Vidimus Dominum

NORTH HAVEN, Conn. (National Catholic Register) – Until a few weeks ago, Francis Beckwith served as president of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS), an association of 4,300 Protestant theologians. That was until he made the announcement on the Right Reason blog of his return to the Catholic faith of his youth.

Beckwith returned to the church after 32 years as an evangelical. The online “storm” that followed led Beckwith to resign as president of the prestigious society.

He serves as associate professor of church-state studies at Baylor University. He spoke recently to National Catholic Register from his home in Waco, Texas.

National Catholic Register: It’s been a while now since your announcement. Can you believe your reversion is still generating so much online discussion?

No, it’s beyond remarkable. Prior to my announcement, our blog averaged 1,500 hits per day. The weekend after my announcement, it hit 20,000. We’re still getting between 5,000 and 7,000 per day.

National Catholic Register: You were born into a Catholic family. When did you leave the Catholic Church?

I was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1960. My mother, Elizabeth, also born in Brooklyn, is Italian-American. My father, Harold Beckwith, was born in Connecticut. I’m the eldest of their four children. In the mid-1960s we moved to Las Vegas, Nev., where my father worked as an accountant and internal auditor at a number of hotels. In the late 1970s, both he and mother founded Sweets of Las Vegas, a candy business that had two retail stores in the area.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was part of the first generation of Catholics who would have no memory of the church prior to Vatican II. This also meant that I grew up, and attended Catholic schools, during a time in which well-meaning Catholic leaders were testing all sorts of innovations in the church, many of which were deleterious to the proper formation of young people.

On the other hand, there were some very important renewal movements in the church at the time.

The Catholic Charismatic Movement had a profound impact on me.

During my middle school years, while attending Maranatha House, a Jesus People church in downtown Vegas, I also frequented a Catholic Charismatic Bible study. Some of the folks at that Bible study were instrumental in bringing to my parents’ parish three Dominican priests who offered a week-long evening seminar on the Bible and the Christian life. I attended that seminar and was very much taken by the Dominicans’ erudition and deep spirituality, and the love of Jesus that was evident in the way they conducted themselves.

But I was also impressed with the personal warmth and commitment to scripture that I found among charismatic Protestants with whom I had interacted at Maranatha House.

After all, we listened to the Byrds, Neil Young and Bob Dylan, and we knew the church just couldn’t compete with them.

What I needed, and what many of us desired, were intelligent and winsome ambassadors for Christ who knew the intellectual basis for the Catholic faith, respected and understood the solemnity and theological truths behind the liturgy, and could explain the renewal movements in light of these.

National Catholic Register: You spent 32 years in the evangelical world. What could Catholics learn from evangelicals?

I learned plenty, and for that reason I do not believe I ceased to be an evangelical when I returned to the church. What I ceased to be was a Protestant. For I believe, as Pope Benedict has preached, that the church itself needs to nurture within it an evangelical spirit. There are, as we know, too many Catholics whose faith needs to be renewed and emboldened.

There is much that I learned as a Protestant evangelical that has left an indelible mark on me and formed the person I am today. For that reason, it accompanies me back to the church.

For instance, because Protestant evangelicals accept much of the great tradition that Catholics take for granted – such as the Catholic creeds and the inspiration of scripture – but without recourse to the church’s authority, they have produced important and significant works in systematic theology and philosophical theology.

Catholics would do well to plumb these works, since in them Protestant evangelicals often provide the biblical and philosophical scaffolding that influenced the church fathers that developed the Catholic creeds as well as the church’s understanding of the Bible as God’s word.

But these evangelicals do so by using contemporary language and addressing contemporary concerns. This will help Catholics understand the reasoning behind the classical doctrines.

In terms of expository preaching, as well as teaching the laity, Protestant evangelicals are without peers in the Christian world.

For instance, it is not unusual for evangelical churches to host major conferences on theological issues in which leading scholars address lay audiences in order to equip them to share their faith with their neighbors, friends, etc. Works by evangelical philosophers and theologians such as [J.P.] Moreland, [Paul] Copan, and William Lane Craig, should be in the library of any serious Catholic who wants to be equipped to respond to contemporary challenges to the Christian faith......

......National Catholic Register: What can evangelicals and Catholics learn from one another?

As I have already noted, I believe that Catholics can learn from evangelical Protestants how to preach, teach and offer support for doctrines and beliefs that Catholics often just leave to authority.

Evangelicals can learn from Catholics that Christianity is a historical faith that did not vanish from the earth between the second and 16th centuries. That is what I mean by “learning from the great tradition.”

Much of what evangelicals think of as the odd beliefs of Catholics have their roots deep in Christian history. This, of course, may not convince a Protestant that these views are correct.

