.: 05/23/22

Monday, May 23, 2022

† ".You Have Been With Me .. . ."

†Saint Quote
Quote of the Day
"Go forth and set the world on fire."
–St. Ignatius of Loyola

†Today's Meditation
"My daughter, faithfully live up to the words which I speak to you. Do not value any external thing too highly, even if it were to seem very precious to you. Let go of yourself, and abide with Me continually. Entrust everything to Me and do nothing on your own, and you will always have great freedom of spirit. No circumstances or events will ever be able to upset you. Set little store on what people say. Let everyone judge you as they like. Do not make excuses for yourself, it will do you no harm. Give away everything at the first sign of a demand, even if they were the most necessary things. Do not ask for anything without consulting Me. Allow them to take away even what is due you – respect, your good name – let your spirit rise above all that. And so, set free from everything, rest close to My Heart, not allowing your peace to be disturbed by anything. My pupil, consider (62) the words which I have spoken to you."
—Jesus to St. Faustina, p. 596

An Excerpt From
Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska - Divine Mercy in My Soul

†Daily Verse
"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
–Romans 8:38-39

click to read more

St. William of Rochester

St. William of Rochester (d. 1201), also known as St. William of Perth, was born in Perth, Scotland. He was a wild youth who matured into a devoted man of God. He became a baker, and out of his charity he would always set aside bread to feed the poor. One day, while walking into the church for Mass, he found an abandoned baby boy on the church steps. He adopted the child, raised him, and taught him his trade. Years later St. William made a vow to visit the sacred sites of Our Lord's life on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, along with his adopted son. The two set out on their journey. While traveling through England his son deceived him, slit his throat, and stole the money he had saved for their pilgrimage. William's abandoned body was discovered and mourned over by a mentally deranged woman. She made a crown of flowers and placed it on the head of William's murdered corpse, then afterwards put the garland on her own head. Upon doing this, she was immediately cured of her mental illness. The local monks learned of this miracle and carried William's body to the Rochester cathedral to give him the proper burial of a saint. His shrine later attracted many pilgrims. St. William of Rochester is the patron of adopted children. His feast day is May 23rd.

Monday of the Sixth Week of Easter

Reading I Acts 16:11-15

We set sail from Troas, making a straight run for Samothrace,
and on the next day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi,
a leading city in that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony.
We spent some time in that city.
On the sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river
where we thought there would be a place of prayer.
We sat and spoke with the women who had gathered there.
One of them, a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth,
from the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God, listened,
and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention
to what Paul was saying.
After she and her household had been baptized,
she offered us an invitation,
"If you consider me a believer in the Lord,
come and stay at my home," and she prevailed on us.

Responsorial Psalm 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b

R. (see 4a) The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to the LORD a new song

of praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,

let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,

let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the LORD loves his people,

and he adorns the lowly with victory.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let the faithful exult in glory;

let them sing for joy upon their couches.
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.

This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Alleluia Jn 15:26b, 27a

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Spirit of truth will testify to me, says the Lord,
and you also will testify.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Jn 15:26—16:4a

Jesus said to his disciples:
"When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father,
he will testify to me.
And you also testify,
because you have been with me from the beginning.

"I have told you this so that you may not fall away.
They will expel you from the synagogues;
in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you
will think he is offering worship to God.
They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me.
I have told you this so that when their hour comes
you may remember that I told you."

Daily Meditation: Acts 16:11-15

The Lord opened her heart. (Acts 16:14)

Does it ever feel as if God is putting obstacles in your path, and you don't know why? Paul wanted to preach the good news in the province of Asia, but God prevented him from going there. Then Paul had a dream of a man inviting him to Macedonia (Acts 16:6-10). That brings him to his meeting with Lydia, a fabric merchant living in the Macedonian city of Philippi.

Lydia is a little-known but important figure in the early Church. She is, in fact, Europe's first recorded convert to Christianity. She is also a good example of how newfound faith can light a fire in us and spur us to action. After Lydia and her household are baptized, she insists that Paul and his companions stay at her home. Likely a confident and capable businesswoman, Lydia seems to have been instrumental in organizing the first church in Europe!

