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Father Mellace's Message Archives

  

What is Your Parish Community Like? Part 1, 2, 3, & 4
 

 

 

In her monthly appearance at Medjugorje, Mary emphasized persevering prayer in favor of the parish community and positive efforts to be made towards its true conversion. A good pastor at the head of a group of faithful Catholics, actively participating in their parish community, could bring about wonderful spiritual results for himself, his flock and the Church in general. What if the parish is not an ideal one, but full of shortcomings? What is to be done to improve and save it from total loss? What are the basic elements that make a Catholic community to be an ideal one? I would like to begin answering these questions by describing five types that truly need our prayers:

 

a)    The Graveyard parish:

 

This community is defunct. If people come to baptize their children, get married or bury their relatives, the liturgical ceremonies involved are performed with the bare minimum requirements. They are hastily executed and over in less than twenty minutes. It is mere routine and everything realized without an internal spirit, sincerity, enthusiasm, love or warmth. The people who come to receive the sacraments never return again to the community. There are no novenas, popular devotions, Holy Hours, etc and the Church remains closed during a good part of the week. There are hardly any pastoral activities and visits to the sick, families or prisons occur only if the pastor is solicited. He, however, will not take any initiatives of his own. On Sunday, the pews are half empty and the liturgy is more of dirge than a celebration. The homilies are sterile and put everyone to sleep. Now you may ask: where is the pastor? No one knows because he is never found in the parish when called upon.

 

b)    The Victorian Closet Parish:

 

This community suffers from a terrible and horrendous fear of sex and sex related matters. Everything concerning sexual matters is hushed up. The pastor takes it upon himself to make absolutely sure that the word does not get out. The word, of course, is sex. It is something unutterable in the parish. Nothing is to be spoken or mentioned about it: birth control, contraceptives, sterilization or abortion; even if it appears on the political scene. A strict silence is to be observed in its regard. Visiting priests are carefully screened and prohibited from giving homilies in this parish (since they might accidentally pronounce the feared term). When pastors perceive that someone might leak out the information, they break out into a cold sweat, start to jitter and tremble and get clammy hands.   Since they don’t tell the truth in its fullness, the sermons they preach end up being weak, compromising and anemic. People, unsatisfied with all of this, slowly begin to leave the Church and the community disintegrates and dwindles until it disappears.

 

c)     The Women’s Tea Party Parish:

 

These communities are not run by the pastor, but by the women to whom they conceded authority and power. Strong-willed and ambitious matriarchs, manipulating the pastor’s weak emotional state, take over the parish and call all the shots. They answer the telephone calls, organize the pastoral activities, make decisions concerning the destiny of the parish funds, decide if a parishioner or visitor can or cannot see the pastor,  invent the lies told to undesirable persons that might compete, investigate or challenge them, etc. This is really the abomination that enters into the Holy of Holies prophesied of in the Bible. The pastors are too weak to oppose these females and even get angry and annoyed if someone stands up to their second mothers. Stagnation sets in these types of communities. They agonize since the real authority does not run the parish. Christ called a male to the priesthood to take care of his sheep and not a flock of gossiping geese who have not this charisma.

 

d)    Herod’s Palace parish:

 

In this community everyone is welcome and everything is permitted. All are invited to have a good time. Homogenitals, adulterers, birth control users, pro-abortion politicians, etc. can all come up and receive unworthily the Body of Christ. We don’t want to leave anyone feeling bad or in a crisis of non-acceptance and rejection. We like to see everyone smiling and feeling good. Evil is simply a matter of one’s conscience and each particular person will decide what he or she should do. We want the community to be a fun place where everyone can be entertained by uplifting, sentimental moving music. The really significant thing that gives meaning to all are the financial drives needed to pay for all the feasting. It is of paramount importance that every weekly sermon  mentions and emphasizes this truly fundamental point.

