 |  clickable | | Saint Isidore: Good Work Is Like a Prayer It is in work that we find the test of our relationship to the creation because work is the question of how we will use the creation. For Wendell Berry, work done well brings us into a wholeness and cooperation with the creation in which we can find health. Bad work destroys the connections that make life possible. For Berry good work is like a prayer—it is an act of both gratitude and return. Good work accepts the gifts of creation and uses those gifts to further their givenness. There are seeds that lie for decades in the soil, waiting for the right conditions before springing to life. Good work is that which creates the conditions for such life to burst forth from the whole of the creation. —from the book Wendell Berry and the Given Life by Ragan Sutterfield |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them, every day begin the task anew."
— St. Francis de Sales 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
"Let us not fancy that if we cry a great deal we have done all that is needed—rather we must work hard and practice the virtues: that is the essential—leaving tears to fall when God sends them, without trying to force ourselves to shed them. Then, if we do not take too much notice of them, they will leave the parched soil of our souls well watered, making it fertile in good fruit; for this is the water which falls from Heaven. ... I think it is best for us to place ourselves in the presence of God, contemplate His mercy and grandeur and our own vileness and leave Him to give us what He will, whether water or drought, for He knows best what is good for us; thus we enjoy peace and the devil will have less chance to deceive us."
— St. Teresa of Avila, p.147
AN EXCERPT FROM
Interior Castle † VERSE OF THE DAY
"For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God."
Job 19:25-26 |  click to read more | | ST. DYMPHNA St. Dymphna (7th c.) was the daughter of a pagan Irish chieftain and a beautiful Christian noblewoman. Dymphna was raised as a Christian, and she consecrated her virginity to Christ at a young age. Dymphna's father loved his wife deeply. When her mother died, Dymphna's father was so overcome with grief that he became mentally unstable. Unable to find another suitable wife of equal character and beauty to his first wife, he attempted to marry Dymphna due to her close resemblance to her mother. Upon learning of his wicked plan, Dymphna fled across the sea into Belgium along with her tutor and confessor, Father Gerebran. Her father pursued them and eventually discovered their location by tracing the foreign money they used along the way. He killed Dymphna's confessor and pleaded with his daughter to return with him to Ireland to be his wife. When she refused, he cut off her head in a mad rage. St. Dymphna's church still stands on the place of her burial near Antwerp. There have been numerous accounts of those afflicted with epilepsy and mental illness visiting her tomb and receiving miraculous cures through her intercession. Because of this, St. Dympha is the patroness of those suffering from mental and neurological disorders and illnesses, as well as of mental health professionals. Her feast day is May 15th. | Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 15:22-31 The Apostles and presbyters, in agreement with the whole Church,
decided to choose representatives
and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.
The ones chosen were Judas, who was called Barsabbas,
and Silas, leaders among the brothers.
This is the letter delivered by them:
"The Apostles and the presbyters, your brothers,
to the brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia
of Gentile origin: greetings.
Since we have heard that some of our number
who went out without any mandate from us
have upset you with their teachings
and disturbed your peace of mind,
we have with one accord decided to choose representatives
and to send them to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So we are sending Judas and Silas
who will also convey this same message by word of mouth:
'It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us
not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities,
namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols,
from blood, from meats of strangled animals,
and from unlawful marriage.
If you keep free of these,
you will be doing what is right. Farewell.'"
And so they were sent on their journey.
Upon their arrival in Antioch
they called the assembly together and delivered the letter.
When the people read it, they were delighted with the exhortation. Responsorial Psalm 57:8-9, 10 and 12
R. (10a) I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
My heart is steadfast, O God; my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and chant praise.
Awake, O my soul; awake, lyre and harp!
I will wake the dawn.
R. I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will give thanks to you among the peoples, O LORD,
I will chant your praise among the nations.
For your mercy towers to the heavens,
and your faithfulness to the skies.
Be exalted above the heavens, O God;
above all the earth be your glory!
