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| Nestled in Love |  | | God is holding you in His heart, right at this very moment. It's a fact that can make you feel so small yet so big at the same time. | | |
St. Crescentia Hoess
(1682-1744)
Crescentia was born in 1682 in a little town near Augsburg, the daughter of a poor weaver. She spent play time praying in the parish church, assisted those even poorer than herself and had so mastered the truths of her religion that she was permitted to make her holy Communion at the then unusually early age of seven. In the town she was called "the little angel." As she grew older she desired to enter the convent of the Tertiaries of St. Francis. But the convent was poor and, because Crescentia had no dowry, the superiors refused her admission. Her case was then pleaded by the Protestant mayor of the town to whom the convent owed a favor. The community felt it was forced into receiving her, and her new life was made miserable. She was considered a burden and assigned nothing other than menial tasks. Even her cheerful spirit was misinterpreted as flattery or hypocrisy. Conditions improved four years later when a new superior was elected who realized her virtue. Crescentia herself was appointed mistress of novices. She so won the love and respect of the sisters that, upon the death of the superior, Crescentia herself was unanimously elected to that position. Under her the financial state of the convent improved and her reputation in spiritual matters spread. She was soon being consulted by princes and princesses as well as by bishops and cardinals seeking her advice. And yet, a true daughter of Francis, she remained ever humble. Bodily afflictions and pain were always with her. First it was headaches and toothaches. Then she lost the ability to walk, her hands and feet gradually becoming so crippled that her body curled up into a fetal position. In the spirit of Francis she cried out, "Oh, you bodily members, praise God that he has given you the capacity to suffer." Despite her sufferings she was filled with peace and joy as she died on Easter Sunday in 1744. She was beatified in 1900 and canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2001.
 Saint of the DayLives, Lessons and FeastBy Leonard Foley, O.F.M.; revised by Pat McCloskey, O.F.M.
Presence As I sit here, the beating of my heart, the ebb and flow of my breathing, the movements of my mind are all signs of God's ongoing creation of me. I pause for a moment, and become aware of this presence of God within me. Freedom Lord, you granted me the great gift of freedom.
In these times, O Lord, grant that I may be free
From any form of racism or intolerance.
Remind me, Lord, that we are all equal
in your Loving eyes. Consciousness At this moment Lord I turn my thoughts to You. I will leave aside my chores and preoccupations. I will take rest and refreshment in your presence Lord. The Word of God Monday in the Octave of Easter
Lectionary: 261 On the day of Pentecost, Peter stood up with the Eleven,
raised his voice, and proclaimed:
"You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem.
Let this be known to you, and listen to my words.
"You who are children of Israel, hear these words.
Jesus the Nazorean was a man commended to you by God
with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs,
which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know.
This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God,
you killed, using lawless men to crucify him.
But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death,
because it was impossible for him to be held by it.
For David says of him:
I saw the Lord ever before me,
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue has exulted;
my flesh, too, will dwell in hope,
because you will not abandon my soul to the nether world,
nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption.
You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.
My brothers, one can confidently say to you
about the patriarch David that he died and was buried,
and his tomb is in our midst to this day.
But since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn an oath to him
that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne,
he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ,
that neither was he abandoned to the netherworld
nor did his flesh see corruption.
God raised this Jesus;
of this we are all witnesses.
Exalted at the right hand of God,
he poured forth the promise of the Holy Spirit
that he received from the Father, as you both see and hear." R. (1) Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.or: R. Alleluia.Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge; I say to the LORD, "My Lord are you." O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup, you it is who hold fast my lot. R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.or: R. Alleluia.I bless the LORD who counsels me; even in the night my heart exhorts me. I set the LORD ever before me; with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed. R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.or: R. Alleluia.Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices, my body, too, abides in confidence; Because you will not abandon my soul to the nether world, nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption. R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.or: R. Alleluia.You will show me the path to life, fullness of joys in your presence, the delights at your right hand forever. R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.or: R. Alleluia. R. Alleluia, alleluia.This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went away quickly from the tomb,
fearful yet overjoyed,
and ran to announce the news to his disciples.
And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them.
They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage.
Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid.
Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee,
and there they will see me."
While they were going, some of the guard went into the city
and told the chief priests all that had happened.
The chief priests assembled with the elders and took counsel;
then they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,
telling them, "You are to say,
'His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.'
And if this gets to the ears of the governor,
we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble."
The soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed.
And this story has circulated among the Jews to the present day. Conversation Begin to talk to Jesus about the piece of scripture you have just read. What part of it strikes a chord in you? Perhaps the words of a friend - or some story you have heard recently - will slowly rise to the surface of your consciousness. If so, does the story throw light on what the scripture passage may be trying to say to you? Conclusion Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.
