Previous Study Topics
Study Topic for April - 2023 Divine Mercy
The Divine Mercy message comes to us from Jesus himself. It is a great grace given to all of us sinners. The Mercy of God is most directly shared with us through Jesus Christ. We read in Romans 6:23, " For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
We have new life and an opportunity to be with God forever because of Jesus Christ!
This is one reason the Church puts so much importance into Holy Week and Easter Week. This is the time of year when we remember in a special way what Jesus did for us. It is the high point of the liturgical calendar. Within Holy Week we celebrate Jesus as the Messiah, we enter into the Last Supper with the Apostles, we pray with Jesus in the garden, we touch and/or kiss Jesus on the cross, and we rise from the tomb with Him on Easter Sunday. When we are at Mass on a weekly basis we do this every Sunday, but during Holy Week we do this in a much more profound and implicit way. We enter into these mysteries by participating with the Church in it's various liturgies.
Easter itself is such an important day that we celebrate it for an entire week.
Easter is the bedrock on which our Faith is based. It's not just about the easter bunny and getting chocolate again after the Lenten fast.(although I have to admit, I do enjoy eating jelly beans) Easter is the pinnacle of Christian Faith.
"and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, your faith also is in vain." (1 Cor. 15:14)
Eight days in a row we have Easter, ending with Divine Mercy Sunday. This is what our study topic for the month is about. We will grow deeper in love with Jesus through His Divine Mercy as given to us through St. Faustina. A special focus will be placed upon the link between the Eucharist and Divine Mercy.
*Several links are included throughout this page. Some of you may be familiar with the Divine Mercy message already, while for others it may be new. If you want more details and info click on the link to find out more*
The message of Jesus' Divine Mercy was given to us through Sister Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament. She was born in Poland into a peasant family who lived off of farming. Her family was large and could only afford 1 Sunday dress for the girls to wear. She only attended Mass when it was her turn. She had 9 siblings. From an early age she had a profound prayer life and loved attending Mass. She wanted to join a convent but her parents didn't allow her too. The call from Jesus was too great and at age 16 she left the family farm and journeyed to Warsaw (the capital of Poland) at the Lord's request. After being turned down at many convents because she did not have a dowry to donate, she joined with the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. She remained with these sisters until she died at the young age of 33. During this time Jesus came to her and gave her many revelations which she wrote down in a diary.
To read more about the life and legacy of Sister Faustina click on this link: https://www.coraevans.com/blog/article/the-extraordinary-life-of-st.-faustina
The idea to write a diary came to Sister Faustina from her spiritual director and confessor Fr. Michal Sopocko. This diary recounts the life of St Faustina and many of her visions and encounters with Christ. These journals were originally written in Sister Faustina's native Polish, but have now been translated into many languages. The English version contains all of her writings and some versions also have many extra references to help the reader. At times it can be a difficult read but each paragraph is numbered in a similar fashion to the catechism. The diary can be read straight through or you can break it down into little bits and spend time praying and meditating with her writings.
Read more about the Diary of St Faustina : https://www.saint-faustina.org/diary/?wide=true#more-50
At this page there is also a link to a free online version of the diary.
Here are just a few quotes from the diary with paragraph number.
"Jesus told me that I please Him best by meditating on His sorrowful Passion, and by such meditation much light falls upon my soul. He who wants to learn true humility should reflect upon the Passion of Jesus. When I meditate upon the Passion of Jesus, I get a clear understanding of many things I could not comprehend before. I want to resemble You, O Jesus, – You crucified, tortured, and humiliated. Jesus, imprint upon my heart and soul Your own humility. I love You, Jesus, to the point of madness, You who were crushed with suffering as described by the prophet [cf. Isaiah 53:2-9], as if he could not see the human form in You because of Your great suffering. It is in this condition, Jesus, that I love You to the point of madness. O eternal and infinite God, what has love done to You?" (267)
"In difficult moments, I will fix my gaze upon the silent Heart of Jesus, stretched upon the Cross, and from the exploding flames of His merciful Heart, will flow down upon me power and strength to keep fighting." (906)
“All grace flows from mercy, and the last hour abounds with mercy for us. Let no one doubt concerning the goodness of God; even if a person’s sins were as dark as night, God’s mercy is stronger than our misery. One thing alone is necessary; that the sinner set ajar the door of his heart, be it ever so little, to let in a ray of God’s merciful grace, and then God will do the rest.” (1507)
For the first 20 years after Sister Faustina was called to heaven the Divine Mercy Devotion spread like wildfire throughout Poland and from there Europe. The ideas that Faustina wrote about like God's mercy, suffering, prayer, and trust in the Lord inspired many during World War II and the harsh reality of being occupied by both the Nazi regime and the Soviet Union devastated all of Europe, especially Western Europe.
