CHRIST THE KING

JMJ+OBT
Pax et Bonum!

CHRIST THE KING is the the final Sunday of the Liturgical Year because we are all created to live in the Kingdom of God with Christ as our King and Mary as our Queen. Those who are faithful to Christ the King, listening to His instructions given in and through the Catholic Church and living these Truths and the Sacramental Life, are prepared for the Kingdom of God. This is the goal of our lives and, thus, the Liturgical Year leads us from Advent, where we prepare for the birth of Christ, to Christ the King, where we embrace the realities of the Kingdom of God where we will live, God willing, for all of eternity.

Now, that we have come to the culmination of the Liturgical Year, let us ask the Holy Spirit to honestly examine our lives in the light of the following questions and considerations which Father James Flanagan, the first Priest servant of SOLT, proposes to us:

Look over the last year and be open to what has happened in my life with God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

What is my relationship with each Person of the Most Holy Trinity?

How has my relationship moved with each Person of the Most Holy Trinity during this past year?

Ask Our Lady to bring the graces of the past year to their fulfillment. See how God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit have each touched my life. See how He placed His mind in mine, how He has clothed me and how He has made me one with Him.

Christ has been drawing me to Himself and Our Lady has encouraged me to be one with Him. This is one very special grace among many. Am I grateful? Have I worshiped Him? Have I run from Him? How can I better relate to God?

Examination in relationship to Christ the King:

Does He really rule my life or do I belong to someone or something else? Does He really rule my heart, mind, soul and body?

The last gift Jesus gives this year is as King. Be kingly in everything I do. Do everything in a kingly and royal way.

Jesus is King of creation, King of the universe, King of Peace, King of kings, King of hearts, King of souls, King of minds, King of our bodies and King of our lives. Jesus is the King who brought the Kingdom of God to humanity. He is the King of kindness, mercy, goodness, generosity… Jesus is the King with total victory over all enemies. He has the victories over the devil, flesh, world, sin and death. Jesus is the King who gathers and gives abundant life so be beholden to God.

To understand the Kingdom (including the dynamics of the kingdom) you must understand the King. Jesus is the King of Truth and Life. Do you live in the Truth? Do you respect life from conception to natural death?

Christ makes all things new and calls you to the Kingdom of God. To make all things new, Christ restores all in the goodness of the Father. Do you see the goodness of the Father? Have you followed your call and lived as a faithful member of the Kingdom of God?

Christ came in the flesh, and He gave the complete gift of Himself. Have you?

Go to the throne and drink the everlasting water. Never thirst again when the King reigns.

Jesus is the King who is the faithful witness of the Father. He brings forth all the righteousness of the Father who is uncreated Charity with the Son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the King who fulfills and is fruitful. Are you?

In the Liturgical year, get into a "rhythm" in my life. Now I live in Christ the King. Next will be the Incarnation as I prepare for Advent. In Lent I will prepare to live in the Paschal Mystery. At Easter I will live the Resurrection. Look for the Teaching on "Liturgy is Life" and live the abundant life Jesus, Christ the King, won for me. Contemplate the face of Christ in the school of Mary.

Pray:

Holy Spirit bring me to the oneness with Christ how and as you see fit and as Christ and the Father desire. Bring me to the oneness with Christ as the Most Holy Trinity desired during this year, and for which You granted me many graces and blessings. Please grant pardon for my failing to respond to many of these graces and blessings, and I ask that You still bring them to fruition. Please show me everything You are doing so that I can follow, adapt and bring forth Your fruitfulness. Help me come to the direction You want me to go into and that I must follow. Thank you.

--
Through the intercession of Our Lady, St. Joseph, St. Michael, St. Peter, St. Paul, St. John, St. James, St. Therese, St. Rita, St. Philomena, St. Jude, St. Nicholas, St. Alphonsus, St. Peter Chrysologus, St. Zachary, St. Elizabeth, St. John the Baptist, St. Perpetua, St. Felicity, St. Francis, St. Veronica Guiliani, St. Joan of Arc, St. Louis, St. Joseph Calasanz, St. Padre Pio, St. Patrick, St. Bridget, St. Columban and all the Holy Angels and Saints may you be abundantly blessed in the Covenant of Communion of the Most Holy Trinity, with my Priestly blessing,

Father Zachary of the Mother of God, SOLT

LIVE LIFE!

JMJ+OBT

Pax et Bonum!

LIVE LIFE. L stands for LINKED to Jesus. I stands for living IN Jesus. F stands for FRUITFULNESS in Jesus. E stands for EUCHARIST. LIFE is God's gift. In thanksgiving, let us live a life that is fruitful and pleasing to God.

Jesus calls us to live IN Him. When we live IN Him, then He will live in us, and our lives will bear much fruit. We see how Jesus' life bore fruit and continues to bear fruit. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are charity (or love), joy, peace, patience, benignity (or kindness), goodness, longanimity (or long suffering), mildness, faith, modesty, continence, and chastity. These fruits are pleasing to the Father and, thus, are our happiness.

