Fulton Sheen to be beatified, September 24, 2026

   

 Below is an excerpt from the introduction to Praying in the Presence of the Lord with Fulton Sheen , edited by Michael Dubruiel, originally published in 2002. 

Excerpts from the book will be published in this space over the next few weeks, in honor of Archbishop Sheen's beatification on September 24, 2026. 

Reflection (2)

 Spend some time reflecting on the following:

1. Imagine that through some mistake while you are alive the report goes out that you have died, How would your life be summed up in your obituary in tomorrow's paper? (You may find it helpful to write Out your own obituary.) Ask God for the grace to know what you need to change in your life,

2. Imagine that you are an observer at your own funeral. Who attends? Is there someone whose absence bothers you? Is there anyone that you are surprised to see there? What are people talking about as they reflect on your life? Again ask God for the grace to know what you should learn from this exercise.

3. Imagine that you are standing at the judgment seat of God. Imagine God loving you and welcom-ing you into His presence. How does this make you feel? What does God’s love reveal to you about your life? Is there a task that God asks you if you have completed? Ask God for the grace to take up the unfinished business of your life.

Prayer

Lord, open my eyes to see what it is that you want me to do, Give me the grace necessary to focus on what it is that I am to do in my life. Help me always to seek your will in all that I do. Amen.

Fulton Sheen Beatification: September 24, 2026

  

 Below is an excerpt from the introduction to Praying in the Presence of the Lord with Fulton Sheen , edited by Michael Dubruiel, originally published in 2002. 

Excerpts from the book will be published in this space over the next few weeks, in honor of Archbishop Sheen's beatification on September 24, 2026. 

Reflection (1)

Bishop Sheen often quoted St. Paul’s boast that what Paul preached was Christ and Him Crucified. Bishop Sheen imitated St. Paul in his preaching and in his writing. Here in this Passage taken from Calvary and the Mass we see again the centrality of the cross of Jesus for the bishop.

Jesus spoke from the cross that His mission was finished and so it is, but Bishop Sheen invites us to not think of our lives as finished just yet.

It is an ancient spiritual practice to meditate on one’s eventual death not out of a macabre sense but in order to better understand our lives. We project ourselves into the future and examine how we are living our lives toward that end.

The inventor of dynamite was privileged in his life to read his obituary one morning after a mistaken re- port circulated that he had died the night before. It turned out that if he had indeed died on that night he would have been remembered as the founder of a destructive element that led to the ruin of countless lives,

This was not the way that the inventor wished to be remembered, so for the rest of his life his aim was turned to making a positive contribution to humanity. The faulty obituary was a moment of grace for him. We now remember Alfred Nobel each year as recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize are announced.

It is not too late for you. What does the Lord want you to do?

Michael Dubruiel: OCIA Resources on the Mass

     

The How-To Book of the Mass by Michael Dubruiel is the only book that not only provides the who, what, where, when, and why of themost time-honored tradition of the Catholic Church but also the how.
In this complete guide you get:

• step-by-step guidelines to walk you through the Mass
• the Biblical roots of the various parts of the Mass and the very prayers themselves
• helpful hints and insights from the Tradition of the Church
• aids in overcoming distractions at Mass
• ways to make every Mass a way to grow in your relationship with Jesus

If you want to learn what the Mass means to a truly Catholic life—and share this practice with others—you can’t be without The How-To Book of the Mass. Discover how to:

• Bless yourself
• Make the Sign of the Cross
• Genuflect
• Pray before Mass
• Join in Singing the Opening Hymn
• Be penitential
• Listen to the Scriptures
• Hear a Great Homily Everytime
• Intercede for others
• Be a Good Steward
• Give Thanks to God
• Give the Sign of Peace
• Receive the Eucharist
• Receive a Blessing
• Evangelize Others
• Get something Out of Every Mass You Attend

"Is this not the same movement as the Paschal meal of the risen Jesus with his disciples? Walking with them he explained the Scriptures to them; sitting with them at table 'he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them."1347, Catechism of the Catholic Church

-Amy Welborn

Find more about The How to Book of the Mass here.

Fulton Sheen Beatification: September 24, 2026

  

 Below is an excerpt from the introduction to Praying in the Presence of the Lord with Fulton Sheen , edited by Michael Dubruiel, originally published in 2002. 

Excerpts from the book will be published in this space over the next few weeks, in honor of Archbishop Sheen's beatification on September 24, 2026. 

His Work Is Finished, Ours Is Not

When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, "It is finished.” And bowing bis head, he banded over the spirit — John 19:30 (NAB)

Bishop Sheen:

Our Blessed Lord’s work is finished. But is ours? When He said, “if is finished?’ He did not mean that the opportunities of His life had ended; He meant that His work was done so perfectly that nothing could be added to it to make it more perfect — but with us, how seldom that is true. Too many of us end our lives, but few of us see them finished. A sinful life may end, but a sinful life is never a finished life.

If our lives just “end,” our friends will ask: “How much did he leave?” But if our life is “finished,” our friends will ask: “How much did he take with him?” A finished life is not measured by years but by deeds; not by the time spent in the vineyard, but by the work done. In a short time a man may fulfill many years; even those who come at the eleventh hour may finish their lives; even those who come to God like the thief at the last breath, may finish their lives in the Kingdom of God. Not for them the sad word of re- egret: “Too late, O ancient Beauty, have I loved Thee.”

Our Lord finished His work, but we have not finished ours. He pointed the way we must follow. He laid down the Cross at the finish, but we must take it up. He finished Redemption in His physical Body, but we have not finished it in His Mystical Body. He has finished salvation, we have not yet ap- plied it to our souls. He has finished the Temple, but we must live in it. He has finished the model Cross, we must fashion ours to its pattern. He has finished sowing the seed, we must reap the harvest, He has finished filling the chalice, but we have not finished drinking its refreshing draughts. He has planted the wheat field: we must gather it into our barns. He has finished the Sacrifice of Calvary; we must finish the Mass.

The Crucifixion was not meant to be an inspirational drama, but a Pattern act on which to model our lives. We are not meant to sit and watch the Cross as something done and ended like the life of Socrates, What was done on Calvary avails for us only in the degree that we repeat it in our own lives.

— From Calvary and the Mass

Fulton Sheen to be beatified, September 24, 2026

 

    Below is an excerpt from the introduction to Praying in the Presence of the Lord with Fulton Sheen , edited by Michael Dubruiel, originally published in 2002. 

Excerpts from the book will be published in this space over the next few weeks, in honor of Archbishop Sheen's beatification on September 24, 2026. 

Sharing in the Work of Redemption

What? Could you not watch one hour with me? — Matthew 26:40 (Douay-Rheims)

Jesus spoke these words to His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, yet as I read them I hear them with the voice of Archbishop Sheen, who was able to bring passages such as this alive with his unique style. Also carried with his intonation is the meaning that he gave to them, that the words that Jesus spoke to His disciples some two thousand years ago in that garden on the Mount of Olives echo through- out history and are spoken again and again to each disciple — in other words, to you and to me.

The Lord asks us to watch with Him, to share in His work, which although complete on Calvary long ago is ongoing in that the tree of the cross continually bears new fruit in us, His disciples. The work of redemption then continues and will not be complete until all of us are brought to the foot of the cross and believe that Our Lord has the power to Save Us.

Our Lord speaks to us as we come into His presence and asks us to join Him.

In this section we reflect with Archbishop Sheen on how Our Lord wishes us to share in His work, which is the work of redemption.