 clickable | | Seeing God's Face in the Unexpected In the hours after Jesus's birth Mary is doubtless tired and somewhat confused, far from the comfort of family and friends other than Joseph. Shepherds burst into the place where the family is staying, bringing stories of angels singing praise to the Lord about a newborn in a manger. Does Mary send them away? Does she burst into tears? Nope. She honors their experience and the effort they have made to come to Bethlehem: "Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2:19). The face of God was presented to Mary in both those situations, in one by an angel, in the other by uneducated people who had little in material goods and may not have owned even their own flocks. Yet she recognized the Lord in both, carefully listening to his messengers, indifferent to the form in which they came. —from the book Blessed Are You: Finding Inspiration from Our Sisters in Faith by Melanie Rigney |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"Have caution in not allowing yourself to be struck down by adversity nor becoming vain by prosperity."
— St. Clare of Assisi † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"Do you know what it is to be truly spiritual? It is for men to make themselves the slaves of God—branded with His mark, which is the Cross. ... Unless you make up your minds to this, never expect to make much progress, for as I said humility is the foundation of the whole building and unless you are truly humble, Our Lord, for your own sake, will never permit you to rear it very high lest it should fall to the ground. Therefore, sisters, take care to lay a firm foundation by seeking to be the least of all and the slave of others, watching how you can please and help them, for it will benefit you more than them. Built on such strong rocks, your castle can never go to ruin. I insist again: your foundation must not consist of prayer and contemplation alone: unless you acquire the virtues and praise them, you will always be dwarfs; and please God no worse may befall you than making no progress, for you know that to stop is to go back—if you love, you will never be content to come to a standstill."
— St. Teresa of Avila, p.209-10
AN EXCERPT FROM
Interior Castle †VERSE OF THE DAY
"The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their refuge in the time of trouble. The LORD helps them and rescues them; he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them, because they take refuge in him."
Psalm 37:39-40 |  click to read more | | ST. VICTOR MAURUS St. Victor Maurus (d. 303 A.D.), also known as Victor the Moor and Victor of Milan, was born in Mauretania (North Africa) in a Christian household. He later relocated to Milan, Italy, as a soldier of the Praetorian Guard that served Roman Emperor Maximian during his persecution of Christians. Although Victor was a Christian since childhood, this fact was not widely known until he destroyed an altar to a pagan god. The Emperor, infuriated, had Victor imprisoned and starved for six days. The Emperor then gave him every chance to recant his faith, including offering him riches, but Victor refused each attempt. He was then tortured mercilessly, unless he would offer sacrifice to the gods, by being stretched on the rack and having molten lead poured over his body. Victor remained steadfast and boldly proclaimed his faith in Christ, declaring that the Roman gods were demons. Finally the saint was beheaded on May 8 in the year 303 A.D. The Emperor refused him burial so that wild beasts would consume his body. However, after six days the body was discovered untouched with two beasts guarding it at the head and foot. The local bishop then received permission to bury the body. A church was later erected over Victor's grave and many miracles occurred there. St. Victor's feast day is May 8th. | Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 8:1b-8 There broke out a severe persecution of the Church in Jerusalem,
and all were scattered
throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria,
except the Apostles.
Devout men buried Stephen and made a loud lament over him.
Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the Church;
entering house after house and dragging out men and women,
he handed them over for imprisonment. Now those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.
Thus Philip went down to the city of Samaria
and proclaimed the Christ to them.
With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip
when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing.
For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice,
came out of many possessed people,
and many paralyzed and crippled people were cured.
There was great joy in that city. Responsorial Psalm Ps 66:1-3a, 4-5, 6-7a
R. (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth,
sing praise to the glory of his name;
proclaim his glorious praise.
Say to God, "How tremendous are your deeds!"
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
"Let all on earth worship and sing praise to you,
sing praise to your name!"
Come and see the works of God,
his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has changed the sea into dry land;
through the river they passed on foot;
therefore let us rejoice in him.
He rules by his might forever.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia See Jn 6:40 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Everyone who believes in the Son has eternal life,
and I shall raise him up on the last day, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 6:35-40 Jesus said to the crowds,
"I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.
But I told you that although you have seen me,
you do not believe.
Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
because I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.
