The Church lives through the crisis

Coping with Covid 19 Series.

Eucharist- Divine Mercy:
Image by David Eucaristía from Pixabay 

No social distancing from God.

•  How are you coping through the pandemic?  
•  What challenges are you experiencing?
•  Are you missing being able to go to your parish for Mass and to pray?  
•  Are you wanting to receive Jesus and are making a spiritual communion?
  
  
  The whole world is in this together but as Catholics, we should not be over fearful as Jesus is with us in this situation. God is greater than the virus. We need our faith strengthened and need to be solidarity in prayer for a better world after this crisis has ended.  It would be a crying shame if at the end of the crisis, we go back to our lives and the world has not changed its ways or never learned anything from it.

         So how have you adjusted to the situation?  

The first thing I did was made a spiritual stock take.  I started looking for live stream Masses.  I have provided a link  here   I live in Australia so attending Mass in UK was an obvious choice because I have been friends with the Parish priest there for a long time.  Yes, there are live stream Masses in Australia too.  It was a good starting point for me- something I had experienced when I was in hospital last year.

However, there is no Mass there on a Friday- there is another recommendation.  However yesterday being a first Friday, I searched the schedule on the same site only to discover a whole range of services live streamed- literally opened up the world to me. So, I attended Mass in Ireland yesterday. Here is the schedule page.

The other thing I have learned so far from this situation is to be in the right mind set for Mass just as you would be or even more so.  This is why I have deliberately used the word attending Mass rather than watching Mass.  When we watch a live stream Mass, we must remember we are at Mass and need to attend/participate fully. We are not enjoying ourselves as if we are watching a TV programme. It can be easy to fall into this trap.  Have the right mind set.

The most important thing to remember of course is that Jesus promised to be with us until the end of time. We know He always keeps His promises. 

thank you God for this blessing.

Coping with Covid 19 Series.

Eucharist- Divine Mercy 

Image by David Eucaristía from Pixabay 

PLENARY INDULGENCE  BLESSING 

On Friday 27th March at 6pm in Rome, Pope Francis had a holy hour. During that time, he asked us to join him in praying for the end of the corona virus.  The miraculous crucifix which the popes have signed  was there too. He spent some time in prayer before this miraculous crucifix.  He finished  the holy hour with Benediction blessing us with the monstrance.

There was also a blessing which attached to it is a plenary indulgence.

Now I wish to share something very personal.   I went to bed later than usual last night and I did not think I would wake up in time to watch the live holy hour with the Pope since it was 4am in my country's time zone.  I did not set my alarm but I woke up at 3.45am- so I thought I would get up and try to find the link  so that I would be ready to watch it.  I thought that with so many people watching it, that there would be freezing moments or that I would not be able to watch it.  Not only was that not the case, it only buffered for a few moments  once for the whole time.  I also had no trouble finding the link and be able to watch it.  All of these were God's blessings- new blessings for the day. Yet, as appreciative as I was for these blessings, God had more in store for me.

However, there was more.  Because of the changed conditions to receiving a plenary indulgence, I wanted to find out more.  I had asked some priest friends of mine who were unable to provide the information.  That did not stop me.  I reached out to a seminarian friend of mine to ask him.

He provided me with the information which I will now share.  Since then, I have found the link which I have provided also.

Normally, to receive a plenary indulgence, it is the condition to attend Mass and receive communion and go to confession ( within a week).  As  public Masses are suspended and in my country, confessions are not offered right now because of the corona virus, these conditions have been waived.

The conditions for receiving the plenary indulgence attached to the Pope's blessing for the end of the corona virus are

1. Participate(via communications) the papal holy hour live.

2. Read the scripture for 30 minutes. or

3. Pray the Rosary or

4. Pray the chaplet of Divine Mercy. or

5. Pray the Way of the Cross.

The intention to receive the plenary indulgence of course needs to be to implore God  to end the epidemic, relief for all those afflicted and for the salvation of the souls who have died.

It was such a beautiful time at that time of the morning- quiet and still. It was an opportune moment to re-examine my priorities and to ask God for His mercy too, as  my last time receiving the Sacrament of Penance was too long- something I regret letting slip off my priority with my relationship with God and something I am resolved not let slip again.  At this point, I could legitimately give you a range of reasons for this state of affairs but despite the validity of these reasons, it does not change the fact that I have lost great opportunities to grow through the grace of this sacrament. I am resolved not to allow these reasons to get in the way again because in the end, Jesus is far greater than my reasons.

I believe that I have been blessed. I know I feel different after this hour - lighter and I feel like i can breathe again. My heart feels like it is bubbling like a fountain or stream of water.

