Eucharistic Adoration Invitation

BISHOP ENCOURAGES ALL TO PARTICIPATE IN EUCHARISTIC ADORATION
ON THE SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST
(CORPUS CHRISTI)             

Bishop Richard J. Malone has encouraged the faithful of the Diocese of Buffalo to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration sometime on Sunday, June 2, in solidarity with Pope Francis who has called for a world-wide hour of Adoration on that day.           

The Holy Father urged the faithful to pray in particular for:

● Those around the world who are victims of war, human trafficking, drug running and slave labor.
● For those who find themselves in economically precarious situations, and above all for the unemployed, the elderly, migrants, the homeless and prisoners.           

Bishop Malone noted that prayer before the exposed Eucharist—the real presence of the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus, is especially powerful and efficacious.            

Pope Francis actually asked Catholics around the world to join with him in prayer before the Eucharist between 5-6 P.M. Rome time, which would be between 11 A.M. and Noon Buffalo time.  Since most parishes have Sunday Mass at that time, it would not be appropriate for a separate devotion.  Therefore, Bishop Malone recommends that Catholics devote an hour of their choosing Sunday to prayer before the Eucharist in solidarity with the Pope.           

The Bishop also noted that the Diocese has a Eucharistic Adoration Society which is available to assist parishes in organizing regular times for adoration. Contact: Deacon Michael McKeating, Director of the Eucharistic Adoration Society at 847-5548

Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ

A word from Fr. Mock about the Solemnity we celebrate today:

In 1246, Bishop Robert de Thorete of the Belgina diocese of Liège, at the suggestion of St. Juliana of Mont Cornillon (also in Belgium), convened a synod and instituted the celebration of the feast. From Liège, the celebration began to spread, and, on September 8, 1264, Pope Urban IV issued the papal bull "Transiturus," which established the Feast of Corpus Christi as a universal feast of the Church, to be celebrated on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday which was last Sunday.

At the request of Pope Urban IV, St. Thomas Aquinas composed the office (the official prayers of the Church) for the feast. This office is widely considered one of the most beautiful in the traditional Roman Breviary (the official prayer book of the Divine Office or Liturgy of the Hours), and it is the source of the famous Eucharistic hymns "Pange Lingua Gloriosi" and "Tantum Ergo Sacramentum." The Prayers the priest prays from the Chair and the Preface were written by Saint Thomas.

For centuries after the celebration was extended to the universal Church, the feast was also celebrated with a Eucharistic procession, in which the Sacred Host was carried throughout the town, accompanied by hymns and litanies. The faithful would venerate the Body of Christ as the procession passed by. In recent years, this practice has almost disappeared, though some parishes still hold a brief procession around the outside of the parish church.

NYS Action Alert - abortion expansion

Act Now to Stop Abortion Expansion!

We are coming to the last four weeks of the legislative session and the head of the largest pro-abortion advocacy group, NARAL, has confirmed that Gov. Andrew Cuomo is very close to introducing his bill to expand abortion, especially late-term abortion in New York State.

While the governor has not yet allowed the public to see the language of his bill, if it is similar to a bill he endorsed in January, it would allow more late-term abortions and permit them at storefront clinics. It would also allow non-doctors to perform surgical abortions and would forbid any commonsense regulations, like parental notification for minors.

Now is the time to act. Even if you already have sent a message to your elected officials, please do so again immediately, and share the alert at the link below with your friends through email, Facebook and Twitter. Let the Governor and your state lawmakers know that, no matter how it is packaged, you oppose more abortions in New York, the abortion capital of the nation, where one out of every three pregnances is terminated.

Send a message to them now by clicking the link below and sending the pre-written, fully editable email. If you use social networking, please also take a moment to click the Facebook and Twitter links below and follow us there to get the very latest news.

Take Action Now!

Bishop Malone's Letter - Call to Prayer

 

May 17, 2013

My Dear Friends in Christ,

In December, when the bishops announced the Call to Prayer for Life, Marriage, and Religious Liberty, they also announced a second Fortnight for Freedom.  As last year, the Fortnight will take place from June 21 (the vigil of the feasts of St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher) to July 4 (Independence Day).

There are three reasons why this year’s Fortnight is so important:

·         First, the Supreme Court’s rulings on marriage redefinition, which could have grave implications for religious freedom, will almost certainly be issued during the Fortnight.

·         Second, by the time of the Fortnight, the effective date of the HHS mandate-August 1, 2013 will be scarcely a month away, and the Administration’s decision on the shape of a final rule will likely be imminent.   We are still far from receiving the relief we need through the regulatory process.  So it will be very important to keep the public pressure on.

·         Third, the success of a second Fortnight is essential to perpetuating a new movement for life, marriage and religious liberty, highlighting the full range of ongoing religious freedom issues, here and abroad, and in so many other areas of law, such as immigration, adoption, and disaster relief.  Similarly, it is important to show that it is not tied to any election year, but to the broader principle of religious freedom. 

During the fortnight, I ask you to call on your parishioners and other constituents to join me in prayer for religious freedom.  As we all know, prayer can be very powerful and every day during the fourteen day fortnight, I am asking that in every parish, during every Mass, a special Prayer of the Faithful be said.  You are also encouraged to sponsor adoration, special devotions and catechetical sessions as part of this national religious liberty campaign.

Attached you will find suggested prayers that you may wish to use during the fortnight.  Additional resources are available on the HHS Mandate page of the diocesan website (www.buffalodiocese.org) and USCCB Fortnight resources are available at www.Fortnight4Freedom.org.

I will begin the Fortnight of Prayer on Saturday, June 22 at 8:00 a.m. Mass at St. Rose of Lima Church, corner of Parkside and Parker Avenues, Buffalo, where I will be celebrating the Rosary Novena for Life Mass and then later that same day at 4:30 p.m. Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral.  Both of these Masses are open for anyone in the Diocese who would like to come and pray with me for the intentions of the Fortnight.

The Fortnight of Prayer will conclude on Wednesday, July 3 at 3:00 pm with a Holy Hour and Benediction at the Dominican Monastery.  Bishop Grosz will preside at this celebration.

Catholics in the United States have long advocated for religious liberty, and it is our solemn duty to continue those efforts today.  Please join me and our fellow Catholics as we pray for a new birth of freedom in this great land!

Be assured of my grateful prayers and best wishes,

 

Yours sincerely in Christ,

Most Reverend Richard J. Malone

Bishop of Buffalo