incite mercy for your loved ones (and yourself) at the moment of death?  In fact Jesus employs us to offer our chaplets up for sinners and for the dying by saying:  "Pray as much as you can for the dying. By your entreaties [that is, insistent prayers] obtain for them trust in My mercy, because they have most need of trust, and have it the least. Be assured that the grace of eternal salvation for certain souls in their final moment depends on your prayer. You know the whole abyss of My mercy, so draw upon it for yourself and especially for poor sinners. Sooner would heaven and earth turn into nothingness than would My mercy not embrace a trusting soul" (Diary, 1777).

All quotes in this blog post are reposted from here.

Blessings to you and yours,

Catholic Tidbit: Last Rites and the Apostolic Pardon

Did you know there is a way you or a loved one can receive a remission of the temporal punishment of their sins at the time of death? What incomprehensible mercy the Lord has for us! I think this just illustrates how our God loves us infinitely and does not want to lose any of us to hell.  Let's check out this beautiful gift of mercy!

Well, like so many things in our AMAZING religion, this practice has unfortunately gone by the wayside.  In fact, some priests are not familiar with this blessing at all. So here's what you need to know:

1.  Last Rites and the Anointing of the Sick are NOT the same thing!  In fact, the Anointing of the Sick is only PART of the Last Rites sacrament.

2.  Another very important part of this sacrament is the "Apostolic Pardon" and, if given, is typically done so after absolution of one's final penance/reconciliation.  The apostolic pardon is a blessing (which can only be recieved if one is in a state of grace), that forgives the temporal punishmment due to sins but NOT the sins themselves which is why you need penance also.   The Apostolic Pardon (also known as the Apostolic Blessing or Apostolic Benediction) can be given by a priest during Last Rites at the time of death. BE SURE TO ASK FOR IT (or have a trusted family member ask for it at your bedside, some people have even put this specifically in their living wills, etc.) as not all priests know about it or maybe feel it is needed.  If you want it, ASK!!!!!

3.  Even if a priest is not available at the time of death, this gift of mercy is STILL available to the faithful, to those who "prayed regularly in some way during their lifetime"!  But you must remember to desire this pardon as death approaches.  Ask the Lord in your heart for this blessing and all the graces that come with it.

4.  Remember also that if a priest does not make it time for Last Rites, we have a few wonderful gifts at our disposal:  holy water (which washes away any venial sins), and the "perfect confession" (our personal confession to God followed by the saying of the Act of the Contrition).  Please understand that the "perfect confession" does NOT take the place of receiving the sacrament of penance but still can and should be used daily as well as when death approaches if no priest is available.

Note: We also have the Chaplet of Mercy, which I will discuss it's benefits recited at the time of death in another blog post.

What exactly does the Church say on this matter?  Well in the Handbook of Indulgences #28 it states:

 “Priests who minister the sacraments to the Christian faithful who are in a life-and-death situation should not neglect to impart to them the apostolic blessing, with its attached indulgence. But if a priest cannot be present, holy mother Church lovingly grants such persons who are rightly disposed a plenary indulgence to be obtained in articulo mortis, at the approach of death, provided they regularly prayed in some way during their lifetime. The use of a crucifix or a cross is recommended in obtaining this plenary indulgence. In such a situation the three usual conditions required in order to gain a plenary indulgence are substituted for by the condition ‘provided they regularly prayed in some way'." (Reposted from here)

Ok, so what exactly does this blessing say?  Well below is a copy of the two possible versions of this blessing a priest can say for you at the time of your death.  I made them wallet-size so you can laminate them and carry in your wallet in case of any emergency.  Print out the full page of copies and share with your friends and family!!!  I added my website address on each card so if you run out you can refer others to this site to get their own copy.

This is such a WONDERFUL GRACE from our Lord!  Let us share this information on our facebook pages, twitter, instagram, google+ and any other social media format you use.  Let's help to save souls today!!!!

Blessings to you and yours,

Download it here!

Catholic Tidbit: The Real POWER of Holy Water!

When I was pregnant with Little Bean I was so fearful of losing him after our previous loss the year before.  I remember praying desperately to our Blessed Mother to keep Bean safe and sound in my belly. Then one day I was having cramping in my stomach.  Oh no! Not again! I thought. But what could I do?  I ran to my bedroom and grabbed my holy water. I blessed my stomach and laid down on the bed praying all the while.  After a half hour or so, the cramping stopped and I felt in that moment the real power of holy water! 

How had I forgotten the power of holy water? Is it because we have so much access to it?  Is it simply because I have forgotten what it means when I use holy water?

We have holy water poured over our heads during baptism.  We bless ourselves every time we go in and out of church.  Last week during the Easter mass the priest spent several minutes walking around the church, sprinkling holy water on all present.  We waited diligently for our turn to be blessed.  But why?  Well it's no coincidence this happens during the mass right after we renew our baptismal vows.

Holy water is a way of our conversion (a.k.a. what other religions call "being born again").  It's the way we "wash" ourselves clean from original sin AND it's one way we continue to wash ourselves clean of our venial sins throughout our lifetime.  

Wait. What?

