A Prayer for Families We must ask the Lord to grant us the Holy Spirit and to grant us the gift of wisdom, that wisdom of God that teaches us to see with God's eyes, to feel with God's heart, to speak with God's words. And so, with this wisdom, let us go forward, let us build our family, let us build the Church, and we will all be sanctified. —from The Blessing of Family: Inspiring Words from Pope Francis
franciscan media | ✞Quote
"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 ⛪TODAY'S FEAST DAY† ✞ASCENSION THURSDAY
After Jesus' Resurrection from the dead, He continued to appear to His disciples for a period of 40 days. After this time, with His Apostles gathered around Him on the Mount of Olives, Jesus was taken up bodily into heaven, as recorded in the Gospels. To comfort them in His physical absence, He promised to send them a Consoler and Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to be with them and to guide them into all truth until the end of the world. The Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord is celebrated on the 40th day after Easter Sunday, also called Ascension Thursday. It is a Holy Day of Obligation, and among the oldest and most solemn feasts on the liturgical calendar. In many dioceses the feast is transferred to the following Sunday. ✞ 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 |  click to read more | | Saint Damien de Veuster of Moloka'i (January 3, 1840 – April 15, 1889) 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 US 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." | The Ascension of the Lord Reading 1 Acts 1:1-11 In the first book, Theophilus,
I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught
until the day he was taken up,
after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit
to the apostles whom he had chosen.
He presented himself alive to them
by many proofs after he had suffered,
appearing to them during forty days
and speaking about the kingdom of God.
While meeting with them,
he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem,
but to wait for "the promise of the Father
about which you have heard me speak;
for John baptized with water,
but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." When they had gathered together they asked him,
"Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"
He answered them, "It is not for you to know the times or seasons
that the Father has established by his own authority.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
throughout Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth."
When he had said this, as they were looking on,
he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.
While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going,
suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them.
They said, "Men of Galilee,
why are you standing there looking at the sky?
This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven
will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven." Responsorial Psalm Ps 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9
R. (6) God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
All you peoples, clap your hands,
shout to God with cries of gladness,
For the LORD, the Most High, the awesome,
is the great king over all the earth.
R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy;
the LORD, amid trumpet blasts.
Sing praise to God, sing praise;
sing praise to our king, sing praise.
R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
For king of all the earth is God;
sing hymns of praise.
God reigns over the nations,
God sits upon his holy throne.
R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia. Reading 2 Eph 1:17-23 Brothers and sisters:
May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation
resulting in knowledge of him.
May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened,
that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call,
what are the riches of glory
in his inheritance among the holy ones,
and what is the surpassing greatness of his power
for us who believe,
in accord with the exercise of his great might,
which he worked in Christ,
raising him from the dead
and seating him at his right hand in the heavens,
far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion,
and every name that is named
not only in this age but also in the one to come.
And he put all things beneath his feet
and gave him as head over all things to the church,
which is his body,
the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way. or Eph 4:1-13 or 4:1-7, 11-13 Brothers and sisters,
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the spirit
through the bond of peace:
one body and one Spirit,
as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each of us
according to the measure of Christ's gift.
Therefore, it says:
He ascended on high and took prisoners captive;
he gave gifts to men.
What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended
into the lower regions of the earth?
The one who descended is also the one who ascended
far above all the heavens,
that he might fill all things. And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets,
others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,
to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,
for building up the body of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of faith
and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature to manhood,
to the extent of the full stature of Christ.
or Brothers and sisters,
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the calling
you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit
through the bond of peace:
one body and one Spirit,
as you were also called to the one hope of your calling;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each of us
according to the measure of Christ's gift. And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets,
others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,
to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,
for building up the body of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of faith
and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature to manhood,
to the extent of the full stature of Christ. Alleluia Mt 28:19a, 20b
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Go and teach all nations, says the Lord;
I am with you always, until the end of the world.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 16:15-20 Jesus said to his disciples:
"Go into the whole world
and proclaim the gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;
whoever does not believe will be condemned.
These signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will drive out demons,
they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.
They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them,
was taken up into heaven
and took his seat at the right hand of God.
But they went forth and preached everywhere,
while the Lord worked with them
and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.
| Meditation: John 16:16-20 The Ascension of the Lord (Solemnity) or Easter Weekday The Lord has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness. (Psalm 98:3) Suppose you were to find a very old locket that was engraved inside. The words on the inscription may not mean much to you, but they were probably very special to the original owner of the locket. That is, after all, the nature of an engraving: to convey a lasting message to a loved one. Do you know that God has been engraving your heart with words of love since the day he created you? That's because he has never forgotten his love for you. And he doesn't want you to ever forget it either. He has permanently etched them into your being, and nothing can ever remove them. What does the engraving say? Only you can discover that. But you can be sure that it speaks words of love and delight from your heavenly Father. You are precious to him, and he wants you to know this every day. It's a truth that can guide you through this life with all of its ups and downs. Just as God does not change, his truth, written on your heart, will not change. He is always with you, ready to brush away any discouragement or hurt or fear that may have covered up the words. He is always ready to open your eyes so that you can read the promises he has made to you. Do you remember the times you were filled with peace? Do you recall the times you knew that you were forgiven? Each of these events uncovers that inscription a little more. As you go about your day today, try to discover your inscription. Your Father's love never fades, never changes, never weakens. His special words to you are just as clear today as they were a month, a year, even decades ago. The joy he gave you then, the hope he poured out on you before, is still fresh and new today. Your Father is capable of making everything new again, even his words for you. So feel free to recall these words whenever you face temptation or frustration. Their "newness" can go a long way in helping you gain victory. Nothing can stand against God's promises. In the light of his love, all darkness will be scattered and overcome! "Father, I am grateful for every word of love you have inscribed in my heart." Acts 18:1-8
Psalm 98:1-4 | my2cents: From the Word of our Lord: "... in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
From the Holy Spirit today "...May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened,
that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call".
WOW! Let us pray: "God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord. All you peoples, clap your hands, shout to God with cries of gladness, For the LORD, the Most High, the awesome, is the great king over all the earth." I belong to this King. I belong to His Kingdom. We belong to Him, we are receiving a "call" by His majesty, the King of poverty, the King of great love! Our Lord enters and speaks through the Holy Spirit: "I ... urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love". This is a tall order. When God talks about love, He talks about sacrifice, and even MORE, He talks about Self-Sacrifice. The kind of Love HE did. The kind of love Jesus did. The kind of love the Holy spirit DOES.
In every instance of scripture we are being "called" to action. LOve is an action. The world has destroyed the word "love" as the devil aims to destroy love itself.
I serve in many ministries. The number one issue we face in the fight...a lack of Love. A lack of God. A lack of Christ. A lack of self sacrifice. A lack of humility. A lack of true zeal for what He desires. I am writing now, so that you will realize...God ascends, and this means He came down to us. And then the Holy Spirit will descend. Here He Comes AGAIN! YES! INFUSE Yourself O Lord, let us be caught on fire of Love for you! Last night we learned that the Holy Spirit comes into us in our baptism last night in the class I taught. We asked the confirmation class "when did you receive the Holy Spirit?" They said "at confirmation" and I said "no, we already received it at Baptism. The Holy Spirit descends as Jesus ascends. And so God is speaking of all of us incorporated into His Body, and "they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them." The Lord works with a willing soul. The soil is worked and fruit can bloom. And it does. What's the key? Stick with Jesus, He knows the WAY to Heaven. | |
