†Quote of the Day "It is part of the discipline of God to make His loved ones perfect through trial and suffering. Only by carrying the Cross can one reach the Resurrection." — Fulton Sheen Today's Meditation "Each of us must come to the evening of life. Each of us must enter on eternity. Each of us must come to that quiet, awful time, when we will appear before the Lord of the vineyard, and answer for the deeds done in the body, whether they be good or bad. That, my dear brethren, you will have to undergo. ... It will be the dread moment of expectation when your fate for eternity is in the balance, and when you are about to be sent forth as the companion of either saints or devils, without possibility of change. There can be no change; there can be no reversal. As that judgment decides it, so it will be for ever and ever. Such is the particular judgment. ... when we find ourselves by ourselves, one by one, in his presence, and have brought before us most vividly all the thoughts, words, and deeds of this past life. Who will be able to bear the sight of himself? And yet we shall be obliged steadily to confront ourselves and to see ourselves. In this life we shrink from knowing our real selves. We do not like to know how sinful we are. We love those who prophecy smooth things to us, and we are angry with those who tell us of our faults. But on that day, not one fault only, but all the secret, as well as evident, defects of our character will be clearly brought out. We shall see what we feared to see here, and much more. And then, when the full sight of ourselves comes to us, who will not wish that he had known more of himself here, rather than leaving it for the inevitable day to reveal it all to him!" —Saint John Henry Newman, p. 101 An excerpt from A Year with the Saints Daily Verse If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions." — Matthew 6:14-15 | St. Donan St. Donan (d. 617 A.D.), also known as St. Donnán of Eigg, was a prominent Celtic missionary and Gaelic priest. Little is known of his life except that he was likely an Irishman who traveled as a missionary throughout Galloway and northward along the west coast of Scotland. He is thought to have been a contemporary of St. Columba. Donan formed a religious community on the tiny northwest island of Eigg in Scotland. The community grew to fifty-two men. One year, after celebrating the Easter Vigil Mass, they were unexpectedly attacked and martyred either by pirates or a band of Viking raiders. Tradition holds that the community was gathered together and killed in the refectory on the night of April 17, 617. The martyrdom of Christian missionaries at this time was rare, leading many to suspect the attack was instigated by a malicious local queen who viewed St. Donan and his monks as a threat to her power. His feast day is April 17.
Find a devotional for this saint | Reading 1 Acts 8:1b-8 There broke out a severe persecution of the Church in Jerusalem,
and all were scattered
throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria,
except the Apostles.
Devout men buried Stephen and made a loud lament over him.
Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the Church;
entering house after house and dragging out men and women,
he handed them over for imprisonment. Now those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.
Thus Philip went down to the city of Samaria
and proclaimed the Christ to them.
With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip
when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing.
For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice,
came out of many possessed people,
and many paralyzed and crippled people were cured.
There was great joy in that city. Responsorial Psalm Ps 66:1-3a, 4-5, 6-7a R. (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth,
sing praise to the glory of his name;
proclaim his glorious praise.
Say to God, "How tremendous are your deeds!"
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
"Let all on earth worship and sing praise to you,
sing praise to your name!"
Come and see the works of God,
his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has changed the sea into dry land;
through the river they passed on foot;
therefore let us rejoice in him.
He rules by his might forever.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia See Jn 6:40 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Everyone who believes in the Son has eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 6:35-40 Jesus said to the crowds,
"I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.
But I told you that although you have seen me,
you do not believe.
Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
because I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.
