 | New Beginnings Clare recalled these new beginnings in later years. That she and her sisters had survived the painful trials of the foundation was not nearly as surprising to her as it was to Francis. "When the blessed Francis saw, however, that although we were physically weak and frail, we did not shirk deprivation, poverty, hard work, trial or the shame or contempt of the world—rather we considered them as great delights, as he had frequently examined us according to the example of the saints and his brothers—he greatly rejoiced in the Lord" (Testament, 27-29). Taking each word of this recollection on its merits, we must imagine that the early years of life in San Damiano were a continual struggle at levels material, social, and spiritual. — from the book Light of Assisi: The Story of Saint Clare by Margaret Carney, OSF |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"You must make a sound and firm resolution to submit yourselves totally to His will and, with a lively and steadfast faith, to receive from Him what you have to do for love of Him. And in this (whatever may happen) to persevere with constancy to the very end."
— St. Angela Merici † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"I worry some of you still have not really met Jesus—one to one—you and Jesus alone. We may spend time in the chapel—but have you seen with the eyes of your soul how He looks at you with love? Do you really know the living Jesus—not from books but from being with Him in your heart? Have you heard the loving words He speaks to you? Ask for the grace; He is longing to give it. Until you can hear Jesus in the silence of your own heart, you will not be able to hear Him saying 'I Thirst' in the hearts of the poor. Never give up this daily intimate contact with Jesus as the real living person—not just the idea."
— Saint Mother Teresa, p.129-30
AN EXCERPT FROM
Manual for Eucharistic Adoration † VERSE OF THE DAY
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."
Deuteronomy 6:5-9 |  click to read more | | BLESSED MARGARET OF CASTELLO Bl. Margaret of Castello (1287–1320) was born to noble Italian parents who were awaiting the birth of the child of their dreams. Instead, they bore a daughter who was blind, dwarfed, lame, and hunchbacked. Margaret's parents were horrified by the physical appearance of their newborn child, so they hid her and kept her existence secret. A servant had her baptized and named her Margaret, meaning, "Pearl." When she was six years of age she was nearly discovered, so that her father confined her to a cell inside the wall of a church with her necessities given through a window. The parish priest took it upon himself to educate Margaret. She lived in this way until age sixteen, when her parents took her on pilgrimage to a shrine famous for miraculous healings. There they prayed earnestly for their daughter to be cured of her deformities, which they loathed. When no cure came, her parents abandoned her in the streets and returned home, never to see her again. Margaret begged for food and was helped by the town's poor who took turns sheltering her in their homes. She became a Dominican Tertiary and took up the work of serving the sick, dying, and imprisoned. Margaret was known for her great joy, sanctity, and profound mystical experiences. She died at the age of 33, and hundreds of miracles were credited to her intercession both before and after her death. Her body is incorrupt. She is the patron against poverty, and of the disabled, handicapped, and unwanted. Her feast day is April 13th. | Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter Lectionary: 268
Reading I Acts 4:32-37 The community of believers was of one heart and mind,
and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,
but they had everything in common.
With great power the Apostles bore witness
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,
and great favor was accorded them all.
There was no needy person among them,
for those who owned property or houses would sell them,
bring the proceeds of the sale,
and put them at the feet of the Apostles,
and they were distributed to each according to need. Thus Joseph, also named by the Apostles Barnabas
(which is translated son of encouragement"),
a Levite, a Cypriot by birth,
sold a piece of property that he owned,
then brought the money and put it at the feet of the Apostles. Responsorial Psalm 93:1ab, 1cd-2, 5 R. (1a) The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is king, in splendor robed; robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
And he has made the world firm, not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old; from everlasting you are, O LORD.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed: holiness befits your house, O LORD, for length of days.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Jn 3:14-15 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Son of Man must be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him
may have eternal life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 3:7b-15 Jesus said to Nicodemus:
"'You must be born from above.'
The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes,
but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes;
so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."
Nicodemus answered and said to him,
'How can this happen?"
Jesus answered and said to him,
"You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this?
Amen, amen, I say to you,
we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen,
but you people do not accept our testimony.
If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe,
how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life." | Daily Meditation: John 3:7-15 The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes. (John 3:8) "The Wind," a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson, describes a person's experience of the wind like this: I saw the different things you did,
_ But always you yourself you hid.
