St. Agnes - January 21

  From Wikipedia:

Agnes of Rome (c. 291 – 21 January 304) is a virgin martyr, venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, Oriental Orthodox Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as the Anglican Communion and Lutheran Churches.[1] She is one of several virgin martyrs commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass, and one of many Christians martyred during the reign of the Roman emperor Diocletian.

Agnes was born in 291 into Roman nobility, and raised as a Christian. She suffered martyrdom on 21 January 304, aged 12 or 13. Her high-ranking suitors, slighted by her resolute devotion to religious purity, sought to persecute her for her beliefs. Her father urged her to deny God, but she refused, and she was dragged naked through the streets to a brothel, then tried and sentenced to death. She was eventually beheaded, after attempts for her to be burnt at the stake failed. A few days after her death, her foster-sister Emerentiana was found praying by her tomb, and was stoned to death.

Michael Dubruiel in Rome, at the church of St. Agnes

 

How to Get the Most Out of the Eucharist - part 7B

        

       

    

From How to Get the Most Out of the Eucharist by Michael Dubruiel

About Michael Dubruiel

From chapter 2 - Serve. Part 4

When I shared my amazement at the number of responses with my wife,she very keenly mused,“They all feel helpless,like they have no control.” As soon as she said this I realized that this was exactly the same thing I had heard from priests and musicians, the two groups who are most often the target of the congregation’s ire.Priests who come into a new parish and encounter established ways of doing things with which they do not agree and yet are powerless (at least at first) to change and musicians who are hired to provide a parish with beautiful music yet find themselves restrained by parish staff or established practice to playing pieces they feel are less than worthy of the liturgy often express frustration at their lack of control.

This brings home a point that we do not like to admit: None of us is in control, no matter what our function is in the liturgy. Yet we are all tempted to think that if we were in charge we could make it all perfect.

How to Get the Most Out of the Eucharist - part 7A

       

    

From How to Get the Most Out of the Eucharist by Michael Dubruiel

About Michael Dubruiel

From chapter 2 - Serve. Part 4

WHOSE WAY ARE WE PREPARING?

Every Sunday when I come to the Eucharist and am confronted by the words inscribed in stone over the entrance of my parish church, “Prepare the way of the Lord,” I am reminded that the first sacrifice I must make at this Mass is my own ego, and as I strive to relinquish the need to be in control of what will happen at this Eucharist I ask, “What does my lord bid his servant?” (Joshua 5:14).

We all face the same struggle. Some of you may protest:

•    “The ushers don’t make me feel welcome in my church.”

•    “My parish priest preaches too long.”

•    “The musicians in our church are out of control.”

•    “People are too loud and talk too much before theEucharist.”

•    “The people dress too well or too poorly.”

Each of us, if given the opportunity to share what we think is keeping us from getting the most out of the Eucharist, is apt to come up with our own list. Recently I asked this question online and received a deluge of responses. Many were true abuses of the liturgy,and were worthy of being reported to the diocesan bishop, but just as many were not.

Michael Dubruiel: How to Get the Most out of the Eucharist, part 6

       

    

From How to Get the Most Out of the Eucharist by Michael Dubruiel

About Michael Dubruiel

From chapter 1 - Serve. Part 3

THE LORD

Jesus told his followers that when they had done all that had been commanded of them they should say:“We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty” (Luke 17:10).

Our lives often are like a field of weeds with pressing concerns that can seem to take priority, but indeed the weeds are not as powerful as they might seem, and remembering who is Lord, Master, and God can help us put everything into perspective.

LESSONS LEARNED FROM A THREE-YEAR OLD

Anyone who has a young child has a built-in reminder that coming to the Eucharist requires servitude. Preparations have to be made so that the child will be taken care of during the celebration. Sometimes this means making sure that a child’s prayer or Mass book is in his or her possession. At other times it simply means having tissue for a runny nose or having an extra dose of patience to deal with any outburst that might occur. One thing is certain: any parent who has a young child is already bringing the attitude of a servant to the Eucharist. If I get a little too comfortable in the pew and lean back in the posture of a spectator, my three-year-old will pretty quickly remind me that I’m not there to relax but to serve.

“Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me; for he who is least among you all is the one who is great.”