Oh yes!  Boy have I forgotten this little Catholic tidbit.  Every time we bless ourselves we are renewing our baptismal vows, we are undergoing a conversion and we are washing ourselves of our venial sins.  AMAZING! ASTOUNDING! ASTONISHING! 

So let this be ever present on our minds the next time we dip our fingers into the holy water basin and being "In the name of the Father...".

Blessings to You and Yours,

Catholic Tidbit: Divine Mercy Chaplet and Novena

One of my favorite novenas to pray is the Divine Mercy Novena.  It holds a special place in my heart as it was a novena I was brought up praying and one that my husband and I prayed together the week before our wedding.  So it has always held a very dear place in my heart.  Have you heard of the Divine Mercy Chaplet and Novena?  Have you noticed that the Sunday after Easter is now celebrated as Divine Mercy Sunday?  Or are you asking yourself "what's all this Divine Mercy business about"?

You can find a short historic review of it's origin here but very quickly, Sr. Faustina was visited by Jesus Himself who revealed that He wanted the world to pray the Chaplet of Mercy and celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday with adoration of a picture of the Divine Mercy (which is shown here).  He promised that anyone who prays the novena of the Divine Mercy,which begins on Good Friday and continues for 9 days until the Sunday after Easter, He will grant "every possible grace" to them.

In addition to the above promises for saying the Novena, the Divine Mercy Chaplet (which can be said at any time of year, even daily) has other promises as well:

• It promises a peaceful death when said in the presence of the dying.
• It is also retroactive in a sense as you can pray for persons already diseased who may be in purgatory and the Lord will shower His graces and mercy upon them. 
• When praying the Divine Mercy Novena, along with confession and receiving the Eucharist on Divine Mercy Sunday (1st Sunday after Easter) you can receive a plenary indulgence (check out this link for a full explanation of the conditions required to receive the indulgence)!

What is a plenary indulgence you say?  Well very basically it's a way, given through the grace of God for you to receive a remission of the punishment of your sins.  You can find out more about temporary and plenary indulgences here.  

There are other promises as well that I cannot recall at this moment but I highly recommend you read Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul which will provide for you a beautiful account of Sr. Faustina's visions and how this novena came about.

Ok so this was just the basics and I hope you will join me this year, starting on Good Friday, in saying the Divine Mercy Novena for the spread of grace, mercy, and peace throughout the world!

Blessings to You and Yours,

Catholic Tidbit: Remembering Forgotten Souls

Other than knowing this is "a state of purification", purgatory is something I feel I know or understand very little about.  However I did learn a few new tidbits about it recently that I'd like to share.

I was listening to a tv show one day about purgatory and two things said there stuck with me.  One, once there we cannot pray ourselves OUT of purgatory.  Meaning our time on earth is the only time we have to make choices and decisions, receive indulgences, and pray for ourselves and others that will directly affect our time in purgatory (for the better or worse). Two, there are so many souls in purgatory and many of which are forgotten or abandoned, as they are not prayed for because many do not believe in purgatory.  Then it hit me, “How LONG must it take to get out of purgatory once you are there if you have NO ONE praying for you?!”.  Did you also know that we receive special graces when we help pray for those in purgatory?  Although, souls in purgatory cannot pray for themselves they can and will pray for us out of gratitude for our prayers for them.  If we pray for someone that is no longer in purgatory but has entered the kingdom of God we also receive a special grace!  AMAZING, right?!  For these reasons we, crazy Catholics, have an ENTIRE MONTH where we celebrate and remember those souls who have passed from this world.  November is the time to celebrate the saints and remember the souls.

I know, I know, you are saying...."But Maria, it's March so, what does this have to do with anything?".  Well I think, especially because it isn't November, the time when most Catholics are at least thinking of their dearly departed, it's a GREAT time to remember that we need to keep all souls in purgatory in our daily prayers.

 

So let us pray right now for all those souls who are forgotten or abandoned waiting in purgatory, whose souls are burning with the desire to see the face of the Lord.  Let us pray that ALL souls in purgatory, especially these forgotten and abandoned souls, be reunited with our Lord in heaven to sit among the angels and saints and to praise and glorify our Lord forever and ever. Let us say the prayer revealed to St. Gertrude the Great by the Lord who promised that 1000 souls would be released from purgatory every time the prayer below is said sincerely:

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.

Thank you for praying with me.  If you haven't chosen something to do for Lent to prepare yourself for the Easter season, may I suggest adding this simple prayer to your list?  What a quick and easy way to save 1000 souls each time you pray!

Also if you have any specific prayer requests feel free to head on over to our Prayer Requests page at the top of this blog on add your request there.  Share as little or as much information as you'd like and we will add your intentions to our prayer lists!

Blessings to You and Yours,

Catholic Tidbit: A Mama Saint!

As the US Catholic Church ramps up for the World Meeting of Families, Salt and Light this coming September, I stumbled across this beautiful video of a Saint Gianna Bretta Molla.  Have you heard of her?  She was just a mama like you and me.  Check out this beautiful video, courtesy of the world meeting website!  

What an inspiration!  Maybe we mamas can become saints!  What do you think?

Blessings to You and Yours,