 clickable | | God Loves Our Attempts to Pray I remember when my first child started drawing pictures, around the age of two. I'd come home from work, and she'd be eager to show me the pictures she had drawn for me during the day. Many times, the pictures were just a bunch of scribbles, not clear depictions one could easily identify. ("That's me? Oh…wow, I didn't realize… Well, thank you!") I was always delighted that my daughter was thinking of me during the day and desiring to give me a gift. I saw her heart more than her final product. What would you think of a father who took his daughter's scribbled pictures, tore them up, and told her not to draw pictures again until she could get them exactly right? No good father would do that! "Whatever struggles you may face with the rosary, never walk away feeling discouraged." —from the book Praying the Rosary Like Never Before: Encounter the Wonder of Heaven and Earth by Edward Sri |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint 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 † 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 | | ST. DAMIEN OF MOLOKAI St. Damien de Veuster (1840–1889), also known as St. Damien of Molokai, was a priest from Belgium belonging to the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. He had a special devotion to St. Francis Xavier and desired, like him, to be a missionary. His desire was fulfilled when he was sent to minister in Hawaii in place of his brother, a religious of the same congregation, who was assigned to go but was unable due to illness. The island was suffering from an influx of unknown diseases brought by foreigners, among them Hansen's disease (leprosy). The island of Molokai became quarantined as a leper colony, and all lepers were forcibly exiled there. The local bishop believed that the people living on the island, numbering over 800 at the time, needed a priest. Yet, the bishop knew that ministering to a people of this contagious and deadly disease would be a death sentence for the priest who went. The bishop asked for priests to volunteer to serve in Molokai. After serving in Hawaii for nine years, Fr. Damien was the first to volunteer. He began his ministry to the lepers in 1873. He built a church on the island and did much to improve the morale and joy among the people. St. Damien lived and ministered at the Kalaupapa leper colony for 15 years, fully knowing that this decision would eventually cause him to contract and die of the horribly mutilating disease. St. Damian died of leprosy in 1889 at the age of 49. He became known as a "martyr of charity" and the "Apostle to the Lepers." He was canonized during the Year of Priests in 2009. His feast day is May 10. | Friday of the Third Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 9:1-20 Saul, still breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord,
went to the high priest and asked him
for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that,
if he should find any men or women who belonged to the Way,
he might bring them back to Jerusalem in chains.
On his journey, as he was nearing Damascus,
a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him.
He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,
"Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"
He said, "Who are you, sir?"
The reply came, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do."
The men who were traveling with him stood speechless,
for they heard the voice but could see no one.
Saul got up from the ground,
but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing;
so they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus.
For three days he was unable to see, and he neither ate nor drank. There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias,
and the Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias."
He answered, "Here I am, Lord."
The Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight
and ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul.
He is there praying,
and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias
come in and lay his hands on him,
that he may regain his sight."
But Ananias replied,
"Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man,
what evil things he has done to your holy ones in Jerusalem.
And here he has authority from the chief priests
to imprison all who call upon your name."
But the Lord said to him,
"Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine
to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and children of Israel,
and I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name."
So Ananias went and entered the house;
laying his hands on him, he said,
"Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me,
Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came,
that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."
Immediately things like scales fell from his eyes
and he regained his sight.
He got up and was baptized,
and when he had eaten, he recovered his strength. He stayed some days with the disciples in Damascus,
and he began at once to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues,
that he is the Son of God. Responsorial Psalm Ps 117:1bc, 2 R. (Mark 16:15) Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise the LORD, all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples!
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
or:
R. Alleluia.
For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Jn 6:56 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood,
remains in me and I in him, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 6:52-59 The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
"How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?"
Jesus said to them,
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my Flesh is true food,
and my Blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood
remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father,
so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever."
