 |  clickable | | Mary, Help Us Trust in God's Mercy Nothing is impossible for God's mercy! Even the most tangled knots are loosened by his grace. And Mary, whose "yes" opened the door for God to undo the knot of the ancient disobedience, is the Mother who patiently and lovingly brings us to God, so that he can untangle the knots of our soul by his fatherly mercy. We all have some of these knots and we can ask in our heart of hearts: What are the knots in my life? "Father, my knots cannot be undone!" It is a mistake to say anything of the sort! All the knots of our heart, every knot of our conscience, can be undone. Do I ask Mary to help me trust in God's mercy, to undo those knots, to change? She, as a woman of faith, will surely tell you: "Get up, go to the Lord: he understands you." And she leads us by the hand as a Mother, our Mother, to the embrace of our Father, the Father of mercies —from Mother Mary: Inspiring Words from Pope Francis |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote "Have caution in not allowing yourself to be struck down by adversity nor becoming vain by prosperity."
— St. Clare of Assisi 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
"Do you know what it is to be truly spiritual? It is for men to make themselves the slaves of God—branded with His mark, which is the Cross. ... Unless you make up your minds to this, never expect to make much progress, for as I said humility is the foundation of the whole building and unless you are truly humble, Our Lord, for your own sake, will never permit you to rear it very high lest it should fall to the ground. Therefore, sisters, take care to lay a firm foundation by seeking to be the least of all and the slave of others, watching how you can please and help them, for it will benefit you more than them. Built on such strong rocks, your castle can never go to ruin. I insist again: your foundation must not consist of prayer and contemplation alone: unless you acquire the virtues and praise them, you will always be dwarfs; and please God no worse may befall you than making no progress, for you know that to stop is to go back—if you love, you will never be content to come to a standstill."
— St. Teresa of Avila, p.209-10
AN EXCERPT FROM
Interior Castle |  click to read more | | ST. VICTOR MAURUS St. Victor Maurus (d. 303 A.D.), also known as Victor the Moor and Victor of Milan, was born in Mauretania (North Africa) in a Christian household. He later relocated to Milan, Italy, as a soldier of the Praetorian Guard that served Roman Emperor Maximian during his persecution of Christians. Although Victor was a Christian since childhood, this fact was not widely known until he destroyed an altar to a pagan god. The Emperor, infuriated, had Victor imprisoned and starved for six days. The Emperor then gave him every chance to recant his faith, including offering him riches, but Victor refused each attempt. He was then tortured mercilessly, unless he would offer sacrifice to the gods, by being stretched on the rack and having molten lead poured over his body. Victor remained steadfast and boldly proclaimed his faith in Christ, declaring that the Roman gods were demons. Finally the saint was beheaded on May 8 in the year 303 A.D. The Emperor refused him burial so that wild beasts would consume his body. However, after six days the body was discovered untouched with two beasts guarding it at the head and foot. The local bishop then received permission to bury the body. A church was later erected over Victor's grave and many miracles occurred there. St. Victor's feast day is May 8th. | Friday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Lectionary: 283
Reading 1 Acts 13:26-33 When Paul came to Antioch in Pisidia, he said in the synagogue: "My brothers, children of the family of Abraham,
and those others among you who are God-fearing,
to us this word of salvation has been sent.
The inhabitants of Jerusalem and their leaders failed to recognize him,
and by condemning him they fulfilled the oracles of the prophets
that are read sabbath after sabbath.
For even though they found no grounds for a death sentence,
they asked Pilate to have him put to death,
and when they had accomplished all that was written about him,
they took him down from the tree and placed him in a tomb.
But God raised him from the dead,
and for many days he appeared to those
who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem.
These are now his witnesses before the people.
We ourselves are proclaiming this good news to you
that what God promised our fathers
he has brought to fulfillment for us, their children, by raising up Jesus,
as it is written in the second psalm,
You are my Son; this day I have begotten you." Responsorial Psalm 2:6-7, 8-9, 10-11ab R. (7bc) You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.
or:
R. Alleluia.
"I myself have set up my king
on Zion, my holy mountain."
I will proclaim the decree of the LORD:
The LORD said to me, "You are my Son;
this day I have begotten you." R. You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.
or:
R. Alleluia.
"Ask of me and I will give you
the nations for an inheritance
and the ends of the earth for your possession.
You shall rule them with an iron rod;
you shall shatter them like an earthen dish." R. You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.
or:
R. Alleluia.
And now, O kings, give heed;
take warning, you rulers of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice before him;
with trembling rejoice. R. You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Jn 14:6 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord;
no one comes to the Father except through me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 14:1-6 Jesus said to his disciples:
"Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You have faith in God; have faith also in me.
