Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Winter 2016
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123 The Catholic Church of St John the Baptist Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Winter 2016 “The WORD became flesh and dwells among us” John 1:14 Feb 1, 2016 - St John’s Perpetual Adoration of Jesus marks 2nd Anniversary! Greetings! Saint John’s has I know it still amazes me that as Him and carries this into daily life! reached our 2nd Anniversary of Catholics, we have the priceless If you are new to Adoration, perpetually adoring Jesus truly GIFT of being able to actually please see page 3 about the present in the Most Blessed spend time in His PHYSICAL importance of Adoration. If you’re Sacrament – praise be to God! presence! What a GREAT chance seeking more substance to build Over the last couple years, we to prove our love to Him by your faith life, try reading the have seen many blessings and making the personal effort to writings of God’s great Saints, challenges, including the loving show up just for Jesus! And the particularly the early Church witness of hundreds and more we develop our personal Fathers, or Doctors of the Church, hundreds of committed adorers, relationship with Jesus Truly and the Catechism. St Thomas weather events, the installation Present with open and Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor, is of building security to support cooperative hearts, Jesus recognized as offering the most night members, new bookcases, increases a desire in us for more enlightened and complete promotional T-shirts and window of Him, to be closer to Him, to synthesis of the Catholic faith clings, the gift of lovely adoration live as He wants us to live, to concerning the mystery of the stoles, the development of a build a stronger foundation in our Eucharist. Dig into these Facebook support group, the faith lives. He literally gives us treasures of our Faith and let development of an Adoration the love and graces we need to them help you. If you’re looking Power Point Education go and serve Him, to order our for solid ways to grow in holiness, Presentation, and the expansion lives in ways that please Him. peek at page 2. And if you haven’t of Adoration over to St Ann’s This is why Mother Teresa had tried Adoration, please join us. I community in OKC by one of St her sisters spend an hour a day feel so fortunate to be able to love John’s members, and the list with Jesus in Adoration –the Jesus in Adoration with souls who goes on. It’s exciting to see some more time one spends loving realize “the word became flesh of what God is doing. Jesus, the more one resembles and dwells among us.” J Inside This Issue: Page 1 – St John’s Perpetual Adoration marks 2nd Anniversary! Page 2 – Holiness, Confession, and the Eucharist Page 3 – The VALUE, POWER, and IMPORTANCE of Adoration Lorem“Be holy Ipsum for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:16 2 The Requirement to Confess Serious Sin – Mortal Sin - in the Sacrament of Penance Before Receiving Holy Communion … “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His Decades ago, I was invited to a talk at the Pastoral Center where a visiting righteousness; and all these things shall be priest was teaching about vocations being God’s call on our lives; His holy added unto you.” Matt 6:33 will for us individually, our mission from God. The priest explained the 3 vocations available in the Church; the priesthood/religious life, the married life, and the single life. One should Holiness, Confession, and the Eucharist pray to find their vocation, and each vocation has its own duties and For those who love God, this next considerable number are dying” (1 responsibilities. It is in faithfully part is especially significant. Corinthians 11: 27-30). carrying out these duties in Section 1415 of the Catechism of cooperation with Christ that we have the Catholic Church states, If we know by the teachings of the the opportunity to increase in virtue, “Anyone who desires to receive Church that we’re not in a state of and be made holy. The frequent Christ in Eucharistic communion grace, then it becomes another reception of the sacraments of must be in the state of grace. mortal sin, an outrage against Our Reconciliation and Holy Communion Anyone aware of having sinned Lord to receive Holy Communion greatly assist us as the surest and safest mortally must not receive before being reconciled to Him ways to increase in holiness; communion without having through the sacrament of Penance. supporting our vocations, along with received absolution in the If sin didn’t matter, Christ would persistence in daily prayer. This sacrament of penance.” This is not