Then in the 1950's, after a brief investigation the Holy See officially banned the Divine Mercy message and encouraged Catholics to avoid it and the diary. It was the work of the devil to try and stop this spreading. But in the late 1970's, thanks to a Bishop from Poland, Fr Karol Wojtja, the ban was reversed. Then in the year 2000, this same Bishop, now known as Pope John Paul II, canonized St. Faustina and declared the second Sunday of Easter to be Divine Mercy Sunday throughout the world.
Someone wrote to Catholic answers and asked why did the Catholic Church ban the Divine Mercy message, read the answer here :
The image of Divine Mercy with our Lord opening his robe to reveal His heart and 2 rays, one representing blood and the other water that poured forth from the cross when He was pierced with a lance, was painted on a wall in the convent of Vilnius, Poland by Eugeniusz Kazimirowski. Visitors now come from around the globe to see this powerful image in person. The image itself is available in many formats and all of us should have at least one of these hanging in our homes. There are many promises and graces Jesus bestows on those you put this image in there homes.
You can read more about the image and these special graces at this link:
https://divinemercyforamerica.org/action-plan/utilize-the-promises/the-image-of-divine-mercy/
In this 20 minute video presented by the Marians of the Immaculate Conception you can learn much more about the image of Divine Mercy. It's history and the promises associated with it.
It also contains many inspiring images and extra info that is fun to watch on a video as apposed to just reading about it.
We highly recommend this particular episode in the series of Divine Mercy videos available from the Marians.
The link between the Eucharist and Divine Mercy
In her childhood and throughout her life in the convent Sister Faustina Kowalska had a deep love of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. She often wrote about it in her diary and even a few times Jesus visited her during adoration. Her are a few of those experiences in her own words:
"Oh what awesome mysteries take place during Mass! ... One day we will know what God is doing for us in each Mass, and what sort of gift He is preparing in it for us. Only His divine love could permit that such a gift be provided for us ... this fountain of life gushing forth with such sweetness and power" (914).
Jesus-Host, whom I have this very moment received into my heart, in this union with you I offer myself to the Heavenly Father as a sacrificial host, abandoning myself totally and completely to the most merciful holy will of my God. From today onward, your will, Lord, is my food. You have my whole being; dispose of me as you please . . . I no longer fear any of your inspirations, nor do I probe anxiously to see where they will lead me . . . I have placed all my trust in your will which is, for me, love and mercy itself. (1264, 456)
"One thing alone sustains me and that is Holy Communion. From it I draw all my strength; in it is all my comfort. ... Jesus concealed in the Host is everything to me. ... I would not know how to give glory to God if I did not have the Eucharist in my heart" (1037).
These are powerful quotes indeed. In these few you can see how devoted to the Eucharist St Faustina was. It was 'everything to her' and 'the fountain of life'. Oh, that we could truly say and believe that ourselves!
Sister Faustina's life was centered around the Eucharist and adoration. When reading the diary it comes through that without these elements in her life she could not have found the strength to carry on through her illnesses and health problems. Every week she would adore Jesus for at least 1 hour, often longer. She had many mystical experiences during this adoration time. Here is a link to a short article by Val Conlon that is entitled the Eucharist in the life of St Faustina:
Study Topic for March, 2023
This month we will look at the life and writings
of Saint Peter Julien Eymard.
