 clickable | | What Brought You to the Tomb Weeping? Whatever has brought you to the tomb weeping, know that you are made for resurrection joy. Stay, lean in, and look for the Lord. Before you know it, he will be there beside you in all his glory. And he will fill you with a joy that bubbles over and overflows and sends you out as an apostle of the Good News. And when you see him? Oh, when he calls your name and you recognize his voice? You will be transformed! You, friend, will become a new creation, one who has drawn near to Christ in sickness and in suffering, in sin and shame, and been made new. You will become one who now knows that the end of the story is that he defeats it all and comes back to offer us a life of hope. And then he sends us to offer that hope to a world so desperately in need of it. He is calling your name. Do you recognize his voice? Turn, friend, and in his face, be reminded of who it is he says that you are. —from the book Who Does He Say You Are? Women Transformed by Christ in the Gospels by Colleen Mitchell |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"I will glory not because I am righteous, but because I am redeemed; I will glory not because I am free from sins, but because my sins are forgiven me. I will not glory because I have done good nor because someone has done good to me, but because Christ is my advocate with the Father and because the blood of Christ has been shed for me."
— St. Ambrose † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"After the events of the Resurrection and Ascension, Mary entered the Upper Room together with the Apostles to await Pentecost, and was present there as the Mother of the glorified Lord. ... Thus there began to develop a special bond between this Mother and the Church. For the infant Church was the fruit of the Cross and Resurrection of her Son. Mary, who from the beginning had given herself without reserve to the person and work of her Son, could not but pour out upon the Church, from the very beginning, her maternal self-giving. After her Son's departure, her motherhood remains in the Church as maternal mediation: interceding for all her children, the Mother cooperates in the saving work of her Son, the Redeemer of the world. In fact the Council teaches that the 'motherhood of Mary in the order of grace . . . will last without interruption until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect'. With the redeeming death of her Son, the maternal mediation of the handmaid of the Lord took on a universal dimension, for the work of redemption embraces the whole of humanity."
— Pope St. John Paul II, p. 129-30
AN EXCERPT FROM
Mary: God's Yes to Man † VERSE OF THE DAY
"May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this."
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 |  click to read more | | Saint Bridget of Sweden (c. 1303 – July 23, 1373) From age 7 on, Bridget had visions of Christ crucified. Her visions formed the basis for her activity—always with the emphasis on charity rather than spiritual favors. She lived her married life in the court of the Swedish king Magnus II. Mother of eight children—the second eldest was Saint Catherine of Sweden—Bridget lived the strict life of a penitent after her husband's death. Bridget constantly strove to exert her good influence over Magnus; while never fully reforming, he did give her land and buildings to found a monastery for men and women. This group eventually expanded into an Order known as the Bridgetines. In 1350, a year of jubilee, Bridget braved a plague-stricken Europe to make a pilgrimage to Rome. Although she never returned to Sweden, her years in Rome were far from happy, being hounded by debts and by opposition to her work against Church abuses. A final pilgrimage to the Holy Land, marred by shipwreck and the death of her son, Charles, eventually led to her death in 1373. In 1999, Bridget, Saints Catherine of Siena and Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, were named co-patronesses of Europe.
Reflection Bridget's visions, rather than isolating her from the affairs of the world, involved her in many contemporary issues, whether they be royal policy or the years that the legitimate Bishop of Rome lived in Avignon, France. She saw no contradiction between mystical experience and secular activity, and her life is a testimony to the possibility of a holy life in the marketplace.
Saint Bridget of Sweden is the Patron Saint of: Europe | ________________________________________ Tuesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Ex 14:21—15:1 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea,
and the LORD swept the sea
with a strong east wind throughout the night
and so turned it into dry land.
When the water was thus divided,
the children of Israel marched into the midst of the sea on dry land,
with the water like a wall to their right and to their left. The Egyptians followed in pursuit;
all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and charioteers went after them
right into the midst of the sea.
In the night watch just before dawn
the LORD cast through the column of the fiery cloud
upon the Egyptian force a glance that threw it into a panic;
and he so clogged their chariot wheels
that they could hardly drive.
With that the Egyptians sounded the retreat before Israel,
because the LORD was fighting for them against the Egyptians. Then the LORD told Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea,
that the water may flow back upon the Egyptians,
upon their chariots and their charioteers."
So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea,
and at dawn the sea flowed back to its normal depth.
The Egyptians were fleeing head on toward the sea,
when the LORD hurled them into its midst.
As the water flowed back,
it covered the chariots and the charioteers of Pharaoh's whole army
that had followed the children of Israel into the sea.
Not a single one of them escaped.
But the children of Israel had marched on dry land
through the midst of the sea,
with the water like a wall to their right and to their left.
Thus the LORD saved Israel on that day
from the power of the Egyptians.
When Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore
and beheld the great power that the LORD
had shown against the Egyptians,
they feared the LORD and believed in him and in his servant Moses. Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD: I will sing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant;
horse and chariot he has cast into the sea. Responsorial Psalm Exodus 15:8-9, 10 and 12, 17 R.(1b) Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.
At the breath of your anger the waters piled up,
the flowing waters stood like a mound,
the flood waters congealed in the midst of the sea.
The enemy boasted, "I will pursue and overtake them;
I will divide the spoils and have my fill of them;
I will draw my sword; my hand shall despoil them!"
R. Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.
When your wind blew, the sea covered them;
like lead they sank in the mighty waters.
When you stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them!
R. Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.
And you brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your inheritance—
the place where you made your seat, O LORD,
the sanctuary, O LORD, which your hands established.
R. Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory. Alleluia Jn 14:23 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him
and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 12:46-50 While Jesus was speaking to the crowds,
his mother and his brothers appeared outside,
wishing to speak with him.