But what it will do is help the Protestant to appreciate that the very same Christians that deliberated over the content of the biblical canon also believed in the Real Presence, purgatory, intercession of the saints and indulgences.

If these Christians, who knew the Bible far better than us, did not think these practices and beliefs “unbiblical,” one should not be so quick to dismiss these practices and beliefs simply because they are outside of one’s Protestant experience.

On the other hand, the fact that many Catholic parishes do not offer the expository preaching and theological teaching to their members found in the best Protestant churches should force Catholics to critically reflect on whether they are adequately evangelizing and equipping their own people to enter a world hostile to the Christian worldview.

We have much to learn from each other.

(Read the entire article here.)

This morning, I took 2 of my female cousins- 11 and 13 respectively- to the Franciscan Church of St. Mary of the Angels, Bukit Batok. Both of them had not been attending Sunday Mass regularly because of their parents lack of enthusiasm for Church and peer pressure to attend Protestant services at the Church of Singapore, Bukit Timah. Recently, they have been asking me to take them to Mass.

On the way to the parish, I explained to them to importance of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the importance of participating in Sunday Mass, and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Their confessor was Assistant Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Joseph Nasanathan. Both came out of the confessional with tears welling from their eyes (Fr. had packets of tissues in hand!). Fr. Joseph, spent approximately 10-15 minutes with each of them. Overall, I felt that their first confession was indeed a grace filled one; with clear and decisive rejection of the sins committed, out of their love for God.

As I reflect on the homily by Fr. Jivan Daniel (more of a Gospel reflection; Fr. Daniel wasn't feeling too well), the selection of hymns, and the scripture passages, I can clearly see the gracious hand of God in this matter. Praise Him!

Now on another matter, as I was waiting for my cousins in the Parish Office, Parish Priest Fr. John-Paul Tan approached me and struck up a conservation. We chatted as if we'd known one another rather well; he thought that I was his parishioner. Being a Canon Lawyer, he was excited to know that I was taking legal studies myself. He wanted me to form a group of Catholic Students in my diploma course for application to the Catholic Lawyers Guild!

One thing I found great about St. Mary's was that their priests do not 'run away' after Mass but stay behind and mingle with the faithful. I think our parishes need to have more of such interection to make Catholics feel more welcomed and at home and give them a sense of belonging.

LiturgyPlus!: Fr. Daniel incenses the gifts in the old cross-circular fashion.

Fr. Jason Jalbert, was born in Berlin, NH, on the 9th of May 1971 as the first born of two children. After a short career in the funeral industry as a licensed funeral director, he discovered that he may have a vocation to the priesthood and began to discern it at St. John's Seminary in Brighton, MA. He received his degree in philosophy and theology at St. John's and was ordained a priest for the diocese of Manchester, NH at St. Joseph's Cathedral on June 7, 2003. Fr. Jason is currently the parochial vicar at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish in Rochester, NH and St. Leo the Great Parish in Gonic, NH. He also works with the youth at St. Elizabeth Seton School and has recently begun his own weekly radio program called "Rise-Up, It's Sunday Morning."

The Priesthood was definitely the last thing I would have ever thought of, but now I thank God that I eventually heard His call to an awesome way of life!

I praise the Lord every day for my priesthood which began a little late, during my 32nd year of life. How I wish I had discovered my vocation much sooner but there were certainly reasons why I hadn't. This is our story, (the Lord's and mine) which can be used to show other men that Our Lord can work in amazing ways to make the call to priesthood known.

I grew up in pretty tight-knit family, situated in a pretty tight-knit neighborhood. All the people in our neighborhood knew each other, just about all of my friends' parents grew up and went to school with my parents. Generations of French Catholics, as we were called, lived and worked near the parish church of Guardian Angel, it stood in the center of our part of the city. Although most of my friends attended weekend Masses with their parents, our family didn't go to Mass very regularly. For some reason it never took root in our family. Instead of going to Mass we spent most of our summer weekends at the beach and winter weekends on the ski slopes.

Although we didn't go to Mass as a family, there was one thing I knew that I wanted to do-it was to become an altar server. One day after religion classes, I remember seeing the priest, and along with my friends, asked when we could begin serving Mass, he told us that we could after our First Communion. I was so excited since First Communion was only a couple of months away. Not long after that event I joined the other boys from my First Communion class and began to train for my new role in the Mass. I was so proud to receive the black cassock and white surplus; I took it home and put it on immediately. My mom took a picture of me that day as I posed as a priest want-to-be. Unfortunately, my career as a server was short lived, after missing three masses I was asked to no longer continue serving. I guess priesthood wasn't in the plan, yet.

