There is alot of confusion on this topic, exploited by Holywood. Everyone has their own idea of who or what the Anti-Christ might be. In this segment, Fr. Francis Martin talks about this "man of sin" (from 2 Thess.) from a biblical perspective.

Fr. Francis Martin offers the following series to build up the clergy in their ministry of breaking open the Scriptures to the faithful.

Continuing the theme of prayer during this Lenten season, below is a practical guide for actualizing a daily prayer time.

Choose a time, a definite time dedicated only to prayer each day. Try to make it the best time you can find.

Choose a place free from distractions.

Repentance

“As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us” – Psalm 103:12

Briefly examine your conscience, asking the Holy Spirit to show you your sins of the past day. Ask the Lord for forgiveness and know that he immediately cleanses you through the blood of Jesus.

Meditation – A Word from the Lord

“I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands” – Psalm 143:5

Read scripture, lingering over whatever words or phrases draw your attention. Ask the Lord questions and let him speak to your heart.

Adoration and Praise

“I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth” – Psalm 34:1

Praise the Lord for who he is and thank him for what he has done. You may find it helpful to pray a Psalm such as Psalms 33, 105, 111 or 116. If possible, sing aloud to God or praise him out loud!

Petition

“Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” – Philippians 4:6

Bring to the Lord your own needs (petition) and the needs of others (intercession), knowing that he hears your prayers.

May God bless you,

Fr. Francis

I thought this week I would present for you some quotes concerning the Liturgy to awaken in all of us a deeper sense of the depth, beauty, and seriousness of what we participate in every Sunday in our parish church. Note the theme of “present” in all three of the following statements.

The first statement was written by Fr. Adrien Nocent, O.S.B., in volume II of his remarkable commentary entitled The Liturgical Year: Lent and Holy Week, First Edition.  This work has now been revised and improved by Fr. Paul Turner (Liturgical Press, 2014). I offer this text for your meditation:

“The liturgy, after all, is not simply a play. We do not take part in the liturgy in order to recall past events in an atmosphere of spiritual emotion.  We take part in it in order to celebrate a mystery that the liturgy itself renders present”(Fr. Adrien Nocent, The Liturgical Year: Lent and Holy Week, First Edition, Liturgical Press 1977, p. 187).

Again, in the same line of thought, we find this statement uttered sometime early in the fifth century by Pope St. Leo I, speaking of the Liturgy:

“All those things which the Son of God both did and taught for the reconciliation of the world, we not only know in the account of things now past, but we also experience in the power of works which are present” (On the Passion, 12 [Sources Chrétiennes 74, 82]).

Finally there is the statement from Vatican II (Sacrosanctum Concilium #7), accenting the mystery of Christ’s presence:

“To accomplish so great a work, Christ is always present in His Church, especially in her liturgical celebrations. He is present in the sacrifice of the Mass, not only in the person of His minister, ‘the same now offering, through the ministry of priests, who formerly offered himself on the cross,’ but especially under the Eucharistic species. By His power He is present in the sacraments, so that when a man baptizes it is really Christ Himself who baptizes. He is present in His word, since it is He Himself who speaks when the holy scriptures are read in the Church. He is present, lastly, when the Church prays and sings, for He promised: ‘Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them’” (Matt. 18:20).