| Minute Meditations
St. Catherine of Siena  The value Catherine makes central in her short life and which sounds clearly and consistently through her experience is complete surrender to Christ. What is most impressive about her is that she learns to view her surrender to her Lord as a goal to be reached through time. She was the 23rd child of Jacopo and Lapa Benincasa and grew up as an intelligent, cheerful and intensely religious person. Catherine disappointed her mother by cutting off her hair as a protest against being overly encouraged to improve her appearance in order to attract a husband. Her father ordered her to be left in peace, and she was given a room of her own for prayer and meditation. She entered the Dominican Third Order at 18 and spent the next three years in seclusion, prayer and austerity. Gradually a group of followers gathered around her—men and women, priests and religious. An active public apostolate grew out of her contemplative life. Her letters, mostly for spiritual instruction and encouragement of her followers, began to take more and more note of public affairs. Opposition and slander resulted from her mixing fearlessly with the world and speaking with the candor and authority of one completely committed to Christ. She was cleared of all charges at the Dominican General Chapter of 1374. Her public influence reached great heights because of her evident holiness, her membership in the Dominican Third Order, and the deep impression she made on the pope. She worked tirelessly for the crusade against the Turks and for peace between Florence and the pope In 1378, the Great Schism began, splitting the allegiance of Christendom between two, then three, popes and putting even saints on opposing sides. Catherine spent the last two years of her life in Rome, in prayer and pleading on behalf of the cause of Urban VI and the unity of the Church. She offered herself as a victim for the Church in its agony. She died surrounded by her "children" and was canonized in 1461. Catherine ranks high among the mystics and spiritual writers of the Church. In 1939, she and Francis of Assisi were declared co-patrons of Italy. Paul VI named her and Teresa of Avila doctors of the Church in 1970. Her spiritual testament is found in The Dialogue. Comment: Though she lived her life in a faith experience and spirituality far different from that of our own time, Catherine of Siena stands as a companion with us on the Christian journey in her undivided effort to invite the Lord to take flesh in her own life. Events which might make us wince or chuckle or even yawn fill her biographies: a mystical experience at six, childhood betrothal to Christ, stories of harsh asceticism, her frequent ecstatic visions. Still, Catherine lived in an age which did not know the rapid change of 21st-century mobile America. The value of her life for us today lies in her recognition of holiness as a goal to be sought over the course of a lifetime. Quote: Catherine's book Dialogue contains four treatises—her testament of faith to the spiritual world. She wrote: "No one should judge that he has greater perfection because he performs great penances and gives himself in excess to the staying of the body than he who does less, inasmuch as neither virtue nor merit consists therein; for otherwise he would be an evil case, who for some legitimate reason was unable to do actual penance. Merit consists in the virtue of love alone, flavored with the light of true discretion without which the soul is worth nothing." Patron Saint of: Europe Italy  Saint of the DayLives, Lessons and Feast By Leonard Foley, O.F.M.; revised by Pat McCloskey, O.F.M. Daily Prayer - 2015-04-29Presence"I stand at the door and knock," says the Lord. FreedomLord, grant me the grace to be free from the excesses of this life. ConsciousnessHow do I find myself today? Where am I with God? With others? Do I have something to be grateful for? Then I give thanks. Is there something I am sorry for? Then I ask forgiveness. The Word of GodMemorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church Reading 1 Acts 12:24—13:5aThe word of God continued to spread and grow. Responsorial Psalm Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6 and 8R. (4) O God, let all the nations praise you! Gospel Jn 8:12R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 12:44-50Jesus cried out and said, Listen to audio of this reading Watch a video reflection ConversationHow has God's Word moved me? Has it left me cold? Has it consoled me or moved me to act in a new way? ConclusionGlory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world. (John 12:47) When you think of someone being condemned, what image comes to mind? A courtroom with a judge hammering his gavel? A stern jury? A pointing finger? How about a flashlight? If you were trying to hide something, a flashlight would be very good for exposing whatever you were doing. You'd shrink back from it because it condemns you. If you were lost in the woods in the darkness, the flashlight would light the way back to the path, and you'd see its shining beam as your freedom. Jesus said he came into the world as light. He came to shine his word and his truth into our hearts. But just like the flashlight, Jesus' light can elicit different reactions, depending on our disposition. If we are open to him and trying to follow him, his light can bring us warmth and insight. It can illuminate our path, correct our missteps, and bring us closer to the salvation we are longing for. But if we are opposed to him, that very same light can feel cold and embarrassing. We might scramble to stay hidden from the light, only showing by our actions that we are rejecting Jesus. In both cases, it's our own relationship to the Lord and his truth that either saves us or condemns us. What is one of the best ways to experience the warmth of Jesus' light? In the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Far from being a means of condemning us, Reconciliation is the perfect way to let the light of Christ probe and illuminate our hearts. Will there be areas that you don't want to bring into the light? Probably. But remember, he didn't come to condemn—only to save. So even when he brings your sin to light, remember that his light shines only to heal and restore, not to judge and dismiss. So let the light shine on you today! Let Jesus' word pierce your heart and illuminate every corner of your life. Trust that he's not out to get you. He wants to help you. He wants to save you and reunite you to himself. Let him draw you home. "Lord Jesus, help me not to shrink from your light. I believe you came not to condemn me, but to save me!"
