 |  clickable | | Jesus Is Constant At this time in history, you and I now are present. We, like the apostles, are unreliable and weak and afraid. We are inconstant in our devotion to our Lord. We deny him, we betray him. But Jesus is I Am. He is constant. Jesus sits in the center of our hearts with arms outstretched. He died on the cross out of love for us. He is continually with us, welcoming us, and looking at us with his loving, tender gaze, just as he looked at Peter. What he did at table, he continues to do with all our varied and challenged humanity, a variety of personalities that is forever and continually represented in every church, in every upper room, throughout our entire world. —from Meeting God in the Upper Room: Three Moments to Change Your Life by Monsignor Peter Vaghi |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"Our Lord has created persons for all states in life, and in all of them we see people who achieved sanctity by fulfilling their obligations well."
— St. Anthony Mary Claret † 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
"Always give good heed to the Word of God, whether you hear or read it in private, or hearken to it when publicly preached: listen with attention and reverence; seek to profit by it, and do not let the precious words fall unheeded; receive them into your heart as a costly balsam; imitate the Blessed Virgin who 'kept all the sayings' concerning her Son, 'in her heart.' And remember that according as we hearken to and receive God's words, so will He hearken and receive our supplications."
— St. Francis de Sales
AN EXCERPT FROM
An Introduction to the Devout Life † VERSE OF THE DAY
"Yours, O Lord, are the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might; and it is in your hand to make great and to give strength to all. And now, our God, we give thanks to you and praise your glorious name."
1 Chronicles 29:11-13 |  click to read more | | ST. HUNNA St. Hunna (d. 679 A.D.) was born in Alsace, France. She was the virtuous daughter of a duke, and she married a similarly virtuous nobleman. Hunna and her husband did not indulge in unnecessary luxuries according to their high state in life, and instead detached themselves from their riches by opening their home to the poor and assisting them in their need. St. Deodatus, a bishop who resigned from his See, came to live with the holy couple for a time. St. Hunna and her husband greatly profited from his religious instruction and grew in sanctity as a result. When Hunna bore a son, she named him after St. Deodatus. This child, raised by such holy parents, later joined a monastery and also became a saint. After her husband's death Hunna continued to spend her life serving the poor, especially women. No task was too menial for her. She tended to the poor and the sick and regularly, including their laundry and mending, even to the point of exhaustion. For this she was nicknamed the "Holy Washerwoman." She also gave away her wealth and property to build churches and monasteries. So many miracles were attributed to her that Pope Leo X canonized her in 1520. St. Hunna is the patron saint of laundresses and her feast day is April 15. | Wednesday in the Octave of Easter
Lectionary: 263
Reading 1 Acts 3:1-10 Peter and John were going up to the temple area
for the three o'clock hour of prayer.
And a man crippled from birth was carried
and placed at the gate of the temple called "the Beautiful Gate" every day
to beg for alms from the people who entered the temple.
When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple,
he asked for alms.
But Peter looked intently at him, as did John,
and said, "Look at us."
He paid attention to them, expecting to receive something from them.
Peter said, "I have neither silver nor gold,
but what I do have I give you:
in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk."
Then Peter took him by the right hand and raised him up,
and immediately his feet and ankles grew strong.
He leaped up, stood, and walked around,
and went into the temple with them,
walking and jumping and praising God.
When all the people saw him walking and praising God,
they recognized him as the one
who used to sit begging at the Beautiful Gate of the temple,
and they were filled with amazement and astonishment
at what had happened to him. Responsorial Psalm 105:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8-9 R. (3b) Rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name;
make known among the nations his deeds.
Sing to him, sing his praise,
proclaim all his wondrous deeds.
R. Rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!
Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.
R. Rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You descendants of Abraham, his servants,
sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
He, the LORD, is our God;
throughout the earth his judgments prevail.
R. Rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He remembers forever his covenant
which he made binding for a thousand generations
Which he entered into with Abraham
and by his oath to Isaac.
R. Rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord.
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 Lk 24:13-35 That very day, the first day of the week,
two of Jesus' disciples were going
to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus,
and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred.
And it happened that while they were conversing and debating,
Jesus himself drew near and walked with them,
but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.
He asked them,
"What are you discussing as you walk along?"
They stopped, looking downcast.
One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply,
"Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem
who does not know of the things
that have taken place there in these days?"
And he replied to them, "What sort of things?"
They said to him,
"The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene,
who was a prophet mighty in deed and word
before God and all the people,
how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over
to a sentence of death and crucified him.
But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel;
and besides all this,
it is now the third day since this took place.
Some women from our group, however, have astounded us:
they were at the tomb early in the morning
and did not find his Body;
they came back and reported
that they had indeed seen a vision of angels
who announced that he was alive.
Then some of those with us went to the tomb
and found things just as the women had described,
but him they did not see."
And he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are!
How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!
Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things
and enter into his glory?"
Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets,
he interpreted to them what referred to him
in all the Scriptures.
As they approached the village to which they were going,
he gave the impression that he was going on farther.
But they urged him, "Stay with us,
for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over."
So he went in to stay with them.
And it happened that, while he was with them at table,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them.
With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him,
but he vanished from their sight.
Then they said to each other,
"Were not our hearts burning within us
while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?"
So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem
where they found gathered together
the Eleven and those with them who were saying,
"The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!"
Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way
and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread. | Today's Meditation: Acts 3:1-10 What I do have I give you. (Acts 3:6) You may have heard stories of people who spend years living on meager means because they are unaware that a distant relative has left them a huge fortune. It's sad to see someone struggling day-to-day when help is just a bank account away. Sometimes on a spiritual level, we can be just like this as we scrape by, unaware of all the riches Jesus has left for us. This is one way to approach today's first reading. As Peter and John stand before a man begging at the Temple gate, they know how rich they have become. They had lived with Jesus and witnessed his passion, death, and resurrection. As they waited for the promised Holy Spirit, they grew in understanding of the redemption he had won for all people. Then on Pentecost, Peter boldly proclaimed Jesus to a huge crowd of people (Acts 2:13-39). All these events convinced Peter and John that their spiritual bank account had seen a sudden infusion of wealth. That's why Peter was so confident as he grasped this man's hand and raised him to his feet. You have a spiritual bank account too. It contains the grace God put there when you were baptized. It also contains all the grace he has been giving you every day since then. This grace is a free gift, as surprising as an unexpected inheritance. Divine mercy, access to your heavenly Father, the power of the Holy Spirit—it's all there for you. So use it! Every time you repent and go to Confession, you're making a withdrawal of mercy. Every time you pray with a friend, you are taking hold of Jesus' power to bring healing and comfort. Every time you show patience with an insistent child or annoying coworker, you're drawing on the grace that Christ has given you. Always remember that you are a child of God and a coheir of heaven with Jesus. You are not a spiritual pauper—you are wildly rich! Christ is in you; he has made his life available to you. Like Peter and John, you can draw on your inheritance any time—and share it with the people around you. "Jesus, thank you for the vast inheritance you have given me. Show me how to share this wealth with other people today." Psalm 105:1-4, 6-9
Luke 24:13-35 |  clickable | A humble soul does not trust itself, but places all its confidence in God. God defends the humble soul and lets Himself into its secrets, and the soul abides in unsurpassable happiness which no one can comprehend.
— St. Faustina
from The Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska | my2cents:
"Peter and John were going up to the temple area for the three o'clock hour of prayer."
Mary went to the tomb. She was doing something faithful. Today, we heard Peter and John were going to pray at 3 o' clock in the temple area. They were doing something faithful. That's what we must keep doing, being faithful, and true, from the heart to our God. Even the crippled man was faithful, before and even more after. An encounter with our Lord can be an extraordinary thing, but normally He encounters us in the ordinary. "He leaped up, stood, and walked around, and went into the temple with them, walking and jumping and praising God." Can you jump and praise God? Yes you can. If God does something amazing, we will jump. The question then becomes one of gratitude. All the people mentioned here already are constantly returning to God in gratitude, from Mary, to Peter and John, to the crippled man. Thanksgiving is giving something beautiful. | We pray today: "Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name; make known among the nations his deeds. Sing to him, sing his praise,
proclaim all his wondrous deeds. Rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord." Give thanks and make Him known. If your life becomes one of thanksgiving to God, people will take notice. How do you live a life of thanksgiving? It is in communion, and a common union. It is in Christ our Lord we must live. The crippled man was healed by Jesus, through instruments, channels of His Sacred Love. | In the Holy Gospel today we heard: "Jesus himself drew near and walked with them,
but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him."
Emmanuel was walking with them. Emmanuel means God is with us, amen? That is not just a name but a description of our God. Can God speak through strangers? Yes. Can He speak through loved ones? Yes. Why not? He can do anything through anyone. He especially works miracles through the charitable. Think of how Mother Teresa fed hundreds with basically nothing to her name. Think of how you have nothing to offer but God says yes you can. | Two of His disciples were walking, and one was Cleopas. One said ""Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things
that have taken place there in these days?" Cleo was talking about the crucifixion of the Son of God. Can you imagine the disdain in the picture painted to the stranger? They were downcast. A terrible thing had just happened in the world...a shocking disbelief of how their own Nation crucified the true Son of God, the Christ from Heaven. How bad a people! How wretched and twisted and lost a people! How can we be so blind? How can we be so evil? Hope had been crucified! Hung to dry, never let to speak, as if to say a message "We'll teach you a lesson, all who dare to call themselves one with God!!"
The stranger, Emmanuel, walks with them some more, calling them fools for not believing Scripture about Christ and how Christ had to go through all of this for humanity. "How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!" Slow of heart? His own disciples were slow of heart to believe? Boy, what's in it for the rest of us!? For us, hindsight is perfect vision. We see now that God is with us and He has risen, Hope rose from the dead, Christ is with us. Christianity then becomes hope. Hope and love. Jesus has appeared to St. Faustina and asked for 3pm prayers not just on Friday or Divine Mercy Sunday coming up, but every day.
Be found faithful, and on your way, heal somebody in the name of Jesus. And together you will rejoice.
For where 2 or 3 are gathered in His name, He is there.
Do You Believe? Lord, help our slow hearts gain pace, to be hearts on fire for your Precious and Holy Body...all things thanksgiving, all things Holy Eucharist! |  click to hear a message | Random Bible verse from an online generator: 2Tim2:2 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men,1 who will be able to teach others also. | 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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