.: 05/04/22

Wednesday, May 4, 2022

† "I SHould Raise It . ."

†Saint Quote
"If we wish to make any progress in the service of God we must begin every day of our life with new eagerness. We must keep ourselves in the presence of God as much as possible and have no other view or end in all our actions but the divine honor."
–St. Charles Borromeo

†Today's Meditation
"My Jesus, it is truly easy to become holy; it just takes a little good will! And if He finds this minimum of good will in a soul, He quickly gives Himself to her. And nothing can stop Him, neither our faults nor our falls, absolutely nothing. Jesus hurries to help that soul; and if the soul is faithful to this grace from God, she can in a short time reach the highest levels of holiness that a created being can attain here below. God is very generous and does not refuse His grace to anyone. He gives even more than we ask for. The shortest road is faithfulness to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit."
—St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, p. 142
An Excerpt From
Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska - Divine Mercy in My Soul

†Daily Verse
"The Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7b
–1 Samuel 16:7b

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St. Florian

St. Florian (C. 250-304 A.D.) was a commander in the Roman army in what is now Austria. He served during the reign of Emperor Diocletian, who violently persecuted Christians. Among Florian's military duties was the organization of firefighting brigades. St. Florian was secretly a Christian and was known for miraculously saving a town from being destroyed by fire; after praying to God for help, he extinguished a raging fire with a single bucket of water. Word reached the Emperor that Florian was not enforcing the ban against Christianity in his territory. He was put under investigation and was discovered to be a Christian. In one account, it was for refusing to offer sacrifice to the gods; in another, for refusing to execute a group of Christians. He was then condemned to be tortured and executed for his Christian faith. Refusing to recant, St. Florian was then flayed alive, scourged, and martyred by being dumped in the river with a millstone attached to his body. His body was later recovered, and today his relics are venerated at a church named for him in Kraków, Poland. St. Florian is the patron saint of firefighters, chimney-sweeps, brewers, drowning victims, Austria, Poland, and against floods, fires, and battles. St. Florian's feast day is May 4th.
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Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter

Reading I Acts 8:1b-8

There broke out a severe persecution of the Church in Jerusalem,
and all were scattered
throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria,
except the Apostles.
Devout men buried Stephen and made a loud lament over him.
Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the Church;
entering house after house and dragging out men and women,
he handed them over for imprisonment.

Now those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.
Thus Philip went down to the city of Samaria
and proclaimed the Christ to them.
With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip
when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing.
For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice,
came out of many possessed people,
and many paralyzed and crippled people were cured.
There was great joy in that city.

Responsorial Psalm 66:1-3a, 4-5, 6-7a
R. (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth,

sing praise to the glory of his name;

proclaim his glorious praise.
Say to God, "How tremendous are your deeds!"
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
"Let all on earth worship and sing praise to you,

sing praise to your name!"
Come and see the works of God,

his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has changed the sea into dry land;

through the river they passed on foot;

therefore let us rejoice in him.
He rules by his might forever.
R. Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Alleluia See Jn 6:40

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Everyone who believes in the Son has eternal life,
and I shall raise him up on the last day, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Jn 6:35-40

Jesus said to the crowds,
"I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.
But I told you that although you have seen me,
you do not believe.
Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
because I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.
For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day."

Daily Meditation: Acts 8:1-8

Those who had been scattered went about preaching the word. (Acts 8:4)

Just before he ascended, Jesus told the disciples to remain in Jerusalem until they were "clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24:49). So they waited, and just as Jesus promised, they were indeed filled with the Holy Spirit. From that day forward, the Spirit worked mightily through them to bring countless people to faith in Jesus. Then they continued to stay in Jerusalem to help minister to all these new believers.

But that all changed with the persecution that broke out after Stephen's martyrdom. Not wanting to court trouble, many of Jesus' first followers dispersed to other towns and cities. But even there, even after the threats they faced in Jerusalem, they didn't hide their message. As a result, the gospel began to spread far and wide.

We may face challenges to our faith as well. We are likely not subject to actual persecution, but perhaps we are in environments where conversations about our faith in Christ might not be very welcome. While we don't want to invite hostility, neither should we feel compelled to hide our faith. At times this can feel like a balancing act: How much can I say?

This is not always an easy question to answer. Sometimes you may get it wrong and say too much—or too little. But always remember that the first disciples asked the same question. Remember too that you have the same Holy Spirit who helped them. He will help you know what to say if an opportunity to share your faith arises. He will also help you discern whether to say anything at all! And perhaps most important, he will give you the grace to remain peaceful no matter your situation. Remember, it's the witness of your love, your joy, and your trust in the Lord that will have the greatest impact.

