 |  clickable | | God Seeks to Unsettle Us Let yourself be unsettled. Let God shake up your world. The longer we cling to the comfort of our seat in the boat—whether it be because of the pleasure, safety, or familiarity it offers us—the longer we will find ourselves away from the Lord. He is calling us out onto the water, and there is only one thing left to do: jump. There will be times when it is far from fun, positively dangerous, and even a bit lonely, but it is what we all must do. If we want to be disciples of Christ, we must get out of our seats and walk with him. —from the book Let Go: Seven Stumbling Blocks to Christian Discipleship by Casey Cole, OFM |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote "While the world changes, the cross stands firm."
— St. Bruno 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
"You must first have peace in your own soul before you can make peace between other people. Peaceable people accomplish more good than learned people do. Those who are passionate often can turn good into evil and readily believe the worst. But those who are honest and peaceful turn all things to good and are suspicious of no one. ... It is no test of virtue to be on good terms with easy-going people, for they are always well liked. And, of course, all of us want to live in peace and prefer those who agree with us. But the real test of virtue and deserving of praise is to live at peace with the perverse, or the aggressive and those who contradict us, for this needs a great grace. ... in this mortal life, our peace consists in the humble bearing of suffering and contradictions, not in being free of them, for we cannot live in this world without adversity. Those who can best suffer will enjoy the most peace, for such persons are masters of themselves, lords of the world, with Christ for their friend, and heaven as their reward."
— Thomas á Kempis, p.72-73
AN EXCERPT FROM
Imitation of Christ †VERSE OF THE DAY
"Happy are those who make the Lord their trust, who do not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods. You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you. Were I to proclaim and tell of them, they would be more than can be counted."
Psalm 40:4-5 |  click to read more | | ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA St. Catherine of Siena (1347–1380) was born in Siena, Italy, the 24th of 25 children born to a wealthy wool dyer and his wife. Catherine began having profound mystical experiences at the age of six which encouraged her in a life of virtue, extreme penance, and total consecration to God through a private vow of virginity. She became a Dominican Tertiary at the age of 16 while continuing to live in the home of her parents. She had regular mystical visits from, and conversations with, Jesus, Mary, and many of the saints. Catherine had no formal education and was illiterate, yet her theological knowledge acquired through prayer astounded learned theologians. She was especially devoted to working for the unity and spiritual health of the Church. Among her most famous accomplishments was that she persuaded the Pope to return to Rome from Avignon in 1377. She also encouraged him to call for a Crusade to the Holy Land. She was an important political figure in her day, often entering into negotiations between warring rulers through personal visits and dictated letters. Her practical wisdom and profound spiritual insight was widely sought both inside and outside the Church. St. Catherine was a great mystic and was granted the stigmata which was made visible only after her death. She died in Rome at the age of 33, offering her life to God for the sanctification of the Church, and was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1970. St. Catherine of Siena is the patron saint of Italy and Europe. Her feast day is April 29th.
See More About This Saint > | Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, virgin and doctor of the Church
Lectionary: 275
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 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 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." | Today's Meditation: John 6:35-40 I am the bread of life. (John 6:35) Do you sometimes read the Bible and wonder what Jesus is trying to say? Often, Jesus' message is obvious. For instance, in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-36), he is clearly telling us to help people, even those we don't know or who seem different from us. Or sometimes, Jesus gives a straight answer to a direct question, like when a scribe asks which commandment is the greatest. "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37). But in today's Gospel, part of the famous Bread of Life discourse, Jesus' message was not all that clear to his listeners. The more Jesus talked, the more scandalized they became. How can he say he came down from heaven? How could he give them his flesh to eat? Jesus' meaning was both symbolic and literal, so it's no wonder that people were confused. When Jesus refers to himself as the Bread of Life, he is talking about faith in him as the sustenance for our journey through life. He is saying that his words and our relationship with him are nourishment for our souls. But Jesus is also speaking literally. He was describing his gift of the Eucharist, which would become the pinnacle of our worship. He was talking about how receiving this gift could unite us with his Body and Blood, his soul and divinity. It wasn't until after the resurrection that Jesus' followers began to celebrate the Eucharist. So at this point, his listeners had no way of knowing what he was referring to. All they could do was accept his words with faith. Even today, the Eucharist is mysterious. It defies our imagination, and only the gift of faith can allow us to believe it. After hearing the Bread of Life discourse, many of Jesus' followers left him. Not Peter though. He was probably just as confused as the others, but he believed in Jesus. It's normal to have doubts. We may question a Church teaching or wonder why bad things happen to good people. But whatever our questions, we can always hold on to our faith until God makes his ways clearer to us—just as Peter did. "Lord, give me a humble heart that accepts and trusts your word." Acts 8:1-8
Psalm 66:1-7 |  clickable | Authentic living of the three evangelical counsels goes against the current of life in the world and is therefore prophetic because it is countercultural.
— Francis Cardinal Arinze
from Radical Discipleship | my2cents: "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."
I miss those days. Those days when the Pentecostal movement was alive in our Church. There was hootin' and hollerin' and people praising Jesus. You see the fanaticals in other denominations but not so much here anymore, as it was coined the "charismatic movement". Yet, that movement was the principals of the first Church. With St. Stephen stoned to death, now the fire was somewhere else...in Philip. And the fire was growing rapidly, so soon as to engulf the whole world with the news...of Goodness from Heaven among us. And the fire burns on. | We pray today: "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!" Let all the earth cry out to God with joy."
Shout for joy. Shout with joy! Who is your joy? Jesus amen? That's the fire that darkness could not put out...the joy of the Lord...the faithful that could not be moved into darkness. | After saying He IS the bread of life, our Lord says "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..."
If I have seen the Lord, what is there not to believe? Truth is, faith matters are peculiar. You forget the trust. You forget what you saw. You forget that there is more. We forget the purpose of Jesus...as Savior. His purpose is Salvation. His life was written with blood of mercy. His lips poured forth compassion, but the kind that rules with an iron rod, because Love has been declared by the great I AM. | Our Lord continues: " 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..." Many fronts are presented. First, that God is above all, and Jesus claims to be put here to have all Kingship put to Him and all He does is the will of the Father Creator. Jesus is to lead us into eternity. Jesus then, is our only way out of darkness, all things that stand for death.
Our Lord continues: "everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day."
May have life.
Why do they say "may". Because, He will not force eternal life. You may come to Him. That's not the same as saying "you WILL come to Him". It is the law of Moses again, in Deuteronomy 30 "…14But the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may obey it. 15 See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, as well as death and disaster. 16 For I am commanding you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, statutes, and ordinances, so that you may live and increase, and the LORD your God may bless you in the land that you are entering to possess.…"
During the world pandemonium pandemic, we have been issued forth a prophecy. It is this very call, to choose between life and death. It is not that things will get better, and it is not that things will get worse, but it can go either way, and it boils down to choice.
He came that you MAY have life. Jn 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. ..." Rev 22:14 "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. ..." John 3:16
".. For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting. ..." Lord, you are one with the Father, and in just this relationship, you call us to be one with You, that we may have life, that we may live in joy, that we may rightly praise you and honor you, that we may spread the fire of your love |  click to hear a message | Random Bible verse from an online generator: Jn 8:32
" and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." | 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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