Monday, May 31, 2021

† He Has Looked with Favor

†Saint Quote
"Where there is no love, put love — and you will find love."
— St. John of the Cross

† MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"What words, can, alas, express the deep grief of the Blessed Virgin? Her eyes closed, a death-like tint overspread her countenance; unable to stand, she fell to the ground, but was soon lifted up, and supported by John, Magdalen, and the others. She looked once more upon her beloved Son—that Son whom she had conceived by the Holy Ghost, the flesh of her flesh, the bone of her bone, the heart of her heart—hanging on a cross between two thieves; crucified, dishonored, condemned by those whom He came on earth to save; and well might she at this moment be termed 'the Queen of Martyrs.'"
— Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich, p. 294
AN EXCERPT FROM
The Dolorous Passion

† VERSE OF THE DAY
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast. For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them."
Ephesians 2:8-10

click to read more

ST. PETRONILLE

St. Petronille (1st c.), also known as Petronilla, was a virgin martyr of the early Church in Rome. According to tradition she was connected to St. Peter the Apostle; she may have been either his natural daughter, servant, convert (spiritual daughter), or co-laborer in the faith. It is also a tradition that St. Petronilla was cured of palsy by St. Peter. She is remembered for being beautiful, for refusing marriage to a pagan king due to her vow of chastity, and for suffering martyrdom for her unwavering faith. In the 8th century the chapel containing her relics became the burial place of French kings. This is due to the fact that she was the supposed daughter of St. Peter, and the French kings were considered the "adopted sons" of St. Peter; therefore, St. Petronille was invoked as an intercessor for all treaties between the Holy See and the French crown. Her relics were later moved to St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, and on her feast day Mass at St. Peter's is offered for France and attended by French residents living in Rome. St. Petronille is the patronness of the dauphins of France, mountain travelers, and against fever. Her feast day is May 31st.

Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Lectionary: 572

Reading I

Zep 3:14-18a

Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!

Sing joyfully, O Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your heart,

O daughter Jerusalem!
The LORD has removed the judgment against you,

he has turned away your enemies;
The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst,

you have no further misfortune to fear.
On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem:

Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!
The LORD, your God, is in your midst,

a mighty savior;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,

and renew you in his love,
He will sing joyfully because of you,

as one sings at festivals.

OR:

Rom 12:9-16

Brothers and sisters:
Let love be sincere;
hate what is evil,
hold on to what is good;
love one another with mutual affection;
anticipate one another in showing honor.
Do not grow slack in zeal,
be fervent in spirit,
serve the Lord.
Rejoice in hope,
endure in affliction,
persevere in prayer.
Contribute to the needs of the holy ones,
exercise hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you,
bless and do not curse them.
Rejoice with those who rejoice,
weep with those who weep.
Have the same regard for one another;
do not be haughty but associate with the lowly;
do not be wise in your own estimation.

Responsorial Psalm

Isaiah 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6

R. (6) Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
God indeed is my savior;

I am confident and unafraid.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,

and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water

at the fountain of salvation.
R. Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name;

among the nations make known his deeds,

proclaim how exalted is his name.
R. Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.
Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement;

let this be known throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,

for great in your midst

is the Holy One of Israel!
R. Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.

Alleluia

See Lk 1:45

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, O Virgin Mary, who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Lk 1:39-56

Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
"Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled."

And Mary said:

"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:

the Almighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him

in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,

he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,

and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel

for he has remembered his promise of mercy,

the promise he made to our fathers,

to Abraham and his children for ever."

Mary remained with her about three months
and then returned to her home.

DAILY MEDITATION: LUKE 1:39-56

How does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? (Luke 1:43)

Mary had just discovered that she would bear God's Son. Yet instead of retreating in silence and solitude to contemplate this miraculous event, she set out on an arduous journey of eighty miles to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Why was Mary so eager to make this trip?

