Deeper Truth

Deepertruth: Devotion to the Holy Eucharist AdvancesDevotion to Jesus’ Person

Devotion to the Holy Eucharist AdvancesDevotion to Jesus' Person
Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.
Most Catholics take for granted the intimate relationship between the Eucharist and the Sacred Heart. They have come to associate the practice of the nine First Fridays, when Holy Communion is received, with the promises of our Savior to St. Margaret Mary for the grace of a happy death. They have also come to associate the liturgical feast of the Sacred Heart soon after the Eucharistic feast of Corpus Christi. Then, too, we have such expressions as the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, and the invocation of the Sacred Heart after Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
These and similar associations are commonplace in Catholic piety. So it is not surprising that, if a person were asked if there is any connection between the Sacred Heart and the Eucharist, he would spontaneously say, "Why, yes. I'm sure there must be." But he would most likely not be able to explain any more.
There are several ways we could approach this subject and prove, as it were, that the two mysteries are intimately related.
We might, for example, trace the historical relation of the apparitions of Christ to Margaret Mary with her own great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. She would spend hours lost in adoration before the tabernacle, often rapt in ecstasy so that sometimes she had to be physically shaken to bring her back to secular consciousness, as we might say.
There is also the remarkable fact that all of Christ's appearances to His saint were when she knelt before the Eucharist. He would literally replace the Sacrament on the altar when He showed His physical heart to this devoted mystic, as much as to say, "When you see the Eucharist, you see me; and when you see me, you behold my Sacred Heart."
 
 

Deepertruth: Christmas Special Part 4 Was Bethlehem Dec. 25, 2 B.C. too Cold?

Christmas Special Part 4  Was Bethlehem Dec. 25, 2 B.C. too Cold? 
Sometimes artists through their expression and profession can influence thought and belief based on the perception of the artist. Christmas is a great example as many of our beloved music and art portrays Christmas in Bethlehem as being winter with snow. Consider the song "The First Noel", one of my personal favorites. It has a line, "On a cold winter's night that was so deep Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, Born is the King of Israel!"
Notice the feeling you have singing this stanza? It's cold outside and you can really feel for those shepherds. Paintings and art work often depicts a Nativity scene with snow flakes and snow on the ground. Is this art and music that is so entrenched in our imagination of the Christmas story a true representation of the actual Nativity scene?
This statement was posed to challenge my position that truly the Shepherds were in fact out in the fields tending their sheep:
"We don't know when Our Lord was born. In winter, yes, because the shepherds were out in their fields that time of year. Why not appropriate a beloved pagan season to celebrate the Nativity? There's even a neat play on words. The Romans called the winter solstice Natatalia (sp?) Solis Invicti, the Birth of the Unconquered Sun (Son!)."
 

Deepertruth: Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Sabas

 Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Sabas 12/5/2023
(439 – December 5, 532) Born in Cappadocia, Sabas is one of the most highly regarded patriarchs among the monks of Palestine
After an unhappy childhood in which he was abused and ran away several times, Sabas finally sought refuge in a monastery.
He entered the monastery at age eight, While family members tried to persuade him to return home, the young boy felt drawn to monastic life. Although the youngest monk in the house, he excelled in virtue.
At age 18 he traveled to Jerusalem, seeking to learn more about living in solitude. After ten years in the monastery, eighteen year old Sabas traveled to Jerusalem. He was hoping to learn more about the practice of living in solitude.
After years of monastic life in the valley, Sabas was chosen to go on retreat in the deserts of Rouban, where it is believed Christ performed his 40 day fast before his passion.
During the retreat, Sabas became so dehydrated that he was close to the point of death. He prayed that the Lord would take pity on him. He stuck his staff into the earth. Immediately, a spring of water came forth and Sabas was able to recover his strength for the rest of the retreat.
“knowing what happens in our minds and hearts… how to recognize [bad thoughts] before we actually do a sinful action,”
Soon he asked to be accepted as a disciple of a well-known local solitary, though initially he was regarded as too young to live completely as a hermit.
Initially, Sabas lived in a monastery, where he worked during the day and spent much of the night in prayer.
 

Deepertruth: Christmas Special Part 3 The World of Politics 25 2 B.C.

Christmas Special Part 3 The World of Politics 25 2 B.C.
Politics and religion have a way to help keep time and history, a great example of this is the first Christmas when Jesus was born December 25, 2 B.C.
Because of the breakdown of the Julian and Gregory Calender's, there have been some long held belief's that have recently come into question.
Traditionally, it has been believed that King Herod had died sometime in the Spring of either 5 or 4 B.C. which is why some thought Christ was born before this time as Scripture is clear that Herod died after Jesus was born. Matthew 2:13-19 tells the story how the Holy Family escaped to Egypt, Herod's order to massacre the infant boys 2 years and younger, and finally his death.
The Jewish Historian Josephus wrote that Herod died following an eclipse that some pointed to one such known eclipse that took place on March 4 B.C. (Antiquities 17. 6-8). Josephus does not give any dates, just the event of an eclipse so historians commonly believed the March eclipse 4 B.C. to satisfy the historical record.
Astronomers had offered possible dates when eclipses took place before the Jewish Passover. In 5 B.C. one took place on March 23 just 29 days before Passover. In 4 B.C., another eclipse took place on March 13, 29 days before Passover. The next possible eclipse is January 10, 1 B.C. which was 12 1/2 weeks before Passover.