We hear in the parable of the talents (St. Matthew 25:14-30) that those who were fruitful by applying the talents entrusted to them entered into the Master's joy. We all long to hear Jesus say "Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your Master's joy." We will hear these words if we live IN Jesus by living our Catholic faith in the fullness of Truth spoken and taught by Holy Mother Church.

We must live IN Jesus and bear much fruit. We have been given many talents and these are to be gifted to others. The talents belong to God and must not be buried through selfishness or fear. We do not want to be like the wicked and lazy servant who buried the talent entrusted to him and, thus, was cast into the darkness outside where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.

Let us ask Our Blessed Mother to be fruitful as she was and is fruitful. We pray: "Hail Mary, Full of Grace,The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary,Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Amen." The fruit of the womb of Our Lady in the power of the Holy Spirit is Jesus. Jesus is the fruit that pleases Our Father. LIVE LIFE! LINKED to Jesus, Live IN Jesus, and bring forth FRUITFULNESS by centering your life in the Most Holy EUCHARIST.

--
Through the intercession of Our Lady, St. Joseph, St. Michael, St. Peter, St. Paul, St. John, St. James, St. Therese, St. Rita, St. Philomena, St. Jude, St. Nicholas, St. Alphonsus, St. Peter Chrysologus, St. Zachary, St. Elizabeth, St. John the Baptist, St. Perpetua, St. Felicity, St. Francis, St. Veronica Guiliani, St. Joan of Arc, St. Louis, St. Joseph Calasanz, St. Padre Pio, St. Patrick, St. Bridget, St. Columban and all the Holy Angels and Saints may you be abundantly blessed in the Covenant of Communion of the Most Holy Trinity, with my Priestly blessing,

Father Zachary of the Mother of God, SOLT

LIFE IS SHORT, DEATH IS CERTAIN, ETERNITY IS A LONG TIME!

JMJ+OBT

Pax et Bonum.

LIFE IS SHORT, DEATH IS CERTAIN, ETERNITY IS A LONG TIME! There are four last things: death, judgment, heaven and hell. Live your life with these realities before you.

In November we remember the Church Triumphant (the Saints in Heaven), the Church Suffering (the Holy Souls in Purgatory), and the Church Militant (the Church here on earth). We thank God for His Mercy and Love shown to the Church. We realize that we are all connected. We draw strength from the lives of the Saints, and we ask for their intercession. We pray, sacrifice and do penance to relieve the sufferings of those who are in Purgatory. We recognize that Purgatory is a gift of God's Mercy and Love, as everyone should desire to be purified before entering the presence of the All Holy, Pure and Beautiful God for all eternity. We also pray, sacrifice and do penance for those on the pilgrimage with us.

Some of the most powerful ways we can help the Holy Souls in Purgatory is to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the happy repose of their souls. We should pray the Most Holy Rosary and other prayers for the same intentions. We should sacrifice and do penance on their behalf. We can and should seek and gain indulgences for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

We should all be familiar with the Church's teachings on Indulgences (see Enchiridion of Indulgences and The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Part II, Chapter 2). One way to gain a Plenary Indulgence is to visit a cemetery between November 1 and November 8 and pray for the faithful departed. In addition, the faithful are to 1. receive Holy Communion (only if they are in a state of grace) on that day, 2. receive the Sacrament of Penance (Confession) either eight days before or after the pious act of visiting the cemetery on or between the dates specified, 3. recite prayers for the intentions of the Holy Father (at a minimum one Our Father and one Hail Mary, but other prayers are encouraged in addition), and 4. be free from attachment to sin, even venial sin. Do your best to fulfill these conditions, and try to gain a Plenary Indulgence each and every day. Ask Our Blessed Mother who loves you and loves the Holy Souls in Purgatory to help you. Please seek to gain a Plenary Indulgence for the Holy Souls in Purgatory every day and give the Indulgence to Our Lady to apply. Our Blessed Mother knows best.

Another powerful prayer is the prayer of Saint Gertrude the Great. Our Lord told this great Saint that the following prayer would release 1,000 souls from Purgatory each time it is said. The prayers was extended to include living sinners as well. Here is the prayer: "Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen."

At meals or in between the decades of the Most Holy Rosary, we should also pray the "Requiem aeternam" which is known as the "Eternal rest" prayer. The prayer is as follows: "Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the Mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen."

Our brothers and sisters in Purgatory will be eternally grateful for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered for them, the Holy Rosaries prayed for them and the other prayers, sacrifices, penances and indulgences offered for them. Do for others what you would want them to do for you.

--
Through the intercession of Our Lady, St. Joseph, St. Michael, St. Peter, St. Paul, St. John, St. James, St. Therese, St. Rita, St. Philomena, St. Jude, St. Nicholas, St. Alphonsus, St. Peter Chrysologus, St. Zachary, St. Elizabeth, St. John the Baptist, St. Perpetua, St. Felicity, St. Francis, St. Veronica Guiliani, St. Joan of Arc, St. Louis, St. Joseph Calasanz, St. Padre Pio, St. Patrick, St. Bridget, St. Columban and all the Holy Angels and Saints may you be abundantly blessed in the Covenant of Communion of the Most Holy Trinity, with my Priestly blessing,

Father Zachary of the Mother of God, SOLT