 clickable | | Give Mary Your Concerns Say a rosary today. As you progress through the decades, put yourself in Mary's place. Ponder in your heart what she sorted through at each event, joyful, sorrowful, glorious, or luminous. Sometimes, we are too anxious about what's going to happen tomorrow, next week, or next year to ourselves or our loved ones. We go over our problems again and again in our heads or in conversations with others. Write down your biggest fear and ask for Mary's help in turning it over to her Son. Then put the note in the place you keep your clothes for the next season so that in a few months, you can see how that prayer was answered. —from the book Blessed Are You: Finding Inspiration from Our Sisters in Faith by Melanie Rigney |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"I have been all things unholy; if God can work through me, He can work through anyone."
— St. Francis of Assisi † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"On the whole, God's love for us is a much safer subject to think about than our love for Him. Nobody can always have devout feelings: and even if we could, feelings are not what God principally cares about. Christian Love, either towards God or towards man, is an affair of the will. If we are trying to do His will we are obeying the commandment, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God.' He will give us feelings of love if He pleases. We cannot create them for ourselves, and we must not demand them as a right. But the great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not. It is not wearied by our sins, or our indifference; and, therefore, it is quite relentless in its determination that we shall be cured of those sins, at whatever cost to us, at whatever cost to Him."
— C. S. Lewis, p. 132
AN EXCERPT FROM
Mere Christianity †VERSE OF THE DAY
"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ."
Ephesians 2:13 |  click to read more | | ST. SIMON STOCK St. Simon Stock (1165-1265) was born in Kent, England. He was strongly drawn to God as a child, and at the age of twelve he began to live as a hermit in the hollow of an oak tree. After two decades of this solitary and penitential life, he entered the world again to study theology and become a priest. His studies complete, he then returned to his hermitage. At this time the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to him, intructing him to join the Carmelite Order that was just entering England. St. Simon became a Carmelite in 1212. By 1215 he became the order's leader and worked to establish it across Europe, especially at the great universities. He also traveled to Rome and Mt. Carmel in the Holy Land, and revised the Carmelite Rule to make them mendicant friars instead of hermits. Tradition holds that the Virgin Mary appeared to him again and presented him with a brown scapular, the habit of his order, promising that those who wore it would not be eternally lost in hell. This apparition is known as Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and her "scapular promise" is that she will intercede with her Son to ensure that the wearer of the scapular obtains the grace of final perseverance, that is, of dying in a state of grace. This is the origin of the Brown Scapular devotion which soon spread to the laity to obtain the graces promised by Our Lady, a devotion later encouraged by many popes. St. Simon Stock's feast day is May 16th. | Thursday of the Fourth Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 13:13-25 From Paphos, Paul and his companions
set sail and arrived at Perga in Pamphylia.
But John left them and returned to Jerusalem.
They continued on from Perga and reached Antioch in Pisidia.
On the sabbath they entered into the synagogue and took their seats.
After the reading of the law and the prophets,
the synagogue officials sent word to them,
"My brothers, if one of you has a word of exhortation
for the people, please speak." So Paul got up, motioned with his hand, and said,
"Fellow children of Israel and you others who are God-fearing, listen.
The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors
and exalted the people during their sojourn in the land of Egypt.
With uplifted arm he led them out,
and for about forty years he put up with them in the desert.
When he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan,
he gave them their land as an inheritance
at the end of about four hundred and fifty years.
After these things he provided judges up to Samuel the prophet.
Then they asked for a king.
God gave them Saul, son of Kish,
a man from the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.
Then he removed him and raised up David as their king;
of him he testified,
I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart;
he will carry out my every wish.
From this man's descendants God, according to his promise,
has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.
John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance
to all the people of Israel;
and as John was completing his course, he would say,
'What do you suppose that I am? I am not he.
Behold, one is coming after me;
I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.'" Responsorial Psalm Ps 89:2-3, 21-22, 25 and 27 R.(2) For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The favors of the LORD I will sing forever;
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.
For you have said, "My kindness is established forever";
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
"I have found David, my servant;
with my holy oil I have anointed him,
That my hand may be always with him,
and that my arm may make him strong."
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
"My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him,
and through my name shall his horn be exalted.
He shall say of me, 'You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my savior.'"
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia See Rv 1:5ab R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus Christ, you are the faithful witness,
the firstborn of the dead,
you have loved us and freed us from our sins by your Blood.
R. Alleluia, alleluia Gospel Jn 13:16-20 When Jesus had washed the disciples' feet, he said to them:
"Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master
nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him.
If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it.
I am not speaking of all of you.
I know those whom I have chosen.
But so that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
The one who ate my food has raised his heel against me.
From now on I am telling you before it happens,
so that when it happens you may believe that I AM.
Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send
receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me."
| Meditation: Acts 13:13-25 4th Week of Easter If one of you has a word of exhortation for the people, please speak. (Acts 13:15) Similar to our celebration of the Mass, Jewish synagogue services in Jesus' time included readings from the Scriptures followed by a homily. Usually, the rabbi or one of the elders spoke, but he could also invite visitors or respected members of his community to offer their thoughts instead. This is what happened to Paul and Barnabas in today's first reading. The elders in Pisidian Antioch, recognizing them as learned men, called for a "word of exhortation" that would edify the congregation (Acts 13:15). So Paul accepted the invitation. We often glance over stories like these. Of course, Paul, the brave apostle to the Gentiles, would preach! But there is more to Paul than his apostolic commission. This is the same man who had devoted himself to rounding up Christians in the hope of having them killed. Surely the memories of his past life would have come back to Paul every now and then. Surely he would sometimes hear a voice inside his head saying, What makes you think you are qualified to talk about Jesus? You hated him and his followers. Paul felt worthy to preach, not because he was faultless, but because he had been forgiven. It was not because of his own speaking skills but because of his confidence in the power of his message. Rather than dwelling on past sins, he focused on God's mercy. And when he did consider his shortcomings, they only served to highlight the goodness of God even more. Do you have a "word of exhortation" that you'd like to share with a friend or family member? Go ahead and say it! Don't let your past get in the way. Have you committed some sins in your life? Yes, and some of them might even be big, embarrassing ones. But these transgressions can help convince you of the power of God's love and mercy. They can become the fuel for your courage and humility. Words—especially words of exhortation—must be spoken in order to be heard. Don't keep the news of God's goodness all to yourself. You may not be a great apostle—at least not yet—but you can share from your heart about what Jesus means to you. And that will make all the difference. "Lord, help me to focus not on my weaknesses but on your goodness." Psalm 89:2-3, 21-22, 25, 27
John 13:16-20 |  clickable | It is impossible to be just to the Catholic Church. The moment men cease to pull against it they feel a tug towards it. The moment they cease to shout it down they begin to listen to it with pleasure. The moment they try to be fair to it they begin to be fond of it.
—G.K. Chesterton
from The Catholic Church and Conversion | 2cents:
"'What do you suppose that I am? I am not he.
Behold, one is coming after me; I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.'" St. John was a powerhouse of prayer, fasting, humility. Once locked up for speaking truth, he needed confirmation, a reaffirmation from Jesus. Was that a doubt, to seek a response? We should learn a lesson from him, when in doubt...ask, and ye shall receive. When in doubt, pray for faith. When in doubt, let yourselves have ears for what the Lord is about to say. | Let us pray: "The favors of the LORD I will sing forever; through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness. For you have said, "My kindness is established forever"; in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord." The favors people will receive are blessings. Nowadays some new protestants are making new religions based on "God's favor". They focus on blessings. They shy away from suffering, sacrifice, and sometimes even laugh and scoff at the notion. I'm not making it up, because a fellow member tells me these things, an ex member now anyway. Can we sing about God's favors? Yes. Everyday we need to sing about His favors. Blessings. His beautiful blessings. Tell me, how often do you thank God for blessings? And how often do you thank Him for being amazing? Mass is all about giving thanks. Eucharist. I tell you, an eternity is not enough to give thanks, if you only knew about His favors.... | Our Lord said today, ""Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him.
If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it." There is a hinge word "if", so many times in the things Jesus our Lord says. He said "If you understand...". And then He said "if you do it". So it is one thing to understand and another to actually do it. So many explore the word, but won't adhere to the word. They say that only about a third of Catholics go to Mass on Sundays. In some places it is probably 1 out of 4. I would say that many of these folks know they should go, but won't. You see? And so, they are not blessed. The priest blesses us from beginning to end in Holy Mass. How will you be blessed if you do not go see the Father? And what's more, the Father offers Himself totally for you. How can you, now, go to receive...the Holy Eucharist? And why should you receive Him unworthy? You can make yourself worthy to receive by living in grace, and you can live in grace if you seek and desire grace. He gives, remember? He is not greedy or stingy like we are. He is most giving and forgiving. But yet, the king of lies tells all these folks they are not worthy. I just found out another high school girl is pregnant. On the one hand, I'm glad to hear of a baby coming, because the birth rate in our country has just hit a 32 year low. On the other hand, I worry for the girls, why? As I told my 9th grade girls last night " I worry more about what is about to happen to their Catholic faith" and so we prayed a rosary for all of them. Because evil has a way of keeping people away...from the Father. Your mistake is not the baby's fault. Now you have 2 lives to bring to Heaven...through Jesus.
We all have many lives and souls to bring to Jesus...beginning with yours.... |  hear it read | adrian Random Bible Verse1
Psalm 31:1-2 (Listen) To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. 31:1 In you, O Lord, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
in your righteousness deliver me!
2 Incline your ear to me;
rescue me speedily!
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a strong fortress to save me! Thank You Jesus | |
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