Saint of the Day for April 19
(October 4, 1922 – April 28, 1962) Saint Gianna Beretta ------------------ In less than 40 years, Gianna Beretta Molla became a pediatric physician, a wife, a mother and a saint! She was born in Magenta near Milano, the tenth of Alberto and Maria Beretta's 13 children. An active member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society and a leader in the Catholic Action movement, Gianna also enjoyed skiing and mountain climbing. She earned degrees in medicine and surgery from the University of Pavia, eventually specializing in pediatrics. In 1952, Gianna opened a clinic in the small town of Mesero, where she met engineer Pietro Molla. Shortly before their 1955 marriage, Gianna wrote to Pietro: "Love is the most beautiful sentiment that the Lord has put into the soul of men and women." In the next four years the Mollas had three children: Pierluigi, Mariolina, and Laura. Two pregnancies following ended in miscarriage. Early in her final pregnancy, doctors discovered that Gianna had both a child and a tumor in her uterus. She allowed the surgeons to remove the tumor but not to perform the complete hysterectomy that they recommended, which would have killed the child. Seven months later in April 1962, Gianna Emanuela Molla was born at the hospital in Monza, but post-operative complications resulted in an infection for her mother. The following week Gianna Molla died at home, and was buried in the cemetery of Mesero. Gianna Emanuela went on to become a physician herself. Gianna Beretta Molla was beatified in 1994 and canonized 10 years later. Her liturgical feast is celebrated on April 28. Reflection With great faith and courage, Gianna Molla made the choice that enabled her daughter to be born. We can often wish that we were in different circumstances, but holiness frequently comes from making difficult choices in bad situations. Saint Gianna Beretta Molla is a Patron Saint of: Doctors
Unborn Children
Wives | Friday of the Third Week of Easter Lectionary: 277
Reading 1 Acts 9:1-20 Saul, still breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord,
went to the high priest and asked him
for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that,
if he should find any men or women who belonged to the Way,
he might bring them back to Jerusalem in chains.
On his journey, as he was nearing Damascus,
a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him.
He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,
"Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"
He said, "Who are you, sir?"
The reply came, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do."
The men who were traveling with him stood speechless,
for they heard the voice but could see no one.
Saul got up from the ground,
but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing;
so they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus.
For three days he was unable to see, and he neither ate nor drank. There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias,
and the Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias."
He answered, "Here I am, Lord."
The Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight
and ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul.
He is there praying,
and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias
come in and lay his hands on him,
that he may regain his sight."
But Ananias replied,
"Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man,
what evil things he has done to your holy ones in Jerusalem.
And here he has authority from the chief priests
to imprison all who call upon your name."
But the Lord said to him,
"Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine
to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and children of Israel,
and I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name."
So Ananias went and entered the house;
laying his hands on him, he said,
"Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me,
Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came,
that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."
Immediately things like scales fell from his eyes
and he regained his sight.
He got up and was baptized,
and when he had eaten, he recovered his strength. He stayed some days with the disciples in Damascus,
and he began at once to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues,
that he is the Son of God. Responsorial Psalm Ps 117:1bc, 2 R. (Mark 16:15) Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise the LORD, all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples!
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
or:
R. Alleluia.
For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Jn 6:56 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood,
remains in me and I in him, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 6:52-59 The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
"How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?"
Jesus said to them,
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my Flesh is true food,
and my Blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood
remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father,
so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever."
These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. | Daily Meditation: Acts 9:1-20 Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me. (Acts 9:17) Saul's transformation from persecutor to evangelist is so startling that it's easy to miss some of the details. But there's more going on than Saul being struck blind, hearing Jesus' voice, and becoming a zealous missionary. His conversion was not as immediate as we might imagine. Three whole days passed between the time he was struck blind and the time God sent Ananias to baptize him. Saul likely spent this time confronting his old life of violence and spiritual blindness and imagining how different a new life in Christ might be. During those three days, a host of people, events, and actions all played key roles in helping bring about Saul's conversion. First, there were Saul's own actions. Although he didn't view Jesus as the Messiah, he was a devout and prayerful Jew. So it's not surprising that he fasted and prayed during this time. Luke even tells us that God answered his prayer with a vision of Ananias' visit (Acts 9:11, 12)! Second, there were the actions of people around Saul. His companions on the road confirmed that they, too, had heard a heavenly voice. They also led the now-blind Saul by hand into town—an act of kindness that probably gave him a good dose of humility! Any question about whether these events were God's own doing was put to rest when Ananias showed up and healed Saul of his blindness. Finally, there were the disciples who welcomed Saul—a man who had come to arrest them—into their homes and helped him continue to understand the good news about Jesus (Acts 9:19). Most of us haven't experienced conversions as dramatic as Saul's. But his story shows us that saints—Christians as a whole, for that matter—don't spring up out of nowhere. They are created in community. We all need one another if we are going to deepen our faith and our relationship with the Lord! Saul needed Ananias and his other friends. Likewise, there are people around you—in your parish, at home, at work—who need you. They need your witness. They need your prayer and your practical help and encouragement. Today make sure you reach out your hand to them in love and support. "Here I am, Lord. Send me!" Psalm 117:1-2
John 6:52-59 |  try to hear it read by AI | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
"How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?"