Mary surely wanted to provide Elizabeth with practical help and support as her aging cousin awaited the birth of her own son, John the Baptist. Through these last days of Elizabeth's pregnancy, Mary could share in Elizabeth's joy and anticipation.

But Mary also wanted to confide in Elizabeth her own wondrous news of the coming birth of the long-expected Messiah. She must have known that Elizabeth would greet this news with excitement and joy, not skepticism. And just as Mary expected, Elizabeth called out in faith the moment she heard Mary's voice (Luke 1:42)!

Mary's decision to spend time with Elizabeth was an act of human solidarity. It reflects a fundamental truth of the way God made us—as a community of people who share our joys and sorrows with one another. God doesn't want us to navigate the various twists and turns in our lives on our own; he desires to move us toward deeper fellowship with one another.

Mary's actions also reflected Christ's presence in her. Instead of turning inward upon herself, she reached out to someone else. How incredibly beautiful that her first instinct was to visit her cousin! Yet isn't that always what Christ's presence within us does? It prompts us, like Mary, to reach out and love another person in some specific and inspired way. This is what it means to let Christ within us move us to love.

Today, let's ask our Blessed Mother to intercede for us so that the love of Christ can grow ever stronger in us and lead us to our own acts of human solidarity. May we too never hesitate to go "in haste" to the people God has put in our lives (Luke 1:39).

"Mother of God, pray for me to reach out to others in love, just as you did."

Zephaniah 3:14-18
(Psalm) Isaiah 12:2-6

Whoever unjustly takes away his neighbor's good name is guilty of sin and is obliged to make reparatation, according to the nature of what he has said unjustly. For no one can enter heaven loaded with stolen goods, and of all worldly possessions the most precious is a good name. Slander is a kind of murder.
— St. Francis de Sales

Bro. Adrian Reads reflection Outloud. Click here

my2cents:
"The LORD, your God, is in your midst,

a mighty savior;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,

and renew you in his love"
Do you believe God can renew you? Wouldn't you like to be bathed in a water that renews you?

Have you been baptized? Well, then you have been bathed, and this means...you can be renewed! And so we have many opportunities to live with hope in Sacraments, in our efforts to Love God our Father more and better.

So let us pray in the Psalms today:
"God indeed is my savior;

I am confident and unafraid.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,

and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water

at the fountain of salvation.
Among you is the great and Holy One of Israel."

In the Holy Gospel we heard Saint Elizabeth exclaim in praise and gratitude and amazement:
"Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb."

Believe it or not, more and more weddings are happening lately with the reopening from the Pandemic Pandemonium. We were invited to sing as a choir for one last week, and I could tell the wife was Catholic, the husband was not. She was getting married and Confirmed. She was ecstatic in joy and exuberating. For the Holy Spirit was infusing Himself, God Himself in her and He was solidifying the Marriage in Himself and this would be forever until they die. The rite was amazing to witness. I'm not sure sure the husband could capture everything that was going on in her, something amazing he could possibly wish for! And they took flowers to Mother Mary, they traveled to offer. Just like Mary traveled to offer herself to Elizabeth. In great joy something amazing was happening.

Saint Elizabeth said:
"For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."
What was amazing? The fact that the unborn Saint John the Baptist leapt for joy in the womb? Or the fact that Mary believed what our Lord had said? The answer is both things are amazing.

Both happen in faith. Mary was a few days (couple weeks?) pregnant, and Elizabeth 6 months along. Life is happening. This is why we should honor pregnant women, and this is why we should honor our Lord, and we should protect life, and the Father is the Father of all life.
There's something real and to enjoy about a child's presence, there's much joy in purity.

"And Mary said:
"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:

the Almighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his Name."

We should pray to be lowly like Mary. It is said that she was created for us to model what Israel, God's people should be like to God. Indeed, the new Eve of Creation has a morning star to show the way until it is engulfed by the Sun, the Son of God!

Let us pray the rest of the fiat with our Mother Mary:
"He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, he has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever."