 |  clickable | | God Will Show Us the Way When doing composings: from Pixabay A preference for light and beauty is one of the reasons St. Francis is attractive to us and why he was so successfully a peacemaker in his own time. It is why today his town of Assisi has been the site of peace conferences and prayer meetings to promote peace. St. Francis is seen as the gentle saint who shows us that the way to peace and justice is the way Christ has shown us in the Gospels, namely, the way of the love of God, which is THE way; and its companion is the way of love of our neighbor as ourselves. This basic Gospel truth is the message of the Gospel St. Francis finally was able to hear in the Gospel he lived and preached. He learned that if we put those two commandments in precisely that order, we easily see how and when we sin in departing from the truth and in hurting our neighbor. All truth is from God, and God's truth is that we are to love God, and loving God will show us how to love our neighbor. Living the Gospel must start with embracing this basic Gospel truth. Only then will we, too, begin to hear the voice of God. —from Surrounded by Love: Seven Teachings from Saint Francis by Murray Bodo, OFM Seven Teachings from Saint Francis |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"Know that the greatest service that man can offer to God is to help convert souls."
— St. Rose of Lima 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
"The soul, however, cannot be perfectly purified from these imperfections, any more than from the others, until God shall have led it into the passive purgation of the dark night, of which I shall speak immediately. But it is expedient that the soul, so far as it can, should labor, on its own part, to purify and perfect itself, that it may merit from God to be taken under His divine care, and be healed from those imperfections which of itself it cannot remedy. For, after all the efforts of the soul, it cannot by any exertions of its own actively purify itself so as to be in the slightest degree fit for the divine union of perfection in the love of God, if God Himself does not take it into His own hands and purify it in the fire, dark to the soul."
— St. John of the Cross, p.14
AN EXCERPT FROM
Dark Night of the Soul †VERSE OF THE DAY
"Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven."
Matthew 10:32-33 |  click to read more | | POPE ST. SOTER Pope St. Soter (c. 174-175 A.D.) was born in Fondi, Italy. Nothing is known of his early life. He served as the 12th bishop of Rome from c.167 to 175 A.D. He was praised for his fatherly tenderness in comforting, both with words and generous alms, those who suffered for their Catholic faith, especially remote Christian churches living in poverty. He is said to have written an encyclical against Montanism – a heresy which maintained that a Christian who sinned gravely could never be redeemed. Pope St. Soter also declared that marriage was only a valid sacrament when blessed by a priest. The manner of Pope St. Soter's death is uncertain; one tradition holds that he was martyred on April 22, 175 A.D., under the Christian persecution of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. He was buried in Rome on the Appian Way in the catacombs of St. Callixtus. His feast day is April 22nd. | Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter
Lectionary: 269
Reading 1 Acts 5:17-26 The high priest rose up and all his companions,
that is, the party of the Sadducees,
and, filled with jealousy,
laid hands upon the Apostles and put them in the public jail.
But during the night, the angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison,
led them out, and said,
"Go and take your place in the temple area,
and tell the people everything about this life."
When they heard this,
they went to the temple early in the morning and taught.
When the high priest and his companions arrived,
they convened the Sanhedrin,
the full senate of the children of Israel,
and sent to the jail to have them brought in.
But the court officers who went did not find them in the prison,
so they came back and reported,
"We found the jail securely locked
and the guards stationed outside the doors,
but when we opened them, we found no one inside."
When the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard this report,
they were at a loss about them,
as to what this would come to.
Then someone came in and reported to them,
"The men whom you put in prison are in the temple area
and are teaching the people."
Then the captain and the court officers went and brought them,
but without force,
because they were afraid of being stoned by the people. Responsorial Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 R. (7a) The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Jn 3:16 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God so love the world that he gave his only-begotten Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 3:16-21 God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God.
And this is the verdict,
that the light came into the world,
but people preferred darkness to light,
because their works were evil.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light
and does not come toward the light,
so that his works might not be exposed.
