"Dear children! I am with you to tell you that I love you and to encourage you to prayer; because Satan is strong and every day his strength is stronger through those who have chosen death and hatred. You, little children, be prayer and my extended hands of love for all those who are in darkness and seek the light of our God. Thank you for having responded to my call."
Heaven's Special Gifts to the Holy Church
By Fr. Ray Donohue
On New Year's Day, at the
parish where I assist, a wonderful
and spirit-filled parish, I noticed
as I was in the back of the Church
ready for the procession to the
Holy Altar, a few people came in
at the last minute (they were not
late) and I watched as they put
their finger or fingers into the
Holy Water and made some kind
of a gesture around their face and
body quickly as water was splashing in all directions, and
then went to their seat with a kind-of "loop de loop" motion
I am guessing was a genuflection. I am not judging anything,
but I am reminding all of us of what these beautiful symbols
of the Church are in respect to you and me and to God.
People have often asked me when Holy Mass begins.
Is it at the Entrance Hymn? Is it when we come into the
Church? Is it at the Sign of the Cross that the people and
priest make together? Well, I firmly believe that Holy Mass
actually begins when we are at home preparing to leave for
Holy Mass. Our frame of mind and heart is very important.
Are we screaming up the stairs to the children, "Get your
fannies down here or we'll be late again?" or to our spouses:
"Hurry up, you're always so slow, what's the matter with
you?" Or maybe we have plans after Mass and all
our thoughts are on the dinner or preparation for
the afternoon when we get home, or going out for
breakfast right after Mass.
Holy Mass begins with us at home, preparing to
meet Jesus in the Holy Mass, in all the wonderful
and holy prayers, the Holy Scriptures where God
speaks to us, the hymns, the homily that helps
us understand and gives us explanations and
direction, bringing the gifts up to the Holy Altar,
which includes the very Gift of ourselves to God
and placing our love for God and everyone else
on the Holy Altar of Sacrifice. It is kneeling at the
Holy Consecration and adoring Jesus present to
us in that tiny little Host! It is coming forward
to receive Jesus with a pure heart and mind and
soul, focusing on the Lord, welcoming Him into
us – Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. It is coming
back to our seats thanking God (the very word "Eucharist"
means "Thanksgiving"), knowing that we are now living
and breathing Tabernacles of the Lord and that we now
bring Jesus to everyone we meet and everywhere we go! The
Holy Mass is timeless. We enter a bit of Eternity in every
Holy Mass.
There is no need whatsoever to bring a watch to Mass
and look at it. There is no need to have a cell phone in the
Church with us, none whatsoever. One hour with God, with
no distractions. Such beauty! Such peace! United in Holy
Prayer with all our sisters and brothers in the Lord, with the
priest in Persona Christi. We adore, we are One with God in
so special a way.
Sacraments are where God touches us one on one, and we
touch God. Sacramentals are special gifts God gives to us to
assist us, protect us, heal us and help us to adore God. They
open a very wonderful door for us!
That Holy Water we splash around when we come in –
that is a Sacramental. Do you know that Holy Water remits
venial sins and the remission of temporal punishment? It
protects us from evil spirits that roam the earth searching
to destroy us. When I bless myself with Holy Water (and I
keep it in the house with me always and bless myself often
throughout the day), I say a little prayer taught to me when I
was a child: "By this Holy Water, and by Thy most Precious
Blood, please wash away all my sins, in the Name of the
Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen". Do
it slowly and reverently. This is a Sacramental from the
Church, a true gift!
The action of Genuflection and/or bowing, is a sign of
reverence to God and the Holy Eucharist in the Tabernacle.
It shouldn't be a "swooshing motion", like diving into a
swimming pool, or like our knee suddenly went out from
under us, but slowly and deliberately, as an act of love and
adoration and reverence. This, too, is a Sacramental.
Fr. Ray celebrating Mass in Tihaljina
According to the Church's teaching, "Sacramentals are
holy things or actions, of which the Church makes use to
obtain for us from God, through her intercession, spiritual or
temporal favors". Say that again slowly and think about that
for a moment! The chief benefits from using the Sacramentals
are Actual Grace, the forgiveness
of venial sins, the remission of
temporal punishments, health of
body and material blessings, and
protection from evil spirits that
roam the earth. We are drawn closer
to God! That is awesome!
We talked about reverence and
God's special gifts to His Holy
Church. I now want to show the
chief kinds of Sacramentals that
help and assist us in our daily life,
and for the Graces we need to assist
us into Eternal life.
First are Blessings, given by
priests, deacons and bishops. I bless
people all the time; if I see them
in Wal-Mart or Tops or the dollar
store and they come to me to say hello, before we part, I
bless them. When I am in Medjugorje, I am surrounded by
many people from all over the world begging for a priestly
blessing! It is so humbling, and just coming down from the
Blue Cross after the Apparition on the 2nd of the month, it
takes me over an hour or more as the hands are reaching out
to this lowly priest for prayers and blessings, and I will never
refuse them! My mother used to trace the Sign of the Cross
on my forehead as a little child, before I left for school, and
asked God and our Blessed Mother to watch over me. Do
parents still do this? Even to their adult children when they
come to visit, asking God to bless them? If not, they should!
And their grandchildren too! Doesn't it show the love we
have for God and each other in our Holy Faith? Yes! It does,
and very powerfully, too! We can also be a Sacramental
if we let Jesus use us! Let the Lord use you! Don't ever be
selfish with your Faith but share it generously; use it and be
a means of Grace!
