Psychological Healing
in the Roman Catholic Mystic Tradition

Questions and Answers

I live a spiritual life in my own way. Why go to church? It’s just filled with hypocrites anyway.

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t’s true that many of those who go to church are trying primarily to feel good about themselves, and they often treat the Blessed Sacrament and the sanctity of the church environment with casualness, if not outright carelessness. They attend Mass out of habit and guilt. Worship for them isn’t an expression of true love, and it doesn’t arise out of an ardent desire to sacrifice everything and suffer anything to live a holy life.

Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for our sakes was met with indifference, ingratitude, and contempt, even by His own people. So should it be any surprise that today the celebration of the holy Mass is met with indifference, ingratitude, and contempt, even by His own anointed?

Now, the whole point of the Mass is the Eucharist. And because the Mass is both a sacrifice and a meal, we have two reasons for attending (assisting at) Mass.

		If angels were capable of envy, they would envy us for two things: one is the receiving of Holy Communion, and the other is suffering.
		—Saint Faustina, Diary, 1804

First, we assist in the liturgical work of joining our lives to the sacrifice of Christ. This liturgical work is worship, and worship far transcends mere spirituality. Many persons today who do not even believe in God call themselves “spiritual,” but when we join with Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross, we give meaning to our constant sacrifices for the souls of others. Christ’s Passion and death made it perfectly clear that suffering sacrifice is the only way to crack open the hardened free will of the human heart. So when we freely suffer for the sake of other souls, we contribute to paying the mystical price of their repentance. Even angels cannot do such majestic work!

Second, we partake of the Eucharist as food to sustain us physically and spiritually. Without the Eucharist you don’t have a chance to sustain yourself through all the trials you will have to face. The Eucharist will sustain you regardless of what anyone around you does—even regardless of wicked priests given over to liberal heresies.

In this regard, Jesus told Saint Faustina,

	My daughter, do not pay so much attention to the vessel of grace as to the grace itself which I give you, because you are not always pleased with the vessel, and then the graces, too, become deficient. I want to guard you from that, and I want you never to pay attention to the vessel in which I send you My grace. Let all the attention of your soul be concentrated on responding to My grace as faithfully as possible. . . . eternal life must begin already here on earth through Holy Communion. Each Holy Communion makes you more capable of communing with God throughout eternity.
	—Diary, 1599; 1811

Moreover, keep in mind that the Body of Christ is faith, and the Blood of Christ is love. Therefore, to take Communion worthily (1 Corinthians 11:27) ^[1] does not mean only that you must be free from mortal sin and able to receive graces in pure faith. It also means that you must be willing to “pay the price” of receiving Christ within you. And what is that price? It is the willingness to shed your own blood—that is, to stop defending your pride and personal pleasure—so as to love others according to the Way of the Cross, in perfect sacrifice. Only in this way can you receive Christ’s love worthily.

When Jesus told Peter that “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38), He said this as a warning, not as an excuse. In speaking to Peter, He speaks to all of us. Unless we discipline ourselves with fasting and sacrifice, we will fail to reach deep enough within ourselves to overcome the unconscious anger and fear that leads us into disobedience. Without disciplined sacrifice, all those pious words on our lips won’t do very much at all to help us attain the holiness we think we want. Remember also that Christ warned us that worship must be an act of genuine love: “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:20).

So do not be afraid. Commune with God in ways that even angels cannot. Remain steadfast in the Faith and think not of the sins of others, but of the mercy that awaits them, if only they would accept it. And then pray and make sacrifices that they do accept it.

	Pray, and make sacrifices.
	—The Blessed Virgin Mary, Fátima, 1917

 
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1. “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord.” For more information about documented and authenticated Eucharistic miracles, see Eucharistic Miracles from The Real Presence Association.

Additional Resources

Messages to any mystic from the Blessed Virgin and Jesus do not have to be accepted by anyone as articles of faith, even though the messages may be approved by the local bishop as not contradicting the faith. Nevertheless, regardless of what you might think about the revelations made to Catalina Rivas, you should still read this explanation of the awesome meaning of the Holy Mass. After reading it, you might think differently about your personal responsibility to Christ’s marvelous sacrifice for all mankind.

The Holy Mass explained to Catalina by Jesus and Mary

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