Spirituality and Healing
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Our Spirituality and Healing Ministries . . .
The Gospel message from this past week, Wednesday, August 6th, proclaimed in Luke involves the beautiful telling of the story of our faith, the Paschal Mystery (Life, Death and Resurrection of Our Lord) — the story of the Transfiguration. This is a personal story for each one of us as we try to transform our lives to be more holy, to be more God-like, to be renewed by and in the Divine.
The Transfiguration is here, it is now. How can we become more like Christ? How are we to be transfigured from our humanity into the very life of God. Perhaps, the very words of God from the Gospel message and Peter’s self-report in Sunday’s second reading (2 Pt 1:16-19 ), will help us in this understanding. In these messages, the heavens opened and a voice was heard: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, listen to Him.”
We are brought into God’s very life through the waters of baptism. We are to continue our transformation, our transfiguration into God’s life, taking on His characteristics of mercy, forgiveness, love and goodness. He anoints us into His very mission as His children. We use our gifts in the Lord’s name by listening to Him. We are recreated and transfigured throughout our lives — we become more like Him.
Besides the Sacraments, we are given various prayers, devotions and liturgies to help us in our conversation with God while entering the life of the Trinity more deeply. Our experiences within the Sacraments and special prayers, devotions, liturgical offerings, and our interactions with each other help us to be students of our Sacred Scriptures and Our traditions passed on to us in our Catholic Faith. This day and in the days to come, be transfigured. As we listen, we become, and we hear the words from Heaven — “These are my beloved children, with whom I am well pleased!”
Two ways that we will be exploring to enhance our understanding to our listening to the Word of God, hearing His voice and following the footsteps of His path are the Liturgy of the Hours and Lectio Divina.
Listed below are two brief descriptions of this type of listening in a liturgy of the Word that uses the Psalms linking us to those that Jesus had prayed during His lifetime (Liturgy of the Hours) and a special way to approach understanding and being inspired by Sacred Scripture in divine reading (Lectio Divina).
The Liturgy of the Hours is a liturgy, a formal rite for public worship that is prayed at certain hours of a twenty-four hour day. The Liturgy of the Hours contains psalms and readings that were said by Jesus in the Temple and the saints throughout history. These prayers help us to connect to and be in communion with all who pray them throughout the world including our Holy Father, Pope Leo the XIV, and to Our Lord.
Lectio Divina offers a wonderful opportunity of listening to the Lord during the Ordinary Time of the Liturgical calendar. Since we have heard the Lord’s promise to be with us until the end of the ages at His Ascension and then received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to guide us and lead our lives according to God’s Will, we are ready to listen deeply to His voice. Our Catholic Family of Cheektowaga will soon be offered a way to participate in a unique prayer experience through Sacred Scriptures while be guided by the Holy Spirit. Lectio Divina (Divine Reading) provides an excellent opportunity to welcome Our Lord more deeply into our lives by listening to Him in a structured, yet special, individual way. This examination of passages of Scripture is an ancient and unique type of Bible study that you can do in groups or individually.
Stay tuned in the fall as our soon to be established Spiritual Wellness Team will set up informational and training sessions for these powerful vehicles of prayer to enhance our spiritual development as well as those visiting our Family from different parts of the Diocese.
God’s Blessings and His Graces,
“Speak Lord, Your servant is listening”" 1 Samuel 3:10
The Gospel message from this past week, Wednesday, August 6th, proclaimed in Luke involves the beautiful telling of the story of our faith, the Paschal Mystery (Life, Death and Resurrection of Our Lord) — the story of the Transfiguration. This is a personal story for each one of us as we try to transform our lives to be more holy, to be more God-like, to be renewed by and in the Divine.
The Transfiguration is here, it is now. How can we become more like Christ? How are we to be transfigured from our humanity into the very life of God. Perhaps, the very words of God from the Gospel message and Peter’s self-report in Sunday’s second reading (2 Pt 1:16-19 ), will help us in this understanding. In these messages, the heavens opened and a voice was heard: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, listen to Him.”
We are brought into God’s very life through the waters of baptism. We are to continue our transformation, our transfiguration into God’s life, taking on His characteristics of mercy, forgiveness, love and goodness. He anoints us into His very mission as His children. We use our gifts in the Lord’s name by listening to Him. We are recreated and transfigured throughout our lives — we become more like Him.
