Saint Alphonsus Liguori was born in Naples, Italy in 1696. He was a bishop and also a great doctor of prayer. He wasdeclared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius IX. St. Alphonsus was the founder of the Redemptionist Congregation.He died peacefully in 1787. He was beatified in 1816 and then canonized in 1839. This is what he suggests about makinga private visit toourLord,present in the BlessedSacrament:

When it comes to concerns for our health and the health of our loved ones, we should always turn to prayer. We pray for disease prevention, for physical healing, and for peace of soul while enduring physical suffering. Fortunately, there seems to be a special saint for just about every illness and health concern we can think of!

The saints are great aids to us in our time of need and help guide us to greater love for Christ through our crosses and trials, especially when it comes to our health. Here is a list of both popular and not-so-well-known saints to invoke for common ailments:

7. Deep Personal Wounds Star t to Heal and Acts of Grace Abound

God always honors someone who persistently and patiently offers up their failings to Him and humbly asks for help. Confession is like cleaning and redressing a wound. The wound may not heal immediately, but it is never going to heal at all if it is not regularly cleaned and carefully re- dressed. Over time, the repeated cleaning and care for the wound eventually heals it. For years, I mentioned my poor drinking habits in Confession nearly every time I went. I was at a loss to know how to fix my addiction. But I knew I had to mention it each time. Eventually, I was given an amazing moment of grace and I haven't touched alcohol again. The next time I went to Confession I was stunned. I didn't need to mention it! Looking back, I could see how God had worked with me and through me, even when I was in despair at ever being healed.

On a Friday in September of 1240, at the convent of San Damiano in Assisi, Italy, Muslim Crusaders threatened the Poor Clares. Saint Clare defended the sisters with a monstrance. At the time, St. Clare was too ill to walk. St. Clare prostrated herself and prayed to the Eucharistic Lord to protect His handmaids. She had her sisters help her confront the invaders while she held the Blessed Sacrament in a silver and ivory case high in the air. When the attackers saw the courage of the sisters in the presence of the sacramental Eucharist, they were filled with fear and fled back over the walls they had scaled at the start. The sisters were left in peace.

As Catholics, we are required to go to Confession once a year, but why stop there? We know Confession can be daunting or difficult, and there might be many reasons why you don’t want to go. However, regular Confession, whether it be monthly, every two weeks,or weekly, doesn’t have to be scary. In fact, it is life changing and life giving! Here we share 11 amazing things that happen whenyou go to Confession more often.

In every loving relationship there is a desire to spend time with the person with whom you are involved whether it is in a friendship, a courtship, a marriage, or a family. We schedule the time for dinner together or a cup of tea or a date night. Our desire to be with that favored person drives us to keep that time together without interruptions because we want to show the importance of the person to us.

No one wants to be known as a gossip, yet who among us has never gossiped? It's tempting. It is so tempting in fact, that we can convince ourselves that we were not really gossiping.

Take the gossip test below to determine if you qualify as a gossip. If you answer yes to any of the 10 statements below, you have gossiped. Then read on for powerful reasons never to do it again.

1. As long as it's true, it's okay to repeat.
2. I needed to vent.
3. I told only one person.
READ MORE

St. John Vianney was a parish priest in France who had great reverence for the Blessed Sacrament. He always delighted in discovering how many of his parishioners did as well. There was one farmer who would never pass thechurch without stopping inside. His tools would be left at the front door. Hewould enter the church and kneel directly before the tabernacle. Sometimes hewould be there for a few minutes. Often he would be there for several hours. St.John Vianney asked him once what prayers he was praying when he made thesevisits. The man told him, “I say nothing to Him. I look at him and He looks atme.”

"You are my strength when I am weak. You are the treasure that I seek. You are my all in all. Seeking You as a precious jewel. Lord, to give up I'd be a fool. You are my all in all."

These are the highest, holiest days celebrated each year by the Church beginning with the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday through Easter Sunday. It is called the "Easter Triduum" or Paschal Triduum". We celebrate the great Paschal mystery of Christ's crucifixion, burial, and resurrection.

This is a night within our spiritual life that cuts through — that resonates beyond all others — the Watch before the Altar of Repose. During this late-night vigil, parishioners are invited to sit with Jesus throughout the night. This vigil is meant to parallel the time when Jesus asked the disciples to keep watch and pray with him as he prayed to God at Gethsemane under the crippling weight of what was going to transpire. In the candlelit silence in the chapel, seasoned with the prayers of generations of believers, sitting before the true presence of Christ, the radiant peace and gravity of Christ's presence is palpable. The time here is markedly different from all others during the church year. This time is not a time to pray for ourselves or for others.

Jesus asked, through St. Faustina, that the Feast of the Divine Mercy be preceded by a Novena to the Divine Mercy, to begin on Good Friday. In her diary, St. Faustina wrote that Jesus told her:

"On each day of the novena you will bring to My heart a different group of souls and you will immerse them in this ocean of My mercy...On each day you will beg My Father, on the strength of My passion, for the graces for these souls."

The most important thing to realize about making a private Holy Hour is that we don't have to do anything out of the ordinary. We don't have to say any particular prayers, or read, or sing, or anything else. All we have to do is be present to the One who is present to us. We are present in body and with our hearts. We come to the Blessed Sacrament in a loving awareness of who is present.

It seems strange that during the most sacred time of year we cover everything that is beautiful in our churches, even the crucifix. Shouldn't we be looking at the painful scene at Calvary while we listen to the Passion narrative on Palm Sunday?

While it may appear counter-intuitive to veil statues and images during the final weeks of Lent, the Church recommends this practice to heighten our senses and build within us a longing for Easter Sunday. It is a tradition that should not only be carried out in our local parish, but can also be a fruitful activity for the "domestic church" to practice.

In our daily lives we make plans. We schedule hair appointments every four to six weeks. We make sure we go to the dentist for our six-month cleanings. We set a date and time to meet up with our friends for lunch or dinner or even just a quick cup of coffee.

There are demands on our time that involve our children, our spouses, our families-housework, athletic events, music lessons, preparing meals (planning, cooking, and/or picking up take-out), visiting our elderly parents, caring for a homebound or ill family member. It is true. Every one seems to want a portion of our 24 hours, including time for our own needs like sleeping!

Hello, Katrina. My question for you is about actively participating at Mass. Is it still considered “participating” ifI can’t fully concentrate on the readings or the homily? My two daughters are 3 and 8 months and I’m usuallypretty distracted with making sure they don’t get too loud and fussy and disturb others around us. Some SundaysI completely miss all the readings and even the homily. I wonder if I should just wait until they’re older to cometo Mass so that I can concentrate and actually participate. Is it considered participating at Mass if I am barely mentally present?

Consider visiting a nearby church in the area of your work or come to St. Magdalen's during the day or after work. Spend a few quiet minutes before the Tabernacle.

"The Sacred species reserved in the Tabernacle is to be adored because Christ is substantially present!" Imagine,time alone WITH Jesus!! What better use of anyone's time, even if only for a short while?

My Dear Friends in Christ,

It has come to my attention, from a devout parishioner, that there will be a master tarot reader, medium and Reiki masterat a local salon in Flemington. Going to mediums, fortune tellers and playing with Ouija boards are a direct opposition toour faith and a grave matter for confession. As your pastor, I would be remiss not to warn of the severity of such athing. Please pray for the conversion of this medium who is attempting to contact the dead and that the salon would decline to sponsor this event. The Pontifical Committee on Family has warned us that Reiki is not a practice that we shouldas Catholics be participating in. As Catholics, we pray for the dead, that they rest in peace, that their time in purgatory isshort. We do not conjure up their spirits.