Is the Impossible Possible?

Today I was privileged to see a relic of St. Jude Thaddeus at the Cathedral Basilica here in town. The Dominican Friars from the Shrine of St. Jude in Chicago have brought the relic to my archdiocese again. A rosary was recited, then an opportunity for Confession before Mass celebrated with the Archbishop and the friars. Following Mass there was time for personal veneration of the relic and then an other opportunity for Confession. When I left, I left after the rosary, as I really couldn't stay for the Mass, there were huge lines for the confessionals. Quite honestly, the times I've been to confession this year (remember I just made my first Confession in a long, long time this year), there have always been long lines. Needless to say, I could have gone, as both my pastor and the rector at the Cathedral said that the priests hearing confessions wouldn't know us. Maybe that's why the lines were so long, ;-)

I know people jokingly make comments about not having to go to Confession. Archbishop Sheehan recently addressed the subject of Confession and the misconceptions of not having to go to Confession (or was that Mass? He talked about that recently too.) I've had a former Catholic friend tell me that it was done away with long ago and of course I said no, "it's one of the Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church, and when you come back to the Church fully, you'll need to go to Confession before you can receive the Eucharist." '
Needless to say, that didn't go over well with my friend.

Anyway, this post isn't about Confession per se but seeing the relic of a Saint who lived during the time of Christ. A relic from a man who was one of the Twelve. Someone who is believed to have been a cousin of Jesus. How could I not experience that? Another short bio of St. Jude here.



I took my camera with me and for some reason, I did not take a picture of the relic as it processed up to the the table before the altar where it was placed and since I did not stay for Mass or the veneration, I didn't get a photograph of it at all. I searched google for images and found only a couple. This one is from the Aquinas Newman Center at UNM, which is staffed by Dominicans. It will end up there after it's soujourn in Santa Fe and arrival in Albuquerque.

This is the text of the prayer we prayed after the rosary was said.

Most Holy Apostle, St. Jude Thaddeus, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the name of the traitor who delivered your beloved Master into the hands of his enemies has caused you to be forgotten by many. But the Church honors you, and I invoke you as the special advocate of those who are in trouble and almost without hope. Help me to realize that through our faith we triumph over life's difficulties by the power of Jesus who loved us and gave his life for us. Come to my assistance that I may receive the consolation and succor of heaven in all my needs, trials, and sufferings, particularly ( here make your request ) and that I may praise God with you and all the saints forever.

St. Jude, apostle of the Word of God, pray for us.
St. Jude, follower of the Son of God, pray for us.
St. Jude, preacher of the love of God, pray for us.
St. Jude, intercessor before God, pray for us.
St. Jude, friend of all in need, pray for us.
St. Jude, pray for us, and for all who invoke your aid.

(text taken from the prayer page at the Shrine of St. Jude website, where this relic is housed.)

Went to the Movies...

I guess I really haven't turned in my Fangirl Card because I snuck away to see the new X-Files movie, "I Want To Believe". First off, I didn't expect a huge, blow-em-up kind of movie. I had hoped for some resolve with what happened when the show ended, and yes there was some of that and I knew going into it had gotten mixed reviews. Secondly, as a fan of the show and a former fangirl, I had to see the movie. I knew nothing of the plot, but I had heard it was an exploration of faith.

Wasn't overly happy to find out the priest character played by Billy Connolly was a defrocked, pedophile priest who was living in a half-way, self-policed rehab type house. He was seeing visions. Scully was a doctor at a Catholic hospital with a dying kid and Mulder was Mulder, alebit a bit less idealistic and a bit jaded.

So, the plot was about missing women, evil scientists, trading in body parts and other typical X-files drama, intrigue and weirdities. We see Skinner and by the end, all is well with the world, at least for a little while. But, there was an underlying questioning of faith, and exactly just how far one should go to save another human being. What is ethical and right and just where does science cross the line and how much does faith, God and religion figure into the equation.

Holy Faith

Novena Day Five.

From the start of this novena, I've eagerly awaited today's Mass. While I've enjoyed the other four, I knew today's Mass would be beautiful. I didn't know how special it would be, most especially for my pastor. Today it was my parish's turn to host the Mass. The choir sang beautifully, the liturgy was beautiful, much of it in Spanish, and finally Father's homily was poignant and touching. His words truly reflected the spirit of what this novena is about. He's from here so he understands the significance of this novena. In his homily, (I'm paraphrasing) but basically he stressed that we have a strong culture, rich with tradition and history here, but what was most important is our faith in God. Faith matters above everything else. He talked about the Blessed Mother, how she guided him and helped him in life, how we can all turn to her and ask for her intercession as she is our mother as well.

This morning the sun was out and shined brightly through the trees and over the altar. I really wish I could capture that on film. It's something best imagined I think. I didn't have my camera this morning. I was bummed out.

Today's Mass also fell on First Friday so we had the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament after the final prayer of the Mass. It was also the anniversary of my pastor's ordination and it was also my parish's day to celebrate Mass, so for those reasons, it truly was special. Today, Our Lady was changed into a new dress made especially for her, it was made to match the new vestment given to our priest for his anniversary. He was recently in Rome and bought a new crown for La Conquistadora and had it blessed by Pope Benedict XVI and she wore it today.

Last year this novena brought me back to my faith and the Church. This year, it's truly helping my faith grow. I'm still struggling with a few things-- maybe I just need to let go and trust God fully and completely.

Anyway, I said above I forgot my camera so having some free time after breakfast with good friends, I went home to get it. I also had a few errands to run. I took Mom and Dad's dog over to play with my dogs, while she cleaned house, I got my camera, my rosary and prayer book and headed back to the chapel for adoration. I'm still a bit perplexed about what one does during adoration-- I just think of it as time sitting quietly with Jesus. I took my prayer book and read a few prayers specifically suited for Eucharistic Adoration and then, some specifically for Mary. I do find a quiet peace there. Today I felt like I was really with Jesus and his mother, Mary. I don't really know exactly how I should pray. Sometimes, I think I do ok and other times, I just don't know what I'm doing. I still hope that in time, I'll have a more fruitful and spiritual prayer life. For now, I'm just going to sit and enjoy the beautiful silence of it all.

Today's Pictures Posted Here.

Cristo ha resucitado. En verdad ha resucitado.

Again, I declare: Christ Is Risen.

Response said by someone else: Indeed He is Risen. Here's where you can find it said in many languages.

It's Always A Risk When You Try to Believe

Sometimes a line in a song will speak to me, such is the case of the line I quote in the title of this post. I'm sort of in that state of mind. I do believe but to what extent? When I profess the Creed every Sunday at Mass, I really and truly believe. I believe that God sent his Son through his Mother Mary for us. I believe he suffered, died and was buried. I believe he rose again on the third day. I reflect on those words and believe them. No risk there. For thousands of years, those words have been said have created conflict, the Great Schism, anyone? But the foundation of my faith truly comes from those words.

Yet, sometimes, it all seems so unfathomable. Can we really comprehend faith? Is that what faith is, the ability to believe in something that while we can't see, we know it's there, it's real. Is faith something we can grasp, perceive, touch, desire. Is it a trust that we can't comprehend?

I once said to a friend that I'm too afraid to be an atheist. How could I let go of the belief of something- someone-- bigger than myself, something I profess deep within my soul. I know I have a soul. I can feel it, yet I can't prove it.