The Catholic Community of Gloucester & Rockport HOLY FAMILY PARISH & OUR LADY OF GOOD VOYAGE PARISH _____________________________ Live the Gospel. Share God’s Love. Rebuild the Church. Fourth Sunday of Easter · May 3, 2020 OUR SPIRITUAL COMMUNION THIS WEEK’S MESSAGE — PAGE 3 _____________________________ The Catholic Community of Gloucester & Rockport United in Prayer, Fellowship, and Service Phone: 978-281-4820 Email: [email protected] Website: ccgronline.com CATHOLIC COMMUNITY OF GLOUCESTER & ROCKPORT FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER A CALL TO PRAYER _____________________ Mother of the Church, Pray for Us! BY POPE FRANCIS In this present tragic situation, when the whole world is prey to suffering and anxiety, we fly to you, Mother of God and our Mother, and we seek refuge under your protection. Virgin Mary, turn your merciful eyes toward us amid this coronavirus pandemic. Comfort those who are distraught and mourn their loved ones who have died, and at times are buried in a way that grieves them deeply. Be close to those who are concerned for their loved ones who are sick, and who, in order to prevent the spread of the disease, cannot be close to them. Fill with hope those who are troubled by the uncertainty of the future, and the consequences for the economy and employment. Mother of God and our Mother, pray for us to God, the Father of Mercies, that this great suffering may end and that hope and peace may dawn anew. Plead with your Divine Son, as you did at Cana, so that the families of the sick and the victims be comforted, and their hearts be opened to confidence and trust. Protect those doctors, nurses, health workers, and volunteers who are on the frontline of this emergency, and are risking their lives to save others. Support their heroic efforts and grant them strength, generosity, and continued health. Be close to those who assist the sick night and day, and to priests, who in their pastoral concern and fidelity to the Gospel, are trying to help and support everyone. Blessed Virgin, illumine the minds of men and women engaged in scientific research, so that they may find effective solutions to overcome this virus. Support national leaders, so that with wisdom, solicitude, and generosity, they may come to the aid of those lacking basic necessities and may devise social and economic solutions inspired by vision and solidarity. Mary Most Holy, stir our consciences, so that the enormous funds invested in developing and stockpiling arms will instead be spent on promoting effective research on how to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future. Beloved Mother, help us to realize that we are all members of one great family, and to recognize the bond that unites us, so that, in a spirit of fraternity and solidarity, we can help alleviate countless situations of poverty and need. Make us strong in faith, persevering in service, constant in prayer. Mary, Consolation of the Afflicted, embrace all your children in distress and pray that God will stretch out his all-powerful hand and free us from this terrible pandemic, so that life can serenely resume its normal course. To you, do we entrust ourselves, who shine on our journey as a sign of salvation and hope, O Clement, O Loving, O Sweet Virgin Mary. Amen. 2 CCGRONLINE.COM | @CCGRONLINE MAY 3, 2020 THIS WEEK’S MESSAGE _____________________ Our Spiritual Communion BY POPE FRANCIS Brothers and sisters! The month of May is a time when the People of God express with partic- ular intensity their love and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is traditional during this month to pray the Holy Rosary at home with our families. The restrictions of the pandemic have made us come to appreciate all the more this family aspect of the Church from a spiritu- al point of view. For this reason, I encourage everyone to rediscover the beauty of praying the Holy Rosary at home during the month of May. This can be done either as a group or individ- ually. You can decide according to your own situations by making the most of every oppor- tunity. The key to doing this is always simplicity. I also wish to provide two prayers to Our Lady that you can recite at the end of the Rosary, and that I will pray myself during the month of May in a spiritual communion with all of you (see page 2 and below). I share them with you here so that they will be available to everyone. Dearest brothers and sisters, contemplating the face of Christ with the heart of Mary, our Mother, will make us even more united as a spiritual family and will help us overcome this time of trial. I keep all of you in my prayers, especially those suffering most greatly. And I ask you, please, to pray for me. I thank you. And with great affection, I send you my blessing. O