 clickable | | Who Are You, O God?" What keeps us from seeking our soul's deepest desire? Most often it is the ego. Few of us have the courage to pray as St. Francis did—"Who are you, O God? And who am I?"—because we don't really want to know the answer. While our souls long for intimate unions with God, unions in which we can no longer distinguish our deepest selves from the Divine, our ego selves understand the price of these unions: the loss of our hard-fought external identities. We've spent our entire lives crafting an identity to present to the world, and our egos are terrified at the prospect of that identity being consumed in the flame of God's great love. For if we follow our soul's desire, we will be left standing defenseless and out of control, which is precisely where we need to be to experience the sheer delight and the richness of God's consuming love for us. The Good News for our souls is that the fire of God's love is relentless and will eventually break through our well-formed heat shields. When that happens, we too will become a fire of consuming love that draws in everyone around us. —from the book Eucharistic Adoration: Reflections in the Franciscan Tradition by the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote "When we appeal to the throne of grace we do so through Mary, honoring God by honoring His Mother, imitating Him by exalting her, touching the most responsive chord in the Sacred Heart of Christ with the sweet name of Mary."
— St. Robert Bellarmine † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"No one denies that Jesus Christ is our only mediator of justice, and that he by his merits has obtained our reconciliation with God. But, on the other hand, it is impious to assert that God is not pleased to grant graces at the intercession of his saints, and more especially of Mary his mother, whom Jesus desires so much to see loved and honored by all. Who can pretend that the honor bestowed on a mother doesn't redound to the honor of the son? For this reason St. Bernard says, 'We must not imagine that we obscure the glory of the Son by the great praise we lavish on the mother; for the more she is honored, the greater is the glory of her Son.'"
— St. Alphonsus Liguori, p. 3
AN EXCERPT FROM
A Year with Mary † VERSE OF THE DAY
"Just as you do not know how the life breath enters the human frame in the mother's womb, So you do not know the work of God, who is working in everything."
Ecclesiastes 11:5 |  click to read more | | Blessed Angeline of Marsciano (1377 – July 14, 1435) Blessed Angeline founded the first community of Franciscan women other than Poor Clares to receive papal approval. Angeline was born to the Duke of Marsciano near Orvieto. She was 12 when her mother died. Three years later, the young woman made a vow of perpetual chastity. That same year, however, she yielded to her father's decision that she marry the Duke of Civitella. Her husband agreed to respect her previous vow. When he died two years later, Angeline joined the Secular Franciscans and with several other women dedicated herself to caring for the sick, the poor, widows and orphans. When many other young women were attracted to Angeline's community, some people accused her of condemning the married vocation. Legend has it that when she came before the King of Naples to answer these charges, she had burning coals hidden in the folds of her cloak. When she proclaimed her innocence and showed the king that these coals had not harmed her, he dropped the case. Angeline and her companions later went to Foligno, where her community of Third Order sisters received papal approval in 1397. She soon established 15 similar communities of women in other Italian cities. Angeline died on July 14, 1435, and was beatified in 1825. Her Liturgical Feast Day is July 13.
Reflection Priests, sisters and brothers cannot be signs of God's love for the human family if they belittle the vocation of marriage. Angeline respected marriage, but felt called to another way of living out the gospel. Her choice was life-giving in its own way. | Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 20:17-27 From Miletus Paul had the presbyters
of the Church at Ephesus summoned.
When they came to him, he addressed them,
"You know how I lived among you
the whole time from the day I first came to the province of Asia.
I served the Lord with all humility
and with the tears and trials that came to me
because of the plots of the Jews,
and I did not at all shrink from telling you
what was for your benefit,
or from teaching you in public or in your homes.
I earnestly bore witness for both Jews and Greeks
to repentance before God and to faith in our Lord Jesus.
But now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem.
What will happen to me there I do not know,
except that in one city after another
the Holy Spirit has been warning me
that imprisonment and hardships await me.
Yet I consider life of no importance to me,
if only I may finish my course
and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus,
to bear witness to the Gospel of God's grace. "But now I know that none of you
to whom I preached the kingdom during my travels
will ever see my face again.
And so I solemnly declare to you this day
that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you,
for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the entire plan of God." Responsorial Psalm Ps 68:10-11, 20-21 R.(33a) Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
A bountiful rain you showered down, O God, upon your inheritance;
you restored the land when it languished;
Your flock settled in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided it for the needy.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed day by day be the Lord,
who bears our burdens; God, who is our salvation.