— LUKE 9 : 4 8

Having a young child in our midst, whether it is our own or someone else’s in the next pew, is a great reminder to us to humble ourselves, that in serving the child we may serve the Lord himself.

Michael Dubruiel: How to Get the Most out of the Eucharist, part 5c

     

From How to Get the Most Out of the Eucharist by Michael Dubruiel

About Michael Dubruiel

Chapter 1 - Serve, Part 2

“You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.”

M ATTHEW 4:10

Most converts to Christianity have a clear sense of the saving power of Jesus as “the Way.” Faithful, lifelong Catholics may not have as keen an understanding until they experience the difference their faith has made to them in contrast to the rejection of that faith in one of their children.Yet understanding that “the way” of Christ is not business as usual can keep us from thinking that we have nothing to prepare for when we celebrate the Eucharist. Once we realize that God’s ways are not our ways, we will always see the need to “prepare ourselves for these Sacred Mysteries” we are about to celebrate.

LIVING THE E UCHARIST

Throughout the day,when the events of the day do not go your “way,” before frustration has a chance to set in, stop and ask yourself what God’s way might be for what the day has given you. Try to think of a similar incident in the life of Christ to the one in which you find yourself — how did Our Lord handle the situation?

Michael Dubruiel: How to Get the Most out of the Eucharist, part 5b

        

    

From How to Get the Most Out of the Eucharist by Michael Dubruiel

About Michael Dubruiel

Chapter 1 - Serve, Part 2

“You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.”

M ATTHEW 4:10

THE WAY

“The Way” is one of the oldest names for the first followers of Christ. Jesus often told his disciples that he came to show them “the Way” to the Father, that God’s ways were not our ways, and that He was the Way. The routine that we can fall into at the Eucharist happens precisely when we stop seeing what is taking place as “different” from everything else that we experience in life. Not only is it different, but if we truly enter into the Eucharist with a spirit of sacrifice, it will change the way that we view everything in our lives. The tension between Christian beliefs and the beliefs of “the world” is understood only when we come to embrace “the way” of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Michael Dubruiel: How to Get the Most out of the Eucharist, part 5a

       

From How to Get the Most Out of the Eucharist by Michael Dubruiel

About Michael Dubruiel

Chapter 1 - Serve, Part 1

“You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.”

M ATTHEW 4:10

In my home parish, St. John the Baptist in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the words Parate Viam Domini are inscribed over the front doors. The two years of Latin that I had in college and my knowledge of Scripture are enough for me to figure out that the message greeting me each Sunday are the words of St. John the Baptist in the desert, “Prepare the way of the Lord.” It is an excellent message to set the tone for the mystery that is about to be celebrated.

PREPARATION

I remember how differently I approached the Mass when as a young man I began to serve at the Eucharist as an altar boy. Before I could serve for the first time, I had to attend training sessions so that I knew what gestures and movements I was to make, and had to study the Latin responses so that I could answer the prayers of the priest at the appropriate time.Sometimes school was sacrificed so that I could serve a funeral mass,or a Saturday afternoon so that the priest could be attended to as he witnessed the marriage vows of a couple celebrating the Sacrament of Matrimony.

The thought and preparation that went into serving at the Eucharist required a sacrifice on my part but kept me focused on why I was there. Adults who serve as lectors, ushers, extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist,and choir members often mention feeling similar sentiments when they first take on these acts of service. Yet with time we are all apt to find ourselves going through the motions without much preparation and indeed without much thought about the fact that we are serving God in our respective roles at the Eucharist, and this inattentiveness is to our detriment. Making preparations is the work of a servant, and in the celebration of the Eucharist it is the work of every disciple of Christ.

Michael Dubruiel: How to Get the Most out of the Eucharist, part 4b

        

    

From How to Get the Most Out of the Eucharist by Michael Dubruiel

Jesus told a parable about what happens when a storm comes that lashes out against our very lives (see Matthew 7:24–27). He said that the wise person builds his house (his life) on solid ground,on rock (the image that he used to speak about his church and Peter). The foolish person builds on sand and is destroyed by the storms of life.

