| "If you ate only one meal a week would you survive? It is the same for your soul. Nourish it with the Blessed Sacrament." — St. André Bessette St. S | |  click for more |
"If you ate only one meal a week would you survive? It is the same for your soul. Nourish it with the Blessed Sacrament."
— St. André Bessette |
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St. Stanislaus (1030-1079) Anyone who reads the history of Eastern Europe cannot help but chance on the name of Stanislaus, the saintly but tragic bishop of Kraków, patron of Poland. He is remembered with Saints Thomas More (June 22) and Thomas Becket (December 29) for vigorous opposition to the evils of an unjust government. Born in Szczepanow near Kraków on July 26, 1030, he was ordained a priest after being educated in the cathedral schools of Gniezno, then capital of Poland, and at Paris. He was appointed preacher and archdeacon to the bishop of Kraków, where his eloquence and example brought about real conversion in many of his penitents, both clergy and laity. He became bishop of Kraków in 1072. During an expedition against the Grand Duchy of Kiev, Stanislaus became involved in the political situation of Poland. Known for his outspokenness, he aimed his attacks at the evils of the peasantry and the king, especially the unjust wars and immoral acts of King Boleslaus II. The king first excused himself, then made a show of penance, then relapsed into his old ways. Stanislaus continued his open opposition in spite of charges of treason and threats of death, finally excommunicating the king. The latter, enraged, ordered soldiers to kill the bishop. When they refused, the king killed him with his own hands. Forced to flee to Hungary, Boleslaus supposedly spent the rest of his life as a penitent in the Benedictine abbey in Osiak. Comment: John the Baptist, Thomas Becket, Thomas More and Stanislaus are a few of the prophets who dared to denounce corruption in high places. They follow in the footsteps of Jesus himself, who pointed out the moral corruption in the religious leadership of his day. It is a risky business: "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone..." (John 8:7b). Quote: "Men desire authority for its own sake that they may bear a rule, command and control other men, and live uncommanded and uncontrolled themselves" (St. Thomas More, A Dialogue of Comfort). Patron Saint of: Poland |
Sacred Space
Daily Prayer - 2016-04-11 Presence What is present to me is what has a hold on my becoming.
I reflect on the Presence of God always there in love,
amidst the many things that have a hold on me.
I pause and pray that I may let God
affect my becoming in this precise moment. Freedom Lord, I pray for your gift of freedom.
May your Holy Spirit
guide those in power to work for
equality for all your people. Consciousness Knowing that God loves me unconditionally,
I look honestly over the last day, its events and my feelings.
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 God Memorial of Saint Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr Reading 1 Acts 6:8-15 Stephen, filled with grace and power,
was working great wonders and signs among the people.
Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen,
Cyreneans, and Alexandrians,
and people from Cilicia and Asia,
came forward and debated with Stephen,
but they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.
Then they instigated some men to say,
"We have heard him speaking blasphemous words
against Moses and God."
They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes,
accosted him, seized him,
and brought him before the Sanhedrin.
They presented false witnesses who testified,
"This man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law.
For we have heard him claim
that this Jesus the Nazorean will destroy this place
and change the customs that Moses handed down to us."
All those who sat in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him
and saw that his face was like the face of an angel. Responsorial Psalm PS 119:23-24, 26-27, 29-30 R. (1ab) Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord! or:
R. Alleluia.
Though princes meet and talk against me,
your servant meditates on your statutes.
Yes, your decrees are my delight;
they are my counselors. R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord! or:
R. Alleluia.
I declared my ways, and you answered me;
teach me your statutes.
Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds. R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord! or:
R. Alleluia.
Remove from me the way of falsehood,
and favor me with your law.
The way of truth I have chosen;
I have set your ordinances before me. R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord! or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Mt 4:4b R. Alleluia, alleluia. One does not live on bread alone
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 6:22-29 [After Jesus had fed the five thousand men, his disciples saw him walking on the sea.]
The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea
saw that there had been only one boat there,
and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat,
but only his disciples had left.
Other boats came from Tiberias
near the place where they had eaten the bread
when the Lord gave thanks.
When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they themselves got into boats
and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
And when they found him across the sea they said to him,
"Rabbi, when did you get here?"
Jesus answered them and said,
"Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me
not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For on him the Father, God, has set his seal."