For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day."
| Daily Meditation: Acts 8:1-8 Those who had been scattered went about preaching the word. (Acts 8:4) The early Christians in Jerusalem were under attack. Their opponents, including Saul, were entering their homes and throwing them into prison (Acts 8:3). So these believers fled the city and went elsewhere. But that didn't stop them from proclaiming the good news. They could not be silenced. What sustained these men and women and enabled them to continue preaching the word? Their hope in the risen Lord! They trusted that he would be with them and would care for them in those dangerous times. And even if they had to give up their lives for their faith, they knew that they had been redeemed by the blood that Jesus had shed on the cross. They could look forward to an eternity with the Lord in heaven. Over the centuries, that hope in the risen Lord has continued to sustain God's people as they preached the good news. Today believers in nearly every nation on earth continue to proclaim the gospel, no matter how dangerous the situation. Nothing, not even direct opposition or violence, can overcome their hope in Christ. What about us? How can we sustain a vibrant hope in the Lord? By rooting ourselves in the word of God and keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus each day. As we draw near to him in prayer, we will experience his goodness, his mercy, and his care for us. Then we will become more confident that he will remain faithful to his promises, whether we are living in peaceful or stormy times. And the hope that we have in Christ will overflow into our conversations with the people around us. We can witness to all the times the Lord has come through for us and all the times we have seen him working in the lives of other believers. Do you know someone who has lost hope? The early Christians couldn't be silenced even when they were being persecuted. Don't be silent, either! Share with that person the hope that is in your heart, a hope that never runs dry because its source is Jesus himself! "Jesus, help me to share the reason for my hope." Psalm 66:1-7
John 6:35-40 |  try to hear it read by AI | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
""I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst....." end quote. | From Bishop Barron today:
"Friends, Joseph Ratzinger said that the soul corresponds to our capacity for relationship to God. We have a whole range of intellectual and relational powers, but beyond them all, we have the capacity to know and love God. And since God is eternal, this power links us to eternity, proving that we are not simply limited to space and time. To say that we are nothing but "bodies" that flourish briefly and then fade away is to miss this dimension of our existence. Instead, we speak of souls and of the enduring existence of those who have gone before us into death.
This is why Jesus speaks so readily of eternal life in today's Gospel: "For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day." There was a great debate in Jesus' time within Judaism in regard to this question. Many, including the Sadducees, denied the idea of life after death; but others, including the Pharisees, affirmed it.
Jesus clearly sides with those who affirm it, and his own Resurrection from the dead demonstrated this belief as emphatically as possible.
......." end quote Bishop Barron.
There is this song by Toolan that sings "I am the bread of life, he who comes to me shall not hunger..." and the song ends "and I will raise you up, and I will raise you up! and I will raise you up on the last day".
I've heard the last part of the song sung at particular retreats during talks too.
The song sings something that we should all take heart and joy in hearing: that our Lord will raise us up on the last day.
What last day? The end of the world? Yes. The end of your life? Yes! But what will happen when you are raised up?
That's the biggest question because our Lord said today:
"For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
MAY have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day."
We will meet our maker, our Lord, and we will want to stay with Him forever, but there is one thing that can keep us from Him...sin.
I don't know about you, but from what I'm learning about sin, it is not good, and I'm talking about ANY sin, not just major or grave sins.
Our Lord asks us to consider our thoughts! Our Lord considers where our hearts are. What is boiling inside of you? Is it bad? Time to cool it. There is a hollywood actor "Rob Schneider" who is said to have converted to our faith and all he can say he feels now is one word "peace". And this is right, because as St. Augustine said "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you."
But do you know why we hear these words? Because that is the sentiment of our Lord too!
His heart is restless until it rests in You!
This is going to be a hard pill to swallow in our self centered world: God loves you more than anyone you can think of. If you are alone, He is alone. If you are sad, He is sad. If you are in doubt, He can turn that doubt into something you can't even imagine. And so, we should do something strange, tell God you Love Him. Tell Him in your family, tell Him in your church, tell Him everywhere you go, "God our Father loves you".
And guess what? Mother Mary has the same message: "I love You", your Mother in Heaven is wanting to let you know right now.
Heaven burns with an eternal love that is unfathomable.
Jesus is the Heart of God.
And Jesus is in the Holy Eucharist. What are we doing with the Love of God today?
Where will we take the love of God today? Where? To who? |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Isaiah 43:2 [Isaiah 43] 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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