The work of building the foundation on which our lives depend takes place every time we participate in the Eucharist. While I was putting the finishing touches on this book I traveled to Florida, right after Hurricane Frances had made a direct hit near Stuart, Florida. I had been scheduled to give a talk in nearby Palm Beach Gardens two days after the storm had hit.The talk was canceled because the church, St. Patrick’s, was without power, but I had the opportunity to meet with the pastor of the parish, Father Brian Flanagan, and some of the parish staff. In the midst of much devastation what remains vivid in my mind is how peaceful everyone there was. I know Father Brian to be a man whose deep faith is rooted in the Eucharist, and what I experienced in those days immediately following Hurricane Frances was a literal exposition of Jesus’s parable — the storm had come,but because the lives of the people I met were built on solid rock, they were not destroyed.

Isn’t this what we all want, a joy that the world cannot take away, no matter what might happen? Our Lord offers it to us at every Eucharist. It is my hope that this small book will help you to better experience this joy, and to discover the richness the Lord’s Eucharistic presence can add to your life.

About Michael Dubruiel

Michael Dubruiel: How to Get the Most out of the Eucharist, part 4a

       

From How to Get the Most Out of the Eucharist by Michael Dubruiel

I was giving a talk at a Catholic parish in rural Ohio a few years ago about the topic of this book.When I had concluded my presentation someone asked,“Why do people care so little about their faith today?”

I told them of a man, a non-Catholic, I had known who cared little about his faith but attended Mass every week with his Catholic wife because he wanted to make her happy. He did this for years, to the point that several priests tried to convince him that he should convert to the Catholic faith since he had been attending the Eucharist for so many years. He refused.

Then he was diagnosed with bone cancer. His condition deteriorated rapidly. In a few months he went from being robust and strong to bedridden and totally dependent upon others.He called for a priest, who heard his first confession and then offered the Eucharist at his bedside, where he received his First Holy Communion. In the last months of his life, his Catholic faith was all that mattered to him.

This led a woman in the group to recall an incident when a tornado had wiped out her family’s farm and the family had sat huddled together in the storm cellar, praying the Rosary. At that moment their faith had mattered more than anything else in the world to them.

Someone else mentioned that in the weeks following the 9/11 terrorist attacks on this country he had noticed more people in the Church and more fervency in the way people seemed to pray.

Our faith is a matter of life and death and our faith is totally centered on Jesus Christ.The Scriptures reveal that Jesus did not leave us as orphans but founded a Church. He made the very human apostle Peter the first leader of this Church. He left a memorial of his saving death in the Eucharist and commanded his disciples to perform it.

Getting the most out of the Eucharist is an urgent task, then, because our very life depends upon Christ, and Jesus comes to us in the celebration of his passion, death, and resurrection at every Eucharist. Jesus said that he is the vine and that we are the branches. In the Eucharist we receive the very life that connects us to Christ the Vine.

About Michael Dubruiel

Michael Dubruiel: How to Get the Most out of the Eucharist, part 3

       

From How to Get the Most Out of the Eucharist by Michael Dubruiel

A Note of Caution

Now, I want to be clear that what I am proposing in this book is not the “victim-ism” that was sometimes prevalent in the older spirituality of “offering it up.” In every situation we are free to choose how we will respond to an event: we can blame someone else for what is happening, or we can feel powerless and do 

nothing. It is my contention that neither of these responses is Christlike. The experience of “offering up” our lives to God needs to be a positive and co-redemptive act. Thankfully, with God’s help we are all capable of freely choosing to respond in this fashion.

Those who promoted the spirituality of “offering it up” in a previous age often quoted St.Paul’s words to the Colossians:“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church” (Colossians 1:24). In offering our sacrifice at the Eucharist, in the same way that we offer up any suffering we endure in life, we take whatever is negative and turn it into a positive, life-giving force both in our own lives and in the lives of those around us. We make up for what is “lacking” for the sake of  “his body,”the Church — that is,ourselves in communion with all Christians with all of our imperfections and all of our failings. “The miracle of the church assembly lies in that it is not the ‘sum’ of the sinful and unworthy people who comprise it, but the body of Christ,” Father Alexander Schmemann remarked.³ This is the power of the cross of Jesus Christ,taking what appears to be weakness and allowing God to transform it into strength!

About Michael Dubruiel

Baptism of the Lord - January 11

        It's the Baptism of the Lord this weekend, - so let's talk about Baptism and Holy Water -  from the Loyola Kids Book of Catholic Signs and Symbols  by Amy Welborn, via the entry on holy water in the context of the church.