As I began high school my relationship with the Church grew very distant. Only a few of my new friends went to church and for those who did go, they attended nondenominational Christian churches. One particular friend of mine had a very devout Christian mother and father. They would pray before meals and would openly talk about Jesus and would also quote the Bible. I looked forward to their invitations to attend their Sunday services, at the same time I sensed that something was missing with the way they worshipped. Experiences in their home and other influences made me think about my own faith, about what I believed.

During my junior year of high school I decided that I was going to rediscover my Catholic Faith on my own. I thought the best way to do this was to begin attending Sunday Mass, which is what I did, but in another parish. I was uncomfortable going back to my home parish, so I attended a neighboring church. I felt like an observer at first but with time the Mass came to life. The best way I can describe the way I felt at the time was to say that I was falling in love with the Mass. Through the grace of God, this continued through my last year of high school.

At this point of my life all I wanted was to be happy, which I believed could only happen with having a good job, lots of money, marriage and children. Certainly anyone with any and all of these things would be happy, so I began to pursue these goals. My dream was simply to have a big family with a beautiful home and serve the community in some way. In 1992, after graduating from Mt. Ida College in Newton, MA with a degree in funeral service I returned to my home town to settle in for the long haul. I assumed my duties as a funeral director, working for a local family, where I was treated as their own son. I loved serving the people of my hometown in this capacity; I saw it as my vocation. After a couple of years I truly believed that life was just great, I could afford to do what I wanted, I could afford to buy the things I wanted, and I was building an exclusive relationship with this great girl I knew from high school. What more could I possibly want!

All I could say was that God was blessing my life with so many loving people and so many promising opportunities. I truly recognized Jesus working in my life. He kept drawing me closer to Him. I decided that it was time to return to my home parish and to become an active member. My pastor asked me to be a member of the parish council and to become a Lector. Receiving the Eucharist at daily Mass became the most important event in my day, I felt that this is where my relationship with Christ deepened and became more firm. At the same time a friendship developed with a very dedicated priest who was the pastor of a neighboring parish. I began to see little by little what priesthood was actually like and what a priest actually did with all their time! Although I was learning a lot about the faith and falling in love with Jesus, I still had no evident desire of becoming a priest. All I thought about was how great it would be to someday have a big Catholic family. In retrospect maybe I should have been a lot more specific in my prayers for a big Catholic family.

One day my priest friend asked me if I had ever thought of the priesthood, I immediately said "no way." We never spoke about the priesthood again until Good Friday 1996. After his direct question to me about the priesthood, the idea began to stir in my heart. This really wasn't something I wanted to be thinking about, I had already planned my life and this idea of the priesthood wasn't going to change my plans. As time went on the desire for priesthood grew stronger, but I couldn't understand why. I questioned whether or not God would actually be calling me to become a priest, it sounded absurd to me. I never told a soul about the feelings I had, I just continued living my life praying for strength and knowledge to do the will of God.

Then Holy Week of 1996 my whole life changed, as the idea of priesthood had finally taken hold of my life and now was the time to act. This is what took place, the bishop was going to be visiting our parish Tuesday of Holy Week and my pastor asked if I would read at the Mass. With all of the lectors in the parish he asked me; I was rather honored with the task. That night before Mass began I saw this young man dressed in a cassock walking around the Sanctuary, I had never seen him before. With great curiosity I asked the woman sitting next to me if she knew who he was, she said "yes, that's Fr. Anthony." I really didn't believe that he was a priest but she insisted that he was. She reiterated herself and said "Yes Jason, he's the bishop's master of ceremonies." I was so surprised because I had never seen a really young priest before, I was so impressed. After Mass we gathered in the Church hall, and Fr. Anthony approached me to tell me that he was the vocation director for our diocese and asked me if I had ever thought of the priesthood. My immediate response was "no," but in his gentle manner he gave me his card and invited me to call him if I ever wanted to talk about the priesthood. I thanked him and then I went home dumbfounded. As I lay in bed this encounter kept playing through my mind, and I kept asking God if this was a sign, was I supposed to go through with this.

Finally, on Good Friday, I called on my priest friend and told him what had taken place and that I had been thinking seriously about the priesthood. The next week I met with Fr. Anthony and application to the diocese and to the seminary began. It all happened rather quickly, by September I no longer had a job, I no longer had a girlfriend, I no longer had anything, except great joy and peace that came from leaving all behind to follow Christ.

After seven years of seminary formation, and two years of priesthood, I can say that priesthood is an awesome vocation. I would never have guessed in a million years that celebrating the Sacraments, especially the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, would be such an incredible part of my life. It's my prayer and hope that as I live out the gift of the priesthood with love and zeal, that the Lord will use me to help many young men discover their vocation to the priesthood.