“The Eucharist is everything, because from the Eucharist, everything is”
Saint Peter Julien Eymard
Saint Peter Julien Eymard was born on Feb. 4th in a small town in France, La Mure d'Isere. His family was poor. It is said that young boy went missing when he was 5, and his sisters went frantically looking for him. They found him in the village church, on a small stool, with his ear next to the tabernacle, and he told his sister that he wanted to hear Jesus better.
He felt a calling to the priesthood early in life but his father was against it. Peter Julien was only 17 years old when his mother died and shortly after he joined the novitiate with Oblates of Mary Immaculate. But because of poor health that would cause him to suffer through his entire life, he was forced to leave after only 5 months. Soon after this his father also died and finally, at age 23, he was ordained a priest in the diocese of Grenoble.
He had a deep devotion to the Blessed Mother and in 1839 he left diocesan priesthood and joined the Society of Mary (Marists). He visited many shrines throughout the country and as a Marist he developed a reputation for educating and preaching. At one point he petitioned his superiors to start a congregation that focused on Eucharistic Adoration, but it was denied. He continued to feel the call to promote Eucharistic Adoration throughout France and the Church. When he was 45 years old, Peter Julien Eymard left the Marists and under approval from the Holy See, he founds 'The Society of the Blessed Sacrament. He later would also found a women's community called 'The Servants of the Blessed Sacrament."
These new communities focused on Eucharistic devotion. They had a unique charism for preparing the young for first holy Communion and bringing non-practicing Catholic workers in Paris back to the sacraments. The orders encountered financial troubles and it was often difficult to find lodging and food for its members. Even with these difficulties, his order grew and opened new houses.
On August 1st, 1868, Peter Julien Eymard died in his hometown of La Mure d'Isere. His cause for canonization was opened around the turn of the century. In 1925 he was beatified. He was later canonized by Pope John 23 at the end of the 1st session of Vatican II. It was Pope Saint John Paul 2 inserted Saint Eymard's name into the liturgical calendar on August 2nd, in recognition that he was "an outstanding apostle of the Eucharist".
For more details on his life check out the websites below.
https://blessedsacrament.com/us/st-peter-julian-eymard/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Julian_Eymard
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/SODAug03.mp3
“The Eucharist is the life of the people. The Eucharist gives them a center of life. All can come together without the barriers of race or language in order to celebrate the feast days of the Church. It gives them a law of life, that of charity, of which it is the source; thus it forges between them a common bond, a Christian kinship”
St Peter Julien Eymard
Saint Eymard wrote many books, sermons, and retreats over the course of his lifetime. Most of these focused on the Eucharist or the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the 1800's France waspicking up the pieces of the French Revolution and many in the Church preached strongly against sin, but there was a movement among the faithful to refrain from Holy Communion. The lines for the Sacrament of Confession were long while Communion lines were short. Father Eymard spent his life devoted to encouraging Catholics to believe and live in the love of Jesus through the Eucharist. He preached that Jesus's mercy and love is greater than any sin he/she could commit.
Later in life Fr Eymard put together a book of reflections meant to be used to help the faithful focus on Jesus in and through the Eucharist. the title of this book is "The Real Presence." Here is one of those reflections. Please prayerfully read through the following and if possible write down in a journal any thoughts or feelings you have.
Begin with a prayer to the Holy Spirit,
Come Holy Spirit and fill me with your wisdom. Allow me to be moved into a deeper relationship with Christ through this meditation. Amen
[Pause]
DOES He love me personally?
To this, there is but one answer; do we belong to the Christian family?
In a family, do not the father and the mother love each one of their children with an equal love? And if there were any preferences, would they not be for the weakest and frailest child?
Our Lord’s sentiments toward us are at least those of a good father;
why deny Him this quality?
Besides, see how Our Lord manifests His personal love for each one of us.
Every morning He comes to see each one of His children in particular, to converse with them,
to visit them, to embrace them. Although He has repeated this so many times, He is as
gracious and as loving at His last visit as He was at the first. He is as young as ever and
is not tired of loving us and giving Himself to each one of us.
