Guns N' Rosaries Mission

Through fellowship, education and charitable acts we seek to reclaim our Christian baptismal inheritance as Priests, Prophets and Kings. Priests are known throughout Scripture for giving sacrifice, so we seek to sacrifice our lives for Christ through donating ourselves to others, particularly our families. Being a Prophet means to speak on God's behalf. Through educating ourselves in Holy Scripture and Catholic Tradition we aim to articulate Truth through the way that we live and speak about the faith to others. Kings have three primary tasks; (1) Lead his people into battle, (2) Look after widows and orphans, (3) Care for the poor. We participate in this kingship by picking up the daily fight against personal sin and in particular by caring for the poor through personal relationships and material help for those in need. In order to achieve this mission we invoke the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Joseph.

Thursday, April 30, 2015

General Audience: On Marriage

General Audience: On Marriage

"Today it does not seem easy to speak of marriage as a celebration that is renewed in time, in the different stages of the whole life of the spouses."

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Here is the translation of the Holy Father's address during his Wednesday General Audience in St. Peter's Square.


 
* * *
Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning!

After having considered the two accounts of the book of Genesis, our reflection on God’s original design on the man-woman couple is now addressed directly to Jesus

At the beginning of his Gospel, the Evangelist John recounts the episode of the Wedding at Cana, in which the Virgin Mary and Jesus, with his first disciples, were present (Cf. John 2:1-11). Not only did Jesus participate in that marriage, but he “saved the celebration” with his miracle of the wine!

Therefore, the first of his prodigious signs, with which he revealed his glory, he carried out in the context of a marriage, and it was a lovely gesture for that nascent family, solicited by Mary’s maternal concern. This makes us recall the Book of Genesis, when God finishes the work of creation and makes his masterpiece; the masterpiece is man and woman. And here, in fact, with this masterpiece is where Jesus begins his miracles, in a marriage, in a wedding feast: a man and a woman. Thus Jesus teaches us that the masterpiece of society is the family: man and woman who love one another! This is the masterpiece!

Since the time of the Wedding at Cana, so many things have changed, but that “sign” of Jesus contains a message that is always valid.

Today it does not seem easy to speak of marriage as a celebration that is renewed in time, in the different stages of the whole life of the spouses. It is a fact that persons who marry are always fewer; this is a fact: young people do not want to get married. Instead, in many countries the number of separations increases, while the number of children decreases. The difficulty to remain together – be it as a couple, be it as a family – leads to breaking the bonds with ever greater frequency and rapidity, and, in fact, it is the children that are the first to bear the consequences. But let us think that the first victims, the most important victims, the victims that suffer most in a separation are the children. If you experience from the time you are little that marriage is a bond for “a determined time,” it will be so for you unconsciously. In fact, many young people are led to renounce the project itself of an irrevocable bond and of a lasting family. I think we have to reflect very seriously on why so many young people “don’t feel like” getting married. There is this culture of the provisional ... everything is provisional, it seems there is nothing definitive.

This fact of young people not wanting to marry is one of the concerns that emerges today: why don’t young people marry? Why do they often prefer to live together and, so often, with “limited responsibility”? Why do many – also among the baptized – have little trust in marriage and the family? It is important to try to understand, if we want young people to be able to find the right way to follow. Why don’t they have confidence in the family?

The difficulties are not only of an economic character, although these are truly serious. Many hold that the change that has happened in these last decades has to do with the emancipation of woman. However, this argument is not valid either; it is a falsehood, it’s not true! It is a form of machismo that always wants to dominate woman. We make the bad figure that Adam made when God said to him: “Why have you eaten the fruit of the tree?” and he <answered>: “The woman gave it to me.” And the fault is the woman’s. Poor woman! We must defend women! In reality, almost all men and women would like affective stability, a solid marriage and a happy family. The family is at the top of all the indexes of satisfaction among young people; however, out of fear of making a mistake, many do not even want to think about it; although they are Christians, they do not think of sacramental marriage, unique and unrepeatable sign of the alliance, which becomes a testimony of faith. In fact, perhaps this fear of failing is the greatest obstacle to receiving the word of Christ, who promises his grace to the conjugal union and to the family. The most persuasive testimony of the blessing of Christian marriage is the good life of Christian spouses and of the family. There is no better way to describe the beauty of the Sacrament! Marriage consecrated by God  to safeguard that bond between man and woman that God has blessed since the creation of the world; and it is source of peace and of goodness for the whole of conjugal and family life. For instance, in the early times of Christianity, this great dignity of the bond between man and woman overcame an abuse held then to be altogether normal, that is, the right of husbands to repudiate their wives, even with the most pretentious and humiliating motives. The Gospel of the family, the Gospel that in fact announces this Sacrament has overcome this culture of habitual repudiation.