A beautiful letter titled, "Love letter to the beloved". The author speaks to Jesus about her return to the true religion. A beautiful story!

The following is a beautiful (but rather lengthy) testimony on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that was just forwarded to me. Enjoy!

In a marvelous catechesis, the Lord and the Virgin Mary have been instructing us first on how to pray the Rosary, that being to pray it with our hearts and meditate and enjoy the moments when we encounter God and our Blessed Mother. They have also instructed us on the way to make a good confession and, in this document, a teaching on what happens during the Holy Mass and how to live it with our hearts.

This is the testimony that I must and want to give to the whole world, for the greater Glory of God and for the salvation of all those who want to open their hearts to the Lord. It is also given so that many souls consecrated to God will rekindle the fire of their love for Christ, some of whom are the owners of the hands that have the power to bring Him to our world so that He can become our nourishment. It is also given for others so that they break lose of the “routine practice” of receiving Him and relive the amazement of their daily encounter with Love. And it is given so that my lay brothers and sisters from the entire world live the greatest Miracle with their hearts: the celebration of the Eucharist.

It was the vigil of the Annunciation and the members of our group had gone to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Some of the ladies of the prayer group had not been able to do it, and so they left their reconciliation for the next day before the Mass.

When I arrive at church the next day, a little bit late, the Archbishop and priests were already coming out of the sacristy. The Virgin Mary said with her soft and feminine voice that sweetens one’s soul:

“Today is a day of learning for you and I want you to pay close attention because of what you will witness today. Everything that you will experience today, you will have to share with all of humanity.” I was deeply moved without understanding why, but I tried to be very attentive.

The first thing I noticed was a choir of very beautiful voices that was singing as if it was far away. For moments the music came closer and, then, it went further away like the sound of the wind.

The Archbishop started Mass and, when he reached the Penitential Rite, the Blessed Virgin said:

“From the bottom of your heart ask the Lord to forgive your faults that have offended Him. In this way you will be able to participate worthily in this privilege of assisting at the Holy Mass.”

I thought for a fraction of a second: “Surely I am in a state of grace of God, I went to confession last night.”

She answered: “Do you think that since last night you have not offended the Lord? Let Me remind you of a few things. When you left to come here, the girl who helps you approached to ask you for something and, as you were late and in a hurry, you did not answer her in a very nice way. There was a lack of charity on your parts and you say, you have not offended God…….?

“While on the way here, a bus crossed over your lane and almost hit you. You expressed yourself in a very non-advisable way against that poor man, instead of saying your prayers and preparing yourself for Mass. You have failed in charity and lost your peace and patience. And you say you have not hurt the Lord?”

“You arrive at the last minute when the procession of the celebrants is already coming out to celebrate the Mass….. and you are going to participate without previous preparation…..”

I replied, “All right, my Mother, say no more to me. You do not have to remind me of more things because I am going to die of grief and shame.”

“Why must you all arrive at the last moment? You should have arrived earlier to be able to pray and ask the Lord to send His Holy Spirit that He may grant you a spirit of peace and cleanse you of the spirit of the world, your worries, your problems and your distractions so as to enable you to live this so sacred a moment. However, you arrive almost when the celebration is about to commence and you participate as if it is an ordinary event, without any spiritual preparation. Why? This is the greatest of Miracles. You are going to live the moment when the Most High God gives His greatest gift and you do not know how to appreciate it.”

This was enough. I felt so bad that I had more than enough to ask for forgiveness from God. It was not only for the offences of that day, but also for all the times that, like so many other people. I had waited for the priest to finish his homily before entering the Church. It was also for the times that I did not know or refused to understand what it meant to be there, and for the times that perhaps my soul was full of more serious sins and I had dared to participate in the Holy Mass.

It was a Feast day and the Gloria was to be recited. Our Lady said: “Glorify and bless with all your love the Holy Trinity, in your acknowledgement of being one of its creatures.”

How different was that Gloria! Suddenly I saw myself in a far off place full of light, before the Majestic Presence of the Throne of God. With so much love I went on thanking Him, as I repeated: “For your immense Glory we praise You, we bless You, we adore You, we give You glory, we give You thanks, Lord, God, Heavenly King, God the Father Almighty.” And I recalled the paternal face of the Father, full of kindness. “Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world…..” And Jesus was in front of me, with that face full of tenderness and Mercy……” For You alone are the Holy One, You alone are the Lord, You alone are the most High Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit…..”, the God of beautiful Love. He, Who at that moment, caused by whole being to tremble…..

