| Where Charity and Love Prevail It is useless to talk when things speak for themselves in such an eloquent manner.… There is a clear and precise way o | | Where Charity and Love Prevail It is useless to talk when things speak for themselves in such an eloquent manner.… There is a clear and precise way of finding God, and we have so much need of Him. There are moments in everyone's life when the need becomes acute; it is when our pride is overcome by suffering and humiliation that we finally look for God. Where can we find Him? The way is clear: Where there is charity, there is love; where there is love, there is God.… The whole world has become aware of it. God is here; therefore, love and charity are also here. –from the book Padre Pio: A Personal Portrait |
✞ "Arm yourself with prayer rather than a sword; wear humility rather than fine clothes."
— St. Dominic ✞ MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"In our self-centered culture and classic American emphasis on work, we often feel we have to accomplish something during our times of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. We rate our experience by how 'good' our prayer was, how heartfelt our devotion was, or how focused we could remain. Yet prayer and contemplation are fundamentally God's work, in which we are invited to participate. We need only to give Him the opening, and He will do the rest. By coming to adoration, we are handing Him the keys to our hearts, allowing the rays of His love and grace to bathe our souls in the light of His Presence, as the rays of the sun bathe our bodies in light. If we can take the time to pull away from the busyness and distractions of life and just sit at His feet, He will lead us."
— Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration, p. 33
AN EXCERPT FROM
Manual for Eucharistic Adoration ✞ VERSE OF THE DAY
"The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry. The face of the Lord is against evildoers, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles.The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit."
Psalm 34:15-18 |
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Saint Damien de Veuster of Moloka'i Saint of the Day for May 10 (January 3, 1840 – April 15, 1889) Saint Damien de Veuster of Moloka'i's Story When Joseph de Veuster was born in Tremelo, Belgium, in 1840, few people in Europe had any firsthand knowledge of leprosy, Hansen's disease. By the time he died at the age of 49, people all over the world knew about this disease because of him. They knew that human compassion could soften the ravages of this disease. Forced to quit school at age 13 to work on the family farm, Joseph entered the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary six years later, taking the name of a fourth-century physician and martyr. When his brother Pamphile, a priest in the same congregation, fell ill and was unable to go to the Hawaiian Islands as assigned, Damien quickly volunteered in his place. In May 1864, two months after arriving in his new mission, Damien was ordained a priest in Honolulu and assigned to the island of Hawaii. In 1873, he went to the Hawaiian government's leper colony on the island of Moloka'i, set up seven years earlier. Part of a team of four chaplains taking that assignment for three months each year, Damien soon volunteered to remain permanently, caring for the people's physical, medical, and spiritual needs. In time, he became their most effective advocate to obtain promised government support. Soon the settlement had new houses and a new church, school and orphanage. Morale improved considerably. A few years later, he succeeded in getting the Franciscan Sisters of Syracuse, led by Mother Marianne Cope, to help staff this colony in Kalaupapa. Damien contracted Hansen's disease and died of its complications. As requested, he was buried in Kalaupapa, but in 1936 the Belgian government succeeded in having his body moved to Belgium. Part of Damien's body was returned to his beloved Hawaiian brothers and sisters after his beatification in 1995. When Hawaii became a state in 1959, it selected Damien as one of its two representatives in the Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol. Damien was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 11, 2009. Reflection Some people thought Damien was a hero for going to Moloka'i and others thought he was crazy. When a Protestant clergyman wrote that Damien was guilty of immoral behavior, Robert Louis Stevenson vigorously defended him in an "Open Letter to Dr. Hyde." |
Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 12:24—13:5a The word of God continued to spread and grow. After Barnabas and Saul completed their relief mission,
they returned to Jerusalem,
taking with them John, who is called Mark. Now there were in the Church at Antioch prophets and teachers:
Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene,
Manaen who was a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,
"Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul
for the work to which I have called them."
Then, completing their fasting and prayer,
they laid hands on them and sent them off. So they, sent forth by the Holy Spirit,
went down to Seleucia
and from there sailed to Cyprus.
When they arrived in Salamis,
they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. Responsorial Psalm Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6 and 8
R. (4) O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R. Alleluia.
May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R. Alleluia.
May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R. Alleluia.