The Christian seed of the radical equality between spouses must bear new fruits today. The testimony of the social dignity of marriage will become persuasive in fact this way, the way of witness that attracts, the way of reciprocity between them, of the complementarity between them.

Therefore, as Christians, we must become more exacting in this regard. For instance: to support with determination the right of equal compensation for equal work, why is it taken for granted that women must earn less than men? No! They have the same rights. The disparity is a pure scandal! At the same time, to recognize the maternity of women and the paternity of men as an always valid richness, for the benefit especially of children. Likewise, the virtue of hospitality of Christian families is of crucial importance today, especially in situations of poverty, degradation and family violence.

Dear brothers and sisters, we are not afraid to invite Jesus to the marriage feast, to invite him to our home, so that he is with us and watches over the family. And we are not afraid to invite his Mother Mary also! When Christians marry “in the Lord,” they are transformed into an effective sign of the love of God. Christian do not marry only for themselves: they marry in the Lord in favor of the whole community, of the entire society.

I will speak of this beautiful vocation of marriage also in the next catechesis.

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Pope's Homily to New Priests on 52nd World Day of Prayer for Vocations

Pope's Homily to New Priests on 52nd World Day of Prayer for Vocations

"Always keep in mind the example of the Good Shepherd, who came not to be served, but to serve"

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Below is a translation of Pope Francis' homily today, the fourth Sunday of Easter and the 52nd World Day of Pray for the Vocations's Mass, at this morning's Mass in St. Peter's Basilica:


 
***
Dear brothers,
These, our sons, were called the order of presbyter. We will do well to reflect a bit on that ministry to which they will be elevated in the Church. As you know, the Lord Jesus is the only High Priest of the New Testament, but also in Him all the holy people of God were constituted as priestly people. All of us!

Nevertheless, among all his disciples, the Lord Jesus wants to choose a few in particular, for exercising the priesthood publicly in the Church, in the favor of all men, continuing His personal mission of master, priest and pastor.

In fact, for this is why He had been sent by the Father. And so, in turn, He sent in the world first the Apostles, and then the bishops and their successors, who finally were given as
collaborators, priests, who, together with them in the priestly ministry, are called to serve the
People of God.

They have reflected on this, on their vocation, and now they are going to receive the ordination of presbyters. And the bishop risks--risks!-- and chooses them, just as the Father has risked for each of us.

They will indeed be configured to Christ, the Eternal High Priest, namely they will be consecrated as true priests of the New Testament, and as such, they'll be united in the priesthood with their bishop. They will be preachers of the Gospel, Pastors of the People of God, and will preside over acts of worship, especially in celebrating the Lord's sacrifice.

As for you, you are about to be promoted to the order of the priesthood, consider that in
exercising the ministry of the Holy Doctrine, you will share in the mission of Christ, the only
Master. Dispense to all the word of God, that you yourselves received with joy. Read and
meditate assiduously on the Word of the Lord to believe what you read, to teach what you have learned in faith, and to live what you have taught.

And this is the nourishment of the People of God; that your sermons are not boring; that
your own homilies reach people's hearts because they come from your heart, because what you are saying is truly what you have in your heart. So give the Word of God, and thus your doctrine will be joy and support for the faithful of Christ; the scent of your life will be the testimony, because the example builds, but the words without example are empty words, and will never arrive at the heart and even do harm: They do no good! You will continue the sanctifying work of Christ. Through your ministry, the spiritual sacrifice of the faithful is made perfect--because joined to the sacrifice of Christ, through your hands, in the name of the whole Church--[and is] is offered, in a bloodless manner, on the altar in the celebration of the Holy Mysteries.