And I ask: “Lord, deliver me from all evil spirits. My heart belongs to You. My Lord, send me Your peace so that I can gain the finest benefits from the Eucharist and that my life may produce the best fruits. Holy Spirit of God, transform me, act within me, guide me. Oh God, give me the gifts that I need to serve you better !”

The moment of the Liturgy of the Word arrived and the Virgin Mary made me repeat: “Lord, today I want to listen to Your Word and produce abundant fruit. May Your Holy Spirit clean the interior of my heart so that Your Word grows and develops in it, purifying my heart so that it may be well disposed.”

Our Lady said: “ I want you to be attentive to the readings and to all of the homily of the priest. Remember that the Bible says that the Word of God does not return without bearing fruits. If you are attentive, something from all that you heard will remain in you. You should try to recall all day long those Words that left an impression on you. Sometimes it may be two verses, other times the reading of the entire Gospel or perhaps only one word. Savor them for the rest of the day and it will then become part of you, because that is the way to change one’s life, by allowing the Word of God to transform you.

“And now, tell the Lord that you are here to listen, that you want Him to speak to your heart today.”

Once again I thanked God for giving me the opportunity to hear His Word. And I asked Him for forgiveness for having had such a hard heart for so many years and for having taught my children that they had to go to Mass on Sundays because it is commanded by the Church and not for love and the need to be filled with God.

I had attended so may Eucharistic Celebrations mostly out of obligation and because of this, I believe I was saved. But I did not live it and much less did I pay attention to the readings or to the priest’s homily !

How much pain I felt for so many years of needles loss because of my ignorance ! How superficial is our attendance at the Mass when we go only because someone is getting married, or for a funeral Mass or because we have to be seen by society ! How much ignorance about our Church and the Sacraments! How much waste in trying to instruct and enlighten ourselves about the things of the world, which in a moment can disappear leaving us with nothing and, at the end of our life, not serve to extend a minute to our existence ! However, we know nothing of that which will give us a little of heaven on earth and, afterwards, eternal life. All we call ourselves cultured men and women!

A moment later the Offertory arrive and the Holy Virgin said: “Pray like this (and I repeated after her) Lord, I offer all that I am, all that I have, all that I can. I put everything into Your Hands. Build it up, Lord, with the little thing that I am. By the merits of Your Son, transform me, God Almighty. I petition You for my family, for my benefactors, for each member of our Apostolate, for all the people who fight against us, for those who commend themselves to my poor prayers. Teach me to lay down my heart as if on the ground before them so that their walk may be less severe. This is how the saints prayed; this how I want all of you to do it.”

Thus, this is howJesus asks us to pray, that we put our hearts as if on the ground so that they do not feel its severity, but rather that we alleviate the pain of their steps. Years later, I read a book of prayers of a Saint whom I loved dearly, Jose Maria Escriva de Balaguer, and in that book I found a prayer similar to that which the Virgin Mary taught me. Perhaps this Saint, to whom I entrust myself, pleased the Virgin Mary with those prayers.

Suddenly some characters whom I had not seen before began to stand up. It was as if from the side of each person present in the Cathedral, another person emerged and soon the Cathedral became full of young, beautiful people. They were dressed in very white robes and they started to move into the central aisle and, then, went towards the Altar.

Our Mother said: “Observe. They are the Guardian Angels of each one of the persons who are here. This is the moment in which your guardian angel carries your offerings and petitions before the Altar of the Lord.”

At that moment, I was completely astonished, because these beings had such beautiful faces, so radiant as one is unable to imagine. Their countenance was very beautiful with almost feminine faces; however, the structure of their body, their hands, their height were masculine. Their naked feet did not touch the floor, but rather they went as if gliding. That procession was very beautiful.

Some of them were carrying something like a golden bowl with something that shone a great deal with a golden-white light. The Virgin Mary said: “They are the Guardian Angels of the people who are offering this Holy Mass for many intentions, those who are conscious of what this celebration means. They have something to offer the Lord.”

“Offer yourselves at this moment…… offer your sorrows, your pains, your hopes, your sadness, your joys, your petitions. Remember that the Mass has infinite value. Therefore, be generous in offering and in asking.”

Behind the first Angels came others who had nothing in their hands; they were coming empty handed. The Virgin Mary said: “Those are the angels of the people who are here but never offer anything. They have no interest in living each liturgical moment of the Mass and they have no gifts to carry before the Altar of the Lord.”

At the end of the procession came other angels who were rather sad, with their hands joined in prayer but with their eyes downcast. “These are the Guardian Angels of the people who are here but do not want to be, that is to say of the people who have been forced to come here, who have come out of obligation but without any desire to participate in the Holy Mass. The angels go forth sadly because they have nothing to carry to the Altar, except for their own prayers.”