These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. | Meditation: John 6:52-59 Saint Damien de Veuster, Priest (Optional Memorial) Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood remains in me and I in him. (John 6:56) The few moments before you receive Jesus in the Eucharist at Mass are a beautiful opportunity to turn your heart and thoughts toward the Lord. Have you ever tried, as you walk up to receive him, to talk to him as you would a close friend? That conversation could help you remain in his presence long after you return to your pew. What would such a dialogue look like? Here's one suggestion: "Jesus, as I come forward to receive you, I know 'I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof,' and yet that's just what you offer me! Lord, I know that you see me—all of me—and you love me. You see my strength and my weakness, my good moments and my not-so-good moments. But you say that I am not the sum total of those: I am the sum of your love for me. You pour out that love here, in the Eucharist. Thank you for giving yourself to me, not because I deserve you or because I have earned your approval, but because you love me unconditionally and delight to do it. "Jesus, you know that I am not perfect—I have questions, struggles, and doubts—but when I eat your Flesh and drink your Blood, I receive your very life into me, and that changes me. I give you permission to enter into my questions and struggles and to touch them with your peace and assurance. "As I approach, Lord, I hear the words 'The Body of Christ.' And when I receive your Body, my soul is healed. You have the power to remove my anxiety, illness, or heaviness. I have nothing to fear because you are with me. Your Eucharistic table is the table you set before me in the presence of my enemies. As I feast, you scatter these enemies: the troubles I face in the world, my own fallen nature, my sickness and weariness. "Jesus, I rejoice that you love to enter under the 'roof' of my life. You delight in me, and you come to dwell in me because I am your beloved. Heal my soul, and enable me to remain in you! "Jesus, thank you for giving yourself to me in the Eucharist! I give my life to you." Acts 9:1-20
Psalm 117:1, 2 |  clickable | 'If a man loves me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come into him, and make our dwelling with him' (John 14:23). Love of Jesus, then, leads not only to Jesus truly dwelling in your soul, but it also leads to the divine presence of God the Father dwelling in the tabernacle of your heart. Now that's simply amazing.
—MARK MIRAVALLE
from Jesus in You | 2cents:
""I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." Yesterday, as the day began at work, a worker called another worker a bad name, basically a poop head. I said to him, "what you say about him you are saying about me". Now, this is the second time I do this, as it happened with other workers a few weeks ago. One guy looked at me baffled, and I said "yes, we are one...in the body of Christ." Therefore, be careful, no, be VERY careful what you say about others, for we are one in the Lord. These are sins against charity. And the worst...not forgiving. This is where we are at today. With our Lord. He chose to live among us, to dwell among us, and in Catholics, in a very VERY special way...with His Sacred Body in real life all over the world. | Let us pray: "Praise the LORD, all you nations; glorify him, all you peoples!
Go out to all the world and tell the Good News." Spreading the Good News is hard business, for it is our Father's business, isn't it? Well, yes and no. It's only as hard as we make it. There's only time for it, if we make it. The funny thing is, in this business of selling the message, we don't find many customers...that buy right away. But that is none of our business...to know who buys! LOL. This may sound silly, but as I'm typing to you, I got an alert from a driving app that I use that helps people know of road conditions, and alerts on traffic etc, I like it because I get to see my speed and the actual speed limits. Anyhow, the alert just said "Your Reports Have Been Noticed!" and it shows that my 12 reports helped 713 people and 91 people gave thanks. LOL. I have never seen these reports, it's pretty cool, makes me want to get back out there, but, the thing is, I was doing it not expecting a single thank you, and not expecting that many people to see the things I reported. You see? You just do things out of love and faith. Blindly caring in a dark world. | In the Holy Gospel, our Lord continues as He has done all week long about eating His body, His blood, and being one with Him. We heard "The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?"
Indeed, many of His own followers said "ahh, this is TOO MUCH" and they turned around and left Him. Leaving our Lord alone with the 12 asking them too "Will you also leave?" But Simon Peter our Pope said "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life." So what are you eating in the Eucharist? There are two ways of obtaining the Body of Christ. One is to TAKE the body and the other is to Receive the body. The Jews took His body, and Mary and the faithful Received His body from the cross. When you TAKE His body, you abuse it, use it, and then discard it. This is the utilitarian method and ways the world lives. I dare say, many TAKE the Eucharist, in a state of disgrace.
Now, we can RECEIVE the Eucharist. To Receive, we must be faithful. We must be true. We must be like Mary our Blessed Mother. We must be pure and purely His. Saul was taking the body of Christ, but after Jesus met Him, Saul became Paul who would now receive Jesus in the Eucharist with the Disciples. The Holy Spirit came in and now worked HIS pleasure in Paul. Can we meet Jesus? Of course. I really liked reading the reflection above about having a conversation with Christ on our way to the Eucharist. I do that, for it is the most initmate moment on earth with Christ. He is offering Himself to be taken...or received. Indeed, as the bride of Christ, we are to receive Him. We are to give life as He desires. So as we leave off on a Friday, on this Bread of Life discourse, the main course has been set. "Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood
remains in me and I in him." He said these things in the temple, that is where He offered Himself. This is why we are to go to the temple. Enough with the lies "I am a temple, therefore I don't have to go to Church". No. Remember, WE ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST. We are to go to HIS temple where He offers HIS Body and Blood for our Body and blood. Divine for earthly. Soul to soul This mingling of blood is a pact, a covenant, a joining in a matrimonial ceremony and vows. 3 Things are said in the Trinity
I
Love
You |  hear it read | adrian Random Bible Verse1
John 20:29 (Listen) 29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." Thank You Jesus | |
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