When you celebrate the Mass, therefore, acknowledge what you do. Do not do it in a hurry! Imitate that which you celebrate - not an artificial rite, an artificial ritual artificial - in order that, participating in the mystery of death and resurrection of the Lord, you bring the death of Christ in your members and so that you walk with Him in the newness of life.

In Baptism, join new faithful to the People of God. Do not ever refuse Baptism to anyone who asks! With the Sacrament of Penance, forgive sins in the name of Christ and the Church. And I, in the name of Jesus Christ, the Lord, and his Bride, the Holy Church, I ask you not to grow weary of being merciful. In the confessional, you are to going to forgive, not to condemn! Imitate the Father who never gets tired of forgiving. With holy oil, you will give relief to sick. Celebrating the sacred rites and raising at various times of day prayers of praise and supplication, you will make the voice of the People of God and of all humanity.

Aware of being chosen from among men and being favored among them to attend to the things of God, exercise in joy and sincere charity the priestly work of Christ, intent only on
pleasing God and not yourselves. It is a bad priest who lives to please himself, who does "the "Peacock!"

Finally, participating in the mission of Christ, the Head and Shepherd, in son-like communion with your bishop, strive to unite the faithful in one family - Be ministers of unity in the Church, in family - leading them to God the Father through Christ in the Holy Spirit. And always keep in mind the example of the Good Shepherd, who came not to be served but to serve; not to stay in his comfort, but to go out and seek and save what was lost.

Friday, April 24, 2015

Pope's Morning Homily: 'Pray for the Grace of Memory'

Pope's Morning Homily: 'Pray for the Grace of Memory'

Reflects on the Life-Changing Aspects of the Encounter with Christ During Mass at Casa Santa Marta

Rome, (Zenit.org) Junno Arocho Esteves | 73 hits

The foundation of our faith rest on that first encounter with Jesus Christ. These were the words of Pope Francis during his homily at Casa Santa Marta.

 
According to Vatican Radio, the Holy Father reflected on the impact an encounter with Christ has on one’s life. He drew from today’s first reading, which recounted St. Paul’s conversion from one who persecuted the early Christians to one chosen by God “to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and children of Israel.”

The Pope noted that this first encounter, like many others in the Bible, is the one that changes one’s life. He called on the faithful to never forget their first encounter with Christ.

“He never forgets, but we forget the encounter with Christ,” he said. “And this would be a good assignment to do at home, to consider: ‘When have I really felt that the Lord was close to me? When have I felt the need to change my life, or to become better, or to forgive someone? When have I felt the Lord asking something of me? When have I encountered the Lord?’”

Our faith, the Holy Father continued, “is an encounter with Jesus.”

“This is the foundation of our faith: I have encountered Jesus, as Saul did.” ‘A Memory of Love’

Continuing his homily, the 78 year old Pontiff invited the faithful to pray daily, in order to remember that first encounter with Christ. He also said that by reading the Gospels daily, one can see the work of God in Jesus’ encounters with others.

So many encounters with Jesus are there. Maybe one of them is similar to mine. Each one of us has his own,” he said.

Concluding his homily, Pope Francis asked the faithful to pray for the “grace of memory...so that we might not hear the complaint the Lord makes in Revelation: ‘I have this against you, that you have forgotten your first love’.”

Monday, April 13, 2015

Pope Francis Quotes St. John Paul II's Reference to 'First Genocide of the 20th Century'

Pope Francis Quotes St. John Paul II's Reference to 'First Genocide of the 20th Century'

On Divine Mercy Sunday, Also Proclaims Armenian Saint a Doctor of the Church

Vatican City, (Zenit.org) Deborah Castellano Lubov | 1402 hits

Pope Francis has quoted St. John Paul's referring to the Armenian slaughter as 'genocide.'


 
This Divine Mercy Sunday, the Second Sunday of Easter, Pope Francis celebrated Solemn Mass for the Centenary of the Armenian Martyrdom, gave a Regina Coeli address, proclaimed a new Armenian Doctor of the Church, and released a message to Armenians.

