POTENCY OF MASS: IT SHEDS THE BLOOD OF PROTECTION AND HOLDS BACK CHASTISEMENT

A single Mass is of immeasurable potency. St. Teresa explained that the world would long ago have been destroyed but for the Mass. It alone holds the arm of God. It alone restrains Divine justice.

Without Mass in the world, said St. Teresa, "all here below would perish."

A single, well-said Mass -- attended to with true grace -- can have unimaginable effects. Our requests and supplications can be offered throughout the liturgy, and I have found it especially effective to do it while the Host is elevated, and also when the chalice is raised. For in the chalice is now the Blood of Christ, and it is that Blood which is most powerful in washing away sinfulness. It is the Blood which was shed for our redemption.

It is the Blood that demons fear more than anything, because the Blood established Christ's transcendence of the world and defeat of evil. It represents His sacrifice. Since our redemption means breaking the bondages to Satan, the Blood is extremely potent in chasing away evil spirits.

During Mass we should plead the Blood of Christ. We should plead it on our lives. We should plead it on family and friends.

We should plead it upon the Church. And society. We should plead it upon every aspect of existence because the Blood is the greatest of all palliatives -- meaning that in warding off devils, nothing is more effective.

It was the Blood that defeated Satan at Calvary.

"Lord I am not worthy to receive You, but only say the word and I shall be healed..."

These are the cherished moments of Mass. These are the minutes that are special beyond our ability to understand how special they are. These are the seconds when we are touching eternity.

Having interceded for ourselves, our families, and the world, we have cleared the way to concentrating on our purification, and that opens the floodgates of grace, which pour forth during the Eucharist (and Adoration).

Upon reception of the Communion host, we are in Christ and Christ is truly within us. Upon receiving Communion, we have all power over the enemy. As one of the documents from Vatican II proclaimed: "From this it follows that every liturgical celebration, because it is an action of Christ the Priest and of His Body, which is the Church, is a sacred action surpassing all others. No other action of the Church can equal its efficacy by the same title and to the same degree (SC 7). From the liturgy, therefore, and especially from the Eucharist, grace is poured forth upon us as from a fountain, and the sanctification of men in Christ and the glorification of God to which all other activities of the Church are directed, as toward their end, are achieved with maximum effectiveness."

[resources: Secrets of the Eucharist and The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist]

The Number of the Beast

Date: 2007-03-02

Regent Restates Vatican's Anti-Masonry Position

Says Its Philosophies Are Incompatible With Church

ROME, MARCH 2, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The Church has not changed its ruling on Catholic membership in the Masons, said the regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary.

Bishop Gianfranco Girotti made this statement Thursday at a conference on the topic of Freemasonry held at the St. Bonaventure Pontifical Theological Faculty.

The bishop presided over the congress held in cooperation with the Socio-Religious Research and Information Group of Italy. Officials of Masonic associations and grand masters also took part in the meeting.

Bishop Girotti reminded his listeners that the Church has always criticized the concepts and philosophy of Freemasonry, considering them incompatible with the Catholic faith.

He mentioned the last official reference document, "Declaration on Masonic Associations," which was signed by the then prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, on Nov. 26, 1983.

The text states that since the principles of Masonic associations "have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church," membership in them, therefore, "remains forbidden."

"The faithful who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive holy Communion," adds the declaration signed by Cardinal Ratzinger, who is now Benedict XVI.

Father Zbigniew Suchecki, an expert in the subject, quoted number 1374 of the Code of Canon Law, which reads: "Whoever is inscribed in an association that plots against the Church must be punished with a just penalty; whoever promotes or directs that association, must be banned."

"Masonry's attempts to express divine truths are based on relativism and do not agree with the principles of the Christian faith," said the Conventual Franciscan.

Bishop Girotti made reference to the statements of some priests who have declared publicly their membership in Masonry and called for the intervention of "their direct superiors," not excluding the possibility that "measures of a canonical character might come from the Holy See."

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