The first Christians were everyday people just as we are. Whatever success they had came from the same source as it will for you: the Holy Spirit. So ask the Spirit to fill you every day. Ask him for the grace, the courage, and the humility to bring Christ to the people around you.

"Holy Spirit, help me know how to share the good news of the gospel wherever I find myself."

Psalm 66:1-7
John 6:35-40

From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"Now those who had been scattered went about preaching the word."

Here's the thing with Christianity, it cannot be squashed. Pretend it is a blob of slime, and you stomp on it or hit it with a hammer...it'll just splatter everywhere and grow where it goes. It is actually a beautiful creation being of God...for our Lord Himself said it would never die...this life...His life. Do you believe? Can it flourish in you though...that is the question. That is why I write to you, to encourage you and that encourages me.

We pray in Psalms:
"Shout joyfully to God, all the earth, sing praise to the glory of his name; proclaim his glorious praise. Say to God, "How tremendous are your deeds!" Let all the earth cry out to God with joy"

The other day I entered the house and heard someone playing the youtube livestreamed Mass where I recognized my voice singing in the Mass "Laudate Dominum" and to my surprise it was my wife who was walking around with that song playing loudly on her phone. It made for an interesting blob of life enter my life...I was encouraged. And that song now has really stuck in me and I've been singing it or playing it in my head since then (this past Sunday). Hear the original

In today's Gospel we heard:
"I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst. But I told you that although you have seen me, you do not believe."

Our Lord says HE IS the bread of Life. Remember what life means. It means HIS life...His truth...His way! He says I AM the bread. I AM the truth. I AM the LIFE!
Nobody can tell you what the truth is. HE IS! How much do we treasure Him?
The next verse is incredible though: Whoever comes to me will never hunger or thirst. Now let's think about connecting this "on earth as it is in Heaven".

We partake of the Holy Eucharist to share in the Heavenly banquet with Him. Connect earth and heaven. Connect the dots. Who is worthy to receive Him?

Quite simply everybody can be worthy, and it takes a simple act of humility and a step forward towards Him. This is to be perfected into perfection.

You will never hunger or thirst again.
Is that how we will enjoy Heaven?

My aim then, is to make you hunger for God.
There should be more questions than answers when it comes to figuring out our Lord. Only He can satiate or quench our thirst.
Will you need food to survive and live in Heaven? NO. You will only need our Lord.
Poor souls in purgatory are also called "hungry souls". They are beings immortalized and are now super hungry for God.

But that state should be here and now. You should be hungry for God. Super hungry! LOL, am I saying this because I am fasting for you right now? No, that's been the case for years.
We are hungry .... who are poor, who have nothing else.

I'm not thinking of a poor blind elderly man in a nursing home, my friend in the nursing home. I took him out for a ride a couple months ago, and I played a song on my truck bluetooth, song in spanish called "Que Bonito Es Conocer a Cristo" by La Cruz Nortena. Sunday I played it for him as he said he wanted a copy of it on cassette tape (a hard task to do LOL). I played it on my phone and I could tell the song was affecting him, he never forgot it. The song says in the refrain: Hear it here
No soy pobre porque soy rico
No soy pobre porque tengo a Cristo
Mas los ricos sin Cristo son pobres
y los pobres con Dios somos ricos
Translated says:
I'm not poor because I'm rich
I am not poor because I have Christ
But the rich without Christ are poor
and the poor with God are rich

And this means much because it is to say that Christ is our treasure...we may have nothing, like this man Manuel, no family really, no treasures as in money, no life in the free world really, blind, no sight, health hanging in there....yet he got teary eyed, wiping tears, and the song was penetrating his inmost being, loving every bit of it, declaring CHRIST IS EVERYTHING to me.

Are you hungry for more?

I've been in the cursillo movement ministry for going on a couple decades. And we are to study the movement when we become involved in higher levels of it. One thing I learned from the founder "Eduardo Bonin" who has passed away putting on his tombstone "An Apprentice of Christ" had said once in an interview about the movement "the Cursillo is not meant to give you answers...but to make you hungry" for Christ and Christianity, for Jesus...and the Life.
And HE pours it all out in the Holy Sacraments for you to receive...grace and mercy .... forever.

from your brother in Christ,
Adrian