In Francis' message to Armenians, released by the Vatican today, he quotes how Pope John Paul II and Catholicos Karekin II in a Common Declaration in 2001 referred to the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians as a genocide and went on to say how Popes denounced senseless, brutal killings over time.

"This faith also accompanied and sustained your people," he reminded them, "during the tragic experience one hundred years ago 'in what is generally referred to as the first genocide of the twentieth century'  (John Paul II and Karekin II, Common Declaration, Etchmiadzin, 27 September 2001). "

"It is the responsibility not only of the Armenian people and the universal Church to recall all that has taken place, but of the entire human family, so that the warnings from this tragedy will protect us from falling into a similar horror, which offends against God and human dignity," the Pontiff went on to say.

During the Mass, Francis gave a greeting to the Armenian Rite faithful in which he referred to how a Third World War is taking place "in pieces," and criticized the world's indifference in the face of such conflicts.

Reflecting specifically that it has been 100 years since the tragic slaughter of Amenians, the Pontiff said: "Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it!"
Historys tragic events, the Pope later said in his homily--recalling those Armenians slaughtered and all murdered by Communism, Nazism, or in other mass killings--can leave us feeling "crushed" and "asking ourselves: Why?"

We ponder how we can fill the "great abyss" or "great void" created by humanity's evil, he reflected. It is impossible for us to do so, he said, stressing that only God "can fill this emptiness that evil brings to our hearts and to human history."

"Behold the way which God has opened for us to finally go out from our slavery to sin and death, and thus enter into the land of life and peace," he told the faithful.

The Pontiff then turned to how St. John's Gospel recalls how Jesus dispelled Thomas' doubt of His having resurrected in the Upper Room, and what this means for our lives.

"Jesus invites us to behold these wounds, to touch them as Thomas did, to heal our lack of belief," he said. "Above all, he invites us to enter into the mystery of these wounds, which is the mystery of his merciful love."

Through these wounds, he noted, we can see the entire mystery of Christ and of God and can retrace the whole history of salvation.

"The saints teach us that the world is changed beginning with the conversion of ones own heart, and that this happens through the mercy of God," he said.

So if our consciences are distressed or we are in turmoil over the world's tragedies, Francis said, we must remember that "there is no sin so deadly that it cannot be pardoned by Christ's death."
Maintaining our gaze on the wounds of the Risen Jesus and allowing the Lord to lead the way, we will find life and hope, Pope Francis said.

Keeping in line with Sunday tradition, the Pope gave his Regina Coeli address to the pilgrims in a sunny St. Peter's Square at noon. In addition to reflecting on the Gospel and on God's infinite mercy, the Holy Father offered Easter greetings to all Christians who follow the Julian calendar.

Armenian Doctor of the Church

This morning, the Holy Father proclaimed the great Armenian Saint Gregory of Narek a Doctor of the Church, a special designation that recognizes doctrinal insights in the writings and teachings of certain saints.

The 10th Century Armenian monk will be the 36th Doctor of the Church, joining the list which includes St. Augustine and St. Francis de Sales.
Born in 950 A.D., Gregory would be known for his poetic writings and commentaries and is revered as one of the great figures of Armenian religious thought. The "Book of Lamentations," his book of prayers, is considered one of his great masterpieces and still considered as a definitive piece of Armenian literature.

This designation brings the number of the Doctors of the Church to 36, which includes other scholarly saints such as St. Francis de Sales and St. Augustine.

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Pope Francis: 'Jesus' Love Never Deceives Us'

Pope Francis: 'Jesus' Love Never Deceives Us'

Washes Feet of 12 Inmates During Holy Thursday Mass at Rebibbia Prison in Rome

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Pope Francis arrived on Holy Thursday to the Casa Circondariale Nuovo Complesso Rebibbia, a prison in Rome to celebrate the Mass of the Lord's Supper.


 
The Holy Father was greeted by faithful, authorities and a group of prisoners who emotionally embraced him. One prisoner, holding a sign, asked the Pope to bless the image of a deceased loved one. Once blessed, the man tearfully hugged and kissed Pope Francis.

The Mass was held in the prison's "Our Father" Church. As the Holy Father entered, the prisoners were unable to contain their excitement and applauded as the Pope entered in procession.