Do not sadden your Guardian Angel. Ask for much, ask for the conversion of sinners, for peace in the world, for your families, your neighbors, for those who ask for your prayers. Ask, ask for much, but not only for yourselves, but for everyone else.

“Remember that the offering which most pleases the Lord is when you offer yourselves as a holocaust so that Jesus upon His descent may transform you by His own merits. What do you have to offer the Father by yourselves? Nothingness and sin. But the offering of oneself united to the merits of Jesus, that offering is pleasing to the Father.”

That sight, that procession was so beautiful that it would be difficult to compare it to another. All those celestial creatures bowing before the Altar, some leaving their offerings on the floor, others prostrating themselves on their knees with their foreheads almost touching the floor. And as soon as they arrived at the Altar, they would disappear from my sight.

The final moment of the Preface arrived and when the assembly said, “Holy, Holy, Holy,” suddenly everything that was behind the celebrants disappeared. Behind the left side of the Archbishop, thousands of Angels appeared in a diagonal line, small angels, big angels, angels with immense wings, angels with small wings, angels without wings. As the previous ones, all were dressed with tunics like the white robes of the priests or altar boys.

Everyone knelt with their hands united in prayer and bowed their heads in reverence. Beautiful music was heard as if there were many choirs with different voices, all singing in unison together with the people: Holy, Holy, Holy …..

The moment of the Consecration, the moment of the most marvelous of Miracles had arrived. Behind the right side of the Archbishop appeared a multitude of people also in a diagonal line. They were dressed in the same tunic but in pastel colors of : rose, green, light blue, lilac, yellow, in short, in different and very soft colors. Their faces were also brilliant, full of joy. They all seemed to be the same age. You could note (I can’t say why) that they were people of different ages but their faces looked the same, without wrinkles, happy. They all knelt down as well at the singing of “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord ……..

Our Lady said: “These are all the Saints and the Blessed of Heaven and among them are the souls of your relatives who already enjoy the Presence of God.” Then I saw Her, exactly to the right of the Archbishop, a step behind the celebrant. She was suspended a little off the floor, kneeling on some very fine, transparent but at the same time luminous fabric, as crystalline water. The Holy Virgin, with hands joined, was looking attentively and respectfully at the celebrant. She spoke to me from there, but silently, directly to the heart, without looking at me:

“It surprises you to see Me standing a little behind Monsignor [the Archbishop], does it not? This is how it should be… With all the love that My Son gives Me, He had not given Me the dignity that He ahs given the priests of being able to perform the daily Miracle with My hands as they do with their priestly hands. Because of this, I feel a deep respect for priests and for the miracle that God carries out through them, which compels Me to kneel here behind them.” [Translator’s note: In Latin America and in other countries a Bishop and Archibishop is addressed as “Monsignor”.]

My God, how many dignity, how much grace the Lord pours over the priestly souls and neither we, nor perhaps some of them, are conscious of this:

Before the Altar, there appeared some shadows of people in a gray color with their hands raised. The Holy Virgin said: “These are the blessed souls of Purgatory, who await your prayers to be refreshed. Do not stop praying for them. They pray for you but they cannot pray for themselves. It is you who have to pray for them, in order to help them depart so that they can be with God and enjoy Him eternally.

“Now you now see it; I am here all the time. People go on pilgrimages, searching for the places where I have appeared. This is good because of all the graces that they will receive there. But during no apparition, in no other place, am I more present than during the Holy Mass. You will always find Me at the foot of the Altar where the Eucharist is celebrated; at the foot of the Tabernacle, I remain with the angels because I am always with Him.”

To see that beautiful countenance of the Mother at that moment of the words “Holy, Holy, Holy…… “ as well as all the others with their radiant faces, with hands joined, awaiting that miracle which repeats itself continuously, was to be in Heaven itself. And to think there are people who can at that moment be distracted in conversation. It hurts me to tell you, many men, more than women, stand with their arms crossed, as if paying homage to the Lord as one equal to another.

The Virgin Mary said: “Tell all people that never is a man more manly then when he bends his knee before God.”

The celebrant said the words of the Consecration. He was a person of normal height, but suddenly he began to grow, becoming filled with light, a supernatural light between white and gold that enveloped him and grew very strong around the face. And because of it I could not see his features. When he raised the Host, I saw his hands and on the back of his hands he had some marks from which emanated a great deal of light It was Jesus ! It was Him Who was wrapping His Body around the celebrant, as if He were lovingly surrounding the hands of the Archbishop. At that moment the Host began to grow and became enormous and upon it the marvelous face of Jesus appeared looking at His people.