For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day."
| Meditation: Acts 8:1-8 3rd Week of Easter There was great joy in that city. (Acts 8:8) You watched your friend Stephen being stoned to death. Now persecution has broken out in your city (Acts 8:1). You might even be the next person killed for believing in Jesus. So you leave Jerusalem, but you keep preaching the gospel—and many people turn to the Lord. Despite the risks you face each day, you are still happy to see so many conversions. What if the early Christians had focused on their precarious situation instead of on all the good they saw happening? Instead of rejoicing, they would have become fearful and discouraged. They might have decided to abandon their newly found faith instead of continuing their mission to spread the good news. Most of us don't experience the same kind of persecution that the early Christians faced. But we may still feel overwhelmed at times by what we see around us. Even if we don't experience it directly, we hear plenty of bad news—homicides, drug overdoses, famine, abuse, and so much more. A steady diet of such news can wear us down over time and cause us to lose our joy. But here's what doesn't make the news: how the love of Jesus in the hearts of his people causes them to reach out to others in love. Think of all the men and women who dedicate their lives tending to the poor and forgotten. Think of all those who teach RCIA or work in Catholic schools or campus ministry. Think of the people who care for women who need healing after an abortion. You are probably part of this "good news" yourself! Don't discount simple everyday acts of love and kindness either. Maybe you had a kind word for a coworker who rarely talks to any of her colleagues or a neighbor who keeps to himself. Maybe you kept your cool while helping your children reconcile after a fight. In situations like these, you are bearing the love of Christ and spreading his word. Today, choose to focus on the good news. Think of one act of love you have seen or read about recently. Then rejoice that Jesus is alive and active among his people today! "Heavenly Father, help me share the good news of Christ's love to one person I encounter today." |  clickable | The Church's Magisterium does not invent or compose the truths of our faith. Its task rather is to witness to these truths continuously and unanimously, defending them against challenges that put them into doubt.
—Gerhard Cardinal Müller
from The Power of Truth: The Challenges to Catholic Doctrine and Morals Today | 2cents:
"With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing."
We went to a wedding this past weekend. I took my guitar to sing a poem I wrote for the groom and bride. It spoke of how God has His hand at work in this unification. I wound up reading the poem and blurting out how weird my friend was. I gave witness to his life and how we met...in a daily Mass, and how we had both been praying for a friend, and we met. Then he prayed for a wife, and he met her. I gave a loud witness in that fancy place where everything was going on except religion. There was a change of atmosphere when I spoke of our Lord and yelled the name of Jesus. My friend is weird like that. Stands out among youngsters. For his bachelor-would-be party, instead, he took out his confirmation class for an evening out. That's weird. That is unselfish. That is the kind of friend I admire. I yelled "I wish I was like that at his age". There are far and few lights, but when you see them, you can spot them from a 100 hundred miles away. And that shows the way... my friend. | Let us pray today: "Let all on earth worship and sing praise to you, sing praise to your name!" Come and see the works of God, his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy".
I want to be among those who are fire starters. You can start fires, I believe it. You can be the Lord's pyrotechnic! It's simple, just carry the fire within you. Carry it and share it spontaneously. Spontaneous combustion will soon set the world ablaze for our Heavenly Lord. And you will receive fire if it fizzles if you simply ask. | Let us turn then, to our Heavenly Lord and Christ: "Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me...". You see? Our Lord will not reject someone who asks for good. But we don't know how to ask for good things always. So what is good? Let us turn to our Lord once again: "I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me." To do the will of the Father, that is the good. So there are 2 things our Lord says about how things will work. First let's read what He said: "For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day."
You catch that?
1st, we must see Him and believe.
2nd, He will do His part, raise them on the last day.
What does this mean? It's like the serpent raised in the desert. That what struck them was raised. That what they saw and believed, saved them.
What is this all about? Faith. Right?
Believe! You got to see to believe, right? What about those who can't see? What about blind people who literally can't see...to believe? So I tell them what I see, and so they now have to decide to believe...right? Amen? So all we have is the Word and the Word made flesh and the Word made flesh that said "Eat of Me and you shall live". Are we carnivorous? If Jesus said "look, I am willing to let you live by eating me" would you believe? YES! Would you eat though? Eeeesh.
But He is literally speaking of His Divinity, and back to the desert we go...Mana, and Mana means "what in the world is this!!" LOL, that's what it basically translates to. What is it about the Son of Man that He would say to you today "I Am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst." I can only imagine, if I had no faith, what I would try to eat of. Probably various gods out there that are hidden. Science. Technology. Fashions and trends. Maybe other religions. Maybe my own made up religions where I become my own god. EEEK! How demented is that? But it happens. Until someone spreads the truth to them...the light...and Jesus arrives...offering Himself TOTALLY |  hear it read | adrian Random Bible Verse1
Proverbs 15:33 (Listen) 33 The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom,
and humility comes before honor. Thank You Jesus | |
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