It certainly seems that Lydia was the right person in the right place at the right time. But Paul and Lydia weren't puppets with God pulling the strings. In fact, it would have been easy for either of them not to respond to God's promptings. Paul, for instance, could have decided that his dream was just a dream and kept trying to go to Asia. Lydia could have just listened politely to Paul and brushed him off with a polite "I'll think about it." But that's not what happened. They listened and tried to follow where God was leading.

God's will may not always be clear to you. But that doesn't mean that you should put off acting on where you think he wants you to go. When you take a step of faith, as Paul and Lydia did, God can accomplish great things through you! And if you're not on the right path, he'll find a way to redirect you. A job that doesn't work out, for example, might lead you to find another position that is better for you.

Roadblocks and uncertainty can be frustrating, but they can also be opportunities for you to become more reliant on the Lord. They can teach you to yield to the Spirit and face the unknown with greater confidence and trust that God's plan for you is the best one.

"Jesus, help me to put my faith in action by trusting in you."

Psalm 149:1-6, 9
John 15:26-16:4

From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"If you consider me a believer in the Lord,
come and stay at my home,"

When's the last time you invited the Lord into your home?
You see, she believed, and she believed the Lord was with them and in them.

Consider this next time you feel you need the Lord in your life.
Problem is, most don't believe they need the Good Lord, for they say "I'm good (enough)" without.

We pray in Psalms:
"Sing to the LORD a new song of praise in the assembly of the faithful. Let Israel be glad in their maker, let the children of Zion rejoice in their king. The Lord takes delight in his people."

What is the art of true worship? Pope Francis speaks about worshipping:

"When we do not worship God, we end up worshiping ourselves," Pope Francis said Monday. "Worship means concentrating on what is essential... we learn to reject what should not be worshiped: the god of money, the god of consumerism, the god of pleasure, the god of success, the god of self… Worship means realizing that you and God belong together to one another. It means being able to speak to him freely and intimately,''

True worship calls on the lowly to be lowly. Why do I seek to be a righteous person? Because the Bible says that "The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous." Proverbs 15:29
and "Psalm 34:17, ESV When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.

Then, it is good to be with the Lord. So how often do you find yourself WITH our Lord? For whoever is not with Him...is against Him.

In today's Gospel we heard our Lord:
""I have told you this so that you may not fall away. They will expel you from the synagogues..."

Our Lord had just let them know that the Holy Spirit would be coming.

Yesterday at a lunch gathering for my daughter's confirmation, I thanked all for coming and I mentioned that we should be careful on even mentioning the name "Holy Spirit" because He is part the Holy Trinity:

†Father named "I AM"
†Son named "JESUS"
†and "Holy Spirit".

And I say this because in my personal prayer life, I notice that if I just utter that name "Holy Spirit" it enters right away. And so, I did something unusual before Holy Mass too for Confirmation, I asked everyone to join me in the prayer to the Holy Spirit where it says:

"Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth. O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen."

And it made for a most beautiful Mass, because...I BELIEVE.
It is what I do every day before writing to you. I invoke Him. I ask Him into my heart...my life...for you.
For the Lord hears the prayers of the righteous and only God can make us righteous.

Isn't it unusual that you'd have to ask God...for grace, for holiness? But how can you have anything without Him?

Why not ask Him for what you need? I need grace. Come to Him.
I need forgiveness. Come to Him. I need righteousness. Come to Him. I need help worshiping Him...have I ever asked for help there?

And so, my heart's desire has been that I experience greater glory for God. I cannot say that it has ever been achieved. What am I speaking about? It is hard to explain, because I'm thinking of experiencing Heaven on earth, in Mass, and in dealing daily with Christ hidden in souls. There is no church on earth that touches much on what it is in Heaven, but we see shadows, inklings of what can and should be....perfection.
What is my vision of Heaven? Unification in one accord...true glory to God. Can God ever tire of souls giving glory? I would hope not...because Glory is intimately tied, that is bound in Holy Sacrifice.
Can you capture what I have just tried to convey?
The most beautiful thing on earth is God's and is God.
Does that make sense?
Where does that put me? As a recipient of God's goodness?
Yes. This is why God is called Father...giver of life. What came first, the egg...of the woman? Or man that wanted to give life in woman? Father comes first, for He came first. We are then "wo-man" which means "of-man". And we are designed to give life to life, co-creators in children and the spirit within...to be His dwelling place...the Holy Spirit is coming always as He has been from the beginning.
Does this make sense? It means He has been, is now, and forever shall be.