Jesus said to them,
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood,
you do not have life within you......" end quote. | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, today's Gospel declares that the Word really became flesh. Why has the Incarnation been resisted from the very beginning? Why is the extension of the Incarnation, which is the Eucharist, still such a source of division?
I think it has to do with flesh. God became one of us, as close to us as blood and muscle and bone. It is no longer correct to say simply that God is in his heaven and we are on the earth. It is not correct to say simply that God is spirit and we are matter. Matter has been invaded by spirit. In Jesus, God became flesh, and, more to the point, he invites us to eat his Body and drink his Blood. But that means that he wants us to take him into ourselves.
"Now, wait a minute!" many people think. "That's a little too close for comfort, for it means that he wants to be Lord of my flesh and my bones, that he wants to move into every nook and cranny of my life. My work, my recreation, my sexual life, my life of play—all those fleshy things that I do—he wants to be Lord of all of that!" That's precisely right." end quote.
I have life coursing through my veins. I just received the Eucharist. When we receive the Eucharist, our Lord Jesus in the Eucharist, we have life coursing in our veins that seals us with Him, our union with Him, our life with Him, our whole being can be transformed into the Holy Spirit, unified together. I have received the blessing from Heaven, and all for what? Why did I go? Why do I go to daily Mass? To give thanks. To receive Him as the shepherds came in from the fields, to sing Glory to God and to proclaim Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord. It is like a whole new incarnation, that He would come from Heaven, manifest Himself, and desire to live in us.
His blood courses through our veins. The Holy Blood of our Father. We then, are to take on the look of the Father, to talk like Our Father, to love like Our Father, to live the Way that was persecuted and is still persecuted today in over half the world I would dare say.
Why is there persecution? I would say a great part is of ignorance; of scripture and therefore of Christ. And then there is evil that thrives on ignorance and those who are not fed, and are weak.
We have a problem in the Catholic people, that most of our issue is not so much of outside persecution, but of inside laxity of faith, laziness coupled with ignorance, and so you have huge percentages claiming that Catholics are pro abortion, pro killing of children in the womb. But that's not the worst part. The worst part is the faithlessness. The disloyalty that comes from not being faithful.
These are harsh words but perhaps we should listen. The pandemic we faced was a pull on the reigns of the Kingdom, that we should hearken to His words, that we go the right way, no matter the cost.
In the Book of Heaven, things were pretty bad before the World Wars began. And I'm not talking politics. Our Lord was disgusted with what was going inside the people of the faith it seems. You see, we are the body. Our Lord lives in the body. He doesn't like a gross place to be in. Goodness doesn't mix with evil well at all. That's why your conscience is important. That's why the church has to work on our consciences, so that we are conscious of what evil is.
And this is why it is important to live as He desires, holy, and pure, and willing to do what God wants us to do.
Is it that hard? No. God can move mountains, through us all.
Does He need us to move mountains? He can move them Himself! Right? But why would I ask my children to move mountains if I knew I can do it myself? Because, the answer is because it is good for us to learn and to grow in obedience and love.
Much has been said, but the most critical has been expressed. God is love and God is in the Eucharist and God then is in us in the Catholic faith called to be light to the world. I've noticed some people that receive the Eucharist and they begin to glow. If only they knew of the light I see in them! What would they say? Once someone said they saw light around me speaking from a pulpit in a church in another city. That's good, for them! LOL, I had no idea, I'm just trying to let the light shine that I cannot see, but others do see. And so this is to do God's will. That is, to will the good of the other.
That is to give and give so that in the giving we may grow and we may grow, because God needs room to grow. That His Kingdom may grow, and this is love from above! |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Psalm 27:1 The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation
Of David. 27 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold1 of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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