By instinct I wanted to bow my head and Our Lady said: “Do not look down. Look up to view and contemplate Him. Exchange your gaze with His and repeat the prayer of Fatima: Lord, I believe, I adore, I trust and I love You. I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not trust and do not love You. Forgiveness and Mercy…. Now tell Him how much you love Him and pay your homage to the King of Kings.

I told it to Him and it seemed as if I was the only one He was looking at from the enormous Host. But I learned that this was the way He gazed at each person, with love to the fullest. Then I lowered my head until I had my forehead on the floor, as did all the Angels and the blessed from Heaven. Perhaps for a fraction of a second, I wondered how Jesus was taking on the body of the celebrant and at the same time He was inside the Host. And as he lowered the Host, it returned to its normal size. Tears ran down my cheeks; I was unable to let go of my astonishment.

Immediately Monsignor said the words of the Consecration of the wine and, as the words were being said, lightning appeared from the heavens and in the background. The walls and ceiling of the church had disappeared. All was dark but for that brilliant light from the Altar.

Suddenly suspended in the air I saw Jesus crucified. I saw Him from the head to the lower part of the chest. The cross beam of the Cross was sustained by some large, strong hands. From within this resplendent light, a small light, like a very brilliant, very small dove, came forth and flew swiftly all over the Church. It came to rest on the left shoulder of the Archbishop, who continued to appear as Jesus because I could distinguish His long hair, His luminous wounds and His large body, but I could not see His Face.

Above was Jesus crucified, His had fallen upon His right shoulder. I was able to contemplate His face, beaten arms and torn flesh. On the right side of His chest He had an injury and blood was gushing out toward the left side and toward the right side, what looked like water, but it was very brilliant. They were more like jets of light coming forth towards the faithful, and moving to the right and to the left. I was amazed at the amount of blood that was flowing out toward the Chalice. I thought it would overflow and stain the whole Altar, but not a single drop was spilled.

At that moment the Virgin Mary said: “This is the miracle of miracles. I have said to you before that the Lord is not constrained by time and space. At the moment of the Consecration, all the assembly is taken to the foot of Calvary, at the instant of the crucifixion of Jesus.

Can anyone imagine that ? our eyes cannot see it, but we are all there at the very moment that they are crucifying Jesus. And He is asking for forgiveness to the Father, not only for those who killed Him, but also for each one of our sins: “Father forgive them because they know not what they do.”

From that day on, I do not care if the world thinks I am crazy, but I ask everybody to kneel and try to live, with their heart and with all their sensibility that they are capable of, this privilege that the Lord grants us.

When we were going to pray the Our Father, the Lord spoke for the first time during the celebration and said: “Wait, I want you to pray with the deepest profundity which you can summon. At this moment, bring to mind that person or persons which have done you the greatest harm during your life, so that you embrace them close to your bosom and tell them with all your heart: “In the Name of Jesus I forgive you and wish you peace. In the Name of Jesus, I ask for your forgiveness and wish my peace. If the person is worthy of that peace, then the person will receive it and feel better for it. If that person is not capable of opening up to that peace, then peace will return to your heart. But I do not want you to receive nor offer peace when you are not capable of forgiving and feeling that peace in your heart first.

“Be careful of what you do,” continued the Lord, “you repeat in the Our Father: forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. If you are capable of forgiving but not forgetting, as some people say, you are placing conditions upon the forgiveness of God. You are saying : You forgive me only as I am capable of forgiving but no more.”

I do not know how to explain my pain, at the realization of how much we can hurt the Lord. And also how much we can injure ourselves by holding so many grudges, bad feelings and unflattering things that are born from our own prejudices and over-sensitivities. I forgave; I forgave from the heart and asked for forgiveness from all the people whom I had hurt at one time or another, in order to feel the peace of the Lord.

The celebrant said, “…..give us peace and unity…..” and, then, “the peace of the Lord be with all of you.”

Suddenly I saw that among some (not all) of the people who were embracing each other, a very intense light placed itself between them. I knew it was Jesus and I practically threw myself to embrace the person next to me. I could truly feel the embrace of the Lord in that light. It was Him Who embraced me giving me His peace, because in that moment I had been able to forgive and remove from my heart all grief against other people. That is what Jesus wants, to share that moment of joy, hugging us and wishing us His Peace.

The moment of the celebrants’ Communion arrived. There I once again noticed the presence of all the priests next to Monsignor. When he took Communion, the Virgin Mary said :

“This is the moment to pray for the celebrant and the priests who accompany him. Repeat together with Me: “Lord, bless them, sanctify them, help them, purify them, love them, take care of them and support them with Your Love. Remember all the priests of the world, pray for all the consecrated souls…”

Dear brothers and sisters , that is the moment in which we should pray for them, because they are the Church as we, the laity, are also. Many times we, the laity, demand so much from the priests, but we are unable to pray for them, to understand that they are human and to comprehend and appreciate the solitude that many times can surround a priest.

