How Daily Mass Benefitted My Day to Day Life

Prayer is at the heart of any relationship with God, but to many people, including myself, maintaining a healthy prayer life is a constant struggle. Our daily schedules become so filled with our careers, family, and other activities that it seems we barely have time to breathe. But this is really when we need prayer the most. As I write this I am reminded of a quote from St. Francis de Sales, “Every one of us needs a half hour of prayer a day, except when we are busy, and then we need an hour.” In other words, as life becomes increasingly more complicated and hectic, that’s when our relationship with God becomes ever more critical.

In my personal experience, attendance at daily mass as helped me greatly in this area. I am fortunate in that there are a few churches near my job that offer daily mass at times that are easy to attend before I have to report to the office. I also realize that not everyone reading this may be in a similar situation and finding a daily mass may be much more difficult. I strongly encourage everyone to give it serious consideration. Start off slowly by attending a daily mass once or twice a week and you can eventually grow from there.  The benefits and graces from faithfully attending a weekday mass even once or twice weekly are powerful.

We Are an Easter People

In this Easter season, we rejoice in the hope and promise of victory that we see in the Risen Christ. Just as the Lord conquered sin and death, we know that through Him we will be ultimately victorious. We, as the Body of Christ, are an "Easter People" because at the core of our faith is the hope of the resurrection.

This world constantly tells us that our Church is outdated and dwindling. Judging by the media, it seems as if we are losing the battles against intrinsic evils such as abortion and homosexual marriage. Think about how many times you have heard lately that the Catholic Church is on the wrong side of history and the most Catholics don't agree with Church doctrine on issues like contraception and gay marriage. Judging by all of these messages, it sounds as if the Church is on it's death bed.

The truth is that like Christ on Good Friday, we will be mocked and condemned in the court of public opinion. This world want's nothing more than to see the Church on its own road to Calvary, where it will be put to death once and for all.  As the Body of Christ, our Church will be persecuted and suffer. It seems we may be entering into those dark times right now with the threat to our religious freedoms casting a large shadow over us. But as an Easter people we know that the story doesn't end there. Because of Christ's Resurrection, we know that ultimately we as the Church will be victorious over sin and death.

During this Easter Season, let us celebrate and show the world that Easter is more than just a day about spring, eggs, and bunnies. It is a time to rejoice in the promise of victory that we have witnessed in the Risen Christ! Alleluia!

Related story:
How we can be Easter people

Re-emergence of the Church Militant

 I want to share with you an outstanding article by Fr. Rick Heilman on the growing prosecution of  our church:
The Growing Persecution of the Church and the Re-emergence of the Church Militant.

In this article Fr. Heilman quotes Pope Pius XII and Pope Benedict XVI on the attacks the Church has faced in the past and up until the present day:

“The Church, the Mystical Body, exists on this earth, and is called the Church militant, because its members struggle against the world, the flesh and the devil.” (Pope Benedict XVI)

In 1953, the Pope who had led the Church through two decades of darkness in a world besieged by war, Pope Pius XII stated, “We belong to the Church militant; and She is militant because on earth the powers of darkness are ever restless to encompass Her destruction.”

We are becoming increasingly aware in our time that we are the Church militant as we battle the ravages caused by the culture of death. In addition, as we witness the growing hostility toward the church throughout the world, we realize that we are indeed engaged in a spiritual warfare.

This article from Fr. Heilman is a great reminder that there is an ongoing spiritual battle and we are all enlisted to stand against this evil and defend our Church and our faith. Pray for our Church, our Pope and Bishops, and our families, that God may strengthen us in this spiritual war and that more Catholics also wake up and stand with the Church Militant.

I have also included below the awesome video, "The Church Militant - Bringing Catholic Back", which Fr. Heilman included at the end of his article. Please take the time to read the full article and watch this powerful video.