The entries are arranged with a simple explanation on the left, with the illustration, and then a more in-depth treatment on the right.

For centuries people learned about the Christian faith through paintings, sculptures, objects, and gestures. Simple images still convey deep messages if we learn how to see and understand them. Award-winning children’s author Amy Welborn has created a friendly and fascinating sourcebook on the signs and symbols of the Catholic faith. The exquisite illustrations throughout will inspire conversation and prayerful reflection for readers of all ages. Each image appears with a brief, child-friendly explanation coupled with a more detailed description on the opposite page.

From the sign of the fish to the Stations of the Cross, from the palm branch to Our Lady of Guadalupe, Loyola Kids Book of Catholic Signs and Symbols will enable children and adults to experience faith with curiosity and wonder.​

Michael Dubruiel: How to Get the Most out of the Eucharist, part 2c

       

From How to Get the Most Out of the Eucharist by Michael Dubruiel

THE EUCHARIST AS A SACRIFICE

When was the last time that you celebrated the Eucharist with the thought that you were being asked to “offer yourself” — to give your very life? Chances are, You haven’t thought of it,but you may have experienced it …

•    By thinking “I could be doing something else.”

•    By asking “Why am I here?”

Yet you weren’t doing anything else and you were there — what was missing was the free offering of “your sacrifice,” the choice to offer your suffering along with that of the Passion of Our Lord.

Participation in the Eucharist requires that we die to ourselves and live in Christ. If we want to get the most out of the Eucharist, then sacrifice is the key. This is what has been lost on many of us, and if we want to reclaim all the spiritual riches that are available to us we must relearn what it means not only to “offer it up” but indeed to offer ourselves up.

About Michael Dubruiel

Michael Dubruiel: How to Get the Most out of the Eucharist, part 2b

        

From How to Get the Most Out of the Eucharist by Michael Dubruiel

THE EUCHARIST AS A SACRIFICE

As we participate in the Eucharist, not only do we participate in Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary but we are called to share in that sacrifice.Just knowing this should change how we view everything that irks us at Mass. Are you:

•    Suffering mental anguish — like a crown of thorns is upon your head?

•    Weighed down by worldly concerns — like the weight of the cross is on you?

•    Feeling powerless — like you are nailed to a cross?

If we take away a sacrificial attitude toward the Eucharist, we are likely to fail to see the connection between our lives and what we do at Mass.We are apt to sit in judgment, waiting to be entertained (whether we are conservative or liberal, what we want to see differs but the attitude is the same). When we fail to bring a sacrificial attitude to the Eucharist, our participation seems at times to be modeled more after Herod’s banquet, where Simone’s dance cost the Baptist his head, than after the Last Supper of Our Lord, where there was every indication that partaking in this banquet was likely to cost the disciples their own lives. (Indeed, ten of the twelve were martyred,Judas took his own life,and John survived being boiled alive in a cauldron of oil.)

About Michael Dubruiel

Ash Wednesday is February 18, 2026

     The Power of the Cross by Michael Dubruiel - a Lenten devotional book - is available as an ebook, after being out of print for many years. 

There is power in the Cross of Christ that, sad to say, many Christians don't experience. Now you can learn to see Jesus' suffering and death not as a spectacle or theatrical production, but as a blueprint for how to live your life.

Here is the radical teaching of Our Lord presented in a series of concrete steps that you can take at your own pace, whether you use this book alone or with a group. Learn:

*How to follow Christ more closely.
*God's unique purpose and mission for you.
*How to overcome the evil that you have suffered at the hands of others.
*To find God's presence in difficult times.
*The keys to unleashing the power of the Cross in your life.


Day by day for five weeks, here are the prayers, the reflections, the stories, and the teaching that will help you not only better comprehend the power of Christ's great sacrifice for you, but come to a better understanding of why and how to accept that power now.