We should understand that the priests are people like ourselves and that they need to be understood to be cared for. They need affection and attention from us because they are giving their life to each one of us, as Jesus did, by being consecrated to Him.

The Lord wants the people of the flock that God has entrusted to him to pray and help in the sanctification of the Pastor. Someday, when we are on the other side, we will understand the marvels that the Lord has done, giving us priests who help us to save our souls.

The people began to leave their pews on their way to Communion. The great moment of the encounter had arrived. The Lord said to me: “Wait a moment, I want you to observe something….” An interior impulse made me raise my eyes towards the person who was going to received Communion on the tongue from the hands of the priest,.

I should clarify that this person was one of the ladies from our group who the previous night was unable to go to confession but this morning was able to do so before the Holy Mass. When the Priest placed the Sacred host on her tongue, a flash of light, like a very golden white light, went right through this person, first through her back, then surrounding her from the back, around her shoulders and then her head. The Lord said :

“This is how I Myself rejoice in embracing a soul who comes with a clean heart to receive Me.”

The tone of voice of Jesus was that of a happy person.

I was astonished to see my friend return to her pew surrounded by light, embraced by the Lord. I though of the marvel that we miss so many times by going to receive Jesus with our small or large offences when it should be a feast.

Many times we say that there are no priests to whom to go to confess at any given moment. But the problem is not about confessing at each moment but the problem resides in our ease of falling into evil again. On the other hand, in the same way that we make an effort to search for a beauty parlor or men search for a barber when we have a party, we have to also make an effort to seek a priest when we need to remove all that dirt from ourselves. We must not have the audacity to receive Jesus at any moment with our hearts full of ugly things.

When I went to receive communion, Jesus told me: “The last Supper was the moment of the greatest intimacy with My own. During that hour of love, I established what could be thought of as the greatest act of lunacy in the eyes of men, that of making Myself a prisoner of Love. I established the Eucharist. I wanted to remain with you until the end of centuries because My Love could not bear that you remained orphans, you whom I loved more than My life.”

I received that Host which had a different flavour. It was a mixture of blood and incense that inundated me entirely. I felt so much love that the tears ran down my cheeks without me being able to stop them.

When I returned to my seat, while kneeling down, the Lord said: “ Listen……” A moment later I began to hear the prayers of the lady who was seated in front of me and who had just received communion.

What she said without opening her mouth was more or less like this : “Lord, remember that we are at the end of the month and I do not have the money to pay the rent, the car payments or the children’s school. You have to do something to help me…. Please, make my husband stop drinking so much. I cannot hear any more his being intoxicated so often and my youngest son is going to repeat the year again if you do not help him. He has exams this week…. And do not forget our neighbor who must move. Let her do it right away. I cannot stand her anymore…..etc.”

Then the Archbishop said: “Let us pray,” and obviously all the congregation stood up for the final prayer. Jesus said in a sad tone: “Did you take note of her prayer? Not a single time did she tell Me that she loves Me. Not a single time did she thank Me for the gift that I have given her by bringing down My Divinity to her poor humanity, in order to elevate her to Me. Not a single time has she said: Thank you, Lord. It has been a litany of requests…… and so are almost all of those who come to receive Me.”

“I have died for love and I am risen. For love I await each one of you and for love I remain with you… But you do not realize that I need your love. Remember that I am the Beggar of Love in this sublime hour for the soul.”

Do you all realize that He, Love is begging for our love and we do not give it to Him? Moreover, we avoid going to that encounter with the Love of Loves, with the only love who gives of itself in a permanent oblation.

When the celebrant was going to give the blessing, the Holy Virgin said: “Be attentive, take care…. You do any old sign instead of the Sign of the Cross. Remember that this blessing could be the last one that you will receive from hands of a priest. You do not know when leaving here if you will die or not. You do not know if you will have the opportunity to receive a blessing from another priests. Those consecrated hands are giving you the blessing in the Name of the Holy Trinity. Therefore, make the Sign of the Cross with respect, as if it was the last one of your life.”

How much we miss in not understanding and not participating everyday at the Holy Mass! Why not make an effort to begin the day a half hour earlier and run to the Holy Mass and receive all the blessings that the Lord wants to pour over us?

I am aware that because of their obligations not everybody can attend daily Mass, but at least two or three times a week. So many avoid Mass on Sundays with the smallest excuse that they have a child, or two, or ten, and, therefore, they cannot attend Mass. How do people manage when they have other important types of commitments? They take all the children or take turns and the husband goes at one hour and the wife another, but they carry out their duty to God.