Operation Storm Heaven - January 2021
Stay tuned after the Holy Mass for the Rosary with Cardinal Burke!
December 31, 2020
Now is the moment to stand for the Catholic Faith and the Catholic Family!
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I am writing this letter to thank you for your continued support for Catholic Action Faith and Family and our mission. It is through your generosity that in these difficult times of spiritual isolation, we can expand our efforts to uphold, defend and support the Catholic Faith and the Catholic Family. 2020 has been a tumultuous year and arguably one the darkest and most challenging times in recent history. Meanwhile, there is a revolution afoot that seeks to undermine the validity of any conventional institution. We see anarchy, destruction of property, grave injustices and even murder becoming rampant in many of our cities. But you and I know these are not the only tragedies of our times. Never in all history have we seen evil promoted so blatantly and true goodness mocked and rejected. Never have we seen sacredness profaned, and the profane “sanctified.” Traditionally hidden in the dark sea of human sin and error, the enemy now is,
A wake-up call! We need to wake up to the fact there is a multi-pronged, threat being waged against us and this revolution is taking place right in front of our eyes. Our Catholic Faith represents the sole force capable of resisting these forces; yet, even the Catholic Church is suffering from confusion and darkness as so many Catholics are losing their Faith and straying from the path that leads to Heaven. There is no shortage of alarming statistics to demonstrate the repercussions of this confusion. Just a few include:
For 14 years, Catholic Action for Faith and Family has diligently battled on the front lines to support and spread the Hope and Light of Christ amid the darkness and confusion of our times. We have helped to restore hope in countless souls and, together, gathered a spiritual army of Rosary Warriors across the globe. Your donation makes a difference! Thank you so much for your generous support throughout 2020 that made this possible! Due to your generosity, 2020 has been a year of great accomplishments. We have revitalized our Operation Storm Heaven program by:
It is your generosity that makes this possible! 2020 also saw a phenomenon take place when Catholic Action for Family’s Conversations with Cardinal Burke provided Catholic Voting Guidance for the 2020 Election. Following in-depth analysis, we saw the average Catholic in the pew gravitating toward mainstream moral and ethical voter guidelines. Once again as a good shepherd, Cardinal Burke, with moral courage and intellect, refused the temptation to be a spectator and provided the clarity we needed to give great witness for our Catholic Faith in the public forum; more importantly, it helped to deepen all our insights into how our faith must inform every area of our life. Since the episode aired Sep. 29, a media frenzy and rolling conversation ignited across major US media and political arenas giving a voice to millions of Catholics everywhere who were hungering to hear a true teaching of the Catholic Church put forth in the public square and to the average Catholic in the pew … without ambiguity! Planning for the Path Forward! Planning for 2021, I consulted in detail for many months with Cardinal Burke about setting proper and high-impact goals in light of the increasing confusion and struggles mentioned above. His Eminence stressed there was no choice but for all those that love the Church and the truths of the Faith to double their efforts. Cardinal Burke exhorted the faithful by saying, “my response is simple: Pray with all your heart and give witness to the truths of the Faith in the Church and in the world.” Considering the rapid escalation as it relates to the confusion, error and division mentioned, our agenda for 2021 could very well be the most important and certainly the most aggressive undertaking since our founding in 2007. This is why we are asking for an All Hands, All In effort. Help us reach more souls with Hope and Light in 2021 2021 Featured Goals:
Stay tuned and be ready to get involved when we layout a robust program in the second quarter of the new year that will serve as the foundation for families to come together to consecrate themselves under the protection of their patron, Saint Gianna. The 2021 Challenge: Engage and activate faithful laity to support 55,000 priests by giving them the resources and encouraging them to stand up for Christ and charitably withhold the Holy Eucharist from politicians and other public figures who claim to be Catholic yet publicly promote abortion and homosexuality. Donate Now to make this happen!
Your investment in Catholic Action is an investment in the future of the Church, the future of our country, the future of your loved ones and the future of Christian Civilization. As we meditate during this Advent Season, we prepare for the coming of our Divine Savior on Christmas. May He who is the Light and who brought Light to the world shine Light into your soul, into your life and into the lives of others through you! You are a light for us! You are a light in the lives of the thousands of people who owe their hope and their perseverance in the Faith to your generosity. Your Generous Gift will transform the lives and the hearts of millions. We are truly blessed to have you as part of the Catholic Action Family. I ask that you help us continue to shine light and unleash the power of Catholic hope throughout our country and our world. We depend on YOU! May the Divine Infant Jesus through His Holy Mother and St. Joseph bless you and your loved ones with many graces and blessings now and throughout the Christmas Season! Thank you for all that you do,
Your friend in Christ, P.S. Please respond by December 31, 2020 with your generous donation. Help us sustain and expand our mission and programs designed to restore our society to its foundation of Christian order, virtuous living and to the pursuit of God’s eternal kingdom. |
December 23, 2020
The Most Holy Eucharist
August 2020, Outdoor Morning Adoration and Special Visit of Catholic Action's Fatima Statue at Nativity Church in San Diego Due to the Pandemic.
By Catholic Action's Team of Priests and Deacons from the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy.
The Most Holy Eucharist is, in the continuous teaching of the Church, the source and summit of the whole Christian life. (Vatican II, Lumen gentium, no. 11; cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1324). But what if Catholics stopped believing in it?
In the sixth chapter of St John’s Gospel, Jesus says, in the most concrete and radical terms, that He intends to give His Body and Blood as real food and drink. He says that this extraordinary gift is necessary if we wish to share His life.
“I am the bread of life.” (v. 35) “This is the bread that comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. (v. 50) “I am the living bread, … and the bread which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (v. 51)
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.” (V. 53) “For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.” (v. 55) “He who eats me will live because of me.” (v. 58)
In the space of about thirty verses, Jesus repeats these clear teachings over and over in the most explicit terms. So radical was this revelation from the very mouth of Jesus Christ, that “many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with Him.” (v. 66).
According to some surveys, many Catholics have stopped believing in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist. Perhaps it is sadly true that some regard it only as a spiritual presence. However, neither Jesus (nor the Catholic Church) can change the truth of this greatest gift: the “source of the whole Spiritual life;” the “Summit” – the highest expression of our worship.
The Eucharist is not only a spiritual presence. It is the “Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity” of Jesus Christ. It is the living Risen Christ, given to us in Holy Communion, and adored in the tabernacle. He promised that he would be with us always, and He meant it. He gave the power of the Mass to the apostles at the Last Supper, and said, “Do this in Memory of Me.” He meant it, not only as an historical remembrance, but as the very food for eternal life. It is likewise a Sacrament of unity by which those who make up the ‘Body of Christ,’ the Church, are brought together as they receive the Body of Christ.
We are free to walk away. Five hundred years ago, in the Great Western Schism, Protestantism rejected the Priesthood and the Holy Eucharist and most of the Seven Sacraments of Salvation instituted by Christ. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1210) There are certainly many good and holy people who have never been taught about the Church and the Sacraments. But Our Lord Jesus entrusted all seven to the Church as the continuation of His own Divine work. They are, in fact, Jesus Christ at work in the world through the instrument of His One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. They are the truest and most sure path to heaven.
We may be disillusioned with the sins of leaders in the Church. Each of us, priests, bishops, Religious Sisters or Brothers, and lay faithful are called to holiness.
Are we sinful human beings? Yes. Our Lord called us to repentance constantly, and He gave us Confession for the forgiveness of our sins. “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Mt 18:18) “"If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained." (Jn 20:23)
In light of the loss of the faith in the Eucharist, some have rightly said we must teach better and more clearly. It is true. Good “catechesis” is vital to helping people come to know and believe in these very words of Jesus.
We must also say that the maxim ‘lex orandi, lex credendi,’ ‘the law of praying is the law of believing,’ reminds us that, the way we offer Holy Mass, and how we attend Holy Mass is connected to what we believe. If the identity and perception of the Mass shifts from its reality as the Sacrifice of Jesus, to a social banquet for co-believers, we can expect a loss of faith in the Holy Eucharist as a result. If we have become casual in the way we pray, it could be that we have lost sight of Who is there: Almighty God Himself; Jesus, true God and true man.
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Excerpt from the Homily of Pope Benedict XVI, June, 2008, 49th International Eucharistic Congress, Quebec City
“The Eucharist is our most beautiful treasure. It is the sacrament par excellence; it introduces us early into eternal life; it contains the whole mystery of our salvation; it is the source and summit of the action and of the life of the Church, as the Second Vatican Council recalled (Sacrosanctum Concilium, No. 8). … It is, therefore, particularly important that pastors and faithful dedicate themselves permanently to furthering their knowledge of this great sacrament.”