 

e)     The Icebox parish:

 

This community is closed in upon itself and can’t see beyond the front door of the Church. The members are isolated individuals wrapped up in their own existence, worries and problems. They have no time for anyone else and can’t extend a handshake nor show a smile for one another. They come to Mass when the sermon ends and leave as Communion is being distributed. They felt they have completed their obligations. They give nothing to the Church, but demand everything from it. They constantly criticize the community, gripe and complain about it. They never, however, care about the needs of the poor and homeless, and to wrench a contribution from their hands is worse than extracting a tooth. They could care less about what is going on in the rest of the world and it does not concern them at all. They relate to others in a business manner with no real warmth or sincerity.

 

In part 2, I will give an outline of what I consider to be a truly Catholic parish (in the full sense of the word) and how Christ dreamed of it to be.  

 

Part 2

 

In the ideal parish community, the pastor serves, loves and dedicates himself entirely to Jesus Christ and His glory. He will be zealous and solicitous for the greatest and most powerful prayer and liturgical action in the world: the Holy Mass.  The Mass is to be the center of his, and every Christian’s life where he offers a perfect sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to God, likewise perfect reparation for sins and the showering of every possible grace from heaven, if his faith is proportionate to what he is doing. Every other sacred action, every other attitude of Christian life is tied to, comes from and to it is ordained. They are like the diverse rays shining from the one and only sun. The whole reason as to why we are baptized is to be able to participate in the Mass. The reason why we go to confession is to be morally free to participate in the Mass. The reason the Church ordains priests is so that they may celebrate the Mass for everyone. They are not ordained to take care of financial matters (the diaconate was established for that purpose), but to celebrate and offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The Apostles could not be bothered with serving tables, but established the diaconate in order to be free for prayer and worship.

 

Every good that the saints invented throughout history had its origin in the Mass (schools, hospitals, democratic institutions, science, orphanages, missions, philosophy, etc). Without the Mass, the wonderful social benefits that society today enjoys would never have come into being. The faithful on their part do not “assist” the Mass, but actively take part in it. The Mass is not like going to a movie where one sits back and passively watches what is going on. On the contrary, it is more like a sport event where the rooting team takes part in it as much as possible through attitudes, words, feelings, intentions, gestures and actions. The faithful are to participate in the Mass in such a way as to promote and express clearly their action as that of an entire community. The parts of the Mass where the faithful have a manifest and active participation are the penitential act, the profession of faith, the prayer of the faithful, the “Our Father”. Other manifestations of this participation would be the “Gloria”, Psalm Response, “Alleluia”, Gospel antiphon, Sanctus, Eucharistic acclamation and thanksgiving hymn. The faithful should show their active participation by singing the entrance antiphon or hymn, the offertory hymn, the “Lamb of God” and Communion hymn.

 

The reason why we stand for the Gospel is that the corporal position is symbolic of the promptitude in soon going out ourselves and proclaiming this Gospel to others. The reason why stand for the profession of Faith is that this position symbolizes our readiness to be martyred for what we are publicly professing. The symbolic position of sitting for the readings and the homily is that of the student who is learning his lessons. The faithful sit in order to learn the things of God through His proclaimed word. To show our reverence for the most solemn moment of the Consecration, we kneel. We incline our heads when the Persons of the Divine Trinity or the name of Jesus, Mary and the saint of the day are mentioned. The priest genuflects after the Elevation of the Host and Chalice, just before Communion and in front of the Tabernacle (I don’t due to a surgery that was performed on my knee).  The priest inclines at the altar, during the prayers in silence and at the words of the Incarnation during the profession of Faith. Silence is observed after the penitential act, the collective prayers, readings and homily and Holy Communion.

 

All of the Sunday readings are distributed in a three year period (A,B,C) . On Sundays and feast days, a reading from the Old Testament is added. During the Easter period, it is taken from the Acts of the Apostles. The reason for the readings is to clarify the mysteries of salvation and to incite in the faithful hunger for the word of God. The whole aim of the Word of God is to try to obtain the perfect unity of the Church. Unfortunately, the opposite occurred in many of our parishes. Hundreds of parishioners left for other groups and caused deep divisions and scandalous fractures within the community. The use of the Bible or typed sheets of the word of God are not proper as liturgical texts. They should not be utilized or read during the celebration of the Mass. The Psalms and readings are taken from weekly or Sunday lectionary. On Sundays and solemnities, the readings are taken from the prophets, apostles and Gospel. For special occasions and Masses, other readings can be chosen (youth Mass, marriages, anniversaries and jubilee, funerals, etc).