Does He not give Himself whole and entire to each one?
And if a greater number come to receive Him, does He divide Himself up?
Does He give less to each one?
If the church is full of adorers, can they not all pray to Jesus and converse with Him?
Is not each one listened to and his prayer granted as if he were the only one in church?
Such is the personal love of Jesus for us. Each one may take it all for himself and wrong
no one; the sun gives all its light to each and everyone of us; the ocean belongs whole
and entire to each and every fish. Jesus is greater than us all. He is inexhaustible.
[Pause]
Pray : Thank you Lord Jesus for loving me as much as you do. Help me to experience true joy in your presence in the Holy Eucharist. You have given me a great gift, please help me to always be grateful for this grace. Amen
“The Eucharist is the supreme proof of the love of Jesus.
After this, there is nothing more but heaven itself”
St Peter Julien Eymard
Here are a two more examples of St. Eymard's writing:
THE INTERIOR LIFE OF MARY.
I. Mary adorned with all gifts, enriched with all virtues, perfect in all her graces, appeared to the world under a most ordinary exterior. There was nothing brilliant in her actions, her virtues were not striking, her life was passed in silence and obscurity, and the Gospel narrative says nothing of it. This was be cause Mary was to be the model of the life hidden in God with Jesus Christ, which we ought to honor and faithfully copy in our conduct. I wish to show that the law of holiness which God follows in our souls, is the same that He followed in Mary.
The Church sings of Mary: "All the glory of the King's daughter is within." Such is the character of Mary's sanctity. Nothing exterior, nothing known, all to God alone and known to Him alone. And yet Mary was the holiest, the most perfect of creatures. More beloved of God than any other creature, the Blessed Virgin received from His goodness graces the richest and the best, gifts the most excellent.
The Eternal Father communicated to her all the virtues of a mother; the Son, all the graces of the Redemption; the Holy Spirit, all the graces of love. But with all this Mary led only an ordinary life hidden and unknown. What must we conclude from this save that the hidden and interior life is the most perfect? And so it is without doubt. The active, outer life, although devoted to God, is less perfect. It was the same in Our Lord's case. His life was much more hidden than exposed to the gaze of men. All the saints were formed on His model. To be a friend of God, one must be ground to powder, reduced to nothing, annihilated like Jesus and Mary.
II. Hence I say: Do we wish to be come saints? Then we must become interior. We are obliged thereto by our vocation of adorers. Without the interior spirit, how can we pray? If before Our Lord, we know not how to pass a single instant without a book, if we have nothing to say to Him from our own heart, why do we go to make our adoration? What! can we never speak our own thoughts? Must we always borrow the thoughts and words of strangers? No, no! Let us labor to become interior.
Every one cannot be like Jesus and Mary, but every one can be according to his own grace and his own virtue. Without that we shall never receive consolation and encouragement in prayer, we should be too unhappy at the feet of Our Lord. To be an adorer, one must be interior. We must talk when kneeling before Our Lord. We must ask Him questions, and listen to His answers. We must enjoy God. We must be happy in His company, happy in His service. We need His familiarity, so sweet, so encouraging. But in order to find the Heart and the love of Jesus, we must be interior. After all, what is it to be interior? It is to love enough, to be able to converse and to live with Jesus. But Jesus does not make Himself heard by the ears, nor seen by the eyes of the body. He speaks only to the recollected soul. Jesus is wholly interior in the Blessed Sacrament. He no longer enters into the heart through the sight, as during His mortal life. He now enters the soul directly and speaks to it alone. When our soul does not expand in His presence, it is because He does not act upon it, there is some obstacle between it and Him. Ah! let us not give the lie to Our Lord. He has said that His yoke is sweet, and His burden light, but that means sweet and light for him who carries it with prayer and the interior life. Without that it would be heavy and fatiguing. When we are not interior, everything goes wrong in our life.
