 |  clickable | | We All Need Healing Rather than face what we fear, accepting that we need help, we deny our need for help, even to ourselves. At some point, we become so afraid of our wounds, so afraid of admitting we have a problem, that we hide our problems even from ourselves, engaging in mental gymnastics and reshaping the world so we can fit in as we are. We tell others we're fine, and we begin to believe it ourselves. We remain the walking wounded, trapped by sin and pain, yet ignorant of our situation. This is a huge stumbling block on our spiritual journeys as disciples. We cannot call ourselves disciples, those who follow after Jesus and call him master, if we refuse to let him transform every part of us. None of us is perfect. All of us carry wounds. If we want to be his disciples, we must let go of our pride and fear, our willful ignorance and low expectations, and be vulnerable enough to let Jesus heal us. —from the book Let Go: Seven Stumbling Blocks to Christian Discipleship by Casey Cole, OFM |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
April 30, 2020 "Commitment is doing what you said you would do, after the feeling you said it in has passed." — St. Camillus 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, who is lifted by a very great and yearning desire for the honor of God and the salvation of souls, begins by exercising herself, for a certain space of time, in the ordinary virtues, remaining in the cell of self-knowledge, in order to know better the goodness of God towards her. This she does because knowledge must precede love, and only when she has attained love, can she strive to follow and to clothe herself with the truth. But, in no way, does the creature receive such a taste of the truth, or so brilliant a light therefrom, as by means of humble and continuous prayer, founded on knowledge of herself and of God; because prayer, exercising her in the above way, unites with God the soul that follows the footprints of Christ Crucified, and thus, by desire and affection, and union of love, makes her another Himself." — St. Catherine of Siena, p.1 †Verse of the Day "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Matthew 6:14-15 |  click to read more | | Pope St. Pius V (1504–1572) was born as Antonio Ghislieri to a poor yet noble family in Bosco, Italy. He worked as a shepherd until the age of 14, after which he joined the Dominican Order and was ordained a priest at the age of 24. He taught theology and philosophy, spent long hours in prayer, and fasted regularly. Due to his great intelligence and reputation for holiness he rose to a number of prominent positions in the Church, including Inquisitor and Bishop. In 1565 he was elected Pope and took the name Pope Pius V. As Supreme Pontiff he was a great reformer and worked to implement the decisions of the Council of Trent following the Protestant revolt. He reformed the clergy, supported the foreign missions, published a catechism, revised the breviary and missal, and named St. Thomas Aquinas a Doctor of the Church. In his alliance with Venice and Spain, and with the aid of a rosary crusade among the faithful, he defeated the Ottoman Turks in the famous and decisive Battle of Lepanto in the Mediterranean sea on October 7, 1571. This miraculous victory saved Europe from being ruled by the Ottoman Empire. The Holy Father afterwards instituted the feast of Our Lady of Victory (now Our Lady of the Rosary) in thanksgiving to Our Lady for leading the Christian forces to victory, and to encourage a greater devotion to the Holy Rosary throughout the universal Church. For this he is known as the "Pope of the Rosary." His feast day is April 30th. | Thursday of the Third Week of Easter
Lectionary: 276 Reading 1 Acts 8:26-40 The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip,
"Get up and head south on the road
that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route."
So he got up and set out.
Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch,
a court official of the Candace,
that is, the queen of the Ethiopians,
in charge of her entire treasury,
who had come to Jerusalem to worship, and was returning home.
Seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.
The Spirit said to Philip,
"Go and join up with that chariot."
Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said,
"Do you understand what you are reading?"
He replied,
"How can I, unless someone instructs me?"
So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him.
This was the Scripture passage he was reading: Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who will tell of his posterity?
For his life is taken from the earth. Then the eunuch said to Philip in reply,
"I beg you, about whom is the prophet saying this?
About himself, or about someone else?"
Then Philip opened his mouth and, beginning with this Scripture passage,
he proclaimed Jesus to him.
As they traveled along the road
they came to some water,
and the eunuch said, "Look, there is water.
What is to prevent my being baptized?"
Then he ordered the chariot to stop,
and Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water,
and he baptized him.
When they came out of the water,
the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away,
and the eunuch saw him no more,
but continued on his way rejoicing.
Philip came to Azotus, and went about proclaiming the good news
to all the towns until he reached Caesarea. Responsorial Psalm 66:8-9, 16-17, 20 R. (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Bless our God, you peoples,
loudly sound his praise;
He has given life to our souls,
and has not let our feet slip.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare
what he has done for me.
When I appealed to him in words,
praise was on the tip of my tongue.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed be God who refused me not
my prayer or his kindness!
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Jn 6:51 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven, says the Lord;
whoever eats this bread will live forever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 6:44-51 Jesus said to the crowds:
"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day.
It is written in the prophets: They shall all be taught by God. Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.
Not that anyone has seen the Father
except the one who is from God;
he has seen the Father.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my Flesh for the life of the world." | 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 | The original source of all that is good is the very act of God, who created both the earth and man, and who gave the earth to man so that he might have dominion over it by his work and enjoy its fruits. God gave the earth to the whole human race for the sustenance of all its members, without excluding or favouring anyone. This is the foundation of the universal destination of the earth's goods. — St. John Paul II
From Centesimus Annus | my2cents: "Look, there is water. What is to prevent my being baptized?"
The conversation went to baptism of the Lord.
Water. And a soul saved and goes in joy...on his own...with
The Holy Spirit. Jesus enters. | We pray today:
"Bless our God, you peoples, loudly sound his praise;
He has given life to our souls, and has not let our feet slip. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy."
He gives life to our souls.
First we are born in water.
Then He feeds us.
And leads us. | In the Gospel today our Lord says:
""No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day."
He leads us to eternity.
The chosen. Not predestination...but chosen by those who actively seek Him...desire Him.
You are seeking Him. Always seek.
Does a lamb cease to seek the shepherded or a dog its master? Not if love is involved.
"I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my Flesh for the life of the world." | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, in today's Gospel Jesus declares, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven." The bread is referred to as living. Bread is good, but it's not alive. Instead, when we take it in, and it is turned by our bodies into fat or muscle or bone, then it comes alive.
But it is just the opposite with the living bread of Christ. This we take in and we become alive in a way that we were not before. And this is why Jesus says that he is bread come down from heaven.
What is heaven? St. Paul says, "Eye has not seen and ear has not heard what God has prepared for those who love him." Paul's pithy remark gives us a clue: "those who love him." Whatever heaven is, it is the realm of God, and therefore it is a realm of love.
What is the Eucharist, this heavenly food, but a participation in the love between the Father and the Son? In the Eucharist, the sacrifice of Christ is made present, and the sacrifice of Christ is the fullest expression of the love of the Father and the Son." Christ offers Himself Lord I am yours and yours I wish to be!
O help us love thee more and more | Random Bible verse from an online generator:
Psalm 27
The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation Of David. 27 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold1 of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? | 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 | | |