“I would like everyone to make a commitment to study this great mystery, … so as to bear witness courageously to the mystery. In this way, each person will arrive at a better grasp of the meaning of every aspect of the Eucharist, understanding its depth and living it with greater intensity. Every sentence, every gesture has its own meaning and conceals a mystery. … I urge priests especially to give due honor to the Eucharistic rite. … The liturgy does not belong to us: it is the Church's treasure.
“Reception of the Eucharist, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament -- by this we mean deepening our communion, preparing for it and prolonging it -- is also about allowing ourselves to enter into communion with Christ, and through him with the whole of the Trinity, so as to become what we receive and to live in communion with the Church.”
“The Eucharist is not a meal among friends. … "The prayers and the rites of the Eucharistic sacrifice make the whole history of salvation revive ceaselessly before the eyes of our soul, in the course of the liturgical cycle, and make us penetrate ever more its significance" (Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, [Edith Stein], Wege zur inneren Stille Aschaffenburg, 1987, p. 67). … "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." (Sacrosanctum Concilium, No. 7).
Catholic Action For Faith and Family Annual Appeal; Donate Now!
By Catholic Action's Team of Priests and Deacons from the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy.
December 21, 2020
Operation Storm Heaven September 2020
August 30, 2020
Cardinal Burke sets the record straight on Christopher Columbus
This edition of Conversations with Cardinal Burke is arguably of generational importance. His Eminence delves into the importance of the Fourth Commandment, the value of our American Heritage and shares his concerns about distortions of the law stemming from a current Supreme Court decision. And don’t miss Cardinal Burke as he sets the record straight on Christopher Columbus! Also, please share with all of your friends and family and ask them to like, share, subscribe, follow, and support voices like His Eminence on social media.
For 12 years, Catholic Action for Faith and Family has diligently battled on the front lines to spread the Hope and Light of Christ amid the darkness and confusion of our times. We have helped to restore hope in countless souls and gathered together a spiritual army of Rosary Warriors across the globe. Your generous support is crucial!
July 12, 2020
Conversation with Cardinal Burke - Moving Beyond COVID-19
Dedicated to advancing Cardinal Burke’s apostolate and mission, Catholic Action for Faith and Family relies on prayers and participation from our family of Operation Storm Heaven supporters and generous donations from Faith Defenders.
Won't you prayerfully consider becoming an
Operation Storm Heaven Faith Defender.
May 22, 2020
Conversation with Cardinal Burke - April 2020
Dedicated to advancing Cardinal Burke’s apostolate and mission, Catholic Action for Faith and Family relies on prayers and participation from our family of Operation Storm Heaven supporters and generous donations from Faith Defenders.
Won't you prayerfully consider becoming an
Operation Storm Heaven Faith Defender.
April 22, 2020
Reflections on the Birthday of St. Gianna's Daughter
Reflections on Saint Gianna on the occasion of her youngest daughter‘s birthday, April 21.
Fifty eight years ago today Saint Gianna Molla gave birth to her youngest daughter. Thomas McKenna, a close friend of the daughter Gianna, reflects on the life and virtue of this Saint.
April 22, 2020
Coronavirus Catacomb Holy Thursday Reflections with Fr. John Trigilio
Holy Thursday, April 9th, 2020
The Mass of the Lord’s Supper is the centerpiece of Holy Thursday and takes place in the evening after the Chrism Mass in the morning. It is a regular Mass but with a special focus on the institution of the Eucharist itself and one optional element, the Washing of the Feet. This commemorates Jesus’ washing of the feet of the Apostles at the Last Supper and the mandate He gave them to “Do this as I have done to you,” called the “Mandatum” in Latin. This is why Holy Thursday is sometimes called “Maundy” Thursday, an Anglicization of the Latin word “Mandatum”.
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April 09, 2020
Coronavirus Catacomb Good Friday Reflections with Fr. John Trigilio
Good Friday, April 10th, 2020
Good Friday stands at the very center of the Sacred Triduum. It is a day in the Catholic Church where we hold no masses but celebrate the Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion. As on Palm Sunday, we read the entire Passion Narrative to commemorate this event.
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April 09, 2020