God is a saving God for us;
the LORD, my Lord, controls the passageways of death.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Jn 14:16 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I will ask the father
and he will give you another Advocate
to be with you always.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 17:1-11a Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said,
"Father, the hour has come.
Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you,
just as you gave him authority over all people,
so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him.
Now this is eternal life,
that they should know you, the only true God,
and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
I glorified you on earth
by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.
Now glorify me, Father, with you,
with the glory that I had with you before the world began. "I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.
They belonged to you, and you gave them to me,
and they have kept your word.
Now they know that everything you gave me is from you,
because the words you gave to me I have given to them,
and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you,
and they have believed that you sent me.
I pray for them.
I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me,
because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours
and everything of yours is mine,
and I have been glorified in them.
And now I will no longer be in the world,
but they are in the world, while I am coming to you."
| Meditation: John 17:1-11 7th Week of Easter I pray for them. (John 17:9) Seventy-nine years ago today, the "Miracle of Dunkirk"—the largest evacuation in military history—was completed. In the early months of World War II, a fierce onslaught from Hitler's army pushed hundreds of thousands of Allied troops back to the beaches of Dunkirk, France. Seeing the danger, the British government declared a national day of prayer. Churches overflowed with people. Then came the miracle: perfect weather conditions allowed a massive civilian rescue effort to deliver the troops safely across the English Channel. Joy and hope were kindled as the day of prayer was followed by a national day of thanksgiving. If the prayers of a nation could set such a miracle in motion, imagine how powerful the prayers of the Son of God can be! In today's Gospel, Jesus was praying for all the people God had given to him. You are one of these people. Think about that. What could be more encouraging than knowing that Jesus is always interceding for you? Jesus prays that you will be protected and kept safe from the evil one. And his prayer is being answered. Because he has defeated Satan, the powers of darkness have lost their foothold in your life. Because of Jesus' cross, the judgment of sin has been lifted from you. And because Jesus rose again, death has been defeated, and you can begin to experience eternal life here and now. Does this mean that Christians never get sick or die or struggle in any way? No, it doesn't. But it does mean that, ultimately, you are safe in God's hands. Jesus is praying for you constantly, and his prayers are strong enough to carry you across this life into heaven. Jesus' prayer for protection is also about knowing God's love today. It's about being kept safe from anxiety and insecurity, for they can be fierce enemies as well. Jesus wants you to be able to rest secure in his Father's love for you. He wants you to know that no sin is so big that it overpowers his mercy. There isn't any distance too far for his outstretched arms to reach. In light of all that God has done, how about declaring your own personal day of prayer and thanksgiving? Try to pause several times today to remember that Jesus is interceding for you. "Jesus, thank you for praying for my protection!" Acts 20:17-27
Psalm 68:10-11, 20-21 |  clickable | We are called to imitate the mission of Jesus. We must extend mercy to everyone, including ourselves. We must reach out to the poor, not only with money, but also with our time and our love. We must treat them with respect. We must give sight to those blind to the truth by lovingly sharing the fullness of faith found in Christ. We must forgive those held in bondage to us by past wrongs by forgiving them. We must also reach out to accept the freedom Jesus offers us from our own bondage, whether we are bound by sin, despair, addiction, egotism, materialism, or something else.
