 |  clickable | | Resurrection in Our Daily Lives "Tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me" (Matthew 28:10). But why Galilee in particular? Because that is where it all started. It was on the shore of this lake that Jesus had called his first disciples; they had been with him and learned, saw, and heard from him right up to his death and resurrection. They often understood nothing and were disoriented. However, now that Jesus had risen, it was possible to understand everything. It is as if Jesus were saying, "Go back to the beginning; go back to the beginning now with the light of Easter, and in that light you will understand everything that has happened. Now the plan has been completed and you can understand it." Easter thus becomes the interpretive key to everything. Why in Galilee? Because Galilee is the place of everyday life. We can have many intense experiences of the Lord, but the proof that our communion with him is authentic—that we have understood who is for our lives—occurs in our ordinary lives. During extraordinary experiences this is essentially easy for everyone, but it is in the test of daily life that we have to see if we are authentic disciples of the Lord. —from the book Encountering Jesus: A Holy Land Experience by Vincenzo Peroni |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote "You must make a sound and firm resolution to submit yourselves totally to His will and, with a lively and steadfast faith, to receive from Him what you have to do for love of Him. And in this (whatever may happen) to persevere with constancy to the very end."
— St. Angela Merici † PRAYER DURING CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
O clement, O loving, O sweet Mother Mary,
We, your children of every nation,
Turn to you in this pandemic.
Our troubles are numerous; our fears are great.
Grant that we might deposit them at your feet,
Take refuge in your Immaculate Heart,
And obtain peace, healing, rescue,
And timely help in all our needs.
You are our Mother.
Pray for us to your Son.
Amen.
† PRAYER OF SPIRITUAL COMMUNION
My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen. † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"I worry some of you still have not really met Jesus—one to one—you and Jesus alone. We may spend time in the chapel—but have you seen with the eyes of your soul how He looks at you with love? Do you really know the living Jesus—not from books but from being with Him in your heart? Have you heard the loving words He speaks to you? Ask for the grace; He is longing to give it. Until you can hear Jesus in the silence of your own heart, you will not be able to hear Him saying 'I Thirst' in the hearts of the poor. Never give up this daily intimate contact with Jesus as the real living person—not just the idea."
— Saint Mother Teresa, p.129-30
AN EXCERPT FROM
Manual for Eucharistic Adoration † VERSE OF THE DAY
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."
Deuteronomy 6:5-9 |  click to read more | | BLESSED MARGARET OF CASTELLO Bl. Margaret of Castello (1287–1320) was born to noble Italian parents who were awaiting the birth of the child of their dreams. Instead, they bore a daughter who was blind, dwarfed, lame, and hunchbacked. Margaret's parents were horrified by the physical appearance of their newborn child, so they hid her and kept her existence secret. A servant had her baptized and named her Margaret, meaning, "Pearl." When she was six years of age she was nearly discovered, so that her father confined her to a cell inside the wall of a church with her necessities given through a window. The parish priest took it upon himself to educate Margaret. She lived in this way until age sixteen, when her parents took her on pilgrimage to a shrine famous for miraculous healings. There they prayed earnestly for their daughter to be cured of her deformities, which they loathed. When no cure came, her parents abandoned her in the streets and returned home, never to see her again. Margaret begged for food and was helped by the town's poor who took turns sheltering her in their homes. She became a Dominican Tertiary and took up the work of serving the sick, dying, and imprisoned. Margaret was known for her great joy, sanctity, and profound mystical experiences. She died at the age of 33, and hundreds of miracles were credited to her intercession both before and after her death. Her body is incorrupt. She is the patron against poverty, and of the disabled, handicapped, and unwanted. Her feast day is April 13th. | Monday in the Octave of Easter
Lectionary: 261
Reading 1 Acts 2:14, 22-33 On the day of Pentecost, Peter stood up with the Eleven,
raised his voice, and proclaimed:
"You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem.
Let this be known to you, and listen to my words. "You who are children of Israel, hear these words.
Jesus the Nazorean was a man commended to you by God
with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs,
which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know.
This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God,
you killed, using lawless men to crucify him.
But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death,
because it was impossible for him to be held by it.
For David says of him: I saw the Lord ever before me,
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue has exulted;
my flesh, too, will dwell in hope,
because you will not abandon my soul to the nether world,
nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption.
You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence. My brothers, one can confidently say to you
about the patriarch David that he died and was buried,
and his tomb is in our midst to this day.
But since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn an oath to him
that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne,
he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ,
that neither was he abandoned to the netherworld
nor did his flesh see corruption.
God raised this Jesus;
of this we are all witnesses.
Exalted at the right hand of God,
he poured forth the promise of the Holy Spirit
that he received from the Father, as you both see and hear." Responsorial Psalm 16:1-2a and 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11 R. (1) Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, "My Lord are you."
