Fellowship of Believers With the Eucharist, we join with our fellow Catholics, our neighbors, and our friends to be fed by the Lord. We celebrate together, not alone. In this way, Mother Church keeps our faith from being a solitary experience. If there were no Church, there would be no real community of believers. We might have our personal "spirituality," but we would lack the support, the fellowship, and the mutual encouragement that comes from belonging to a family of faith. —from The Church Is Our Mother: Seven Ways She Inspires Us to Love
franciscan media | ✞Quote
"Faith is a habit of the mind whereby eternal life is begun in us, making the intellect assent to what is non-apparent."
— St. Thomas Aquinas ✞ MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"Very pleasing to Me, dearest daughter, is the willing desire to bear every pain and fatigue, even unto death, for the salvation of souls, for the more the soul endures, the more she shows that she loves Me; loving Me she comes to know more of My truth, and the more she knows, the more pain and intolerable grief she feels at the offenses committed against me."
— St. Catherine of Siena, p. 9
AN EXCERPT FROM
Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena ✞VERSE OF THE DAY
"Happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. Happy are those who keep his decrees, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways."
Psalm 119:1-3 |  click to read more | | BL. ANTONIA MESINA Blessed Antonia Mesina (1919-1935) was one of ten children born to a poor family on the island of Sardinia in Italy. Being the second oldest child, she had to leave school to help with the family chores after her mother became bedridden, a task which she accepted with obedience, humility, and joy. Antonia's mother referred to her daughter as "the flower of my life." Antonia was also active in her parish, joining the Young Women of Catholic Action organization at the age of ten and encouraging others to do the same. On May 17, 1935, while in the forest with a friend gathering firewood, Antonia was assaulted by a teenage boy who attempted to rape her. Her friend ran for help while Antonia bravely defended herself against her attacker. The young man, unable to achieve his goal due to her continuous resistance, brutally attacked Antonia with dozens of blows with a rock. By the time help arrived, it was too late. Antonia died at the age of sixteen. The entire town accompanied her body to the site of her burial. She is considered a martyr of sexual purity, and was beatified by Pope St. John Paul II in 1987. Her story has been likened to that of St. Maria Goretti. Blessed Antonia Messina is the patron of rape victims. Her feast day is May 17th. | Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 22:30; 23:6-11 Wishing to determine the truth
about why Paul was being accused by the Jews,
the commander freed him
and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to convene.
Then he brought Paul down and made him stand before them. Paul was aware that some were Sadducees and some Pharisees,
so he called out before the Sanhedrin,
"My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees;
I am on trial for hope in the resurrection of the dead."
When he said this,
a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees,
and the group became divided.
For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection
or angels or spirits,
while the Pharisees acknowledge all three.
A great uproar occurred,
and some scribes belonging to the Pharisee party
stood up and sharply argued,
"We find nothing wrong with this man.
Suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?"
The dispute was so serious that the commander,
afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them,
ordered his troops to go down and rescue Paul from their midst
and take him into the compound.
The following night the Lord stood by him and said, "Take courage.
For just as you have borne witness to my cause in Jerusalem,
so you must also bear witness in Rome." Responsorial Psalm Ps 16:1-2a and 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11
R. (1) Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, "My Lord are you."
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I bless the LORD who counsels me;
even in the night my heart exhorts me.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence;
Because you will not abandon my soul to the nether world,
nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Jn 17:21
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
May they all be one as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that the world may believe that you sent me, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 17:20-26 Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying:
"I pray not only for these,
but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
so that they may all be one,
as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that they also may be in us,
that the world may believe that you sent me.
And I have given them the glory you gave me,
so that they may be one, as we are one,
I in them and you in me,
that they may be brought to perfection as one,
that the world may know that you sent me,
and that you loved them even as you loved me.
Father, they are your gift to me.
I wish that where I am they also may be with me,
that they may see my glory that you gave me,
because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Righteous Father, the world also does not know you,
but I know you, and they know that you sent me.
