Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Richmond, VA

Memorial Day

Rachel weeping for her children
(Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Richmond, VA)

Charlie napping at prayer time

I took this just two days before he passed away. He looks so happy, simply napping there next to my breviary :)


Rest in peace, buddy. I'll see you again someday :)

St. Kim Taegon Catholic Church, Richmond, VA

St. Kim Taegon


The Sanctuary


The "Tantum Ergo" in Korean!!


And yes, the entire Mass was in Korean! But since it was still the Mass, I could follow along fairly well (yay! ^_^), and just said the prayers quietly in English. After all, the Eucharist is the Eucharist, and Jesus is Jesus, regardless of the language you use to pray ^_^
Two observations:
1) They are VERY into the "sacred silence" bits of the Mass, which are usually much shorter in English and Spanish Masses. It was hard for me to just sit quietly and be still; I kept catching myself fidgeting and whining inwardly that we ought to get on to the next part of the Mass already, sheesh. Patience is something I really need to work on! lol
2) Where we would raise our hands as we say "and also with you"/"Y con tu espiritu," they bow instead.

And there was a very nice nun, Sr. Lady-vina (at least that's how it sounded), who came over to welcome me. She's with the Little Sisters of the Holy Family and invited me to come to Sunday Mass, after which they have a big community dinner with tasty, tasty Korean food. Mmmm. I just wish I could get someone to go with me. Any takers?

I'd debated with myself about whether or not to go, but God gave me the distinct impression that I should go. And I'm glad I did; it was quite the experience!

Mass, Nature Walk, and Youth on a Mission -- a perfect Wednesday ^_^

Sanctuary of St Peter's Catholic Church, Richmond, VA


Last Supper, stained glass window in St Peter's


Flowers behind the Religious Ed building


St Anthony


Youth on a Mission kids


Mario giving tonight's talk

Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Richmond, VA

Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Richmond, VA

Sanctuary of the Cathedral

Divine Mercy

(This is the talk I gave on Wednesday to my church's youth group, with Mario's helpful suggestions added in -- many thanks to him!)

Last Sunday was Divine Mercy Sunday, the first Sunday after Easter. It is the Feast of Mercy, requested by Jesus through Saint Faustina. It's purpose is to highlight the merciful love of God that's the whole point behind Easter -- and the Eucharist we celebrate at every Mass.



First, just a little bit about St. Faustina. She was a young, uneducated Polish nun who lived between 1905 and 1938. She was a modern woman -- not someone way back in ancient history. Jesus came to her in visions, and he gave her the prayers of the chaplet and urged her to share the message of Divine Mercy. She recorded all these things in her diary, and from then on she recited this form of prayer almost constantly, especially for the dying.



The Divine Mercy image is a painting St Faustina had commissioned that shows how Jesus appeared to her. It is an image of the Risen Lord, with rays of mercy coming from His heart. The red ray symbolizes blood and the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. The blue ray symbolizes water, Baptism, and the Holy Spirit. Both recall how when His side was pierced at the Crucifixion, blood and water flowed out, and we are redeemed by His merciful sacrifice for us.

Blessed Pope John Paul II said, "Right from the beginning of my ministry [...] I considered the message of Divine Mercy my special task." This Message of Divine Mercy is quite simple, but also an immense challenge -- Trust in Jesus, and be merciful as God your Father is merciful. "We are not only to receive the mercy of God, but to use it by being merciful to others" through the works of mercy (emphasis mine). As St. Paul said, "Faith without works is dead" (James 2:17). It does us no good to talk about Jesus all day long if we don't get out there and really live it.


What are the works of mercy? There are 14 -- 7 "corporal" (dealing with the body and physical life) and 7 "spiritual" (they deal with tending our souls and fostering eternal life).

Corporal Works
1. Feed the hungry
2. Give drink to the thirsty
3. Clothe the naked
4. Shelter the homeless
5. Comfort the prisoners
6. Visit the sick
7. Bury the dead

Spiritual Works
1. Teach the uninformed
2. Pray for the living and the dead
3. Correct sinners
4. Counsel those in doubt
5. Console the sorrowful
6. Bear wrongs patiently
7. Forgive wrongs willingly

Can anyone here give an example of when they did one of these works of mercy? Why did you do it?

All of this is integrally linked to the Divine Mercy Chaplet because in this devotion we beg God to have mercy on us and on the whole world, for we are all sinners. We're nothing without His mercy.

Now, let's pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.

For more information on St. Faustina and the message of Divine Mercy, check out The Divine Mercy, a website maintained by the Marians of the Immaculate Conception.

"When a man dies, a Christian never celebrates"

With you, O Mother of the Redeemer, may the hymn of the humble and the poor rise to almighty God: may He, the merciful one, bring peace to earth, reconcile the brothers at enmity, confound Cain, make Abel rise again, may He bring all of creation to the design He had at the beginning to the love of the Son, in the grace of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
~ Pope John Paul II

The Beatification of Pope John Paul II -- and Divine Mercy Sunday

I awoke very early this morning, even for me -- 4am! The TV helps me fall asleep, but Animal Planet (my favorite channel) had "Lost Tapes" on, so I turned to EWTN. To be honest, I was thinking "this channel is usually very boring" (except for Life on the Rock, of course! ^_~). But not so this morning! I had forgotten -- they were broadcasting the Beatification of Pope John Paul II live! :D

I was originally planning to watch it, but then decided I'd sleep instead and watch it online later.
Apparently God had other ideas! ^_~

It was a beautiful ceremony, with pilgrims from all over the world. Among them, Poland was very well-represented, being the late Pope's homeland. And I'll admit it, I cried a few times :')

Especially touching for me is that today is also Divine Mercy Sunday: "My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy" (Diary, 699) . We are reminded of God's infinite mercy for us and His love, which shined through Blessed Pope John Paul II, in his life and in his writings. On a personal note, the late pontiff's "Theology of the Body" and "Mulieris Dignitatem" helped to heal some very deep wounds in my past that kept me from experiencing Christ's love, particularly His love expressed through His Church. I can now sincerely sing "¡Confíar en Ti! ¡Confíar en Ti! ¡Ahí está mi fuerza!¡Y confíar en, confíar en Ti!"
The Divine Mercy Chaplet is one of my favorite devotions, and if you've never prayed it before, please check it out! It's such a beautiful chaplet, and instills such a sense of peace and reassurance of God's mercy.

Saint Faustina, pray for us!