Besides the Sacraments, we are given various prayers, devotions and liturgies to help us in our conversation with God while entering the life of the Trinity more deeply. Our experiences within the Sacraments and special prayers, devotions, liturgical offerings, and our interactions with each other help us to be students of our Sacred Scriptures and Our traditions passed on to us in our Catholic Faith. This day and in the days to come, be transfigured. As we listen, we become, and we hear the words from Heaven — “These are my beloved children, with whom I am well pleased!”
Two ways that we will be exploring to enhance our understanding to our listening to the Word of God, hearing His voice and following the footsteps of His path are the Liturgy of the Hours and Lectio Divina.
Listed below are two brief descriptions of this type of listening in a liturgy of the Word that uses the Psalms linking us to those that Jesus had prayed during His lifetime (Liturgy of the Hours) and a special way to approach understanding and being inspired by Sacred Scripture in divine reading (Lectio Divina).
The Liturgy of the Hours is a liturgy, a formal rite for public worship that is prayed at certain hours of a twenty-four hour day. The Liturgy of the Hours contains psalms and readings that were said by Jesus in the Temple and the saints throughout history. These prayers help us to connect to and be in communion with all who pray them throughout the world including our Holy Father, Pope Leo the XIV, and to Our Lord.
Lectio Divina offers a wonderful opportunity of listening to the Lord during the Ordinary Time of the Liturgical calendar. Since we have heard the Lord’s promise to be with us until the end of the ages at His Ascension and then received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to guide us and lead our lives according to God’s Will, we are ready to listen deeply to His voice. Our Catholic Family of Cheektowaga will soon be offered a way to participate in a unique prayer experience through Sacred Scriptures while be guided by the Holy Spirit. Lectio Divina (Divine Reading) provides an excellent opportunity to welcome Our Lord more deeply into our lives by listening to Him in a structured, yet special, individual way. This examination of passages of Scripture is an ancient and unique type of Bible study that you can do in groups or individually.
Stay tuned in the fall as our soon to be established Spiritual Wellness Team will set up informational and training sessions for these powerful vehicles of prayer to enhance our spiritual development as well as those visiting our Family from different parts of the Diocese.
God’s Blessings and His Graces,
“Speak Lord, Your servant is listening”" 1 Samuel 3:10
Listening to God, a Foundation of Our Spirituality and Our Healing . . .
As we practice good listening with family and friends, we can continue to hone your skills in listening to God each day by using skills learned and openness to hearing the God’s voice and response. Enhancing your listening to the Lord’s voice will enable us to work on understanding and awareness of our own strengths and limitations in the paying attention to the needs of others -- Know God – Know Thyself – Know others.
As mentioned last week, we learn how to listen to the voice of God through structured prayer and liturgy. We can use specific praying of Scripture to deepen your experience with hearing God’s voice with a more directed and intense method of biblical reading called Lectio Divina or join religious and lay individuals from around the world in praying a liturgy, the Divine Office – Liturgy of the Hours. Praying the Psalms are central to this spiritual practice, You can also learn how to call down God’s Presence by hearing the Lord’s Voice in Divine Reading (Lectio Divina). Lectio Divina, or a holy reading, a monastic practice, on reading passages of the Bible on one’s own or with others and reflecting on them in a guided way. This spiritual exercise complements, in an unique structured way, our common prayers. This ancient practice is seen as setting the heart on God through a disciplined listening to the voice of the Lord speaking through Scripture. Lectio helps us reflect on God’s Word by bringing Sacred Scripture into the rhythm and experience of daily life.
You will receive information soon to examine these two spiritual techniques of deeply hearing and listening to God’s Word (Liturgy of the Hours and Lectio Divina) and then receive a “how to” when putting them into practice.
Our God is a personal God who walks with us on our journey in our celebrations or in our sorrows. Our joy is His joy as we experience consolation during the calm and good times. The Lord is especially with us in our most difficult days. In the pain and the hurt, God shows us how great His strength and presence can be. CS Lewis a writer, scholar and lay theologian, an inspiriting force in the 20th Century, stated powerfully -- “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts to us in our pains.” The Lord is Our Hope, He is our Healing, He is Our Peace. Know that He is close to you no matter the situation or experience. Through prayer, we can invite Him into our very being in a variety of ways. The most precious prayer that we offer, we do so communally in the Holy Mass, the Eucharist. However, when you cannot attend a daily Mass or participate in Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) or read Scripture on your own, or you cannot participate in a devotion like the Rosary or Divine Mercy Novena or Chaplet, then simply remain silent and “Be Still”.