O how I should wish to see accomplished in us that word so fully realized in the Blessed Virgin: "The kingdom of God is within you," the kingdom of love, of virtue, and of interior grace! Then we would begin to be adorers and saints. The grass of the field dies annually, because its roots do not strike deep in the soil; but the oak, the olive, and the cedar stand year after year, because their roots are sunk deep into the bottom of the earth. To last, to be strong, we must sink, we must descend to the bottom, even to self-annihilation. There we shall find Jesus. He is annihilated and it was there that Mary found Him. O may that perfect Mother of the interior life make us live as she did in Jesus! May we, like her, remain always in Him and never leave Him!
Practice. To live in recollection and in union with Jesus present in us, in imitation of our Mother.
Aspiration. O Mary, true daughter of the great King, all thy glory is in thy interior, because Jesus dwells therein!
This excerpt taken from "Month of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament" by Fr Eymard. Ninth Day
Excerpt from "The Divine Eucharist" by Father Eymard
IV day - Humility
I. — Now, the great virtue of Jesus Christ is humility "Learn of Me,'' He says, ''because I am meek and humble of Heart." He makes humility His characteristic, His dominant virtue, in the very depths of His Heart and His divine and human character. As God, He humbles Himself; as Man, He humbles Himself still more. In everything, everywhere, we discover that humility which is His name, His sign, and His seal, as Saint Augustine says . " To name Jesus Christ is to point out humility": Cum Christum nomino, maxime vobis humilitas commendatur,''
Our Lord, not being able to humble Himself for His sins, since He had never committed any, embraced humility through love, choice, and complacency. As for ourselves, we must be humble both on account of our sins and for love of Jesus Christ humiliated. The first kind of humility is negative; the second, positive.
Now, Jesus Christ manifests His humility in His dependence on His Divine Father.
He refers to Him all glory, and declares that He Himself receives from Him His being-, action, word, even His thought. If men proclaim Him good, He replies that God alone is good. If they ask of Him miracles. He invokes His Father before working them, as if demanding of Him the power to do so, and He avows that the Son has nothing of Himself: " Filius a se non habet quidquam." He is Man. His human nature is created and dependent on God. He desires to maintain it in this dependence in the eyes of all, in order to give us the most sublime example of humility, for that same humanity, by its union with the Word, was worthy of acting by itself and of receiving all homage and adoration. But Our Lord wished to inculcate humility by practicing it in voluntary and and absolute dependence on His Father.
When there is question of natural trials and humiliations, He embraces them eagerly, submits to them even to their last consequences, undergoing .the humiliation of weakness, fatigue, sadness, dejection, fear, discouragement, and disgust. He then speaks and complains as man.
Behold the humility of Jesus Christ! Truly, humiliation in itself is not lovable. It is enough to endure it patiently. But viewed in Jesus Christ, practiced with Him and in Him, — how it changes its appearance and becomes transformed! It is no longer humiliation, it is Jesus Christ humbled, and He is nowhere so lovable as in His humiliations.
We must see, also, humility in Mary. She is the most humble of creatures, and yet she was not condemned to humility by her sins, for she had none; nor by the fear of falling, for her -love united her indissolubly to God. But she is humble, through love, through choice. That is positive humility, which is no other than the entire renunciation and abnegation of self, in order to receive, to live, to depend in all things only on God. Though Mary ravished God by her purity, she became His Mother by her humility.
II — Here is the first-class humility that we ought to imitate, although sinners and condemned necessarily to humble ourselves by our state.
Let us then, refer all to God. Return to Him His graces, which He lends you only that you may make them fructify to His profit and glory. Do not pride yourselves on God's gifts. Do not appropriate them, as if they came from yourself, but confess that they are from God. Do not rely on them, as if they were part and parcel of what is naturally your due; but maintain yourself in a constant and actual dependence on God, as receiving always, but never possessing. Acknowledge that the state of grace itself which seems co-natural to you, actually flows from God. that it is preserved by a positive decree of His mercy, and that of yourself you are but nothingness and absolute impotence.
