First Saturday
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Every First Saturday at St. ThomasFollowing the 9:00am Mass
Next One: March 1 - Hell and the Saints Who Have Visited It!
Held downstairs in Fr. Mac Hall. Refreshments will be served.March ResourcesOn the Subject of “Hell” - The Catechism of the Catholic Church
Visions of Hell from the Perspective of the Saints & Mystics:
What is Hell Like? - accounts of the saints from Catholic News Agency
Stories of Hell in the Lives of the Saints - Mystics of the Church article
Saints Who Saw Hell - book by Paul Thigpen (Tan Books)
5 Saints Who Had Terrifying Visions of Hell - ChurchPop article
Mystical Visions of Hell - according to St. Frances of Rome
After Death Official Trailer - documentary on Near Death Experiences
Prayers for Death and Dying - USCCB article
- Praying of the Sick and Dying - Divine Mercy Fathers
- The Four Last Things - Salt & Light Media article
What is Hell? - Catholic Answers article
The Progressive Stages of Sin - Msgr. Charles Pope article
Is Hell Just a Scare Tactic? - Fr. Paul Keller, OP, article
4 Common Tactics of the Devil - Msgr. Charles Pope article
Commentary on the Screwtape Letters - Word on Fire article
February Resources: Faith and Science Connections
Faith & Science Teachings:
- www.ewtn.com/tv/shows/father-spitzers-universe (EWTN series)
- www.magiscenter.com/ (Fr. Spitzer’s faith & science learning website)
- www.wordonfire.org/science/ (Bishop Barron’s faith & science series)
- www.vaticanobservatory.org/education/faith-science-resource-center/ (Vatican Observatory resource center)
- https://watch.formed.org/faith-science (Formed.org programs)
Faith & Science Articles:
- We Are Catholic Vidoe by Fr. Joe Krupp: www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmV_OSzbCYA&list=PL57C849101EFF774C
- www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_14091998_fides-et-ratio.html (JP II Encyclical on Faith & Reason)
- www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/does-the-church-oppose-science (Catholic Answers article)
- https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/a-catholic-history-of-the-conflict-between-religion-and-science/ (Church Life article)
- https://catholiceducation.org/en/religion-and-philosophy/what-the-church-has-given-the-world.html (Catholic contributions article)
Faith & Science Websites:
- www.vaticanobservatory.org/ (Vatican Observatory)
- www.vatican.va/content/romancuria/en.html (Offices of the Vatican / Roman Curia)
- www.pas.va/en.html (Pontifical Academy of Sciences)
- www.pass.va/en.html (Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences)
- www.catacombeditalia.va/content/archeologiasacra/en.html (Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archeology)
- https://catholicscientists.org/scientists-of-the-past/ (Society of Catholic Scientists)
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Schedule for 2025
MARCH 1 – Hell and the Saints Who Have Visited It!
APRIL 5 – Intergenerational Healing
MAY 3 – Monasticism of the Heart and Extraordinary Vocations
JUNE 7 – The Mission & Conditions of Discipleship -
A CHECKLIST FOR A WELL-ROUNDED SPIRITUAL LIFE
INTRODUCTION TO SOME SPIRITUAL ROUTINES YOU MAY NOT BE AWARE OF
As we are baptized into Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, our whole journey as Christians is to pick up our cross and carry it faithfully–even through suffering and death–so as to reach the resurrection. Lent is an experience of dying to self that prepares us to meet our Maker, as each day we are one day closer to our Particular Judgement. Keeping the end in mind actually allows us to live each day more fully and intentionally as a gift from God to be treasured.
The Art of Dying Well is a popular subject of Catholic authors, and these books are written for the living so that we might always be prepared for the final accounting. The Scout motto is “Always Be Prepared.” How much more should we always be prepared as Christians knowing that we are on a journey and this is not our permanent home! And yet, out of fear and anxiety, it is very tempting to avoid the subject of eternity and cheat ourselves of the opportunity to use our time here on earth to the maximum eternal profit.
For those of us who are young and very healthy, the Art of Dying Well still applies to you...
Continue Reading
*This is best viewed on an electronic device so that all of the hyperlinks are available to you. -
Praying For Holy Souls in Purgatory
RESOURCES ON ATONEMENT, SPIRITUAL PREPARATION & PRAYING FOR THE HOLY SOULS
About Purgatory as a Place & Process: (NEW)
- St. Gertrude Prayer for the Holy Souls
- Author Susan Tassone & 8 Questions about Purgatory interview
- St. Catherine of Genoa’s Treatise on Purgatory
- Visits from the Holy Souls to Saints
- Passages on Purgatory in the Diary of St. Faustina
- Rome’s Museum of the Souls of Purgatory
- Pious Union of St. Joseph (Patron of the Dying) Shrine in Grass Lake, MI
How to repair the damage of our sins and avoid Purgatory for ourselves?- Atoning for Sins according to Scripture:
- Fervent prayer (James 5:16)
- Almsgiving to the poor (Tobit 12:8-9 & Sirach 3:30)
- Corporal (& Spiritual) Works of Mercy (Matthew 25:34-40)
- Confessing our own sins and pardoning the sins of others against us (I John 1:9)
- Caring for your parents (especially in their old age) (Sirach 3:14)
- Bringing sinners back to faith in Jesus Christ (James 5:20)
- Love of neighbor covers a multitude of sins (I Peter 4:8)
Morning Offering Prayer - offering daily sacrifices & sufferings in atonementJesus tells St. Faustina to show mercy daily in word, deed or prayerAbout the Divine Mercy Devotion - venerating God’s MercyDivine Mercy Sunday promise, which atones for all of our sins
About Indulgences - praying for our conversion or for the souls of the departed
Church Manual of Indulgenced Prayers (see indulgenced prayers related to cemetery visits below)
5 Ways of Repentance by St. John ChrysostomAbout the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel & how it protects us---------FOR THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED
§1 A plenary indulgence, applicable only to the souls in purgatory, is granted to the faithful who,
1° on any and each day from November 1 to 8, devoutly visit a cemetery and pray, if only mentally, for the departed;
2° on All Souls’ Day (or, according to the judgment of the ordinary, on the Sunday preceding or following it, or on the solemnity of All Saints), devoutly visit a church or an oratory and recite an Our Father and the Creed.
§2 A partial indulgence, applicable only to the souls in purgatory, is granted to the faithful who
1° devoutly visit a cemetery and at least mentally pray for the dead;
2° devoutly recite lauds or vespers from the Office of the Dead or the prayer Eternal rest.
Requiem aeternam
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace.
(from the Order of Christian Funerals) -