May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Jn 8:12
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 12:44-50 Jesus cried out and said,
"Whoever believes in me believes not only in me
but also in the one who sent me,
and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me.
I came into the world as light,
so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness.
And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them,
I do not condemn him,
for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world.
Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words
has something to judge him: the word that I spoke,
it will condemn him on the last day,
because I did not speak on my own,
but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak.
And I know that his commandment is eternal life.
So what I say, I say as the Father told me."
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Meditation: John 12:44-50
Saint Damien de Veuster, Priest (Optional Memorial) Whoever sees me sees the one who sent me. (John 12:45) You have probably heard someone say, "There's more to that person than meets the eye." Perhaps you assume someone at the hospital is a medical student but discover that she is a top-notch surgeon. Or perhaps someone in a meeting listens quietly until everyone else has spoken—and then proposes a solution that answers everyone's concerns. Some people just go beyond our initial expectations! The Gospels are full of examples of people whose expectations were turned upside down by Jesus. He always seemed to surprise them. • They came to him as a teacher, but rather than giving a theological exposition, he offered parables. These everyday examples allowed each person to find himself in the stories. • They came to him weighed down by sin, but his words of forgiveness were not just empty platitudes. They carried the power to heal both spiritual and physical sicknesses. • They came to him with a simple request or need and were surprised by how his response drew them closer to his side. Instead of just getting an answer to their prayer, they began to love Jesus and sought to put aside their former way of life to follow him. When someone stayed with Jesus long enough and got to know him better, they saw beyond his unassuming appearance. They saw someone more than a teacher or a healer or a prophet. They began to see God alive in Jesus in a unique way. His words of teaching, healing, and mercy bore God's own inspiration and went straight to their hearts. When they saw Jesus, they saw the Father. Jesus is ready today to surprise you and reveal the Father to you. So as you read today's Scripture passages, invite him to exceed your expectations. Ask him to show you something new. It doesn't have to be momentous. Usually, it's just a small insight or application you haven't seen before. Or maybe one verse will strike you in a new way. If you stick with this day after day, you'll discover over time that God has revealed far more than you expected. And that revelation will fill you with joy! "Lord, surprise me! Help me find your presence today." Acts 12:24–13:5
Psalm 67:2-3, 5-6, 8 |
my2cents:
We heard the Word "....they laid hands on them and sent them off." It is the sending forth of the Holy Spirit. We too in Holy Confirmation have been laid hands and sent forth, and the sending forth happens at every Holy Mass. We pray today " O God, let all the nations praise you! May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you!" I like today's E-Spiration from Steubenville Conference because it says "The Christian should be an Alleluia From Head To Foot". Alleluia means Praise Be to God. We should be an ever living praise to God. No matter what will come our way. In comes our Lord: "... the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak. "And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them, I do not condemn him, for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world". Jesus is not after condemnation, but salvation. When I turn away from Him, I turn away from Heaven, and salvation. He never did any thing wrong. And so it is the ultimate call, to follow and believe and be one with Him.
Do not defend yourself, but the truly innocent will, on your behalf. This is why Jesus our Lord and the Christ did not utter a word on His defense as Potious Pilate asked "Have you not anything to say for yourself?" The Lord would let the truth speak. And the ugly truth about our un-human condition revealed itself as it unleashed its fury on the Lord our God. And throughout the ordeal, our Lord kept praying for our forgiveness. "I desire mercy" He says.
I Desire Faith.
I Desire Your Faith.
I Desire Your Love.
I Desire a sacrificial love. The Kind that reveals a light in the darkness. Not hatred, not things of darkness. I Desire to reach beyond human comprehension and compassion. I Desire an eternity for your soul. I have created an eternity of Love available to you. I have created a world of light, and I am bringing light into the world...the world you live in. Bring souls to Me, and I will heal them. Bring my angels to Me. I have sooo much love to give. I have even more mercy, forgiveness available than ever thought.
Condemnation exists and it is horrible, it is horrible what we do to ourselves by means of weakness, travelling the path of least resistance.
Resist temptation. Reach for the Lord. Desire Him more than anything or anyone in this world. He is available daily in the bread, His whole life, blood and body, soul and divinity. And there is more available light than is taken in... |
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