R. I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Jn 15:15b R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I call you my friends, says the Lord,
for I have made known to you all that the Father has told me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 15:12-17 Jesus said to his disciples:
"This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one's life for one's friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you: love one another." | Today's Meditation: John 15:12-17 This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. (John 15:12) It's difficult to imagine how we could ever love one another the way Jesus loves us. How could divine love compare to the way we humans try to love one another? But Jesus was both human and divine. He showed us in concrete, very human ways how to love. So if we want to follow this commandment, let's look at what love looked like in his life. Jesus' love is unconditional. Think of the Samaritan woman at the well or the chief tax collector Zacchaeus (John 4:1-12; Luke 19:1-10). Jesus didn't withhold his love until they reformed their lives. He knew that it was an encounter with his love that would spur them to change. So to love as Jesus loves means loving people as they are, even as we try to gently lead them to the Lord. Jesus' love is merciful. Look at how he treated the woman caught in adultery or the woman with the alabaster jar who anointed him (John 8:3-11; Luke 7:36-50). Look at how he forgave Peter's threefold denial of him (John 21:15-17). Jesus even forgave his persecutors from the cross (Luke 23:34). Loving other people means being merciful toward them, just as we hope they will be merciful to us. It means letting Jesus' mercy soften our hearts so that we are ready to forgive the hurts and sins that may come our way. Jesus' love is sacrificial. He traveled from place to place with nowhere to lay his head (Luke 9:58). He endured the opposition of the religious leaders. He "resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem," knowing that he was going there to lay down his life on the cross to save us (9:51). Jesus shows us that love will involve sacrifice. It means putting other people's needs ahead of our own, even—and especially—when it hurts to do so. Loving the way Jesus loves us isn't always easy. Fortunately, we not only have Jesus' human example to show us what divine love looks like; we also have his presence in our hearts. As we daily open ourselves to his grace, we will find ourselves ever more willing and able to follow his way of love. "Jesus, help me to love other people the way you love me." Acts 15:22-31
Psalm 57:8-10, 12 |  clickable | The greatest word that a human being has ever uttered is amazingly simple. Our first reaction when we hear this word is perhaps: 'Is that all?' Yes, that is all! Mary said Yes to God.
— Fr. Wilfrid Stinissen
From Mary in the Bible and Our Lives | my2cents:
"When the people read it, they were delighted with the exhortation."
When's the last time you were delighted by the Word of God?
It is de light! Delight in the His Light. Eternal light, no darkness. It starts now, make no room for darkness in your soul... | We pray today: "I will give thanks to you among the peoples, O LORD, I will chant your praise among the nations. For your mercy towers to the heavens, and your faithfulness to the skies. Be exalted above the heavens, O God; above all the earth be your glory!" | From Bishop Barron today:
"
Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus calls us his friends.
Psychologists tell us that a true friend is someone who has seen us at our worst and still loves us. If you have encountered me only on my best days, I have no guarantee that you are my friend. But when you have dealt with me when I am most obnoxious and you still love me, then I am sure that you are my friend.
The old Gospel song says, "What a friend we have in Jesus!" This is not pious sentimentalism; it is the heart of the matter. What the first Christians saw in the dying and rising of Jesus is that we killed God, and God returned in forgiving love. He saw us at our very worst, and loved us anyway.
Thus they saw confirmed in flesh and blood what Jesus had said the night before he died: "I no longer call you slaves. . . . I have called you friends." They realized, in the drama of the Paschal Mystery, that we have not only been shown a new way; we have been drawn into a new life, a life of friendship with God.
" I wonder for how long they were with Jesus before He called them "friends" because are you really friends with a master, in a master/apprentice relationship?
And then you are honored the night before He dies...to be called His FRIEND.
Friends forever.
Love forever.
More than family.
More than blood...but soul love.... | Random Bible verse from an online generator:
Proverbs 20:22
22 Do not say, "I will repay evil"; wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you. | 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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