As we practice good listening with family and friends, we can continue to hone your skills in listening to God each day by using skills learned and openness to hearing the God’s voice and response. Enhancing your listening to the Lord’s voice will enable us to work on understanding and awareness of our own strengths and limitations in the paying attention to the needs of others -- Know God – Know Thyself – Know others.
As mentioned last week, we learn how to listen to the voice of God through structured prayer and liturgy. We can use specific praying of Scripture to deepen your experience with hearing God’s voice with a more directed and intense method of biblical reading called Lectio Divina or join religious and lay individuals from around the world in praying a liturgy, the Divine Office – Liturgy of the Hours. Praying the Psalms are central to this spiritual practice, You can also learn how to call down God’s Presence by hearing the Lord’s Voice in Divine Reading (Lectio Divina). Lectio Divina, or a holy reading, a monastic practice, on reading passages of the Bible on one’s own or with others and reflecting on them in a guided way. This spiritual exercise complements, in an unique structured way, our common prayers. This ancient practice is seen as setting the heart on God through a disciplined listening to the voice of the Lord speaking through Scripture. Lectio helps us reflect on God’s Word by bringing Sacred Scripture into the rhythm and experience of daily life.
You will receive information soon to examine these two spiritual techniques of deeply hearing and listening to God’s Word (Liturgy of the Hours and Lectio Divina) and then receive a “how to” when putting them into practice.
Our God is a personal God who walks with us on our journey in our celebrations or in our sorrows. Our joy is His joy as we experience consolation during the calm and good times. The Lord is especially with us in our most difficult days. In the pain and the hurt, God shows us how great His strength and presence can be. CS Lewis a writer, scholar and lay theologian, an inspiriting force in the 20th Century, stated powerfully -- “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts to us in our pains.” The Lord is Our Hope, He is our Healing, He is Our Peace. Know that He is close to you no matter the situation or experience. Through prayer, we can invite Him into our very being in a variety of ways. The most precious prayer that we offer, we do so communally in the Holy Mass, the Eucharist. However, when you cannot attend a daily Mass or participate in Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) or read Scripture on your own, or you cannot participate in a devotion like the Rosary or Divine Mercy Novena or Chaplet, then simply remain silent and “Be Still”.
Our Spirituality and Healing Ministries . . .
"I have come to set the earth on fire” Luke 12:49
These words were proclaimed in last Sunday’s Gospel. The Lord said these words to inspire us to listen to His Word, to live His teachings, and to be transformed by the Holy Spirit and speak Truth to the world through His gifts of love and peace.
We, as the Catholic Family of Cheektowaga, aim to live out these words to bring the power of God and the fire of the Holy Spirit to our parishes and beyond throughout the Diocese. Together we will do so by promoting and enhancing our worship experiences, our devotional practices, our overall prayer lives, and our ministry offerings to cultivate Peace. As we continue to build and enhance our Catholic Family of Cheektowaga’s spirituality and healing ministries, we can commit to the following: 1. To actively and joyfully give witness to Our Lord Jesus Christ as we work as missionaries of the Living Word. 2. To advocate for the Gospel and see beauty and value of life in all its forms and circumstances. 3. To respect the human person in every aspect of life knowing that each is created uniquely by God know matter what our conditions or our circumstances. 4. To strive to use the Sacraments, devotions, prayers, worship experiences, education, pastoral care, and loving support in our way of living to help to provide for the physical, mental health, and spiritual needs of our individuals and families especially the most vulnerable through all we do within and outside of our family of parishes’ walls.
Since we value our mission as followers of Christ and embrace the values that flow from His mission and His teachings we are called to a vocation as “Apostles for the Gospel of Life and Missionaries of the Risen Lord”. This vocational call beckons us to value that we are sent to serve one another while mirroring God’s love. We pledge to support those who come to us from the world who seek the presence of the Divine.
To follow the Lord in His Mission of Love and Peace, we invoke Our Dear Lady’s intercession. We have just celebrated Our Mother’s Assumption into Heaven. The Blessed Mother intercedes for all of her children and as we pray in the Salve Regina – she is our Life, our Sweetness and our Hope. During this worldwide Jubilee Year of Hope and our local Year of Healing, Holy Mary intercede for us to bring us Hope, Healing and Peace.
