Activate the Holy Spirit When we welcome the Holy Spirit into our hearts and allow him to act, Christ makes himself present in us and takes shape in our lives. Through us, it will be Christ himself who prays, forgives, gives hope and consolation, serves the brethren, draws close to the needy and to the least, creates community, and sows peace. Think how important this is: by means of the Holy Spirit, Christ himself comes to do all this among us and for us. —from The Blessing of Family: Inspiring Words from Pope Francis | ✞Quote
"Go forth and set the world on fire."
— St. Ignatius of Loyola ✞ MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"[Joseph] loved her so exceedingly, with a love like what the heavenly spirits feel for each other, and would have readily given his heart's blood for her: and as yet he knew not her incomparable dignity! Yes, he loved her exceedingly, and we may hold for certain that Joseph, as he was the first, so was he the most devoted servant of Mary—the most loving, the most faithful, the most assiduous, the most constant. … no less was the love and reverence which the Virgin had for him. She rejoiced to serve him as her lord, respect him as her tutor and guardian, and tenderly love him as her spouse, treating him with all the honour with which Scripture records that Sara treated Abraham, telling us that she called him 'lord', implying thereby much more than the mere words express."
— Edward Healy Thompson, p. 149
AN EXCERPT FROM
The Life & Glories of Saint Joseph ✞ VERSE OF THE DAY
"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 8:38-39 |  click to read more | | ST. WILLIAM OF ROCHESTER St. William of Rochester (d. 1201), also known as St. William of Perth, was born in Perth, Scotland. He was a wild youth who matured into a devoted man of God. He became a baker, and out of his charity he would always set aside bread to feed the poor. One day, while walking into the church for Mass, he found an abandoned baby boy on the church steps. He adopted the child, raised him, and taught him his trade. Years later St. William made a vow to visit the sacred sites of Our Lord's life on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, along with his adopted son. The two set out on their journey. While traveling through England his son deceived him, slit his throat, and stole the money he had saved for their pilgrimage. William's abandoned body was discovered and mourned over by a mentally deranged woman. She made a crown of flowers and placed it on the head of William's murdered corpse, then afterwards put the garland on her own head. Upon doing this, she was immediately cured of her mental illness. The local monks learned of this miracle and carried William's body to the Rochester cathedral to give him the proper burial of a saint. His shrine later attracted many pilgrims. St. William of Rochester is the patron of adopted children. His feast day is May 23rd. | Wednesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Jas 4:13-17 Beloved:
Come now, you who say,
"Today or tomorrow we shall go into such and such a town,
spend a year there doing business, and make a profit"–
you have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow.
You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears.
Instead you should say,
"If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that."
But now you are boasting in your arrogance.
All such boasting is evil.
So for one who knows the right thing to do
and does not do it, it is a sin. Responsorial Psalm Ps 49:2-3, 6-7, 8-10, 11
R. (Matthew 5:3) Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Hear this, all you peoples;
hearken, all who dwell in the world,
Of lowly birth or high degree,
rich and poor alike.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Why should I fear in evil days
when my wicked ensnarers ring me round?
They trust in their wealth;
the abundance of their riches is their boast.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Yet in no way can a man redeem himself,
or pay his own ransom to God;
Too high is the price to redeem one's life; he would never have enough
to remain alive always and not see destruction.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
For he can see that wise men die,
and likewise the senseless and the stupid pass away,
leaving to others their wealth.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs! Alleluia Jn 14:6
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord;
no one comes to the Father except through me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 9:38-40 John said to Jesus,
"Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name,
and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us."
Jesus replied, "Do not prevent him.
There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name
who can at the same time speak ill of me.
For whoever is not against us is for us."