 

During the collective prayers, everyone should interiorly formulate his petition and bring it to Jesus in the Mass. On certain special feast days like Pentecost and Corpus Christi, we have an added hymn after the readings called a “Sequence”. The celebrant is to preach a homily on Sundays, feast days, Advent, Lent, Easter, and special days (patron saint, novenas, etc). When making our profession of Faith, we are really saying that we accept the Magisterium of the Church and will not contest or challenge her moral teachings. One cannot truly make a profession of Faith during the Mass and accept abortion, birth control, homoerotic behavior, lack of forgiveness, unjust wars, etc in his heart. If one has difficulties with the teachings of the Church, he should remain silent and not make the profession.

 

Father Anthony Mellace

 

Part 3

 

Though the Sacraments can be realized outside the Mass, it is better to celebrate them within the Holy Sacrifice. They become enriched by it. Baptisms are much more beautiful and meaningful within the Mass context. Marriages performed with a Mass seem to be more complete and lovelier. After all, the wedding is only a one time event. It should be given the greatest possible blessing with an abundance of graces for the couple. Novenas to the Sacred Heart, Mary, the Holy Spirit, a popular saint or devotion, etc should be realized with a Mass also. The prayers are made more powerful with Jesus present.

 

The Mass intentions should be for the particular situation of the area. If it is an inner urban region dominated by violence, the Mass could be celebrated for the end of the murders and killings. I myself celebrated the Mass in a very violent area of Sao Paulo. Fifty people per month died from the shootouts. After the Holy Sacrifice was offered in the neighborhood, the murders stopped completely. If the parish has a high number of poor and unemployed people, the Mass could be celebrated to grant jobs for them. I said Mass in such a neighborhood and suddenly, 11 people per month began to find work. If the parish has a great number of sick and dying people, afflicted with various diseases, the Mass could be celebrated for their health. Jesus can heal and bring them back to health through the Sacrifice of the Mass. I used to celebrate a Mass per week for the sick along with a novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. The Church was packed with people. Many told me later of the graces of health that they received through the Mass. The Mass can be celebrated for any need that the parish might have.

 

Many people offer the Mass for their loved ones who passed away. It is better, however, to offer it up while they are still alive. The graces are more effective and fruitful in life rather than after death. A priest, who knew he was going to die, offered a month worth of Masses for himself well before he started to lose his strength. It was revealed that he had gotten out of purgatory in a short time. He did not wait to have the Gregorian Masses said after his death. Masses could also be offered up to glorify God in His mysteries. These are the votive Masses in honor of the Sacred Heart, Eucharist, Passion, Holy Spirit, Mary, angels, Saint Joseph and other well known saints.

 

The following is the order of importance of liturgical celebrations (it is good not to miss these days because God grants His greater graces on the more solemn liturgical days):

 

a)    The Easter Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday)

God gives his greatest and most precious graces on this weekend to those who participate.

b)    Christmas, Epiphany, Ascension and Pentecost

Wonderful and sublime graces granted on these days

c)     Sundays of Advent, Lent, Easter, Ash Wednesday, Holy Week and Easter octave.

Now is the time to rake in some real diamonds from heaven

d)    Solemnities of the Lord, Mary, the saints and All Souls day

Here are some great discounts on spiritual riches from heaven

e)     Patron of the Parish

If he or she did not answer your prayers during the year, on this day be ready for some heavenly gifts

f)      Feasts of the Lord, Sundays of Christmas and Common time.