Deepertruth: Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint John Damascene

Stand In The Gap With Us And  Saint John Damascene Priest and Doctor 12/4/2023
John spent most of his life in the Monastery of Saint Sabas near Jerusalem, and all of his life under Muslim rule, indeed protected by it.
He was born in Damascus, received a classical and theological education, and followed his father in a government position under the Arabs. After a few years, he resigned and went to the Monastery of Saint Sabas.
"I do not worship matter, I worship the God of matter, who became matter for my sake, and deigned to inhabit matter, who worked out my salvation through matter. I will not cease from honouring that matter which works my salvation. I venerate it, though not as God."
“But this is what leads the heretics astray: that they look upon nature and person as the same thing” “evil is nothing else than absence of goodness, just as darkness also is absence of light. For goodness is the light of the mind, and, similarly, evil is the darkness of the mind. Light, therefore, being the work of the Creator and being made good (for God saw all that He made, and behold they were exceeding good(8)) produced darkness at His free-will.”
 

Deepertruth: Journey With Mary OUR LADY OF ZION 1842

Join John Carpenter, Don Hartley, and the Deeper Truth team as they analyze another amazing story about the Blessed Virgin in 1842.
Marie “Alphonse” Ratisbonne was born into a wealthy Jewish family in 1814. When Alphonse's brother converted to Catholicism and became a priest, the family reacted negatively, and Alphonse’s disdain for the Catholic Church was further hardened. While on vacation in Rome, Alphonse became friends with Baron Theodore de Bussières, whose personal mission was to convert every person he met. The Baron made a proposition to Alphonse: Wear the Miraculous Medal and say the Memorare every morning and see if something happens. Alphonse agreed. The Baron called upon many friends to say extra Memorares for Alphonse’s conversion. A few days later, while at the basilica of St. Andrea delle Fratte in company with the Baron, Alphonse experienced the following, taken from his account on Jan 20, 1842:
"I was scarcely in the church when a total confusion came over me. When I looked up, it seemed to me that the entire church had been swallowed up in shadow, except one chapel. It was as though all the light was concentrated in that single place. I looked over towards this chapel whence so much light shone, and above the altar was a living figure, tall, majestic, beautiful and full of mercy. It was the most holy Virgin Mary, resembling her figure on the Miraculous Medal. At this sight I fell on my knees right where I stood. Unable to look up because of the blinding light, I fixed my glance on her hands, and in them I could read the expression of mercy and pardon. In the presence of the Most Blessed Virgin, even though she did not speak a word to me, I understood the frightful situation I was in, my sins and the beauty of the Catholic Faith."
 

Deepertruth: Christmas Special Part 2 The Star of Bethlehem December 25 2 B.C.

Christmas Special Part 2  The Star of Bethlehem December 25 2 B.C.
September 3 B.C. The planet Jupiter was in conjunction with Regulus, the brightest star in the constellation of Leo-Leo the Lion. This would be the star the wise men would follow leading them to Bethlehem. They followed the star for about 16 months until the Star rested over Bethlehem for six days beginning on Dec 25, 2 B.C.
Isaiah 60:1-6 prophesied, “Rise up in splendor! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you. See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; But upon you the Lord shines, and over you appears his glory. Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance. Raise your eyes anbd look about; they all gather and come to you: Your sons come from afar, and your daughters in the arms of their nurses. Then you shall be radiant at what you see, your hear shall throb and overflow, for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you, the wealth of nations shall be brought to you. Caravans of camels shall fill you, dromedaries from Midian and Ephah; All from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praises of the Lord.”
 

Deepertruth: Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Francis Xavier

Stand In The Gap With Us And Saint Francis Xavier 12/3/2023
"December third of this year will mark the fourth centenary of the death of St. Francis Xavier.
Among the glories of the saint which need to be vindicated at the present time are the miracles which four centuries of tradition have identified with his name.
Rationalist criticism has consciously singled out the supernatural phenomena reported in the story of his life.
The argument is that if you can eliminate divine intervention from the life of “one of the most noble and devoted men” in the history of the Church, you logically eliminate the same from the Church as a whole.
Even Catholics have been influenced by this criticism. Thus, according to a recent writer, “It is a myth he (Xavier) possessed the gift of tongues. Indeed about the only language he ever learned to speak and write with reasonable facility was Portuguese. It is a myth also that he was a great worker of miracles. His miracles were his patience, his generosity, his consuming love of Christ his Divine Master, his limitless trust in God.” Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.

Deepertruth : Christmas Special Part 1 Jesus was born December 25 2 B.C.

Does Scripture hold a clue to December 25 as the Lord's birth?
"In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!" But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end." And Mary said to the angel, "How shall this be, since I have no husband?" And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible." And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
 

Deepertruth: Stand In The Gap With Us And Blessed Rafal Chylinski

Stand In The Gap With Us And  Blessed Rafal Chylinski 12/2/2023
Born on 8 January 1694 near Buk in the Poznan region of Poland, Melchior Chylinski showed early signs of religious devotion; family members nicknamed him “the little monk.”
After completing his studies at the Jesuit college in Poznan, Melchior joined the cavalry and was promoted to officer rank within three years.
In 1712, Melcior served in the Polish Army and became an officer. In 1715, he left the Army and moved to Cracow, where he joined the Franciscan Fathers as a cleric. On April 4, 1715, Rafael was baptized into the order and received the name Rafael.
On April 26, 1715, he was professed. He was ordained to the priesthood (in Poznan) in 1717. He traveled to monasteries in Radziejow, Poznan, Gniezno, Warsaw, Kalisz, Warta, and Crakow. From 1728-1736, he served in the Lageiewniki, part of the parish of Lodz. He died there on December 2, 1742.
In 1715, against the urgings of his military comrades, Melchior joined the Conventual Franciscans in Krakow. Receiving the name Rafal, he was ordained two years later.
After pastoral assignments in nine cities, he came to Lagiewniki, where he spent the last 13 years of his life, except for 20 months ministering to flood and epidemic victims in Warsaw.