Mary, you shine continuously on our journey as a sign of salvation and hope. We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick, who, at the foot of the cross, was united with Jesus’ suffering, and persevered in your faith as Protectress of the Roman people. You know our needs, and we know that you will provide; so that as at Cana in Galilee, joy and celebration may return after this time of trial. Help us, Mother of Divine Love, to conform ourselves to the will of the Father and to do what Jesus tells us. For he took upon himself our suffering, and burdened himself with our sorrows to bring us, through the cross, to the joy of the resurrection. Amen. Basilica of Saint John Lateran· Rome Feast of Saint Mark· April 25, 2020 3 CATHOLIC COMMUNITY OF GLOUCESTER & ROCKPORT FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER A CALL TO PRAYER _____________________ Our Spiritual Communion, Part 2 BY FATHER FEDERICO LOMBARDI, SJ When those of us who are now old were children, during catechism class we were told often about spiritual communion. They told us that we could unite ourselves spiritually to Jesus, who offers Himself upon the altar even if we are not able to make a sacramental communion by physically receiving the consecrated host. Spiritual communion was a religious practice that aimed at making us feel continuously united to Jesus, not only when we received Holy Communion during Mass, but also at other times and places. It was not an alternative to sac- ramental communion, but in a certain sense continued it and prepared us for it — such as vis- its to the Blessed Sacrament and other moments of prayer. After a certain point in time, we heard practically nothing more about [spiritual communion]. The emphasis on participation at Mass by receiving Holy Communion, which is certainly good in itself, has led to other traditional dimensions of Christian devotion being overshad- owed. I began to think again, more intensely, about spiritual communion on one exceptional occasion. During World Youth Day in Madrid in 2011, a sudden storm during the night de- stroyed most of the tents where the unconsecrated hosts were being prepared in anticipation of the more than two million young people expected for the final Mass. And so, at the main Mass celebrated by the Holy Father, only a very few of the young people were able to receive sacramental communion, precisely because there were so few hosts. Many people were upset, at least at first. It seemed to some as if World Youth Day had failed because something essential was missing from the culminating religious moment of the event. It took a great deal of time and energy to help people understand that although the physical act of receiving the Sacred Host is exceptionally important, it is not the only indispensable manner of being united with Christ Jesus and His Body, the Church. Nowadays, during his morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis encourages the faith- ful to pray with him, without being physically present, to make a spiritual communion...I am reminded of a holy card with a little picture of a priest raising the consecrated host in his hands. Around the image, like the hours of a clock, there were the morning hours of different countries and continents where priests would be celebrating Mass. At that time, Mass was only celebrated in the morning! It was meant to remind us that the Sacrifice of Jesus, who died for us, was being continually renewed around the world, and that we could always unite our- selves spiritually with him and his oblation. Spiritual communion, when we cannot receive sacramental communion, can also be called a communion of desire, because we desire that our own lives be united with Jesus, and especially to his sacrifice for us upon the cross. During this prolonged time of Eucharistic fasting that is forced upon us, many people who are accustomed to frequent sacramental communion are increasingly feeling the lack of their “daily bread” of the Eucharist...Fasting is a deprivation, but it can also be a time of growth...Eucharistic fasting can become a time of growth: growth in faith, growth in desire for the gift of sacramental communion, growth in solidarity with those who for whatever reason cannot benefit from it, or growth in freedom from habits of carelessness in receiving. May we come to understand anew that the Eucharist is a gratuitous and surprising gift of the Lord Je- sus. It is neither trivial nor banal. May we desire it with our whole heart. Can this be a conse- quence of these troubled times? 4 CCGRONLINE.COM | @CCGRONLINE MAY 3, 2020 A CALL TO PRAYER _____________________ A Prayer for Spiritual Communion BY SAINT ALPHONSUS LIGUORI My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the Most Blessed Sacrament.