There are special graces on these days

g)    Feasts of Mary and the saints

The hearts of Mary and her children are generous and open, take advantage of her spiritual wealth

h)    Feasts of the patron of the diocese, nation or religious Congregation

Don’t lose this opportunity to gather the riches that will fall upon the particular region

i)       weekdays of Advent, Lent and the Christmas octave

Every little bit counts; one grace from heaven is worth more than all the material riches of the earth

      j)   Memorials (graces to feed our spirit and soul)

    

Father Anthony Mellace


Part 4
 

The Ideal Parish Community (IV)

 

After his devotion and love for Jesus Christ and the Mass, the pastor is to promote a true and authentic devotion to Mary amongst his parishioners. His spiritual children have a right to know that they possess a heavenly mother who loves and protects them. He himself should have a great zeal and devotion to Our Lady. There is no better way to bring his flock to Jesus than through the intercession of the Mother of God. He should be solicitous to celebrate her feast days and encourage the faithful to go to her for comfort and strength. The following is a list of the Marian feast days during the year’s cycle:

 

January:

 

1-    Solemnity of Mary,  Mother of God (holy day of obligation)

 

2-    Our Lady of the Pillar

 

(Patroness of Spain, the devotion was brought by St. James himself to this country and is considered the first Marian shrine in the world)

 

13-  Our Lady of Victories

 

(Patroness of Czechoslovakia, commemorates the victory over the Protestants at the battle of White Mountain in the 17th century and the triumph of Catholicism in that nation)

 

     15-  Our Lady of Banneux

 

(1932, Belgium, converted a socialist family that had abandoned the Faith. A more popular title is Our Lady of the poor)

 

      17- Our Lady of Pontmain

 

(Mary appeared in the night sky as the Prussian army advanced towards Paris and wrote a message in the air for the people of the village to pray to Jesus. As soon as everyone fulfilled her request, the army changed its course and the village was spared destruction. A more popular title is Our Lady of the Stars)

 

February:

 

3-    Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple

 

(feast day, 2nd mystery of the joyful mysteries of the rosary)

 

11- Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes

(11 apparitions in 1858 to the child Bernadette asking her for prayer and penance and that a sanctuary be built for the healing of many. She declared herself to be the Immaculate Conception. This year marks the 150th anniversary of her apparitions)

 

      14- Our Lady of Pellevoisin (Introduction of the white scapular)

 

      15- Notre Dame (patroness of France)

 

       17- Feast of the Seven Holy Founders

 

Servants of Mary and devoted to Our Lady of Sorrows (Introduction to the Black scapular)

 

March:

 

       12- Our Lady of Miracles (patroness of Peru)

 

       17- Our Lady of Ireland   (patroness of Hungary)

 

       19- Our Lady of the Cape (patroness of Canada)

 

       25- Feast of the Annunciation (1st mystery of the joyful mysteries of the rosary)

 

       29) Our Lady of Ara Coeli (Rome, Italy)

 

April:

 

       2- Our Lady of the Highest Grace (patroness of the Dominican Republic)

 

       12- Our Lady of Charity (patroness of Cuba)

 

        26- Our Lady of Good Counsel

 

(Patroness of the Augustinians, the original image is conserved in the sanctuary of Gennazano, Italy)

 

       28- Our Lady of Quito (patroness of Ecuador)

 

       30- Our Lady of Africa (patroness of Tunisia and the African Continent)

 

May (month of Mary):

 

       8- Mary, Mediatrix of all Graces

            Our Lady of Pompeii

 

(patroness of Naples and Calabria)

 

     13- Our Lady of Fatima and of the Eucharist

 

(patroness of Portugal, appeared in 1917 to three small children with the most important message of our times)

 

      Pentecost- Our Lady of Divine Love (Rome, Italy)

 

      14-Our Lady of Bavaria (patroness of Germany)

 

      17- Our Lady of Tears (patroness of Sicily)

 

       24- Our Lady, Help of Christians

 

 (patroness of the Salesians, original image in Turin)

 

       31-Feast of the Visitation (3rd joyful mystery of the rosary)

 

June:

 

      Feast of the  Immaculate Heart of Mary (following Feast of the Sacred Heart)

 

       1-Our Lady of Kevelaer  (Germany)

 

       16-Our Lady of Cologne  (Germany)

 

       18-Our Lady of the Blue Scapular (France)

 

       25-Our Lady of Peace (visits of Mary to Medjugorje, private devotion)

 

       27-Our Lady of Perpetual Help

 

 (patroness of the Redemptorists, original image in Rome, Italy)

 

July:

 

      16-Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

 

 (patroness of the Carmelites, introduction of the Brown Scapular and Sabbatine Privilege. Those dying with the scapular will not suffer the fires of hell. Those who live chastity according to their state of life, wear the scapular, pray the rosary and fast on Wednesdays and Saturdays, will be freed from purgatory on the Saturday after their death).

