Saints of the Week
Mon, Jan 22 - -  Saints Vincent & Anastasius Martyrs
Tues, Jan 23 - - Saint Raymond of Penafort, Confessors
Wed, Jan 24 - - Saint Timothy, Bishop & Martyr
Thurs, Jan 25 – Conversion of Saint Paul
Fri, Jan 26 - - - Saint Polycarp, Bishop & Martyr
Sat, Jan 27 - - - Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop, Confessor & Doctor

Special Saint of the Week Saint  

Saint Timothy is best known as a disciple of Saint Paul.  He was the Bishop of Ephesus in Asia Minor.  Pagans stoned him to death in the year 97.

 

Gospel Words of Jesus Christ Our Divine Savior   

11 And the unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him: and they cried, saying: 12 Thou art the Son of God. And he strictly charged them that they should not make him known. 13 And going up into a mountain, he called unto him whom he would himself: and they came to him. 14 And he made that twelve should be with him, and that he might send them to preach. 15 And he gave them power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils. (Mark 3: 11-15)

 

6 Who will render to every man according to his works. 7 To them indeed, who according to patience in good work, seek glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life: 8 But to them that are contentious, and who obey not the truth, but give credit to iniquity, wrath and indignation. 9 Tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that worketh evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek. 10 But glory, and honor, and peace to every one that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. (2: 6-10)

 

Spiritual Thought Of The Week  

Taken from the Introduction to the Devout Life, by Saint Francis De Sales, written in the year 1609, Part One, CHAPTER V. The First Step (toward holiness) must be purifying the Soul.  “The work of the soul’s purification neither may nor can end save with life itself.  Do not then let us be disheartened by our imperfections.  Rather let us be aware that our very perfection lies in diligently contending against them and it is impossible so to contend without seeing them, or to overcome without meeting them face toe face. Our victory does not consist in being insensible to them, but in not consenting to them.”

 

From The Imitation Of Christ By Thomas A Kempis

Book Three The Twenty-Third Chapter: A PRAYER AGAINST BAD THOUGHTS   O Lord my God, be not far from me. O my God, hasten to help me, for varied thoughts and great fears have risen up within me, afflicting my soul. How shall I escape them unharmed? How shall I dispel them? "I will go before you," says the Lord, "and will humble the great ones of earth. I will open the doors of the prison, and will reveal to you hidden secrets." Do as You say, Lord, and let all evil thoughts fly from Your face. This is my hope and my only comfort -- to fly to You in all tribulation, to confide in You, and to call on You from the depths of my heart and to await patiently for Your consolation.

 

(On the Word of God):  #6 Through divine revelation, God chose to show forth and communicate Himself and the eternal decisions of His will regarding the salvation of men. That is to say, He chose to share with them those divine treasures which totally transcend the understanding of the human mind.   As a sacred synod has affirmed, God, the beginning and end of all things, can be known with certainty from created reality by the light of human reason (see Rom. 1:20); but teaches that it is through His revelation that those religious truths which are by their nature accessible to human reason can be known by all men with ease, with solid certitude and with no trace of error, even in this present state of the human race.

 

From The Code Of Canon Law

Canon 227 The lay Christian faithful have the right to have recognized that freedom which all citizens have in the affairs of the earthly city. When using that same freedom, however, they are to take care that their actions are imbued with the spirit of the gospel and are to heed the doctrine set forth by the Magisterium of the Church. In matters of opinion, moreover, they are to avoid setting forth their own opinion as the doctrine of the Church.

 

Catechism Of The Catholic Church 

#2322 “From its conception, the child has the right to life.  Direct abortion, that is, abortion willed as an end or as a means, is a "criminal" practice (GS 27 # 3), gravely contrary to the moral law. The Church imposes the canonical penalty of excommunication for this crime against human life.”

 

SPECIAL NOTICE

Please be advised that donations to Saint Gianna’s can be made through our website: www.saintgianna.net.  By so doing, one can contribute using their credit card.  We appreciate your financial support and also ask your prayers for our continued success.  Also, please note that we are now set up with PaPal so that our parishioners and friends can automatically contribute a designated amount each month toward your support of Saint Gianna’s.  Check our website for details: www.saintgianna.net.

 

Private Daniel Shearer   

Currently serving in Iraq with the U.S. Army is our own Daniel Shearer.  We ask your prayers for Daniel and all of our military personal who serve our country so courageously!
Sacrament of Confirmation   Bishop Kicanas will conferred the Sacrament of Confirmation at the 1:45 PM Mass.  We look forward to having our Bishop with us!

 

Pope Benedict XVI Prayer Intention For January
 
General - - - - That in our times, sadly marked by quite a few episodes of violence, the Pastors of the Church continue to show the way of peace and understanding to every person’s heart.

Mission - - - - That the Church in Africa become ever more the true witness of the Good Word of Christ and promote reconciliation and peace in every nation.

     

   
    Saint Gianna’s Latin Mass Community looks forward to the arrival of Father Carl Lenhardt of the Institute of Christ the King, who will preach our First Annual Forty-Hours Devotions.  This is a time when Our Blessed Lord will shower us with a superabundance of divine graces.  In addition to Eucharistic adoration, we will encourage all to receive the holy Sacrament of Confession.  Look for the schedule of devotions in our bulletin next week.
   

    It is difficult to pinpoint the exact origins of Forty-Hours Devotions.  Pope Clement VIII issued the Constitution Graves et Diuturnae on November 25, 1592.  He ordered each parish of the Diocese of Rome to conduct a Quarant' Ore - - - forty hours of continuous adoration and prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.  The main intentions were for the peace of the Universal Church and to combat the evils of the times.  There is also evidence that Forty-Hours Devotions existed in Milan, Italy in the twelfth century.  After the Council of Trent, St. Charles Borromeo mandated that every parish of the Diocese of Milan was to conduct Forty-Hours Devotions each year.  The devotion spread throughout Europe and eventually to America where it soon became an annual event at practically every parish.  As a result of Forty-Hours Devotions, love and respect for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament was without parallel in the United States.
   

    One of the primary purposes for Forty-Hours Devotions is to make reparation for the desecrations and indifference toward Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.  It is interesting to note, however, that, with the practical disappearance of these marvelous devotions, love and respect for the Blessed Sacrament has declined alarmingly. This is a very sad, indeed.
   

    The Blessed Eucharist is the Divine Gift that Our Divine Lord has given us from the depths of His Sacred Heart.  It is His Gift Beyond Compare.  May we always treasure the Sacred Presence of Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar!  I invite all of our members and visitors to join us for daily adoration and our evening devotions.  Sign up for an hour of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament.  Attend the evening devotions for the Rosary, stirring homilies and an outpouring of divine graces.  Many graces and blessing will flow from the Sacred Heart of our Eucharistic Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. O Sacrament most Holy!  O Sacrament Divine!  All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment, thine.                              
                                                     

 

                                                                    Father Richard J. Rego, S.T.L.