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I bless the LORD who counsels me;
even in the night my heart exhorts me.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence;
Because you will not abandon my soul to the nether world,
nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Ps 118:24 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 28:8-15 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went away quickly from the tomb,
fearful yet overjoyed,
and ran to announce the news to his disciples.
And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them.
They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage.
Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid.
Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee,
and there they will see me." While they were going, some of the guard went into the city
and told the chief priests all that had happened.
The chief priests assembled with the elders and took counsel;
then they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers,
telling them, "You are to say,
'His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.'
And if this gets to the ears of the governor,
we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble."
The soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed.
And this story has circulated among the Jews to the present day. | Today's Meditation: Acts 2:14, 22-33 Hear these words! (Acts 2:22) The Book of Acts—which we will be reading throughout this Easter season—is so much more than a history of the early Church. It's a book about the power of the Holy Spirit! Throughout its pages, we read how the Spirit worked through regular people to make them into bold apostles and witnesses to Christ. Because it speaks about so many lives being powerfully transformed, Acts also gives us hope and encouragement for our lives. What happened in the apostles can happen in us as well. Today's reading describes the first of many scenes in Acts in which the Holy Spirit empowered the apostles to build the Church on earth. This passage also describes the first fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy before he ascended into heaven: "You will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). Here, in Jerusalem, Peter preached, and thousands came to believe. As Acts progresses, we will read how Peter and other disciples, like Stephen, preached the gospel in Jerusalem and the surrounding area of Judea. Then, the focus will shift to Philip, who spread the gospel even farther when he proclaimed Christ in Samaria. Finally, we will witness Paul bringing the message and the power of salvation throughout Asia Minor, then into Greece, and lastly to Rome and "the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). And in every scene, we can see the Holy Spirit working powerfully through these anointed messengers of God. Stories like the ones recorded in Acts continue to happen today through the preaching and witness of Jesus' disciples—and that means you. Like Peter, Philip, Paul, and all the others, you too have received the Holy Spirit. He is with you to help you witness to Jesus and build his kingdom here on earth. So as the Easter season unfolds, ask Jesus to fill you with his Spirit and to make you into his witness. He desires it and will surely help you to fulfill your calling. "Father, you are looking for people to send out as witnesses to your Son. Here I am, Lord. Send me!" Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-11
Matthew 28:8-15 |  clickable | Heresy is always the outcome of one-sidedness and isolation. By substituting a part for the whole, and making that part absolute, it falsifies the truth.
— Gertrud von le Fort
from The Eternal Woman | my2cents:
"But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death, because it was impossible for him to be held by it."
The criteria on earth by which we live does not apply to the next world, not all. And we are speaking about death as we know it. Death itself is a mystery, but God shines the light on that mystery too. It becomes something new...and we are speaking about you. They say that while we were in our parish Good Friday service, a hail storm blew by. I heard rain, but didn't notice hail. I walked outside afterwards, and it had stopped raining, and the wet earth smelled beautiful, I get home and dead branches were stripped off trees, scattered. Make room for the new. | Today we pray: "Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge; I say to the LORD, "My Lord are you." O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup, you it is who hold fast my lot. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope." | The Marys ran from the tomb and "behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them.".
This is a beautiful encounter. But let's consider how it happened. What were the Marys doing? They went to the Lord (in the tomb). They were tending to the Lord our God. They made a visit. They were making a special act of love. Only then did they encounter. This is the normal way to encounter our Lord. There are abnormal ways, like Saul, but that is abnormal. That is why Saint Paul says " last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born." 1Cor15:8. | We are called, by you hearing this message, to be normal, and normally meet Him. That is, to tend to Him lovingly. We can. And will we?
Will we go out to encounter Him? Are you waiting for the quarantine in the pandemic to end to encounter Him? We are leading to Pentecost, when all were locked away in fear. They were all huddled up in fear of what was out there for them. But even there, locked up, He can walk through walls. Remember, laws of physics we know are not limited to Him for He knows more. He encounters them there, because they were invoking Him. They were praying. They were intensely unifying themselves to Him. Are you praying more with your family? Do you feel the love of God intensifying? Why? Or, Why not? There are those that are making plans on what they are going to do when they get out of quarantine. Plans I have heard are of going out. Vacations. Back to pleasure and enjoyments, back to being too busy. Is that the plan? You see, all of this has been a purification. For the better, or for the worse. Sounds like vows, right? For better, or for worse we relatively say in Holy matrimony. Do you miss your spouse, our Lord Jesus Christ and Savior? I'm writing for Him and He says He misses you very much. He says He longs to be intimate with you, and we are speaking Holy Eucharist, the most intimate moment on earth.
Can you imagine what love is saying this? He speaks from another realm that is intertwined with ours. His blood still courses through our veins. Intimate love. A bond that lasts forever.
And it begins with His Precious Body. |  click to hear a message | Random Bible verse from an online generator: Psalm 27:14
14 Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! | If one day you don't receive these, just visit my website Going4th.com, surely you'll find me there. God Bless You! Share the Word. Share this, share what is good | | |
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