MASS INTENTIONS
Having a person remembered at Mass in a special way or a ‘Mass Intention’ is a long-standing tradition in the Catholic Church. An individual may request a Mass Intention for several reasons: for example, in thanksgiving, for the intentions of another person (such as on a birthday or an anniversary), for someone who is sick, or for the repose of the soul of someone who has died. If you would like to request a Mass Intention for somebody, living or deceased, envelopes can be found at the church entrances. Simply fill out the request envelope and place your offering inside. Then return the envelope to the parish office or drop it in the collection basket. We can also provide you with a Mass card to notify someone of the Mass you have arranged for them or their deceased loved one. Call the office for assistance.
Spiritual Communion consists in an ardent desire of receiving Jesus and in welcoming him in our hearts as though we received him sacramentally. This practice will unite us more intimately with Christ our Lord. Spiritual Communion may be made at any time, in any place, using your own aspirations. Following is a prayer that could be used:
My Jesus, I believe that you are really present in the Blessed Sacrament. I love you and I long for you with all my being. Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, come spiritually into my heart. I adore you and unite myself to you. Never let me be separated from you. Amen.
O Sacrament most holy,
O Sacrament divine,
All praise and all thanksgiving
Be every moment thine.
The Rosary is the “rose garden” of sanctity for children. The Holy Spirit teaches us to: “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).
How to pray the Rosary as a family each day, you may ask?
If praying an entire 5-decade Rosary is too lengthy for keeping younger children interested; here are ideas on how to begin/continue the tradition of praying the Rosary as a Domestic church.
1. Begin by simply praying three or five “Hail Marys”… Have pictures of the mysteries on cardstock (laminated) for little hands to hold and contemplate while praying out loud.
2. Pray with two or more family members… “For where two or more gather in my name, there I am with them.” (Matthew 18:20)
3. Pray early in the evening but not before going to bed because tiredness will set in with the little ones.
4. Pray the Rosary anytime you are gathered together for 15 minutes or longer, and before turning on the TV or other electronic equipment.
5. Pray in the car on the way to work or as you drive your children to school. Depending on the length of the drive; you could get a decade of Hail Marys prayed in thanksgiving for the blessings of the day! I keep a CD of the Rosary being prayed by seminarians. Their voices in prayer are always very comforting and reassuring for me (especially) when I get “caught in traffic”…