Someone told him, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside,
asking to speak with you."
But he said in reply to the one who told him,
"Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?"
And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said,
"Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father
is my brother, and sister, and mother."
| Meditation: Exodus 14:21–15:1 Saint Bridget, Religious (Optional Memorial) The children of Israel had marched on dry land through the midst of the sea. (Exodus 14:22) The Israelites thought they had seen it all. They saw Moses turn the waters of the Nile red with blood. They witnessed the plague of frogs, the plague of boils, even the plague of the death of all of Egypt's firstborn sons. God had performed so many wonders and miracles to set them free from slavery. Even so, they must have been awestruck when God opened a path for them to cross the Red Sea on dry ground. Imagine how they must have felt when they realized they were no longer trapped by the Egyptians. God had indeed saved them! These miracles seem beyond anything we can fathom. Yet St. John Chrysostom, an early Church father who died in AD 407, taught that, as marvelous as it was, the Israelites' exodus was just a foreshadowing of what God would accomplish through Baptism. "You did not see Pharaoh drowned with his armies," he told a group of newly baptized believers, "but you have seen the devil with his weapons overcome by the waters of Baptism. The Israelites passed through the sea; you have passed from death to life. They were delivered from the Egyptians; you have been delivered from the powers of darkness. The Israelites were freed from slavery to a pagan people; you have been freed from the much greater slavery to sin. "Before yesterday you were captives, but now you are free and citizens of the Church; lately you lived in the shame of your sins, but now you live in freedom and justice. You are not only free, but also holy. You are not only holy, but also righteous. You are not only righteous, but also sons. You are not only sons, but also heirs. You are not only heirs, but also brothers of Christ. You are not only brothers of Christ, but also joint heirs. You are not only joint heirs, but also members. You are not only members, but also the temple. You are not only the temple, but also instruments of the Spirit." The gift of Baptism is rich and vast and deep. Today, thank God for this wonderful gift, and ask him to help you to experience the grace that is yours. "Thank you, Lord, for the miraculous waters of Baptism!" (Psalm) Exodus 15:8-10, 12, 17
Matthew 12:46-50 |  clickable | The sacrament of confession is not a psychological affair in which the essential elements are self-reflection and self-recognition. It is rather a matter of God's nearness, a nearness attained by the effective will to show oneself to God as one is, in a condition brought by the grace of the triune God to resemble that of the Son on the Cross.
—Adrienne von Speyr
from Confession | my2cents:
"Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD swept the sea...".
In spanish, I've heard it say in the past "uno pone y Dios dispone" which I can attempt to translate to "one proposes and God Disposes" and in the case of Moses, he proposes by how he poses. Does this make sense? We must do our part and God will do His.
What did Jesus do when God said "stretch out your hand". Not your arm, not flailing your arm about in the air with a staff, no, just stretch out your hand.
No magic powers, just God's mighty will.
Jesus does all of this, this mass exodus, and in Mass we celebrate the Exodus, yet it is a perfect compliment to a confession. There, Jesus stretches His hand over the penitent and we are healed and the Exodus can now take place...leaving this life in Mass and joining with Him, two stretched hands meet. And this is why children are baptized as infants. For they are stretched hands over them, and soon they will stretch back theirs.
Can you imagine God saying "Moses, just take those who are able to make a conscious decision to accept the Exodus". No. Moses took ALL of them. Young and old were received through this baptism with blood and water, the Passover and the Sea. | Let us pray: "Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory. When your wind blew, the sea covered them; like lead they sank in the mighty waters. When you stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them!"
God's hand stretched over them? But I thought it was Moses?
Isn't Moses' hand, God's? Doesn't his hand belong to God? And what about your hand? Your body? Doesn't it belong to God? We are the body. | In the Holy Gospel, the Disciples and Blessed Mother Mary are frantic about getting Jesus out of the crowded house. They couldn't get to Jesus, so they were calling to Him through others. At one point they said "He's gone crazy!". Crazy to be mixed in and crowded in. Crazy because He can't seem to get out? Or because they can't get in...with Him? I digress. Our Lord says the words we need to fathom: "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?"
And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said,
"Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father
is my brother, and sister, and mother."
Again...God Stretched out His hand. And with His words He declared an astounding fact...we belong with Him, in His family, we are His, we who are crowded with Him are His! Those seeking Him. Those with Him. Those close to Him. Those seeking to do His will! | Bishop Barron said today: "Friends, in today's Gospel someone tells Jesus, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you." Jesus stretches his hand toward his disciples and says, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother."
Family is wonderful. There is nothing in the world wrong with fostering the flourishing of your family. But over and again, the Bible places the goods of the world into question—even something as good as family relationships.
Why? Because family isn't God. It is not that which you should serve with your whole heart; it doesn't belong in the center of your life.
Is family the point around which most of your energies revolve? Is it your primary focus as you make your way through the day? Are there times when you feel your family obligations competing with the will of God?
Then remember Jesus' words: "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers? . . . Whoever does the will of my heavenly Father." What is God's will? Ahh, the famous question, right? I read a book by Father Mitch Pacwa on discerning God's will, "How To Listen When God Is Speaking". In a nutshell, and not to spoil the book for you, but, it really sounded like God is calling for faithfulness.
That speaks volumes. Faithfulness will take you places you've never been before, across the sea, in ways you've never traveled, and see things you thought were impossible.
But WITH HIM all things are possible...amen? Lord, I want to cross the sea and leave the slavery behind, and be free with you, so close to you, an eternal bliss of being so close to Our Father... |  hear it read | adrian Random Bible Verse1
John 3:3 (Listen) 3 Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again [1] he cannot see the kingdom of God." Thank You Jesus | |
