† Quote of the Day
"I do not seek to understand in order that I may believe, but rather, I believe in order that I may understand." — St. Anselm of Canterbury Today's Meditation
"St. Augustine says, that to prevent the sheep from seeking assistance by her cries, the wolf seizes her by the neck, and thus securely carries her away and devours her. The Devil acts in a similar manner with the sheep of Jesus Christ. After having induced them to yield to sin, he seizes them by the throat, that they may not confess their guilt; and thus he securely brings them to Hell. For those who have sinned grievously, there is no means of salvation but the confession of their sins." —St. Alphonsus Liguori, p. 138 An excerpt from The Sermons of St. Alphonsus Liguori Daily Verse
And Samuel said, 'Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.'" — 1 Samuel 15:22 | Pope Saint Pius V Pope St. Pius V (1504–1572) was born as Antonio Ghislieri to a poor yet noble family in Bosco, Italy. He worked as a shepherd until the age of 14, after which he joined the Dominican Order and was ordained a priest at the age of 24. He taught theology and philosophy, spent long hours in prayer, and fasted regularly. Due to his great intelligence and reputation for holiness he rose to a number of prominent positions in the Church, including Inquisitor and Bishop. In 1565 he was elected Pope and took the name Pope Pius V. As Supreme Pontiff he was a great reformer and worked to implement the decisions of the Council of Trent following the Protestant revolt. He reformed the clergy, supported the foreign missions, published a catechism, revised the breviary and missal, and named St. Thomas Aquinas a Doctor of the Church. In his alliance with Venice and Spain, and with the aid of a rosary crusade among the faithful, he defeated the Ottoman Turks in the famous and decisive Battle of Lepanto in the Mediterranean sea on October 7, 1571. This miraculous victory saved Europe from being ruled by the Ottoman Empire. The Holy Father afterwards instituted the feast of Our Lady of Victory (now Our Lady of the Rosary) in thanksgiving to Our Lady for leading the Christian forces to victory, and to encourage a greater devotion to the Holy Rosary throughout the universal Church. For this he is known as the "Pope of the Rosary." His feast day is April 30th.
Find a devotional for this saint | Tuesday of Fifth Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 14:19-28 In those days, some Jews from Antioch and Iconium
arrived and won over the crowds.
They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city,
supposing that he was dead.
But when the disciples gathered around him,
he got up and entered the city.
On the following day he left with Barnabas for Derbe. After they had proclaimed the good news to that city
and made a considerable number of disciples,
they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.
They strengthened the spirits of the disciples
and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying,
"It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships
to enter the Kingdom of God."
They appointed presbyters for them in each Church and,
with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord
in whom they had put their faith.
Then they traveled through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia.
After proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia.
From there they sailed to Antioch,
where they had been commended to the grace of God
for the work they had now accomplished.
And when they arrived, they called the Church together
and reported what God had done with them
and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
Then they spent no little time with the disciples. Responsorial Psalm Ps 145:10-11, 12-13ab, 21 R.(see 12) Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Making known to men your might
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is a kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
or:
R. Alleluia.
May my mouth speak the praise of the LORD,
and may all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia See Lk 24:46, 26 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead,
and so enter into his glory.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 14:27-31a Jesus said to his disciples:
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
You heard me tell you,
'I am going away and I will come back to you.'
If you loved me,
you would rejoice that I am going to the Father;
for the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you this before it happens,
so that when it happens you may believe.
I will no longer speak much with you,
for the ruler of the world is coming.
He has no power over me,
but the world must know that I love the Father
and that I do just as the Father has commanded me." | Daily Meditation: Acts 14:19-28 They spent no little time with the disciples. (Acts 14:28) Paul had been stoned and left for dead. "But when the disciples gathered around him," he was able to get back up (Acts 14:20). Surely the presence and prayers of his fellow believers helped him to recover and enabled him to continue his missionary journey with Barnabas. Then, strengthened by this show of love and support, he traveled to Antioch, where he, in turn, "strengthened the spirits of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith" (14:22). What an example of how God wants us to love and support one another! And it's not an isolated example, either. Paul likely relied on the encouragement of his fellow believers everywhere he went, just as they relied on him. This is what God desires for all his people. We can't go it alone. We need brothers and sisters in Christ who can cheer us on, pray for us, and care for us in difficult times. And they need us to do the same for them. The early Christian communities were small and close-knit; they had to depend on one another in a hostile world just to survive. But even if our church communities today are larger, we still need to make the effort to draw close to one another. We, too, live in a culture that often doesn't understand or support our faith. We need people around us who do! It can be tempting to attend Mass but not get to know the people who are worshipping right next to us. Shyness, lack of time, or even indifference can keep us from reaching out to them. Yet what if the first disciples didn't invest time and effort into their relationships with other Christians in their faith communities? The Church would never have grown or flourished as it did! If you have brothers or sisters who help you live your faith, stay close to them. Make time to meet together, pray together, and help one another in practical ways. If you don't, reach out by joining a Bible study or some other small group where you can get to know other Christians. Someone needs you, and you need that person. Trust the Lord to help you find them! "Lord, thank you for the brothers and sisters you have put in my life." Psalm 145:10-13, 21
John 14:27-31 |  try to hear it read by AI | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
""Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
You heard me tell you,
'I am going away and I will come back to you.'........" end quote. | . From Bishop Barron today;
"Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus gives us an antidote for fear. Who or what are you afraid of? That is a very important spiritual question. One way to understand our lives is to look at those things that we seek: wealth, power, privilege, honor, pleasure, friendship. But another way is to turn that question around and determine what or who it is that we fear.
We might fear the loss of material things, the loss of a job, the loss of physical health, the loss of the esteem of others, the loss of personal intimacy, or ultimately, the loss of life itself. We are afraid of many things, but I'd be willing to bet that there is a primary or principal fear. What is it for you?
Now, after identifying that, listen to Jesus: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid." Any and all of the things that we customarily fear—loss of money, fame, pleasure, and power—have to do with this world. What Jesus is saying is that we should not let those fears come to dominate or define our lives, for he is with us—and with him is his peace......" End quote Bishop Barron.
Our Lord says "Do Not let your hearts be troubled or afraid".
What was He talking about? What was the context of this Scripture? Was He only speaking to the apostles about when He would be taken away from them?
Do not be afraid. This phrase they say is repeated in some way about 365 times in the bible.
Once for every day of our year of every day of our lives.
We are back from our family conference. Thank you for your prayers. I was wondering sometimes as I sat there "why exactly am I here?".
And those are questions the founder asks in every Fullness of Truth Conference. "Why am I here?" and "What truly makes me happy?" And now that's all he does is make these wonderful conferences come together. I'm sure he is constantly running into problems, don't we all? I'm back at work and I'm tackling all sorts of work problems, and getting messages about water problems at the house and issues and funerals coming up at church and a spanish choir needed Sunday and the issues just keep coming up. These are daily problems, but I do notice some of the most funky problems are those of the human heart. Dealing with people and their egos, or bad spirits, or hard to speak to. Those are the awkward ones. Some of them even seem threatening.
These are problems we must face without fear. But how?
If I told you, would you believe? Faith and grace. Grace because of faith. Faith because of grace. How can we better believe? How can we be full of grace? Turn your focus away from the ruler of the world, the evil in the world. Turn to Him. Do not leave Him to the side, or else your world will lose its equilibrium. Our Lord our Savior must always be first and foremost at the center of our lives, our hearts.
What we should be afraid of is sin and disobeying our Lord! That is the only thing we should be afraid of!
And this is true of Heaven and Earth.
Lord, Thy Will be done...let Thy will be done...through me! |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Philippians 4:12 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