_ I felt you push, I heard you call,
_ I could not see yourself at all._ When Jesus describes the "invisible" action of the Holy Spirit to Nicodemus, he uses similar images. Like the wind, the Spirit can't be seen, but we can sense his call and feel his "push." We've all experienced this type of thing; we've all felt prompted at times to do something—or not to do something—that we hadn't thought of before. You might remember and want to contact someone you haven't called in a long time. Or just as you're about to say something negative, you realize you should hold your tongue. That's the Holy Spirit! When you obey those promptings of the Spirit, you make him "visible" to the people around you. Like Nicodemus, many people today are looking for tangible proof that God is real. Oftentimes, even if you speak persuasively, it's not the actual words that draw people to Jesus. It's the spirit behind your words. That's where listening to the Spirit comes in. When you're trying to follow the Spirit, people will see that God is real and is at work in and through your witness. The more you try to follow the Holy Spirit's leading, the better you get at it. Instead of turning a blind eye, you might offer money or a kind word to a homeless person. When someone tells you their problems, instead of getting annoyed, you'll listen patiently and offer to say a prayer with them. When you are criticized unfairly, you'll respond with gentleness instead of anger. Although we can't see the Spirit with our eyes, his movements will be hard to miss. Through you, people will be able to feel his gentle call. Even better, they may be drawn in by his invisible—but powerful—loving embrace. "Lord, open my ears to hear your Spirit calling, and give me the courage to follow where he leads me." Acts 4:32-37
Psalm 93:1-2, 5 |  clickable | Gardeners have found how to make the brittle almond tree bear sweet fruit by cutting the foot of the tree and letting the sap escape. So why shouldn't we, in a similar way, purge out our perverse inclinations and acquire better ones? No disposition is so good by nature that it can't acquire bad habits. Nor is any natural disposition so perverse that it can't be conquered and overcome by God's grace, joined to our earnest and diligent endeavor.
— St. Francis de Sales | my2cents:
"The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common."
They had a taste of what heaven should be like, right? Some have tried building a Eutopia. But it has never really worked. They say that if everyone shared food in the world, starvation would end, world hunger would end. But as it stands, even those receiving first aid in various countries, will not receive food as it is parked at their doors, why? Because of politics. Because of greed. Because people seek out their own personal interests above all others, and the twisted part about it all is...they claim to be serving the greater good and the public. Lies. And how often do we lie to ourselves like that? We won't give time or money to the poor because we don't truly believe they are poor. Before the pandemic, I was eating at a pizza place with kids and video games everywhere, and I seen piles of pizza being thrown in the trash, and then I seen a kid in the bathroom just throwing paper towels in the trash for no reason. Wasteful, right? But that's how we are. Senseless. Desensitized, not just to the environment, but to humanity which is MORE important than the environment. And believe it or not, that's where our Lord strikes a chord. Even His cross was a senseless act. Sin is senseless. But the message our Lord gave from the cross makes sense...to the faithful. Mother Mary knew this all too well. | We pray: "Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed: holiness befits your house, O LORD, for length of days. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty."
What does a robe in Heaven look like? What does a crown look like? What kind of honor is in Heaven? On this side, the unknown can be very scary. On the other side, things are astounding. One cannot wrap one's head on the entire aspect of what that eternal world awaits...with the eternal word. And so this ordeal demands humility to understand, and obedience can lead to humility, but only if the heart is open to our Lord our God, Jesus. | Our Lord said: "Amen, amen, I say to you,
we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen, but you people do not accept our testimony."
Every day, I take up writing, to allow myself to bring forth to all, a testimony. It is a testimony about a life with Christ. Really, the whole of our lives becomes an acceptance of a testimony. Isn't it? If you are married, you accept in faith, the testimony of your spouse. You live in faith, and in fidelity, you trust your spouse, with your very life, if you truly love. I say this because this is how our relationship with our Lord should be. We should trust Him with our life, and love Him above every one and above all in life. In trust and fidelity. | So what are we to make of it when our Lord speaks about His own testimony: "No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man."
He said He went to Heaven? Can we accept His testimony?
Why is it so hard to accept someone's testimony? Because we are so accustomed to lies, we doubt anything and everything. It is hard to trust oneself. I often look to my own future and ask, how or when will I fail our Lord again? Be honest. And don't look too far. What matters is not so much tomorrow, nor yesterday, but today, the present; this is what can change tomorrow, and this is what can be made of about the yesterday. I will write to you, sharing faith bits, morsels of truth and grace. Things I taste from Heaven. Just like Scott Hahn says "to go to Mass, is to go to Heaven". All I can say is that I've tasted Heaven. Is it worth trading all our loves for that? He who loves his life will lose it, but he who hates it will save it. Do you believe the wind that makes the sounds through the vocal chords speaking? It is an inspiration. And so our Lord leaves us with a hard to explain testimony: " ...just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."
And so our Lord is asking for belief. To believe Him if He gave His life for it. He says "Believe Me".
And then salvation will come. Lord, to where should we go in the world without You, for You have words of everlasting life. Help us develop a true love and Hunger for Your Words, to become the living Word for the world today! | from your brother in Christ our Lord,
adrian | Random online bible verse from a random verse generator: Proverbs 17:22
22 A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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