Take notice that Lucifer fell only for having considered his gifts as coming from himself, and for having thought himself sufficient for himself while, in truth, he existed and acted only through the divine influence of grace. You will say, perhaps, that since you co-operate with grace, a part of the result ought to be attributed to you, and that you may share the fruits at least by the right of the farmer whose labor increases the value of his master's lands. Not at all! Your own labor becomes valuable only by the grace which accompanies it, elevating it, rendering, it supernatural and meritorious, just as it had commenced it. Doubtless, God will reward you, but it will be His own gifts that He will crown in your merits. And so, there is no moment, neither at the commencement, the middle, nor the end, when you may consider yourself as acting by yourself, by your own strength. But you are always moved, elevated, acted upon, by grace, by Jesus Christ, as theology says, like the member which operates only under the direction of the head and conjointly with it by the mind, the movement, and the life that it communicates to it.
Now, Jesus Christ is our Head, caput. To that august Chief be the honor and glory of the victory, the fruit and the result of the labor, as in heaven they chant honor, strength, power, and thanksgiving to God and to the Lamb "who has conquered!
Alas, that we should rob the good God in the spiritual life I Let us say with Saint Paul: "Not I, but the grace of God with me!" And let us hold on to that word of Jesus Christ: ''Without Me you can do nothing, absolutely nothing. "
Finally, let us end with a prayer attributed to St Eymard
Litany of the Most Blessed Sacrament
Lord, have mercy. R. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy. R. Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. R. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us. R. Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, R. have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, R. have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, R. have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, R. have mercy on us.
Jesus, Eternal High Priest of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, R. have mercy on us.
Jesus, Divine Victim on the Altar for our salvation, R. have mercy on us.
Jesus, hidden under the appearance of bread, R. have mercy on us.
Jesus, dwelling in the tabernacles of the world, R. have mercy on us.
Jesus, really, truly and substantially present in the Blessed Sacrament, R. have mercy on us.
Jesus, abiding in Your fullness, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, R. have mercy on us.
Jesus, Bread of Life, R. have mercy on us.
Jesus, Bread of Angels, R. have mercy on us.
Jesus, with us always until the end of the world, R. have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, summit and source of all worship and Christian life, R. have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, sign and cause of the unity of the Church, R. have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, adored by countless angels, R. have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, spiritual food, R. have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, Sacrament of love, R. have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, bond of charity, R. have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, greatest aid to holiness, R. have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, gift and glory of the priesthood, R. have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, in which we partake of Christ, R. have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, in which the soul is filled with grace, R. have mercy on us.
Sacred Host, in which we are given a pledge of future glory, R. have mercy on us.
[ALL]
Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
For those who do not believe in Your Eucharistic presence, R. have mercy, O Lord.
For those who are indifferent to the Sacrament of Your love, R. have mercy on us.
For those who have offended You in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar, R. have mercy on us.
That we may show fitting reverence when entering Your holy temple, R. we beseech You, hear us.
That we may make suitable preparation before approaching the Altar, R. we beseech You, hear us.
That we may receive You frequently in Holy Communion with real devotion and true humility, R. we beseech You, hear us.
That we may never neglect to thank You for so wonderful a blessing, R. we beseech You, hear us.
That we may cherish time spent in silent prayer before You, R. we beseech You, hear us.
That we may grow in knowledge of this Sacrament of sacraments, R. we beseech You, hear us.
That all priests may have a profound love of the Holy Eucharist, R. we beseech You, hear us.
That they may celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in accordance with its sublime dignity, R. we beseech You, hear us.
That we may be comforted and sanctified with Holy Viaticum at the hour of our death, R. we beseech You, hear us.
That we may see You one day face to face in Heaven, R. we beseech You, hear us.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world, R. spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world, R. graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world, R. have mercy on us, O Lord.
V. O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine,
R. all praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine.
Let us pray,
[ALL]
Most merciful Father,
You continue to draw us to Yourself
through the Eucharistic Mystery.
Grant us fervent faith in this Sacrament of love,
in which Christ the Lord Himself is contained, offered and received.
We make this prayer through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
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