Next are Exorcisms against evil spirits, then Blessed Objects
of devotion and prayer, such as, but not limited to, Holy
Water, Blessed Salt, Candles. (We celebrated Candlemas
Day on February 2. I always gave Blessed Candles to all my
parishioners, to use in time of storms, or when a priest comes
for a sick call, or when the person just wants to pray and light
a Blessed Candle in their home.) Ashes are a Sacramental,
coming on this February 26th on Ash Wednesday. Don't
wash them right off, but let people see you as a sign for the
world to repent and believe! Additional Sacramentals are
Palms from Palm Sunday (I put one in each room, or a piece
of one, including in my garage and my reindeer barn, and
my car and basement), Crucifixes, Holy pictures of the Lord,
the Blessed Mother and Saints, Holy Blessed Medals and
Crosses to carry or wear, the Holy Rosary, Scapulars, statues
of saints or the Lord, and so much more.
When I perform an Exorcism, I always bring with me Holy
Water, relics of saints, Rosaries (I always carry my Rosary
with me, with Blessed Medals), Blessed Salt, a Crucifix, and I
give to each person there a Blessed Rosary from Medjugorje,
a medal of Saint Michael, the prayer of Saint Michael, and a
Crucifix for their home. These are my gifts to them, and they
are Sacramentals to protect them from evil. I make them
promise me they will use them and pray them every day!
What good is a car if you never drive it, or food if you won't
eat it? What good are prayers and holy things if we don't
pray them or use them? It is a waste, such a terrible waste!
Now, please note this very important fact: we use
Sacramentals with Faith and devotion; they are NOT
"good luck charms" or anything worldly like that. To use a
Sacramental in such a way would be a very severe sin, such
as a pagan idol or superstition. The Holy
Catholic Church does NOT have "graven
images" that we adore or worship; we never
have and we never will! They are never any
sort of "lucky charm" and to do so and to
think like this would be paganism. We adore
only the One True God, the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit.
In the very early days of the Church,
Blessed Salt was used in many ways – for
one, at the Anointing of the Sick (some of
you who have sick-calls in your home will
see there is a place for a Blessed Candle, Holy
Water and Blessed Salt). For another, when
Churches and priests were far away and
people couldn't get there regularly, then the
priest would bless the salt for the home, and
they would sprinkle a bit in their cooking,
or mainly, put some in water to make Holy
Water from the salt that was blessed by
the priest. If you are out of Holy Water and cannot get to
Church, such as in the case of a shut-in, Blessed Salt can be
used to add to water for Holy Water, providing always that
the salt was blessed by a priest or bishop.
Fr. Ray speaking about Blessed Salt at our mailing
Remember, these are holy and blessed objects. I remember
in the Seminary a priest telling us not to think that if you
carry a Saint Christopher medal with you that you can
drive down the street in reverse at 100 mph and expect
Saint Christopher to keep you safe! Or that you can sin all
you want and have a Rosary to protect you.
Remember, Satan temped Jesus to "jump off the parapet
of the Temple", and the devil even quoted Holy Scripture,
reminding Jesus that the Scripture said, "The Angels would
protect You lest You dash Your foot against a stone." So even
the devil can quote Scripture, and Jesus responded, "Do
NOT put the Lord your God to the test!" Use your Faith and
use your head! There are no such things as magic charms,
but there is such a thing as Faith and Grace!
Carry, use, and have Sacramentals, but do not abuse them
or misuse them. Understand these are gifts from God to
His Church to assist us in keeping in the state of Grace and
protect us from evil, but we need to do our part, too. The
prayers of the Church are very powerful. The Church (and
you and I ARE the Church) is the living Mystical Body of
Christ on earth, and her prayers then must become the very
prayers of Jesus Himself, for the Lord Jesus is Head of the
Church.
In every Mass and in all the official prayers of
Holy Mother Church, every Catholic is remembered!
Think about this – Holy Mass being offered throughout the
whole world, every day, every second – Holy Mass is being
celebrated, and you and I are being remembered to God in
Holy Prayer! And when you and I, with reverence and piety,
use a Sacramental, at that very moment, the entire Church is
now praying especially for us – for You, to God!
Sacramentals obtain favors from God through the prayers
of the Holy Catholic Church offered for those who make use
of these gifts from God to His Church through the devotion
they inspire! I light a Blessed Candle every time I enter my
little Chapel. I pray for all who have asked me
to pray for them, for peace and God's Holy Will
to be done. I genuflect with awe, knowing Jesus
is present in the Most Blessed Sacrament in the
Tabernacle. I love praying the Holy Rosary, and
do it slowly and with love, meditating on both
the Hail Mary and the Mystery I am praying,
and if my mind wanders, I bring it back and
begin again. Prayer takes practice. Pray, as
our Mother begs us, to pray with and from the
heart – from our heart to Jesus and Mary, and
from Their Hearts to ours, being made ONE in
God through His Church and all the many gifts
He gives to us through His Church.
May our dear Blessed Mother, who visits the
world daily in Medjugorje for our sake and
out of Love for us, bless you as we prepare
for this upcoming Lenten journey, and may
the Sacramentals, which Holy Mother Church
provides for us, guide us and our devotions,
protect us from the evil one, and bring us close to each other
and to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary by the Love of God the
Father and the Holy Spirit! Amen.
With my deepest love,
~Father Ray