In his homily, the 78 year old Pontiff reflected on a passage from John's Gospel which he said was at the heart of Jesus' life and death: "He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end. (Jn. 13,2).

"Jesus loves us," he said, "without limits, always to the end. The love of Jesus for us has no limits, it is always more. He never tires of loving anyone. He loves all of us to the point of giving His life."
"The love of Jesus never deceives because he never tires of loving, as He also never tires of forgiving, He never tires of embracing us. This is the first thing I wanted to tell you: Jesus loved each one of you 'to the end.'"

Regarding Jesus' act of washing the feet of the disciples, the Holy Father noted that the disciples did not understand His gesture, a custom that is usually the work of slaves. In order to serve, heal and clean us, he stressed, Jesus made Himself a slave.

"In our hearts, we must have the certainty, we must be sure that the Lord, when he washes our feet, He washes everything, He purifies us! He makes us feel once again His love," he said.

Before proceeding to the Rite of the Washing of the Feet, Pope Francis said that the 12 male and female inmates represented all of those who were incarcerated in the Roman prison.

However, he also stressed that like them, he needed to be 'cleaned by the Lord. as well.'
"And for this, pray during this Mass so that the Lord may also clean my filth, so that I may become more your slave, more of a slave in the service of people, as Jesus was," he said.

The Pope proceeded to wash the feet of the inmates, the majority of whom could not contain their emotion at their feet being washed by the Successor of Saint Peter.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Pope Francis: "Our Lives Do Not End in Front of the Stone of the Sepulcher!"

Pope Francis: "Our Lives Do Not End in Front of the Stone of the Sepulcher!"

Reflects on the Coming Easter Triduum During Weekly General Audience

Vatican City, (Zenit.org) Junno Arocho Esteves | 616 hits

The Easter Triduum is a time to not only commemorate the Passion of the Lord, but to enter in its mystery. This was the reflection given by Pope Francis at today's General Audience in St. Peter's Square.


 
The Pope said that with tomorrow's Mass of the Lord's Supper, the summit of the liturgical year begins. Speaking on the act of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples, the Holy Father said that Christ expresses the meaning of His life and Passion, who came not to be served, but to serve. 

"This happens every time we make the memorial of the Lord in the Eucharist: we make communion with the Servant Christ to obey his commandment, that of loving one another as He has loved us," the Pope said.

"If we approach Holy Communion without being sincerely willing to wash one another's feet, we do not recognize the Body of the Lord. It is Jesus' service, donating one's self totally."

"It is Accomplished"

Reflecting on the commemoration of Christ's death on Good Friday, Pope Francis said that with His final words, Jesus transformed "the greatest iniquity into the greatest love."

The 78 year old Pontiff compared it to the men and women in today's world who give witness of this "perfect love with their lives". One such example, was Fr. Andrea Santoro, an Italian missionary who was murdered in Turkey in 2006.

"This example of a man of our times, and many others, sustain us in offering our lives as a gift of love to the brothers [and sisters], in imitation of Jesus," he said. "And even today there are many men and women, true martyrs who offer their lives with Jesus to confess the faith; only for this reason."
"It is a service," he continued. "The service done for us by Christ, who redeemed us until the end.

This is the meaning of those words: "It is accomplished."

'The Night is Darkest Before the Dawn'

On Holy Saturday, the Pope said, the Church contemplates Christ's "rest" in the tomb. The Holy Father also noted that it is a day to also reflect on the Blessed VirginMary: "the first and perfect disciple, the first and perfect believer."

"She remains alone to keep the flame of faith alive, hoping against all hope in the Resurrection of Jesus."

Finally, with the Easter Vigil, the Pope said that the darkness of night at times, seems to penetrate our souls. However, Christ comes with the fire of God's love to break the darkness.

"We know that the night is darkest before the day begins," he said. "But precisely in that darkness, it is Christ who is victorious and enlightens the fire of love."

"Our lives do not end in front of the stone of the Sepulcher! Our life goes beyond with hope in Christ who is risen."

Concluding his address, Pope Francis said that sas Christians, all are called to be "sentinels of the dawn".

"In these days of the Sacred Triduum, let us not limit ourselves to commemorate the passion of the Lord, but let us enter into the mystery," he said