The Catholic Family of Cheektowaga has been blessed to be designated as the first Center of Life within the Buffalo Diocese as we will offer access to sacred care giving within spiritual and healing support, so each member of our family and visitors that come to us know that they truly are God’s children and belong to His family as they feel sincerely valued, loved, and embraced by their Lord and His people. . . . Our Shepherd, Bishop Mike, proclaimed two years ago, When I think of our future, Hope is the word that comes to mind. Yes, we have deep challenges, but the Lord is speaking to us now in this generation and in this time. We are the [Church], we are God’s people . . . [we] continue to grow and bring people to Christ . . . – Most Reverend Michael W. Fisher, the 15th Bishop of Buffalo, a letter on vocations, April 27, 2023.
Let us become beacons of light to those most in need as we accept this call to become known as a Center of Life under the guidance and protection of Our Lady Queen of Peace.
Our Lady Queen of Peace, Pray for Us!
"I have come to set the earth on fire” Luke 12:49
These words were proclaimed in last Sunday’s Gospel. The Lord said these words to inspire us to listen to His Word, to live His teachings, and to be transformed by the Holy Spirit and speak Truth to the world through His gifts of love and peace.
We, as the Catholic Family of Cheektowaga, aim to live out these words to bring the power of God and the fire of the Holy Spirit to our parishes and beyond throughout the Diocese. Together we will do so by promoting and enhancing our worship experiences, our devotional practices, our overall prayer lives, and our ministry offerings to cultivate Peace. As we continue to build and enhance our Catholic Family of Cheektowaga’s spirituality and healing ministries, we can commit to the following: 1. To actively and joyfully give witness to Our Lord Jesus Christ as we work as missionaries of the Living Word. 2. To advocate for the Gospel and see beauty and value of life in all its forms and circumstances. 3. To respect the human person in every aspect of life knowing that each is created uniquely by God know matter what our conditions or our circumstances. 4. To strive to use the Sacraments, devotions, prayers, worship experiences, education, pastoral care, and loving support in our way of living to help to provide for the physical, mental health, and spiritual needs of our individuals and families especially the most vulnerable through all we do within and outside of our family of parishes’ walls.
Since we value our mission as followers of Christ and embrace the values that flow from His mission and His teachings we are called to a vocation as “Apostles for the Gospel of Life and Missionaries of the Risen Lord”. This vocational call beckons us to value that we are sent to serve one another while mirroring God’s love. We pledge to support those who come to us from the world who seek the presence of the Divine.
To follow the Lord in His Mission of Love and Peace, we invoke Our Dear Lady’s intercession. We have just celebrated Our Mother’s Assumption into Heaven. The Blessed Mother intercedes for all of her children and as we pray in the Salve Regina – she is our Life, our Sweetness and our Hope. During this worldwide Jubilee Year of Hope and our local Year of Healing, Holy Mary intercede for us to bring us Hope, Healing and Peace.
The Catholic Family of Cheektowaga has been blessed to be designated as the first Center of Life within the Buffalo Diocese as we will offer access to sacred care giving within spiritual and healing support, so each member of our family and visitors that come to us know that they truly are God’s children and belong to His family as they feel sincerely valued, loved, and embraced by their Lord and His people. . . . Our Shepherd, Bishop Mike, proclaimed two years ago, When I think of our future, Hope is the word that comes to mind. Yes, we have deep challenges, but the Lord is speaking to us now in this generation and in this time. We are the [Church], we are God’s people . . . [we] continue to grow and bring people to Christ . . . – Most Reverend Michael W. Fisher, the 15th Bishop of Buffalo, a letter on vocations, April 27, 2023.
Let us become beacons of light to those most in need as we accept this call to become known as a Center of Life under the guidance and protection of Our Lady Queen of Peace.
Our Lady Queen of Peace, Pray for Us!
Our Spirituality and Healing Ministries . . .
As noted in last week’s bulletin, during this worldwide Jubilee Year of Hope and our local Year of Healing, Our Dear Blessed Mother is a powerful intercessor to bring us Hope, Healing and Peace. Since the Catholic Family of Cheektowaga has been designated as the first Center of Life within the Buffalo Diocese, under our dear Lady’s patronage – We ask for her guidance and protection, as we invoke her under the title of Our Lady Queen of Peace within our Center of Life.