In my Father's house there are many dwelling places.
If there were not,
would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back again and take you to myself,
so that where I am you also may be.
Where I am going you know the way."
Thomas said to him,
"Master, we do not know where you are going;
how can we know the way?"
Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me." | Today's Meditation: John 14:1-6 I am the way and the truth and the life. (John 14:6) In 1654, Blaise Pascal, the famous mathematician, physicist, and writer, had a conversion experience that brought him back to his Catholic faith with renewed zeal. When Pascal died eight years later, his servant found that he had sown a piece of parchment inside his coat that contained scribbled reminders of that conversion experience. Whenever Pascal changed coats, he would resew the parchment into the new garment. The note was quite long but included this one particularly beautiful segment: We keep hold of him only by the ways taught in the Gospel. Renunciation, total and sweet. Total submission to Jesus Christ and to my director. I will not forget thy word. Amen. It's interesting to think that this brilliant man went to such lengths to remind himself of his conversion and to stay focused on Jesus' love for him. When they hear that Jesus is leaving to prepare a place for them in heaven, the disciples are confused and worried that they won't be able to follow him there. But Jesus reassures them: they know the way to heaven; they just have to focus on following him. Have you ever felt that way? That you might not be able to keep following the right path to heaven? Or even that you may prove to be unworthy of the dwelling place that Christ has prepared for you? Blaise Pascal may have shown us the way to many modern breakthroughs in science and mathematics, but his simple practice of sewing a piece of parchment into his coat can teach us an invaluable lesson. He shows us how to stay focused on Christ even when we feel insecure or unworthy. In a poetic way, he made sure that his faith was woven into his daily life so that he could remember it and remind himself of its truthfulness. Perhaps we can imitate Pascal and find some way to remind ourselves of Jesus' constant presence in our lives. Maybe a note in our own coat pocket or a rosary by our bedside or a sacred image at our workplace can help. Jesus is the way, and he is so worth following! "Lord, help me 'sew' your love into my heart so that I can walk in faith and confidence." Acts 13:26-33
Psalm 2:6-11 |  clickable | Joy always goes in two directions. We never give joy to anyone else without giving joy to ourselves, any more than we behave in an untoward way toward others without wizening ourselves.
— Mother Mary Francis, PCC
From Cause of Our Joy: Walking Day by Day with Our Lady | my2cents: "These are now his witnesses before the people. We ourselves are proclaiming this good news to you that what God promised our fathers.."
Have you met a witness? Someone who has been there and seen with their own eyes? Let's say you have. Do you believe their story? Today's story is of the resurrected Christ. And He witnesses about something too... | Let us pray: "And now, O kings, give heed;
take warning, you rulers of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice before him; with trembling rejoice. You are my Son; this day I have begotten you"
This day you are begotten. What does that mean? It means many things doesn't it? Chosen, formed, to be made one and whole, right? The Only Begotten Son enters our lives now because time does not exist for Him as it does on earth for us. | Our Lord speaks: "Jesus said to his disciples:
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places."
Dwellings? Some offshoot translations call these dwellings mansions, but that is misleading. It can lead you to think you are going to a rich place, not for the poor. But that is contrary to what Jesus teaches....about the poor. No. He said many dwelling places. Are they caves? Caves on a mountain side? That's a dwelling too you know. Regardless, we are speaking about heart matters. Abide in Him and reside in Him. It is a state of being. It's not so much where you're at but who you are with, amen? I know a couple, a poor couple, they don't travel, they don't go on fancy vacations, I've offered them a weekend trip for getting married in the Catholic Church, and here we are years later, no, they are content, they are where they want to be...with each other. This is a case in love. It is proof of God's dwelling place...secure. If you could spend the rest of your life, eternity, who would it be with? Wouldn't you choose the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to be your dwelling place, your everything? His Heart is a joyful adventure, full of lights and joy. His heart is a moving being. His heart is bigger than what we call a universe. And God calls us to dwell in it, there is much room, yes...but for love. That means, there is room for you. As a matter of fact, there are people building you a place right now, a dwelling place for you in Heaven. God is calling us to Himself with today's message. I'm heavily involved in construction. I build foundations in my day job and in my spiritual job, I try too. Build foundations for my family, loved ones, and community. And they are all interconnected with God. Try to build without God and you build on sand, and sand is an unstable material, even if I can make it compact, it will soon give way, even if it becomes stone, it is brittle. But with God? We are building on a foundation stronger than any stone on earth. We are building our lives on Him, with Him, and through Him... Lord, let us build up your city of Love here and now, be with us, guide us, help us every step of the way...to build our relationship of Love with Love from above.... | Random Bible verse from an online generator:
James 4:8
8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. | 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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