 Meditation: Acts 2:14, 22-33 View NAB Reading at USCCB.org Monday within the Octave of Easter You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence. (Acts 2:28) Have you watched a baby take its first step? It's quite a breakthrough, isn't it? After spending months mastering the art of crawling, one day she decides to take a stand. That first wobbly step or two usually ends in a tumbling heap on the floor. But soon she's globe-trotting, going faster and farther than she ever thought possible. Millions of steps and tumbles later, she is a little master of walking, running, and dancing. As we enter the Easter season together with the apostles, let's play with an analogy. Before Jesus rose and poured out his Spirit, the apostles were a little like expert crawlers. They timidly clung to hope and to each other for comfort. They clung to old skills, even taking up fishing again. But when the Spirit came, they were so full of God's love that they decided to stand and share the good news of that love with all Jerusalem—as we see Peter doing in today's first reading. Next, they learned not just to stand but to walk with the Spirit. Cooperating with this immense outpouring of grace, they witnessed heaven touching earth in the form of miracles and conversions. Then they danced for joy. And they ran to the four corners of the earth, announcing, "Christ is risen!" Today, Jesus wants to make this news resound in your heart as well: "I am risen!" Can you sense the immensity of his love? Embrace it! Let the empty tomb and the triumph of the cross raise you to your feet. Jesus is inviting you to learn to walk with him as he travels the "paths of life" in the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:28). Would you like to see heaven touching earth? Then say Yes and stand up. It doesn't matter how many times, or how hard, you've fallen in the past. This is a season of breakthrough! Every day, spend time with Jesus. Ask him to fill you with love until your cup runs over. And practice walking through the natural peaks, plains, and valleys of your day close to his side. Then you'll surely dance when you see him using your life to usher in his kingdom. "Holy Spirit, teach me to walk with you." Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-11; Matthew 28:8-15
my2cents: Happy Easter. What's this sense all about? After a solemn Holy Easter Mass, where are the celebrants now? Where are all the ones that have read and heard about His Resurrection? How are they doing? Notice what the first Scripture said ..." you will fill me with joy in your presence ". And what did the Marys do when Jesus encountered them on their way away from the tomb? They were filled with joy, probably a little scared, but did Him homage. I noticed a young student I used to have in post-confirmation class didn't go to venerate, pay homage in a sense, to the cross on Holy Friday as most everyone else did. I could read in the eyes "I don't have to do that". What did that make me do? Sing louder and let the power of the Holy Spirit consume me so as to infuse the student if not the whole church. You see, this "bad stuff" you see is fuel for the fire for a spirit willing. The Psalms pray: "You will show me the path to life, fullness of joys in your presence, the delights at your right hand forever." I was joyful about the message of the cross because I know what it means..joy in the Heavens. Joys in His presence. They said a loved one that is struggling in RCIA (becoming Catholic) was left alone in the Easter Adoration hours of the Blessed Sacrament for the hour her and her husband were to take. Later I heard she had felt the Presence and was in tears. You see, it is unavoidable to encounter His Presence, if you are not closed, this can happen at every single Holy Mass. His Presence is made known, His Kingdom, the angels serving, ascending and descending upon the altar, unseen, would probably seize your heart to a point of total seizure. Yet, we live free to believe and live as we choose. God truly loves to truly leave so free. It is the time to freely choose to believe the Easter message. Lest we be like the chief priests that attempt to silence the message as they had already attempted to silence the Lord by putting Him on a cross, paying Judas, now paying the guards to silence. Interesting how the devil uses the god of money, Mammon, to silence the message. Is this happening to you? Too busy working for money instead of the Lord? Is it happening to you? Too caught up thinking about what you "need" to buy? Is it happening to you? That in your struggle to climb the corporate latter, you think you will have time for the Lord later? Is it happening to you? That you are just so caught up and stressed about what all you need instead of focusing on all that you have....the presence of the Holy Lord waiting in an empty Church day in and day out? The resurrected Lord is among us. I'm not just saying it, I believe it, and I live for the moment I encounter Him with tears. And why tears? Because, when He speaks to your heart direct, you fall on your knees, like the Marys did today. His words are of love because that's what and WHO He is. I would go on and on, but now, I'm off to my aunt's funeral that was in ICU for about a month. I leave you with our Lord. Because a loved one leaves, but HE REMAINS FOREVER. May our Lord Bless you and Keep you ever stronger in your faith... Love  adrian
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