FIRST ANNUAL FORTY-HOURS DEVOTIONS

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 Eucharist is the Divine Gift that Our Blessed 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.

YOU HAVE KEPT THE CHOICE WINE UNTIL NOW!

The Wedding Feast of Cana! What a charming story! Each time we read it, we discover a new endearing facet that previously had escaped us. Saint John tells us that the mother of Jesus and His disciples were there and, "Jesus performed this first of His signs."

In reflecting on the Liturgy of the Word, it is important to remember a fundamental rule - - - when relating a past event, the Church communicates a present reality. In this instance, what occurred 1900 years ago is happening now in a mystical, sacramental manner at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. At the wedding banquet of Cana, Our Blessed Lord changed water into wine. In the sacramental order, this historical event now becomes a present day reality. Our Lord repeats the miracle in the most sublime manner possible at the Eucharistic Banquet. Then, by an act of His Will, Our Lord changed water into wine. At the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Jesus Christ the Great High Priest, changes wine into His Precious Blood. Through the Priest, who acts "in the very Person of Jesus Christ," wine becomes the Blood of Christ. Now as then, Our Lord keeps the choice Wine until last. It is the best of Wines! It cheers our souls with the divine warmth of Jesus Christ, Who has become our "Spiritual Drink."

Another present day reality took place at Cana, one that the Holy Spirit keeps before us always. Nothing escapes Our Blessed Mother constant concern for her children. She simply brought the problem to her Son: “They have no more wine."

The young, wedding couple did not plan well. To the Eastern mind, a lapse of hospitality is a host’s worst scenario possible. Our Lady's motherly warmth radiated to all, even then. When faced with this dreadful situation, the embarrassed newly weds went to Mary. Unwittingly, they prefigured that which Christians have been doing for two thousand years. Since that day, we know that, "Never was it known that anyone who fled to her protection was left unaided!"

It is important to note how the events unfolded. There was a problem because the time for Our Lord to manifest Himself was not at hand. A miracle now was not within the timeframe set by the Father. When Our Lord responded to His mother: "Woman, how does this concern of yours involve me? My hour has not yet come." Clearly, His answer was no because it was not the time for Him to manifest His Messianic Mission!

Our Lady then did that which only she and she alone could do; she used her mother's prerogative. She turned to the waiter and said: "Do whatever he tells you!" Like each one of us, Jesus could not refuse the request of His mother! And, lest we forget, the Heavenly Father could not refuse her for Mary is the "apple of the Father's eye." The timetable for the Redemption would have to be altered. Through the intercession of our Blessed Lady, water became the choice wine. As she has done from the beginning, Our Lady saved the day!

The Holy Spirit wants the Church to remember this Gospel story always. Peter, John and the other Apostles saw it and they never forgot the important lesson. Neither has the Church. In all of our needs, in all our trials, in all the tears of life, we fly to Our Blessed Mother. With her mother's heart, she hears us. Whenever her children on earth are in difficulty, Our Blessed Mother always says to Jesus: My Son, they have no more wine!"


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

JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH

JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH

The Holy Season of Christmas is a time of deep significance for families. It brings them together to celebrate the Birth of Our Savior, Jesus Christ. At the center of these celebrations is the Holy Family, for these are days of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. It is with a human and a divine wisdom that the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Family.

Pope Pius XII said that there is nothing dearer to the Church than the family. The Second Vatican Council referred to the family as the "Domestic Church." Children, it taught, are the "supreme gift of marriage and contribute substantially to the welfare of their parents." Parents "should, by their word and example, be the first preachers of Catholic faith to their children."

Marriage is not of human institution; rather, it is of divine origin. Marriage must be holy because God is holy. It must be filled with love because God is love. In our day, pagan influences and the scourge of divorce are ravaging the holy state of matrimony. Far too often, discord and violence have replaced domestic peace and tranquility. The Second Vatican Council warned that modern man is trying to build a world apart from God; modern man seeks happiness apart from God. Without God there can never be domestic peace and tranquility.

In today’s Mass, the Church prays in the opening Collect: "O Lord Jesus Christ, Who being subject to Mary and Joseph did sanctify home life with ineffable virtues: grant that with the aid of both, we may be taught by the example of Thy Holy Family, and attain to eternal fellowship with them.”

How do we attain this sanctity and fellowship? Christ must be at the center of the family. To become a holy family, a Domestic Church, families must begin with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. United as one, the family should approach the table of the Lord to receive Holy Communion. Remember the admonition of Our Lord: "Without me, you can do nothing!" Without the graces received in Holy Communion, there can never be the sanctity or the peace of Christ individually or as a family.

The Sacrament of Confession should also be a family event. My good Catholic Parents! Do you want to guard your children from the evil influences of a world ravished by lust, pornography, drugs, violence, greed, etc.? As a family come to the Holy Sacrament of Confession at least once a month. By means of frequent confession, the family encounters the forgiving Lord. Not only will families find the forgiveness of sins but will also undergo a purification of conscience and the strengthening of the will. The grace of the sacrament fortifies the family to live in Christ's holiness and peace.

Also, family prayer is not to be limited to grace at meals. As Our Lady asked of us at Fatima, we must pray the Family Rosary every day. The Rosary is a prayer centered on Our Lord Jesus. The Rosary brings Our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph into our homes. Our Mother Mary will grant the family many graces. She will be our mother and our model for virtuous living. Saint Joseph will protect the family from dangers physical and spiritual. May the Holy Family be the inspiration for our families and make them HOLY in the peace of Christ.

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