—MIKE PACER
from Mercy and Hope | my2cents: "Yet I consider life of no importance to me, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to bear witness to the Gospel of God's grace." Saint Paul was calling everyone in for his last supper, his last supplication, reliving the life of Christ, as if Jesus came back through Paul, and as if to say to the whole world "I'd die for you all over again". That's crazy. That is crazy love. The love of martyrs has transformed the entire world. It is beyond what the mind can begin to ponder. Our life is not meant to be wasted. Burn hot or burn out. How can we keep the fire fueled? Remain in grace. Humility invites grace. Humility is a hard pill to swallow, but it is the Eucharist if you dare. | Let us pray: Blessed day by day be the Lord, who bears our burdens; God, who is our salvation. God is a saving God for us; the LORD, my Lord, controls the passageways of death. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth." Sing to God. That is a command, all kingdoms of earth. What will be your song to Him today? A song of thanksgiving? Lamentation? Supplication? Whatever it may be, just sing! Live your life for Him. That's what the horn shall be, a blast of a trumpet, as Paul marching to Jerusalem does. | Our Lord prays and sings on: ""Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you...". They say that Native Americans, the "Indians" the Apaches used to sing a song the day before battle and as they marched onto battle, and the song said "...it is a good day to die". And off the warriors went. Paul faced his face like flint to what was to come. Having become a Christian, his life became a life of being persecuted, just like Christ. He used to be the persecutor. But now humility was taking charge of his life. He was raised with the name "Saul" which means "great one" as actor Jim Caviezel explained. Then he became "Paul" which means "the little one". The littles get persecuted. And it happens, alot. So what happens? The littles no longer desire to be little, but great. And so we see very little of Christ, truly. Check this out, I'm about to toot my horn here, bear with me: this weekend, I was at the drive-in movies enjoying a movie with my family. We had just gone to Mass and confessions. Late in the night during the movie, I get a text message saying there will be no spanish Mass choir (leader/guitarist) early next morning. I said "I will be there". It was great we had gone to Mass because my family had fulfilled a Sunday obligation in the U.S.. But what was hard now was trying to select music for the next morning as I normally sing/play in the English choir. So at about 1 a.m. when we got home, I told my wife I had to get the music ready from my office. And I did. In the morning I woke up my son, who was in deep sleep, to come play the drums too. It was hard. We rushed a quick practice early before Mass. I thought we did OK. After Mass, nobody said much except some older lady that kept saying to another how the choir had missed several Mass parts, and how they should've sang them. I explained we don't necessarily have to sing, we can just pray them but she was insistent. | Can't a poor fellow get a break? We have been struggling to get help with Choirs and I was up late at night trying to help and sacrificing...and, and now this? Why....why I oughta....listen. I don't work for peanuts. I work for Jesus. If He says "servant, come in from the field after work...fetch me a glass of water", then, all tired and thirsty, I shall. Obey. Put your head down and obey. The priest had just told us to improve the choirs. Funny, they are in shambles! HOW? LOL. Tall order. Fetch a glass of water.
Yes Father.
No complaints here. I'm just amazed.
Living life in the Spirit opens your ears to His voice. A voice we often do not want to hear. A voice we'd like to be bigger than.
You see, in the world, the dark spirit says "you don't have to listen to nobody".
But I'm telling you, listen to Him.
OBEY.
And here is an order for that order...do it with cheer and love. SAY WHAT?? Are you kidding me?
Ahh, yes, humility calling.
We live out of town. My kids were playing in the back and found a starving kitten. Turns out the black kitten with a white face is really sick. It is suffering and alone. After feeding it for a week it is not improving. It has been sleeping by a statue of our Blessed Mother in my back yard. I prayed for it and after prayer decided to take it to the vet the next day...yesterday. The vet said it looks grim and would need to be hospitalized and did not expect it to live and so she said "we can try that or (under hear breath) said "euthanasia", so my kids wouldn't hear. It would cost a couple hundred to try to save it. The kitten was lethargic and weak, could hardly cry anymore. I said to save it, give it medicine, I would pay the price. The little saves the little. Toot! I love you Jesus. I have been on a nine day prayer and it is for the Holy Spirit. God talks about glory and glory through those He calls.
I remember once I tried out for the biggest TV show at the time, thousands and thousands standing in line for auditions. I had a song down easy, a famous country song. But man, on the trip a brand new song I never heard was on the Christian radio and something told me to sing it. The song said words I will never forget, because I decided to sing them for the judges and the judges shot me down and rejected me, but to this day I sing by living.... I am not skilled to understand What God has willed what God Has planned I only know at his right hand Stands one who is my Savior I take him at his word and deed Christ died to save me this I read And in my heart I find the need Of him to be my Savior That he would leave his place on high And come for sinful man to die You called it strange so once did I Before I knew my Savior [x2:] My Savior loves My Savior lives My Savior's always there for me My God he was My God he is My God is always gonna be Yes living, dying let me bring My strength my Solace from the Spring That he who lives to be my king Once died to be my Savior That he would leave his place on high And come for sinful man to die You called it strange, so once did I Before I knew my Savior [x2:] My Savior loves My Savior lives My Savior's always there for me My God he was My God he is My God is always gonna be |  hear it read | adrian Random Bible Verse1
Jeremiah 23:23-24 (Listen) 23 "Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? 24 Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord." Thank You Jesus | |