Acts 12:24--13:5; Psalm 67:2-3, 5-6, 8
my2cents: Someone lay their hands on me a while back, and the Holy Spirit was infused in me. Was it at confirmation? The baptism with fire? I think so. Was it at the retreats I've grown up in? Yeah, them too. And so it is with Jesus. He put His hands on His apostles and made them bishops, presbyters who were priests, and I ask you too have them lay their hands on you. They lay their hands on the gifts at the altar, and the Holy Spirit descends and we consume the Holy Spirit. They lay their hands on us in confession, and the Holy Spirit comes. I told the confirmation students, "you don't go to confession to just dump your sins! you go to receive grace!". And it is sanctifying, it is saving, and it is powerful in the most meek way I can explain. Because we want to think of power as the world thinks, with force, with armies, with brute strength, but Jesus came with no armies, and even answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here." Notice He said "My attendants", He did not say "my warriors" or "soldiers". Meekness. Opposite of pride. This power overcomes the world. The Psalms pray "May God bless us, and may all the ends of the earth fear him!". I'm currently at a loss, on how much fear we lack as a nation, or world, a fear of God. Not even the announcement of the end of the world would wake up the zombies walking this earth today. And the end is in your lifetime, when your life ends! So it is indeed near! REPENT! "Let all the nations praise you!". When someone insinuates that I am going to Heaven "Adrian , I just know you're going to Heaven", this is how I feel...like crying. Out of joy? No. This is how I respond "what about you? I don't want to go without you!" I'm not leaving without you. Yet, I can't force nobody, but I can P.U.S.H, Pray Until Something Happens. And trust me, I push, with words, with more prayer than words, and the message is for none other than salvation. I'm in need of faith. Because I feel sometimes I doubt what I say. Yet much of the time that I speak, I learn of God. So am I doubting God? It is the Holy Spirit. Have faith. Is your faith being challenged? Have faith. Are you in need of peace? Have faith. So easy to say right? I want your faith to grow. I want you to go ahead and show the way. Jesus will not condemn us. His Word has been set. The evidence of self condemnation reveals itself, many times on earth. I want you to wake up from sleep mode. I want the Holy Spirit to be infused into your soul. I wrote a letter to a couple of men, in hopes they'd join us in RCIA class we started last night, and I'll leave you with it now, as I was inspired by the Spirit, I will not doubt again: Good Men: I know a lot of "good men". And I worry about their soul.
Too many believe in God that are dead, Too many that won't do what He said.
Too many that say they live the life, But not Christ, rather, are living the lies.
Can I say I believe and not want to hear? Or is it that you don't, and live locked in fear.
Because choosing Christ means to choose His life. It means I will carry a cross, and follow the light.
It means at every moment that I breathe, It means that at every moment my heart beats,
I will not say NO to the Lord ever again. I will not give into the sin.
Because to be dead means not to have life To be dead, is to not have Christ.
To be dead means we chose this instead. To be dead means not doing what He said.
If someone asks you to come to the Lord, will it be a yes or a no? Because if your answer rhymes with no, like "I don't know" Because if you're answer is anything other than a yes, It means you choose to doubt, and choose to guess. It means I choose something else, more of death.
They say it takes evil this to succeed: for good men to do nothing, and it is happening in deed. I live among so many "good men", good for what? And what of their seed?
Because God created man to work the land with the seed to grow, And today, is man working the land? Yes, and the seed? Do you know?
What you are sowing, will say where you're going right now, God is working and showing.
This is a call to give up your life, the life you love and try to save It is call to you my brother, Jesus through me, so what do you say? ____________ The men did not show up. Will you too turn away? Because it is Jesus coming to us and inviting us to follow Him in a most intimate way. Today's 5 minutos ended with the priest's words: "...To the 'Fox', my dog, it does not care to be in the best of places that I prepare for him. My dog only cares about being next to me...independent of where we may be. Heaven never interested us when they told us it was a "place"...Heaven is an intimate participation in the infinite love of God. And the way to get there is love. After knowing Jesus, let us not run the risk of being left in dark exteriors...where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Mt.8:12"  adrianpodcast page: http://www.hipcast.com/podcast/HS2yJb | |||||||
going4th-20150429090408.mp3Going4th,
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