Michael Dubruiel: How to Get the Most out of the Eucharist, part 2a

       

From How to Get the Most Out of the Eucharist by Michael Dubruiel

THE EUCHARIST AS A SACRIFICE

The solution to this modern dilemma is simple — put Jesus back at the center of the Eucharist and you immediately change all of this. In his encyclical Pope John Paul II says, “In giving his sacrifice to the Church, Christ has also made his own the spiritual sacrifice of the Church, which is called to offer herself in union with the sacrifice of Christ.This is the teaching of the Second Vatican Council concerning all the faithful: ‘Taking part in the Eucharistic Sacrifice,which is the source and summit of the whole Christian life,they offer the divine victim to God,and offer themselves along with it.’ 

About Michael Dubruiel

Epiphany - January 6

         

The Epiphany of the Lord, Part 2

The magi traveled afar to experience it. How far are we willing to travel to experience what countless saints have experienced for the last two thousand years? How willing are we to surrender to the light? It is our choice, we can be like Herod who was threatened by the light that his true worth would be seen in its light or we can be like the magi who recognized the ultimate worth of such light shining in the darkness and brought what they had to offer in exchange for a treasure that the earth can only give in the person of the God made man.

More from Michael Dubruiel

St. John Neumann - January 5

       The Church's Most Powerful Novenas by Michael Dubruiel contains novenas to three of this week's saints: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton whose Feast is January 4th, St. John Neumann whose feast is on January 5th and Blessed Andre Bessette's (Feast day January 6th) novena to Saint Joseph.

 

When Jesus ascended into heaven, he told his Apostles to stay where they were and to "wait for the gift" that the Father had promised: the Holy Spirit.  The Apostles did as the Lord commanded them. "They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers" (Acts 1:14). Nine days passed; then, they received the gift of the Holy spirit, as had been promised. May we stay together with the church, awaiting in faith with Our Blessed Mother, as we trust entirely in God, who loves us more than we can ever know. 

The Epiphany of the Lord, Part 1

          

The Epiphany of the Lord, Part 1

People experience darkness in a lot of ways. Some are depressed. Others experience it in ignorance.

Darkness and the experience of being blind are two ways that the scriptures often portray the condition of humans without some outside help. Many of us are aware that something isn't quite right with ourselves. We are not the person that we feel we could or should be. We don't know how to act in our own best interest or the for the good of others. We often are at the mercy of those who try to manipulate our indecisiveness and lack of vision.

To this Isaiah the prophet says, "Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you. See, darkness covers the earth,
and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the LORD shines, and over you appears his glory. Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance". God has sent light that shines in the darkness, John tells us in his gospel--will we accept that light?

More from Michael Dubruiel

2026 Daily Devotional

         Amy Welborn's Catholic Woman's Book of Days is getting a new edition this fall:

God is present to us in ways too numerous to count. Unfortunately, we are often so busy that we fail to recognize and respond to this active presence. A Catholic Woman’s Book of Days offers daily meditations that clear a spiritual place—a time in our day when we can set our hearts on God. The meditations are brief, pointed, direct, and personal—and will connect you to God’s word and the Catholic faith.While a number of successful devotionals for women have been published for the general Christian market, A Catholic Woman's Book of Days is the first resource in the Catholic market featuring daily devotions and prayers for women. Written by Amy Welborn, the devotional entries are pointed and brief, and help Catholic women connect their everyday concerns with God's Word in the context of their Catholic faith. Each entry is introduced by a Scripture verse and followed by a one-sentence prayer. These devotions and prayers are sure to provide Catholic women with a dose of God's grace each day of the year.

January 2 - Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen

       

January 2 - Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, bishops and doctors of the Church

I've spent the past month reading a number of books on Orthodox Christianity. Most of the books have dealt with how it is lived today in the Mediteranean but a few have dealt with American examples. Most of the books have sang the glories of Orthodoxy, one written by a Catholic has looked at it in a more playful attitude. I mention this because today's reading from John's letter reminds me of an attitude that seems to be very "orthodox" especially of the Mediteranean variety. John says:

"Who is the liar?
Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ.
Whoever denies the Father and the Son, this is the antichrist.
Anyone who denies the Son does not have the Father,
but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well".

This might cause embarrassment if spoken in American circles. We might want to place all types of qualifiers or include a prayer to the four winds or add a feminine element to the passage. But if we really believe that Jesus is God come in the flesh, do we dare deny Him in front of men (and women)? Jesus had a stern warning about those who would deny Him. If we truly believe we won't do that today.

More from Michael Dubruiel