 |  clickable | | God Makes Grace from Our Grit God makes grace out of our grit, salvation out of our sin. We are saved, ironically, not by doing it right as much as by the suffering of having done it wrong. We come to God not through our perfection (thank God!) as much as through our imperfection. Finally, all must be forgiven and reconciled. Life does not have to be fixed, controlled, or even understood for us to be happy. That is good news! In fact, what else would it be? The gospel is a new "logic" that "The Fool on the Hill," as in the Lennon and McCartney song, brought to the world. This gospel logic is much broader, much deeper, much more spacious and filled with compassion than any system of thought that the world has been able to create. Maybe that is what truth means. Why would anyone settle for the small mind of rationalism or the no-mind of non-rationalism? This is the Great Mind of Christ. —from The Wisdom Pattern: Order, Disorder, Reorder by Richard Rohr, OFM |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"It is in the company of Jesus that you work for the glory of God."
— St. John Baptist de la Salle 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
"Whenever that sacrifice of Christ is memorialized in the Church, there is an application to a new moment in time and a new presence in space of the unique sacrifice of Christ Who is now in glory. In obeying His mandate, His followers would be representing in an unbloody manner that which He presented to His Father in the bloody sacrifice of Calvary. After changing the bread into His Body and the wine into His Blood: He gave it to them (Mark 14:22). By that communion they were made one with Christ, to be offered with Him, in Him, and by Him. All love craves unity. As the highest peak of love in the human order is the unity of husband and wife in the flesh, so the highest unity in the Divine order is the unity of the soul and Christ in communion."
— Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, p. 401-2
AN EXCERPT FROM
Life of Christ † VERSE OF THE DAY
"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another."
Galatians 5:22-26 |  click to read more | | Saint Philip Neri (July 21, 1515 – May 26, 1595) Philip Neri was a sign of contradiction, combining popularity with piety against the background of a corrupt Rome and a disinterested clergy: the whole post-Renaissance malaise. At an early age, Philip abandoned the chance to become a businessman, moved to Rome from Florence, and devoted his life and individuality to God. After three years of philosophy and theology studies, he gave up any thought of ordination. The next 13 years were spent in a vocation unusual at the time—that of a layperson actively engaged in prayer and the apostolate. As the Council of Trent (1545-63) was reforming the Church on a doctrinal level, Philip's appealing personality was winning him friends from all levels of society, from beggars to cardinals. He rapidly gathered around himself a group of laypersons won over by his audacious spirituality. Initially, they met as an informal prayer and discussion group, and also served poor people in Rome. At the urging of his confessor, Philip was ordained a priest and soon became an outstanding confessor himself, gifted with the knack of piercing the pretenses and illusions of others, though always in a charitable manner and often with a joke. He arranged talks, discussions, and prayers for his penitents in a room above the church. He sometimes led "excursions" to other churches, often with music and a picnic on the way. Some of Philip's followers became priests and lived together in community. This was the beginning of the Oratory, the religious institute he founded. A feature of their life was a daily afternoon service of four informal talks, with vernacular hymns and prayers. Giovanni Palestrina was one of Philip's followers, and composed music for the services. The Oratory was finally approved after suffering through a period of accusations of being an assembly of heretics, where laypersons preached and sang vernacular hymns! Philip's advice was sought by many of the prominent figures of his day. He is one of the influential figures of the Counter-Reformation, mainly for converting to personal holiness many of the influential people within the Church itself. His characteristic virtues were humility and gaiety. After spending a day hearing confessions and receiving visitors, Philip Neri suffered a hemorrhage and died on the feast of Corpus Christi in 1595. He was beatified in 1615 and canonized in 1622. Three centuries later, Cardinal John Henry Newman founded the first English-speaking house of the Oratory in London.
Reflection Many people wrongly feel that such an attractive and jocular personality as Philip's cannot be combined with an intense spirituality. Philip's life melts our rigid, narrow views of piety. His approach to sanctity was truly catholic, all-embracing, and accompanied by a good laugh. Philip always wanted his followers to become not less but more human through their striving for holiness. | Memorial of Saint Philip Neri, priest Reading 1 Acts 20:17-27 From Miletus Paul had the presbyters
of the Church at Ephesus summoned.
When they came to him, he addressed them,
"You know how I lived among you
the whole time from the day I first came to the province of Asia.
I served the Lord with all humility
and with the tears and trials that came to me
because of the plots of the Jews,
and I did not at all shrink from telling you
what was for your benefit,
or from teaching you in public or in your homes.
I earnestly bore witness for both Jews and Greeks
to repentance before God and to faith in our Lord Jesus.
But now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem.
What will happen to me there I do not know,
except that in one city after another
the Holy Spirit has been warning me
that imprisonment and hardships await me.
Yet I consider life of no importance to me,
if only I may finish my course
and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus,
to bear witness to the Gospel of God's grace.
"But now I know that none of you
to whom I preached the kingdom during my travels
will ever see my face again.
And so I solemnly declare to you this day
that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you,
for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the entire plan of God." Responsorial Psalm 68:10-11, 20-21 R. (33a) Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
A bountiful rain you showered down, O God, upon your inheritance;
you restored the land when it languished;
Your flock settled in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided it for the needy.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed day by day be the Lord,
who bears our burdens; God, who is our salvation.
God is a saving God for us;
the LORD, my Lord, controls the passageways of death.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Jn 14:16
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I will ask the father
and he will give you another Advocate
to be with you always.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 17:1-11a Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said,
"Father, the hour has come.
Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you,
just as you gave him authority over all people,
so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him.
Now this is eternal life,
that they should know you, the only true God,
and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
I glorified you on earth
by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.
Now glorify me, Father, with you,
with the glory that I had with you before the world began.
"I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.
They belonged to you, and you gave them to me,
and they have kept your word.
Now they know that everything you gave me is from you,
because the words you gave to me I have given to them,
and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you,
and they have believed that you sent me.
I pray for them.
I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me,
because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours
and everything of yours is mine,
and I have been glorified in them.
And now I will no longer be in the world,
but they are in the world, while I am coming to you." | Today's Meditation: Acts 20:17-27 I served the Lord with all humility. (Acts 20:19) Summarizing some of the main points of his life and ministry among them, St. Paul gave this farewell address to the elders of Ephesus. Since he knew that they would not see him again, it was to be something like his final legacy. Have you ever thought about what kind of legacy you would like to leave? For which accomplishments in your life, or for which character traits, would you like to be remembered? You might be tempted to think that there is no way your legacy could be so noble or impressive as Paul's. But if you think that way, you're most likely limiting what God can accomplish through you. Especially as we get older, our dreams of who we might become or what we might accomplish can grow quite limited. World-wearied, discouraged by past failures, or held back by conventional ways of thinking and acting, we might end up accepting far less than God actually wants to do in us and through us. We may be tempted to think that only canonized saints can accomplish anything significant. Laypeople may believe that only clergy or religious can make any lasting mark in the Church. And religious or clergy may see their own challenges or difficulties as limiting anything truly worthy of greatness in God's kingdom. But none of these thoughts really reflect God's view of any of us. Whenever we think about our legacy, we should remember that "nothing will be impossible for God" (Luke 1:37). There is so much work to be done, and God needs willing vessels—at every age and state in life—to help build his kingdom. Jesus can do mighty things through you. Why not give him a chance? Let him know about your thoughts, dreams, and desires. Tell him how you want to leave a mark on the Church. Then, with humility but with boldness pray, "Here I am, Lord. I come to do your will." Whether it's intercession, parish service, caring for the poor, or something altogether different, go for it, and watch what God can do through you! "Holy Spirit, pour out your power and strength on me so that I may accomplish more than I can ask or imagine." Psalm 68:10-11, 20-21
John 17:1-11 |  clickable | I am truly your compassionate Mother: your Mother and the Mother to all who dwell in this land and to all other nations and peoples who love me and call and entreat me. I am the Mother of all who seek me and place their trust in me.
— Our Lady of Guadalupe to St. Juan Diego
quoted in Maria of Guadalupe | my2cents:
"Yet I consider life of no importance to me,
if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to bear witness to the Gospel of God's grace."
Did St. Paul just throw away his life?
Many parents are afraid to give their only son to the priesthood, or a daughter to be a religious nun. Many even consider the word "religious" to be a bad connotation.
Why "waste" your life on THAT?
It becomes a matter of importance. What is important? Your life? Or the life of Jesus?
Your will, or the will of God our Father? | We pray: "A bountiful rain you showered down, O God, upon your inheritance;
you restored the land when it languished;
Your flock settled in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided it for the needy. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth."
And the Lord called the mountain "Yahweh Yireh", God provides, the Lord will provide for the needy. Needy of what? Food? Spiritual, yes. But what else? Salvation. A Mass, and Mass Exodus into the eternal realms, and for that we turn to the Way. | The Lord, the Way, the Life speaks:
""Father, the hour has come.
Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you,just as you gave him authority over all people, so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him."
So that HE MAY give life eternal to all.
You may have the life. It is a permission. It is a plea and it is about a life with God. And I can't shake the thought of glory.
I was praising and glorifying God last night as lightning was in the sky and the sunset to my back. I recorded it while listening to a song that talked about the land glorifying God, and God's open sky (Heaven) to reign on us. Click here to view..
Song says "You are worthy, God so powerful, before your name all beings will prostrate Lord, Jesus Son of God, we bless you, we give you thanks because you are good, and your love is eternal, we adore you, we glorify you, before your Presence, Gloria Aleluya".
The land adores you.
But the perplexing part is the glory that Jesus talks about. It comes at a great price. It means laying down your life. | Some consider this not a waste, but an offering. God will provide.
Some consider it an investment.
"I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.
They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word."
God's promise keepers exist.
Faithful souls. Souls destined for Heaven. And I thank God for you, for having kept His word. Thank you for being faithful. Thank you for giving glory to God in your obedience, and in your offering. Thank you.
"I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me..."
Is there something beautiful here? That our Lord Jesus is praying for us? Because He was thinking of me and you when He said this. Us baptized. Us being faithful. Us who the Lord our Father has given to Jesus in His Kingship of the world. Jesus reigns. Jesus is King. Jesus is resurrected, and Jesus is ascended. All came at a price. God's only Son in the world, a true master piece of love. A communal love.
I want you to envision being enveloped by a crowd of Heaven and God worshipers. You are being lifted up in prayers. I pray for you when I send this to you. God sends Jesus and He prays for you when you reach out to Him. The Good Shepherd has keen ears because they are attuned to listen to the sheep. Lord, thank you for your glory. Thank you for being glorious. Glory came through blood and body. And now you have the Glorified Body to descend upon us forever. Thank you.
Help us cherish and be your Sacred body both now and forever | Random Bible verse from an online generator:
James 3:7
7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. | 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 | | |