But whoever lives the truth comes to the light,
so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God. | Today's Meditation: John 3:16-21 God so loved the world. (John 3:16) Did you know that this verse is not just talking about how much God loves the world? It's also talking about the way God loves the world. The Greek word for "so" used in this sentence means "in this manner" just as much as it means "to this extent." So another reading of this verse could be "This is the way God loved the world." So how does God love the world? Let's take apart the rest of this famous verse. He gave: God loves without reservation. Love is not something God hoards to himself. It does not stay confined in his own perfection. It naturally bursts forth, out of himself, to us. Because God's love is generous. His only Son: God does not love begrudgingly. He doesn't give us just any old thing. He gave us his only begotten Son, one in being with him, most precious to his heart. Because God's love holds nothing back. So that everyone who believes: God loves without restriction. He has opened the door of his heart to anyone who believes, no conditions. He makes no exceptions. He pours his love out on each person who comes to him in faith. Because God's love flows freely to everyone. Might not perish: God does not brood over injury. He does not withhold his love from us because we have sinned against him. He does not give us "what we deserve" but removes our guilt and restores us. Because God's love is merciful. But might have eternal life: God wants to be united with us. It wasn't enough to take away our sin. God in his abundant love wanted us to be with him eternally. He has opened heaven's gates and welcomes us in! Because God's love is everlasting. God wants to show you how he loves you today. As you take some time to pray with one—or several—of these ideas, let his free, generous, and overflowing love wash over you. Let it sink in how much he loves you! Then, let your heart respond with praise and thanks to the Lord who loved not only the whole world but you! "Praise to you, Lord, for the way you love each and every person you have made! Help me to receive all the love you have for me." Acts 5:17-26
Psalm 34:2-9 |  clickable | What is not possible to us by nature, let us ask the Lord to supply by the help of his grace. If we wish to reach eternal life, even as we avoid the torments of hell, then—while there is still time, while we are in this body and have time to accomplish all these things by the light of life—we must run and do now what will profit us forever.
— The Rule of St. Benedict | my2cents:
""Go and take your place in the temple area, and tell the people everything about this life."
Their chains came off, their cells opened, and they were told to take their place in the temple, and proclaim the life.
And so they did. Only to get arrested immediately again. Where is the victory in this story? We can't see the success in the cross, but God does. He sees obedience. He sees fruit we cannot. Now we have only faith. | "The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. Taste and see how good the LORD is; blessed the man who takes refuge in him. The Lord hears the cry of the poor."
What did angels do for Jesus? They say there was an angel there when Jesus was dripping blood at the Garden of Gethsemanie, the night before He was handed over by his own disciple. Betrayal of the faithful. An angel was there. I don't think we know the power of a single angel. And there are thousands of angels at His disposal. But the angel of Grace stood quiet. Mercy was going to be availed to the entire world from that moment, and it'd begin with a bitter betrayal, like a pin prick on a huge bubble filled with Holy Water. | "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him."
It took millennia for God to respond to our betrayal. Our Father was going to show the ultimate response to our wretchedness. We have a temporary fence in our shop, it still has a "Beware of Dog" sign on it. I passed it this week and thought, "my oh my, how some people with dyslexia in spirit could read that sign "Beware of God". That's what the Pharisees and Jewish leaders did with our Lord. They kept people from God more than bringing souls to a full realization of our created reason. People afraid of God. I like the notion of Confession, it speaks super clear. This weekend I was caught up working on speaker setups to broadcast Mass online, and went into overtime, confessions would begin. Father dressed up, waited. Nobody came. I had gone a couple weeks ago...and I was busy but I busily watched. After a long while...he undressed, nobody had come. Finally, a little old lady with a mask over her mouth and nose came in slowly, and Father welcomed her and dressed up again. He got into the confessional. She was on her knees for a long time praying, looking over what seemed to be an examination of conscience booklet. I thought Father would run out of patience. I kept being busy. She finally got up and slowly walked in. After a while, I noticed the door was cracked open, and I felt I was peering into something private...but beautiful, like when I was a little kid and peeped into a room full of community prayer, where my mom and grandma (God rest her soul) where singing "Alabare" and I had opened the door to a whole new and mysterious world...of light. All of this is preliminary to what God says next: | "For everyone who does wicked things hates the light
and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed." Think of the little old lady in confessional. She was going to expose herself to the Lord...Our Father. And hundreds of us shied away, so that our works might not be exposed. Why do we think we are so good? Here's the truth, we have the good, yes, we see good, yes, but there should be no room for evil darkness in our lives, our beings, because that is where God desires to reside in our hearts.
"... whoever lives the truth comes to the light,
so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God."
Living the truth is to expose ourselves to Him, to be bathed in His light of the Holy Sacrament.
If we want to resurrect with Him, we must enter the mystery of His light.
What does Mercy look like? Jesus.
What does it taste like? Jesus in the Eucharist.
What does it sound like? Jesus in the confessional.
What does Mercy feel like? It feels like a negative charge on the negative world, it counters it to make it positive, and this is uplifting.
What does Mercy smell like? It is fresh and new.
The whole of today's scriptures are for you to breathe in this treatment.
God wants to cleanse our souls.
Come to the light. Enter the mystery of God's Love. |  click to hear a message | Random Bible verse from an online generator: AMAZING Isaiah 50:7 7 But the Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame. | 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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