 

August:

 

        2-Our Lady of the Angels

 

(patroness of Costa Rica and also of the Franciscan order. Those who visit a church dedicated to Mary, pray for the Pope´s intentions, confess and receive Communion receive a plenary indulgence. This is known as the portiuncola privilege )

 

       5-Our Lady of the Snows

 

 (Mary indicated the spot where she wanted her basilica to be built in Rome, Italy by having snow fall on it miraculously in the month of August)

 

      6-Our Lady of Capacabana (patroness of Bolivia)

 

      15-Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary to Heaven

 

(holyday of obligation, 4th glorious mystery of the rosary)

 

      17-Our Lady of Knock (Ireland)

 

      22-Feast  of Our Lady, Queen of Heaven and Earth

 

(5th glorious mystery of the rosary)

 

     26-Our Lady of Czestochowa (patroness of Poland)

 

September:

 

      8- Feast of the Nativity of Mary ( Our Mother’s Birthday)

 

       9-Our Lady of Le Puy (France)

 

       10-Our Lady of Marianzell (patroness of Austria)

 

        14-Our Lady of Einzedellin (patroness of Switzerland)

 

        15-Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows ( Mary´s dolors)

 

        17-Our Lady of the Candles (patroness of Guatemala)

 

        18-Our Lady of Siluva (patroness of Lithuania)

 

        19-Our Lady of La Salette

 

 (France, Mary wept tears for the sins of deprecations and lack of Lenten observance. She left secrets concerning the future punishments of mankind)

 

October (month of the Holy Rosary):

 

           7- Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary

 

(Established by Pope Pius V to commemorate the victory of the Christians outnumbered by more than three to one by the invading Turks. The soldiers held their rosaries in one hand and a sword in the other as they fought their enemies)

 

      12-Our Lady of Lujan (patroness of Argentina)

           -Our Lady of Aparecida (patroness of Brazil)

 

       17-Our Lady of Chartres (France)

 

       18-Our Lady of Rheims (France)

 

November:

 

      14-Our Lady of Revelation (Rome, Italy)

 

     16-Our Lady of Mentorella (Rome, Italy)

 

    18-Rosary Virgin of Chinquinquira (patroness of Colombia)

 

    21-Feast of the Presentation of Mary

 

(Day commemorating dedication of Mary’s life to God)

 

    24-Our Lady of Montserrat (Spain)

 

    27-Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

 

(visits of Mary to St. Catherine asking for the making  and wearing of the medal with her image, promising wonderful and powerful graces to all those who would carry it with love and devotion)

 

    28-Our Lady of Walsingham (patroness of England)

 

     29-Our Lady of Beauraing

 

 (appeared in Belgium in the 1930´s holding a golden heart in her hands)

 

December:

 

     8-Solmenity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary

 

 (patroness of the United States of America, holyday of obligation)

      10-Feast of Our Lady of Loreto

 

(original house of the Holy Family kept at Ancona, Italy)

 

      12-Feast of Our Lady of Guadelupe

 

(patroness of of the Western atmosphere; North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean Islands as well as all of the unborn children of the world. Her original title in the native tongue translated “she who will drown those who hate us”. Our Lady of Guadelupe is not a work of art painted or put together by human hands and made of earthly materials. Nothing of this was scientifically ascertained on the image. The image is of a mysterious Divine origin that defies time, logic and human explanation. It appeared on a unique date in which all of the stars of both hemispheres were in a position to be detected.  It appeared in the epicenter of both Continents. The eyes are alive and not those of a dead human being. In the eyes of Mary, it is possible to see, through a highly powered computer, persons related to the visionary Juan Diego. The image is indestructible and even dynamite could not eliminate it. Years of smoke and decay corroded the silver and gold put on it, but the image is as fresh and new as the first day it appeared. Mary´s head is slightly inclined towards South America and the colors of her clothes are those of an Aztec queen in festive apparel.

 

Father Anthony Mellace