Dear faithful, friends and benefactors,
You are all aware of the difficult situation that has arisen with the spread, from China, of the epidemic known as the “corona virus”. Difficult situation for the bodily health of all of us, but equally difficult for the spiritual health of souls, who following the latest provisions of the law found themselves, precisely in the moment of greatest need, without the comfort of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Holy Sacraments.
For many years our priests have faced dangers and inconveniences to ensure the benefits of the Mass, the Sacraments and the presence of the Priest for as many people as possible; at this moment, to our great pain, we find ourselves relegated to our municipality of belonging, unable to bring you any more help than with prayer and private celebration of the Holy Mass, remembering all of you at the altar, and recommending each of you to the Divine Providence, and the intercession of the Holy Virgin, Mother of the Good Counsel, and of all the Saints. Unable – against our will – to bring you more help, we must therefore suspend the public celebration of Mass and Sacraments throughout Italy, which has so far been unheard of.
However, God never deprives his faithful of the means of salvation: we remind you of some:
THE PRAYER. “Those who pray are saved, those who do not pray are damned.” Now more than ever it is necessary to pray, to obtain mercy from God. We recommend to everyone in this time of Lent the recitation of the Rosary, the Via Crucis [Way of the Cross], the meditation of the Passion, the litanies of St. Joseph. For this purpose, the book “My prayer book” published by our Book Center will help you.
THE ACT OF CONTRITION. Not being able to approach sacramental confession, we remind all Christians that we can obtain the remission of sins, even serious sins, with perfect contrition, that is, with the pain of their sins and the intention not to sin anymore, not only for fear of divine punishments but for the love of God infinitely good. For this purpose, it will be useful to recite the act of contrition and the act of charity with true sentiment. Of course, it is necessary to have the intention of confessing serious sins in a sacramental confession as soon as this is possible.
SPIRITUAL COMMUNION. The Body and Blood of Christ are necessary for eternal salvation. Deprived of sacramental communion, it is good that you often do acts of desire for Holy Communion. In the book “My prayer book” you will find all the information on how to do this spiritual communion.
THE HOLY MASS AND THE SANCTIFICATION OF THE FEASTS. Unable to listen to Holy Mass, you can read the text of Lenten Masses daily in a daily missal, and that of Sunday Masses in the missal published by our Book Center. We are preparing a service to follow the “streaming” Mass on our site.
BAPTISM. Baptism is necessary for eternal life. Recall that if the current situation were prolonged, and there was some danger for the child or the person to be baptized, it is also possible for a layman to administer baptism by pouring water on the head of the baptizing, while pronouncing the words at the same time : “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost”.
THE FAST AND PENANCE. God spared the Nineveh from the punishment announced in his name by the prophet Jonah because these pagans did penance and fasted. Lent’s fasting takes on particular significance at this time when men should remember the need to do penance, even though no one at this moment reminds them of it.
Dear faithful, we take care to do everything possible to avoid bodily diseases, but even more we avoid the spiritual illness of sin and that mentality of unbelief that Pope Pius XI called “the plague of secularism”.
Let us pray for one another, for the sick and the deceased, for families and for those who are alone, for the whole Church of God, One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. May the Lord end this scourge as soon as possible and allow us to resume our normal activity and our apostolate.
God bless you,
You are all aware of the difficult situation that has arisen with the spread, from China, of the epidemic known as the “corona virus”. Difficult situation for the bodily health of all of us, but equally difficult for the spiritual health of souls, who following the latest provisions of the law found themselves, precisely in the moment of greatest need, without the comfort of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Holy Sacraments.
For many years our priests have faced dangers and inconveniences to ensure the benefits of the Mass, the Sacraments and the presence of the Priest for as many people as possible; at this moment, to our great pain, we find ourselves relegated to our municipality of belonging, unable to bring you any more help than with prayer and private celebration of the Holy Mass, remembering all of you at the altar, and recommending each of you to the Divine Providence, and the intercession of the Holy Virgin, Mother of the Good Counsel, and of all the Saints. Unable – against our will – to bring you more help, we must therefore suspend the public celebration of Mass and Sacraments throughout Italy, which has so far been unheard of.
However, God never deprives his faithful of the means of salvation: we remind you of some:
THE PRAYER. “Those who pray are saved, those who do not pray are damned.” Now more than ever it is necessary to pray, to obtain mercy from God. We recommend to everyone in this time of Lent the recitation of the Rosary, the Via Crucis [Way of the Cross], the meditation of the Passion, the litanies of St. Joseph. For this purpose, the book “My prayer book” published by our Book Center will help you.
THE ACT OF CONTRITION. Not being able to approach sacramental confession, we remind all Christians that we can obtain the remission of sins, even serious sins, with perfect contrition, that is, with the pain of their sins and the intention not to sin anymore, not only for fear of divine punishments but for the love of God infinitely good. For this purpose, it will be useful to recite the act of contrition and the act of charity with true sentiment. Of course, it is necessary to have the intention of confessing serious sins in a sacramental confession as soon as this is possible.
SPIRITUAL COMMUNION. The Body and Blood of Christ are necessary for eternal salvation. Deprived of sacramental communion, it is good that you often do acts of desire for Holy Communion. In the book “My prayer book” you will find all the information on how to do this spiritual communion.
THE HOLY MASS AND THE SANCTIFICATION OF THE FEASTS. Unable to listen to Holy Mass, you can read the text of Lenten Masses daily in a daily missal, and that of Sunday Masses in the missal published by our Book Center. We are preparing a service to follow the “streaming” Mass on our site.
BAPTISM. Baptism is necessary for eternal life. Recall that if the current situation were prolonged, and there was some danger for the child or the person to be baptized, it is also possible for a layman to administer baptism by pouring water on the head of the baptizing, while pronouncing the words at the same time : “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost”.
THE FAST AND PENANCE. God spared the Nineveh from the punishment announced in his name by the prophet Jonah because these pagans did penance and fasted. Lent’s fasting takes on particular significance at this time when men should remember the need to do penance, even though no one at this moment reminds them of it.
Dear faithful, we take care to do everything possible to avoid bodily diseases, but even more we avoid the spiritual illness of sin and that mentality of unbelief that Pope Pius XI called “the plague of secularism”.
Let us pray for one another, for the sick and the deceased, for families and for those who are alone, for the whole Church of God, One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. May the Lord end this scourge as soon as possible and allow us to resume our normal activity and our apostolate.
God bless you,
Mater Boni Consilii Institute, Verrua Savoia, 10 March 2020