†Saint Quote
"Quote of the Day
"Occupy your mind with good thoughts, or the enemy will fill them with bad ones. Unoccupied, they cannot be."
–St. Thomas More †Today's Meditation
"Infinite grief I wish from My creature in two ways: in one way, through her sorrow for her own sins, which she has committed against Me her Creator; in the other way, through her sorrow for the sins which she sees her neighbors commit against Me. Of such as these, inasmuch as they have infinite desire, that is, are joined to Me by an affection of love, and therefore grieve when they offend Me, or see Me offended, their every pain, whether spiritual or corporeal, from wherever it may come, receives infinite merit, and satisfies for a guilt which deserved an infinite penalty, although their works are finite and done in finite time; but, inasmuch as they possess the virtue of desire, and sustain their suffering with desire, and contrition, and infinite displeasure against their guilt, their pain is held worthy. Paul explained this when he said: If I had the tongues of angels, and if I knew the things of the future and gave my body to be burned, and have not love, it would be worth nothing to me. The glorious Apostle thus shows that finite works are not valid, either as punishment or recompense, without the condiment of the affection of love."
—St. Catherine of Siena, p. 4 An Excerpt From
Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena †Daily Verse
"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ (by grace you have been saved), raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus."
–Ephesians 2:4-7 |  click to read more | | Blessed Imelda Lambertini Bl. Imelda Lambertini (1322–1333) was born to a noble and devout family in Bologna, Italy. As a child she developed a great love for prayer, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and the Holy Eucharist. She spent much of her time in the Dominican monastery praying with the nuns, and at nine years of age requested to enter there as a postulant. Her parents and the nuns allowed her to enter, however, in that era children her age were not permitted to receive Holy Communion. Imelda repeatedly pleaded to receive Communion, but each time she was denied. Nevertheless, she developed a close relationship with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. When the feast of the Ascension approached, Imelda begged to make her First Holy Communion on this feast. Again, she was denied. On the Vigil of the Feast of the Ascension she was in the chapel praying, as usual, as the other Sisters received Holy Communion. Afterwards a glowing host was seen suspended in the air above the child. The priest understood this as a sign that the child should be permitted to receive, and he ministered the Holy Eucharist to her. Imelda remained kneeling in prayer in thanksgiving as the nuns left the chapel. When they returned for her, they found her just as they had left her, but her body was lifeless. It was understood that Imelda died of pure ecstatic joy after receiving Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, as she had so ardently desired. Bl. Imelda Lambertini is the patron saint of First Communicants. Her feast day is May 12th | Thursday of the Fourth Week of Easter Reading I Acts 13:13-25 From Paphos, Paul and his companions
set sail and arrived at Perga in Pamphylia.
But John left them and returned to Jerusalem.
They continued on from Perga and reached Antioch in Pisidia.
On the sabbath they entered into the synagogue and took their seats.
After the reading of the law and the prophets,
the synagogue officials sent word to them,
"My brothers, if one of you has a word of exhortation
for the people, please speak." So Paul got up, motioned with his hand, and said,
"Fellow children of Israel and you others who are God-fearing, listen.
The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors
and exalted the people during their sojourn in the land of Egypt.
With uplifted arm he led them out,
and for about forty years he put up with them in the desert.
When he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan,
he gave them their land as an inheritance
at the end of about four hundred and fifty years.
After these things he provided judges up to Samuel the prophet.
Then they asked for a king.
God gave them Saul, son of Kish,
a man from the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.
Then he removed him and raised up David as their king;
of him he testified,
I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart;
he will carry out my every wish.
From this man's descendants God, according to his promise,
has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.
John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance
to all the people of Israel;
and as John was completing his course, he would say,
'What do you suppose that I am? I am not he.
Behold, one is coming after me;
I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.'" Responsorial Psalm 89:2-3, 21-22, 25 and 27 R. (2) For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The favors of the LORD I will sing forever; through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.
For you have said, "My kindness is established forever"; in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
"I have found David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him,
That my hand may be always with him, and that my arm may make him strong."
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
"My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him, and through my name shall his horn be exalted.
He shall say of me, 'You are my father, my God, the Rock, my savior.'"
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia See Rv 1:5ab R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus Christ, you are the faithful witness,
the firstborn of the dead,
you have loved us and freed us from our sins by your Blood.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 13:16-20 When Jesus had washed the disciples' feet, he said to them:
"Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master
nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him.
If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it.
I am not speaking of all of you.
I know those whom I have chosen.
But so that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
The one who ate my food has raised his heel against me.
From now on I am telling you before it happens,
so that when it happens you may believe that I AM.
Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send
receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me." | Daily Meditation: John 13:16-20 When Jesus had washed the disciples' feet . . . (John 13:16) Would you wash someone's feet if you knew he was about to betray you? Probably not. But that's what Jesus did. As he was kneeling before Judas, perhaps he was even hoping that this tender gesture would cause Judas to change his mind. I know what you're planning to do, we can imagine Jesus thinking, but I still want to show you how much I love you and want to bless you. In washing his betrayer's feet, Jesus set the bar high for how we are to respond to those who hurt us. And while Judas didn't end up changing his mind, Jesus was showing us how to love and humbly serve our enemies (Matthew 5:43-44). He was demonstrating with his actions what Paul would later urge us to do: "Bless those who persecute [you], bless and do not curse them" (Romans 12:14). Of course, Jesus isn't asking us to let people walk all over us. In fact, we see many instances when he established healthy boundaries with the people around him—whether it was taking care to withdraw so that he could spend time alone with his Father, or refusing to engage with the people in Nazareth when they wanted to throw him off a cliff (Matthew 14:13; Luke 4:29-30). Like Jesus, sometimes we also need to set such boundaries, including deciding whether it is even prudent to continue a relationship. But we can also try to see ourselves and people we might consider our enemies through God's eyes: both beloved, and both imperfect. So when people hurt us—even if we don't understand why—we can choose to be led by compassion rather than retribution. By forgiving and blessing those who mistreat us, we open the door to allow God to work in our lives as well as in theirs. Who are the "enemies" in your life, and how might you bless them? For starters, if you haven't yet forgiven them, you can pray for the grace to do so. You can also bless them by deciding not to judge them or speak critically about them, or by lifting them up in prayer each day. In these ways and more, you will be washing their feet—and softening your own heart in the process. "Lord, help me to love and bless my enemies." Acts 13:13-25
Psalm 89:2-3, 21-22, 25, 27 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
_""Fellow children of Israel and you others who are God-fearing, listen.
The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors...".
They say they are starting season 3 of "The Chosen" series with hundreds of millions of online views on the first two seasons. But there is something particular about the cast and crew...they do seem as one unit, and this makes the series more credible...because to be in Christ, we are chosen, yes, to be one, holy, catholic (universal) and apostolic unit. Together we are one. Think about our family in God. | We pray in Psalms:
'"My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him, and through my name shall his horn be exalted. He shall say of me, 'You are my father, my God, the Rock, my savior.'" For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord."
And they say even more epic films may come...but you know what happens with these great films? They make you want more. As humans, the body it seems to want more...and this is good, for we were designed for so much more than we are fed on earth...therefore, Christ feeds Himself of Himself. | In today's Gospel we heard:
_"When Jesus had washed the disciples' feet, he said to them: "Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master
nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it." As a business man, in charge of running many things at once, I notice that I work shoulder to shoulder with employees. I am not greater. I too must turn wrenches. I too must clean up. I too must battle daily tasks together with office duties. And this is how our Lord yokes Himself with us. Good and bad alike. | From Bishop Barron today:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus announces his betrayal just after transforming bread and wine into his Body and Blood. It is of great moment that, immediately after this extraordinary event, Jesus speaks of treachery: "The one who ate my food has raised his heel against me."
In the biblical reading, God's desires have been, from the beginning, opposed. Consistently, human beings have preferred the isolation of sin to the festivity of the sacred meal. Theologians call this tendency the mysterium iniquitatis (the mystery of evil), for there is no rational ground for it. Therefore, we should not be too surprised that, as the sacred meal comes to its richest possible expression, evil accompanies it.
Judas the betrayer expresses the mysterium iniquitatis with particular symbolic power, for he had spent years in intimacy with Jesus, taking in the Lord's moves and thoughts at close quarters and sharing table fellowship with him—and yet, he saw fit to turn Jesus over to his enemies.
Those of us who regularly gather around the table of intimacy with Christ and yet engage consistently in the works of darkness are meant to see ourselves in the betrayer." So let us today, focus on what evil we carry. What if you cement with the Eucharist what is inside? That is why we have to reconcile and uproot evil from inside of us. If you knew how terrible it is to sin, how much it costs to sin, and how hard it is to get rid of evil sin in your life, you would never want a taste of it again. We need Christ and Christ in each other. Remember the importance of Unity For Life. | from your brother in Christ,
Adrian |  click to hear | Random bible verse generator Psalm 37:4
4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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