| Meditation: James 4:13-17 If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that. (James 4:15) Using an expression that goes back to the primitive Church, many Arab Christians end their conversations with "if God wills." "I will see you next week, if God wills." "My daughter is set to get married in the spring, if God wills." We see Paul using this expression when he wrote to the Christians at Corinth: "I will come to you soon, if the Lord is willing" (1 Corinthians 4:19). And in today's first reading, James makes it clear that our future is in God's control. We can make the best of plans, but only God can guarantee the future. If this is the case, wouldn't it make sense simply to sit on our front porches and wait for the Second Coming? Well, not exactly; nothing would ever get done! God wants us to be out in the world, building his kingdom, but doing it in a way that keeps us free from anxiety or worry over the future. After all, if he provides so abundantly for the birds and the flowers, how much more can we, his own children, rely on his care and guidance? The same principle applies to our personal lives as well. God wants us to work hard at our jobs, be involved in our family and neighborhood, and take care of ourselves both physically and mentally. But he doesn't want the demands of any of these responsibilities to overshadow our joy and confidence in him and his provision. Worrying about the future is neither helpful nor necessary. It drains our faith and saps us of our energy. God wants us to place our hope in him and in his plans for us. He wants us to be free to serve him. So don't let the cares of this world make you afraid. Don't let your worries convince you that you have to overcome every obstacle on your own. Instead, keep following the Lord, and leave the future to him. Try your best to let go of worry so that you can live in the light of his promises. "Lord, free me from anxiety. I want to abandon myself to your plan. May I live every day with trust and gratitude for your care." Psalm 49:2-3, 6-11
Mark 9:38-40 | my2cents:
"So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin." It takes 3 things to dive into mortal sin:
1.) Grave Matter: The act itself is intrinsically evil and immoral. ...
2.) Full Knowledge: The person must know that what they're doing or planning to do is evil and immoral. ...
3.) Deliberate Consent: The person must freely choose to commit the act or plan to do it.
"...you have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow. You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears." Look around at everyone, we are here but for a little while. We are like a flower in the field. A pastor kept repeating sadly at my young cousin's funeral "we are like a flower that fades". Saint Peter says in 1:24 "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24For, "All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25 but the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is the word that was proclaimed to you." Let us pray: "Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs! Yet in no way can a man redeem himself,or pay his own ransom to God;
Too high is the price to redeem one's life; he would never have enough
to remain alive always and not see destruction." Only one has enough to pay for one's life for eternity. Only one has enough richness for billions of people. Only one almighty can do the impossible for the billions before us. Only one can do this for the billions around and to come. Only one and once and for all. They say they can't measure how big the universe really is. There are estimates, theories, and all sorts of ideas, of its size and shape. It is though, surely in the billions of light years in size, but, now ideas circulate that there may be another universe. What of all this? God is over all this. He created it! In comes our Lord, to the faintest and smallest, and yet, dares to be one with us, so much He loves it. "There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us." Look at that last word He used "us". He did not say "whoever is not against ME", no, He said, "whoever is not against US"! He makes it clear He is with US. And not only that, He is with us, but also, FOR US! You have the world's greatest cheerleader as coach and teacher and friend...Our Father. "Come on, you can do it, I know you can, take another step, I love you, come on now, have faith!".
Our greatest cause for stumbling is our own doubt, and fear. Sin brings this out more easily. Already questions arise, but doubt is worse. When you doubt God can help, then you're stuck. When you doubt there is a Lord that saves, then you are doomed. When you doubt, you leave out room for hope. So when you pray, try your best to pray without doubt, without fear, without anxiety, and even, without sin. Then your prayer will be more efficacious. Because sin, in spanish, the word means "without". Without, missing, all this is what sin causes. To be missing one great ingredient, grace.
Something strange happened in our area on Sunday, the day of Pentecost during a midday Holy Mass.
In a nearby city, a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe starting weeping. Eye witnesses flocked, and said it was like oils that smelled like roses. Some went last night and saw nothing. Too many things to ponder. I even wondered, why, during Mass that morning I had been pulled inside myself to begin a prayer of Hail Mary but it was as if being poured into an eternal light. Something with Pentecost and then the day of Mary. Faith moves mountains. The greatest being those resting on your heart. Mountains of doubt. Mountains of anxiety. Mountains of sins. Mountains of negativity.
An eye witness told me it was a very moving experience. I said "it looks as if Mary is moved with a passionate love". And rightly so. Lately in this city, those that are in "Freedom From Religion" want the 10 commandments removed, and I have a feeling there are satanists active in the area. But aside from all that negativity, it seems there are, this group of faithful. Someone had just donated this large statue to the church. And immediately charismatic songs of thanksgiving were being sung.
What can one make of all this? All over the world, I hear of holy dirt, healing. I hear of holy waters, healing. I hear of strangers healing others in prayer, a little girl arisen from death bed. I hear of oils healing. My greatest healings have been through Sacraments. Our Lord desires healings. He really does. He proves it by telling His disciples "let them", let them Heal in His Name. People flocked immediately to the statue for healing. We all want to be healed right?
But God wants more than a bandaid, more than a cast for our brokenness. He wants to make of you something magnificent, something radiant, something that can not be broken any more...an eternal you
with an eternal Him...so we can stand in awe of the great I AM | |
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