Now why am I sharing this with you. I wanted to share it with you because I feel that I can start again and that God has forgiven me. I feel that the slate has been wiped clean and that my sins are ''as far as from the east as to the west.'  I am so very thankful that I have had this opportunity. I can start again because I believe in faith that I have received the plenary indulgence.  I certainly have received something worthwhile. I know I feel different and this change occurred during the Holy hour. It was as though a big lump was removed as I felt my chest initially tighten and then there was such a release along with some tears too.

God is good and if you were not able to participate at the time, why not watch it any way. God's time is flexible so make the effort and spend this holy hour with Him for the good of the world. 

The other reason is that if you look at the conditions given above,  none of these prayers/devotions are burdensome. Notice that each one of them is OR.  The church is not asking of us much really.  However, this is an opportunity to pray in this way.   Maybe choose 1 of these prayer devotions each day or maybe you can pray more especially for those who yet to believe or cannot pray.

I remember when I had a mini stroke last year that it was difficult to pray during my illness. My prayers were in fact one big jumble really until the medication became less and I could start to think again.  Pray for those who are sick especially with the virus. I know I really relied on the prayers of others when I was sick last year. 

Although public Masses are suspended at the moment and with that the condition to attend Mass as an obligation has been waived because of the epidemic, we can still attend Mass via a streamed Mass and make a spiritual communion. Make it a priority and do not let your faith disappear during this time. It is a time to long for God more and remember there is never any social distancing from God.

I will look back on this day as a huge blessing.  I am forgiven and God loves me totally.

I hope by sharing my experience that you too will be blessed and encouraged during this time of crisis.

No social distancing from God- Looking for a Mass streamed

Coping with Covid 19 Series

Eucharist Divine Mercy

Image by David Eucaristia from Pixabay.com

Hello Friends

Looking for a daily and Sunday Mass live streamed?  There are probably plenty if you know where to look in your country.


However if you have not yet found a streamed Mass here is one that I would recommend.

DIRECTIONS.

1.On your web browser type in St James the Great Pettswood.

2.On the right side of the screen ( if you use google chrome)  you should see a photo and underneath the word website- double click on the word website.

3.When the website opens up, and you are on the home page, scroll down to the bottom and find quick links. Click on live streaming.

4. This takes you to a live stream page- scroll down to the third last sentence where you will see where it says click here.

7. Then you will  be able to watch Mass - initially you will see a candle but it will start to flicker when it is about to start.   As far as I understand the times shown will be in your own country time zone.  However if you wish to check  you can use  world time buddy.


Today is the Feast of Annunciation. You can check out what I wrote in previous post for this feast. Of course a lot has happened since then. However we can still focus our attention and know that through prayer and sacrifice we will get through this health crisis- perhaps overall in the world more thoughtful of others and wiser in how we share. We can pray for our own wake up call on our lives and be prepared to make the necessary changes.

We cannot be physically present at Mass but we may be  spiritually present via a streamed Mass.   However, if that is not possible, remember we can always say the Rosary.

The Pope has asked to pray with him today at midday ( Rome time) and at 6pm on this coming Friday 27th.  Again, if you are not able to join him then because it is the middle of the night or for some other reason, why not say the Rosary or divine Mercy Chaplet.  If you have not said these for a while, just start.. even one decade said to the best of your ability is better than not at all.

No social distancing from God

LAETARE SUNDAY

                                         How is your Lenten journey progressing?

Are you feeling weary and ready for a little break?

In Lent, we have the tradition to have a mid-Lent break, (the half way point of Lent), which is known as 'Laetare' Sunday derived from the latin 'to rejoice'. Liturgically we break away from the Lenten penitential spirit of the purple vestments to the wearing of rose-coloured vestments by the priest and/or deacon.  These rose-coloured vestments are only worn twice a year, so from a practical perspective, some parishes do not have a set, but use lighter purple vestments.

The fourth Sunday of Lent is also known as 'let up Sunday' because we 'let up' on our Lenten penance. It can be a timely reminder for those of us who may have struggled through Lent so far.  I remember thinking during one of my disastrous Lents that  we had reached the midpoint, and I had not got started. I remember another Lent going well up to Laetare Sunday- I had a break on that day and could not get started again.!!

In these uncertain times for the world, whether we are in lock down or still have a certain freedom to move, we have to practice  normal hygiene procedures and social distancing.

The good news for us to remember is that we do not have to practise social distancing from God.

He is there with open arms to hug us and love us through this crisis- in lock down  where we can use the opportunity to come closer to Him  like a retreat or if we are still fortunate enough to be able to move around for the necessities- we can be in communion  with our brothers and sisters all around the world in prayer.

So despite the tragic circumstances of the world, let us on this Laetare Sunday  rejoice. in whatever way we can.  

We do not have to social distance ourselves from God.. that is definitely something about which we can rejoice.