I made known to them your name and I will make it known,
that the love with which you loved me
may be in them and I in them."
| Meditation: John 17:20-26 They are your gift to me. (John 17:24) Even though it's May, try to imagine it's Christmas Eve. A father sits by the Christmas tree, struggling to assemble a bicycle for his son. No parts are missing, but it takes work to fit them together. The tires need air. The frame of the bike needs polishing, and the chain needs lubrication. But the father is happy to spend all that effort. He knows it will be worth it when he sees the look of delight on his boy's face on Christmas morning! John's Gospel tells you today that you are a gift from the Father to Jesus. What does this mean? Most obviously, it means that you are precious and valuable to him. That in itself would be enough to ponder for quite some time. But let's not stop there. It also means that just as you are a gift to Jesus, so is every other person. We are all gifts individually, and we are also—and no less importantly—a gift as a group. It may not be the most perfect analogy, but the body of Christ is like that bicycle the father is putting together. There are many parts, but together they form a precious gift that God delights in giving to his Son, Jesus. Sometimes when we look at our parish, all we see are unrelated parts spread out all over the place. There's the social justice ministry, the pro-life ministry, and the Rosary guild. There's also the church down the street and the Christians passing out pamphlets in the neighborhood. How will we ever come together? How will we ever become so united that we form one people singing to the glory of the Lord? It may seem impossible to us, but not to God. Like that father on Christmas Eve, he won't stop working until all the pieces fit together perfectly. God wants to bring Jesus joy by giving you to him as a gift of inestimable value. But he also wants to bring Jesus joy by giving him the entire Church—indeed, all of humanity—united in love. Let's join in that mission by echoing Jesus' own prayer that we "may be brought to perfection as one" (John 17:23). Let's find ways to work together so that we can bring a bright smile to Jesus' face. "Father, make us all one!" Acts 22:30; 23:6-11
Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-11 | my2cents: Our Lord told Saint Paul: "Take courage. For just as you have borne witness to my cause in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness in Rome." And Paul goes. We pray: "I bless the LORD who counsels me; even in the night my heart exhorts me. I set the LORD ever before me; with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope." Our Lord speaks and prays for us: ""I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word..." He prayed that the day you heard about Him, that you would be one with Him. Just like He is one with His Father, Our Father.
"Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me". Listen carefully now. We are God's gift to Jesus. And Jesus asks that we be taken with Him...to be one with Him. LOL. Kind of reminds me of when I was a little boy, we would go see a cousin living on a farm, and my cousin asked me to stay and I wanted to stay with him. Sometimes they'd let me stay. One time I actually hid from my parents by hiding in my cousin's car, took off with them. Plan failed, they looked everywhere frantically for me and was scolded, and I can't remember if I was allowed to stay. The point is, this connection with Him inviting us, it is a loving connection. He wants you to stay and you do want to stay. Nowadays, my kids always ask if they can stay with their cousins, problem is though, they weren't invited LOL. I digress. Our Lord is asking us to be with Him. Forever. And we do want to stay with Him. This is why we are reading this right now.
"...that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me.."
What kind of love is Jesus talking about? He always talks about love. He even gives us a new commandment "Love on another, AS I LOVE YOU". He is saying God loves us as much as Jesus His only True Son of God from heaven. Last night was our last CCD class, there were lots of class parties, someone was watching a movie, others were jumping on jumpers, others listening to live DJ music. For my class of 9th graders, I had asked for each one to come with something for our meal, (our last supper LOL). One would bring plates, another forks, another paper towels, another cookies, another brownies, and I brought the food. A couple were not there. One I heard was outside partying, and so we didn't have paper towels. Another wasn't anywhere to be seen and so we didn't have forks. My family, Jesus is counting on you to come to the table.
His love for you means this: He has charged you with a mission. Bring to the table something we have agreed on. Love. Obedience. Righteousness. Bring at the very least yourself so we can share.
We had a bible study this week, it was me, my god-son, his wife, and another friend in Christ. The friend was in a deaconate program for 3 years but had to leave. I have been considering the deaconate and am still discerning. We are schooled well. But I asked my god-son to lead us now, it was our first session. He is a fresh convert from being First Baptist. He just received His Sacraments this year. He said ok. And something happens when we are together. Think Pentecost. In CCD, we talked about the 10 commandments for teens by the Fathers of Mercy. In bible study we studied this Sunday's scriptures. What happens in these studies? God joins us. He really does, especially if you ask the Holy Spirit in prayer to join. We all learn from one another. If we bring to the table our part....our heart.
I encourage you to be an encourager. You have come here to have fuel for your fire, your faith. I consider myself a good teacher, because I teach better than I can actually do. I can teach you to be a saint as I struggle hard to become one. To become this thing inside we already are and have the capability to do...be holy. Be His. Be love. To be a living God that is Jesus Christ, a light to all nations.
And I believe our Lord has had me writing to you for a specific reason. At this particular moment, in this particular life you live. Together we are Christ. Together we are light. Class was dismissed. After CCD ended, another god-son comes and we talk, he says "when are we going to start up our co-worker bible study again?" It starts now. The answer is an immediate yes. And why? Because, the Lord stands by my side and speaks. From Jerusalem to Rome.
"When are we going to get together again?" | |