Spirituality and Healing ministries and programming within our family of parishes are being designed to help develop, promulgate, stimulate, enhance, and maintain the spiritual growth and God’s healing presence within the Diocese of Buffalo. The programming will also address and employ ways for parish sites and its ministers to become instruments of God’s Will imitating the Apostles and Christ’s disciples as they were commissioned to bring forth a spirituality of hope through reconciliation, rebirth, renewal and communion (Mark, 4:35–41; 10:52 Matthew, 8:23–27; 9:6; 12:13 Luke, 8:22–25; 10:9 and John 11:25).
The primary driving force of this special calling and mission within our family of parishes is the Holy Spirit. The Spirit uses each of our unique gifts for the purpose of bringing people closer to God and one another. Experiences of physical, mental health, and spiritual healing gives birth to wholeness of health and life. Parishioner and visitor transformations will inspire others to openness and movement of the Lord in our midst. Offering compassion and mercy to all those who come to us will be a welcoming agent for those most vulnerable.
During the Year of Mercy in 2016-2017, Pope Francis stated that the practice of pilgrimage made to cathedrals, basilicas, local churches and shrines is an important act of love and trust in the Lord within the Christian world. This pilgrimage action taken by Christians during a time of Jubilee provides an opportunity for many to enter more deeply into God’s Life . We will embark on this journey through reading and meditating on the Word, while also rediscovering the power of the Sacraments and the value of silence and “taking sabbath” while in adoration and prayer as we reverence Our Divine Creator. In our sacred sites in this part of the Diocese of Buffalo, we like others across the world, will provide an opportunity of a spiritual awakening in our midst. We will do so in a unique manner. As establishing the first Our Lady Queen of Peace Center of Life, we will open ourselves to our loving God, through worship and the sacraments, communal devotion and private prayer, healing, respite and renewal, so the Divine mystery can become a reality for many. We will invite and enable others to experience the Lord’s healing touch and the movement of the Holy Spirit in a special way as they come to visit our Catholic Family of Cheektowaga.
Join Fr. Todd, Fr. Lou, Fr. Tuan and me in establishing our exciting new mission,
As noted in last week’s bulletin, during this worldwide Jubilee Year of Hope and our local Year of Healing, Our Dear Blessed Mother is a powerful intercessor to bring us Hope, Healing and Peace. Since the Catholic Family of Cheektowaga has been designated as the first Center of Life within the Buffalo Diocese, under our dear Lady’s patronage – We ask for her guidance and protection, as we invoke her under the title of Our Lady Queen of Peace within our Center of Life.
Spirituality and Healing ministries and programming within our family of parishes are being designed to help develop, promulgate, stimulate, enhance, and maintain the spiritual growth and God’s healing presence within the Diocese of Buffalo. The programming will also address and employ ways for parish sites and its ministers to become instruments of God’s Will imitating the Apostles and Christ’s disciples as they were commissioned to bring forth a spirituality of hope through reconciliation, rebirth, renewal and communion (Mark, 4:35–41; 10:52 Matthew, 8:23–27; 9:6; 12:13 Luke, 8:22–25; 10:9 and John 11:25).
The primary driving force of this special calling and mission within our family of parishes is the Holy Spirit. The Spirit uses each of our unique gifts for the purpose of bringing people closer to God and one another. Experiences of physical, mental health, and spiritual healing gives birth to wholeness of health and life. Parishioner and visitor transformations will inspire others to openness and movement of the Lord in our midst. Offering compassion and mercy to all those who come to us will be a welcoming agent for those most vulnerable.
During the Year of Mercy in 2016-2017, Pope Francis stated that the practice of pilgrimage made to cathedrals, basilicas, local churches and shrines is an important act of love and trust in the Lord within the Christian world. This pilgrimage action taken by Christians during a time of Jubilee provides an opportunity for many to enter more deeply into God’s Life . We will embark on this journey through reading and meditating on the Word, while also rediscovering the power of the Sacraments and the value of silence and “taking sabbath” while in adoration and prayer as we reverence Our Divine Creator. In our sacred sites in this part of the Diocese of Buffalo, we like others across the world, will provide an opportunity of a spiritual awakening in our midst. We will do so in a unique manner. As establishing the first Our Lady Queen of Peace Center of Life, we will open ourselves to our loving God, through worship and the sacraments, communal devotion and private prayer, healing, respite and renewal, so the Divine mystery can become a reality for many. We will invite and enable others to experience the Lord’s healing touch and the movement of the Holy Spirit in a special way as they come to visit our Catholic Family of Cheektowaga.
Join Fr. Todd, Fr. Lou, Fr. Tuan and me in establishing our exciting new mission,