have had to suffer and die to faithful living helps keep us in a state because mortal sin makes us save us from it. In Confession, in of grace which is defined in The New unworthy to partake of the TRUE the person of the priest, Our Lord Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism as presence of Christ in the Eucharist. absolves us from our sins. If we “the presence of sanctifying grace The truth is, “Dead souls can’t really love Jesus, we won’t want to [God’s life] in one’s soul; freedom receive nutrition,” so regardless of further offend Him if we realize we from mortal sin.” Whereas mortal sin one’s opinion on the matter, faith ought to go to Confession before is defined in the same catechism as; “a tells us that receiving the Body and receiving Him in Communion. grievous offense against the law of Blood of Christ does not help a No matter our vocation, Christ calls God” that “deprives the sinner of soul that’s in mortal sin. To receive all to holiness. This is the Year of sanctifying grace, and makes the soul the Body and Blood of Christ Mercy – make frequent use of the an enemy of God, takes away the merit unworthily does however threaten sacrament of Reconciliation – it of all its good actions, deprives it of new and grievous consequences. sensitizes us to sin & we receive the right to everlasting happiness in God’s grace, love and forgiveness! heaven, and makes it deserving of Saint Paul gives a very dire It is not necessary to have mortal everlasting punishment in hell.” The warning about receiving the sin to benefit from Confession! Baltimore Catechism goes on to Eucharistic presence of Christ Instead, frequent the sacraments of explain, “there are three conditions to unworthily (in mortal sin): Reconciliation and Holy make a sin mortal; first – the thought, “Therefore whoever eats the bread Communion with an extra intensity desire, word, action or omission must or drinks the cup of the Lord this year – each sacrament worthily be seriously wrong or considered unworthily will have to answer for received increases God’s life in our seriously wrong; second – the sinner the body and blood of the Lord. A soul and we grow in holiness! must be mindful of the serious wrong; person should examine himself, Please see the bulletin for the Mass third – the sinner must fully consent to and so eat the bread and drink the schedule. Confessions are heard it.” Whew! Thankfully a sincere cup. For anyone who eats and each Wednesday at 5pm, and 4pm Confession of all remembered serious drinks without discerning the body, on Saturdays, or by request. Our sins removes mortal sin and places the eats and drinks judgment on parish Lenten Penance Service is at soul back in a state of grace; in other himself. That is why many among 7pm Monday, Feb 29; bring others! words, God’s life returns to the soul! you are ill and infirm, and a Frequently call on Jesus & Mary each day to fan the flame of love for your meeting with Him! 33 Think of our Chapel as a spiritual nuclear power The VALUE, POWER, and plant containing God’s DIVINE power. Each time IMPORTANCE of Adoration we enter His presence waiting for us in the Adoration Chapel, our prayers before Our Lord What is Eucharistic Adoration? Eucharistic release God’s power! Recall the hemorrhaging Adoration is the act of giving worship to Jesus woman in the Gospel who reached out and Christ truly present in the Blessed Sacrament. touched the Lord and received His healing power; each visit we make before His True Presence What is the Blessed Sacrament? The Blessed draws on HIS power. If a simple x-ray affects the Sacrament is the term for the consecrated bread molecules and cells of our body, imagine what the and wine that has become the Body and Blood of DIVINE rays of GOD’s presence can do to us? Jesus Christ during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Don’t be afraid, He only does GOOD things. Each visit we make before the presence of God blesses What is the tabernacle? The tabernacle is the gold us; mind, body, & soul. Faith asks us to think on receptacle located in the Adoration Chapel; it is this when worthily receiving Jesus in Communion. placed in a prominent location visible to all. It is immovable, solid and locks to house the True What is the IMPORTANCE of Adoration? This life Presence of Christ. is temporary. We are all called to know, love, and serve God so we can live with Him forever in What is exposition? Exposition of the Blessed Heaven. Adoration of God in the Most Blessed Sacrament is when the Sacred Host, the Sacrament – in the Mass & outside of the Mass - Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, is removed from the is our supreme form of loving God in this life.