So they said to him,
"What can we do to accomplish the works of God?"
Jesus answered and said to them,
"This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent."
Some thoughts on today's scripture ▪ I notice the energy of the crowds: they go to great lengths to find Jesus. Do I make a similar effort to meet him? Do I give quality time to my prayer? Often I sit down to pray and simply wait for something to happen! But he is there before me, so let me engage with him, chat with him, ask his advice and help.
▪ The crowds look for Jesus where he was the day before, but he has moved on: so each day I must try to meet him where he is. Day by day let me notice the disturbing freshness of the Lord.
Conversation Remembering that I am still in God's presence,
I imagine Jesus himself standing or sitting beside me,
and say whatever is on my mind, whatever is in my heart,
speaking as one friend to another. 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. |
wau.org
Catholic Meditations Meditation: John 6:22-29 Saint Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr (Memorial) This is the work of God, that you believe. (John 6:29) There is one thing that the crowd who followed Jesus had in their favor: they were persistent. Many of them had witnessed him healing the blind, the lame, and the diseased, and all of them had been miraculously fed just the day before. And now, when Jesus disappeared from their sight, they sought high and low for him until they found him on the other side of the lake. And as we will see over the next few days, their persistence paid off in ways none of them expected. When the people found Jesus, they asked him how he had gotten to the other side of the lake, since all the boats had been accounted for. But Jesus chose not to answer that question directly. Instead, he told them more about who he was. Up to this point, the people had been drawn to him by his miracles. Now it was time for them to start looking beyond these signs to the truths that they pointed to. He wanted to lead them to faith in him as the Son of God and the Bread of Life. The miracle of the multiplication of the loaves was just a prelude to the deeper miracle of the gift of his own Body and Blood, which could give eternal life to all who believed. "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent" (John 6:29). These were hard words to hear. The people still wanted earthly signs so that they would not have to face the challenge of faith. It's not hard to sympathize with them, either! Faith is not always an easy journey. When life is good and we are getting lots of earthly signs of God's love, it's easy to believe. But it's in the stormy seas of life that our faith can grow. This is where true persistence pays off. Whether you are in good times or hard times, press on to grow in your faith. Never stop asking questions and using your God-given faculty of reason to see the truth of every situation you are in. As you do, your faith will grow and mature. "Jesus, strengthen the gift of faith that you have given me. Help me to persevere in seeking you in all things." Acts 6:8-15
Psalm 119:23-24, 26-27, 29-30 |
audio2cents my2cents:
Today we heard about St. Stephen, the face of an angel...""This man never stops saying things...". I wrote a song a couple weeks ago, it speaks about how I will teach you how to drive, how to fly your car, and towards the end it asks "do you think I'm going to teach you how to hit the brakes? Noway, there's just too much at stake". It's all a go, a flight of no return. This is a life of change. Life is constantly changing with the same constants. What shall remain constant is our hunger for the Lord and always seeking to fill ourselves with Him more and more.
The Psalms we pray say "Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!" The laws of the land and the laws of man shall not over ride the laws of God. I remember one time an uncle was riding as a passenger. Told me to make a full stop, guess I was rolling through it slowly. He said they were laws we had to obey, even if nobody was looking. It is the same with the laws of the Lord and even more because someone is indeed looking...looking for you. You are highly sought after. Your life is indeed noticed. To Him, it matters, because to Him, you are His child, those who fear Him, seek Him, and need Him.
The Lord of our lives enters today "you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled." Isn't it amazing? People didn't follow because of the miracles, but because they felt filled. He filled them, they felt they wanted more. Like a stray puppy that gets fed, it was hungry and now is fed, and now has a new master to give its life to, that is us when we find the Lord, and He says "Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you." When He gives His body in the bread, He is offering eternity. This is what eternity tastes like, food for the Journey, food for our lives, and food for strength in Holiness. I have been that starving puppy, an animal. I have been fed this bread from Heaven. It fills me up in ever sense of the word, where nothing is missing. That is why in spanish I sing as a Communion song "ya no me falta nada, tengo todo, tengo a ti" (Now nothing is missing, I have everything, I have you". That is because all we need in life is LIFE, and the LIFE is JESUS.
"I AM
the Way
the Truth
and the LIFE"
I love you Lord...my Master |
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