Sunday, May 31, 2009 I had the blessing to attend Holy Mass at Thomas Aquinas' new chapel, Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity. As a member of the third order of the Trinitarians, I could not help but marvel at the Divine Providence of God.

My children were little and I was younger when I first attended Thomas Aquinas College chapel. I felt like I had just stepped into another world. I vaguely remembered what I was hearing in the Mass. I knew it was Latin and that was about it.

Well I ran out and bought a Daily Roman Missal to be able to follow along and it was not long before I had memorized the prayers of the Mass and responses. Nothing compares to the feeling that I get when I attend a sung Mass there....I feel like my soul wants to fly out of my body when I hear the beautiful Gregorian Chant sung by the outstanding choir.

I had the blessing to attend daily mass there for about six years. When I moved two hours away I could no longer attend daily Mass. However I continued to go back as often as I could and always attended the beautiful vigil Masses for Easter and Christmas.

I learned so very much during those years and I thank and praise God for that opportunity. It was such a blessing to me.

So now we are into that wonderful month of JUNE and in it will come the Feasts of The Most Holy Trinity, June 7th, The Feast of The Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ, June 14th, The Sacred Heart of Jesus, June 19th, the Feast of The Immaculate Heart of Mary, June 20th. There are the feasts of saints too, but I am honing in on the feasts that pertain to Jesus and Mary.

For we know that the quickest way to Jesus is through Mary. When we consecrate ourselves to Mary, we become her property. She obtains from the Most Holy Trinity the graces we need to be what GOD desires us to be IF we surrender our human will. These are some of the thoughts I had in Holy Mass, Pentecost Sunday. Throughout the ages, Our Lady has shed tears for the state of the priesthood, the church and the world. Let us console her by holding up the priests in a special way this month, and perhaps it will become a prayer habit.....we must ALWAYS pray for our priests.

And a wonderful year it will be for us starting June 19th, FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS, for it is then that we can obtain a plenary indulgence when we do the following:

The means to obtain the indulgence are as follows:

(taken from CNA News Agency article)

Holy Father to grant plenary indulgences for the Year of Priests

(A) All truly penitent priests who, on any day, devotedly pray Lauds or Vespers before the Blessed Sacrament exposed to public adoration or in the tabernacle, and ... offer themselves with a ready and generous heart for the celebration of the Sacraments, especially the Sacrament of Penance, will be granted a Plenary Indulgence, which they can also apply to their deceased confreres, if in accordance with current norms they take Sacramental Confession and the Eucharist and pray in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. Priests are furthermore granted a Partial Indulgence, also applicable to deceased confreres, every time they devotedly recite the prayers duly approved to lead a saintly life and to carry out the duties entrusted to them.

(B) All truly penitent Christian faithful who, in church or oratory, devotedly attend Holy Mass and offer prayers to Jesus Christ, supreme and eternal Priest, for the priests of the Church, or perform any good work to sanctify and mold them to His Heart, are granted a Plenary Indulgence, on the condition that they have expiated their sins through Sacramental Confession and prayed in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. This may be done on the opening and closing days of the Year of Priests, on the 150th anniversary of the death of St. Jean Marie Vianney, on the first Thursday of the month, or on any other day established by the ordinaries of particular places for the good of the faithful.

The elderly, the sick and all those who for any legitimate reason are unable to leave their homes, may still obtain a plenary indulgence if, with the soul completely removed from attachment to any form of sin and with the intention of observing, as soon as they can, the usual three conditions, "on the days concerned, they pray for the sanctification of priests and offer their sickness and suffering to God through Mary, Queen of the Apostles."

Additionally, a partial indulgence will be offered to the faithful each time they pray five “Our Father,” “Hail Mary” and “Glory Be,” or any other duly approved prayer "in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to ask that priests maintain purity and sanctity of life."

We know that the Eucharist is the epitome of our faith, without the priest we can have no Eucharist. No Eucharist, no Jesus. Period. No Jesus, well, we see the world trying to live without Him, and what a state it is in!

Let us pray for our beloved priests, sons of Mary, brothers of Jesus. I had already posted a prayer taken from a prayer card on this blog. But whatever prayer you use, I am sure it will be a beautiful gift to the Most Holy Trinity, and Our Lady.