†Quote of the Day
"The Rosary is the most powerful weapon to touch the Heart of Jesus, Our Redeemer, who loves His Mother."
–St. Louis de Montfort †Today's Meditation
"If we do not die to ourselves, and if our holiest devotions do not incline us to this necessary and useful death, we shall bring forth no fruit worth anything, and our devotions will become useless. All our good works will be stained by self-love and our own will . . . We must choose therefore, among all the devotions to the Blessed Virgin, the one which draws us most toward this death to ourselves, inasmuch as it will be the best and the most sanctifying. For we must not think that all that shines is gold, that all that tastes sweet is honey, or that all that is easy to do and is done by the greatest number is the most sanctifying."
—St. Louis De Montfort, p.40 An Excerpt From
True Devotion to Mary †Daily Verse
"But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust."
–Matthew 5:44-45 |  click to read more | | St. Louis De Montfort St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673 – 1716) was born in Brittany, France, to a large farming family. As a child he displayed an unusual spiritual maturity and spent much time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. At the age of 19 he went on foot to Paris to study theology at a prestigious school with the support of a benefactor; along the way he gave his possessions to the poor and made a lifelong vow to live in poverty supported entirely on alms. He was ordained a priest at the age of 27, and at 32 discovered his calling to be an itinerant preacher, receiving the title of "Apostolic Missionary" from the Pope after his bishop tried to silence him. For the next 17 years he preached missions in countless towns and villages throughout France with an emphasis on renewal and reform. His fiery devotion, oratory skill, and identification with the poor led many souls to conversion. He was persecuted by the Jansenists, who, in their spiritual pride, poisoned him, banished him from preaching in their dioceses, and made an assassination attempt on his life. He had a profound devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and taught on the power of the Holy Rosary. He also wrote a number of classic works on Marian devotion, the most famous being True Devotion to Mary. His feast day is April 28. | Acts 9:1-20 Saul, still breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that, if he should find any men or women who belonged to the Way, he might bring them back to Jerusalem in chains. On his journey, as he was nearing Damascus, a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" He said, "Who are you, sir?" The reply came, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do." The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, for they heard the voice but could see no one. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus. For three days he was unable to see, and he neither ate nor drank. There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." He answered, "Here I am, Lord." The Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight and ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is there praying, and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, that he may regain his sight." But Ananias replied, "Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man, what evil things he has done to your holy ones in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to imprison all who call upon your name." But the Lord said to him, "Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and children of Israel, and I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name." So Ananias went and entered the house; laying his hands on him, he said, "Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me, Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came, that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." Immediately things like scales fell from his eyes and he regained his sight. He got up and was baptized, and when he had eaten, he recovered his strength. He stayed some days with the disciples in Damascus, and he began at once to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. Psalm 117:1-2 R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
or R. Alleluia.
Praise the Lord all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples! R. For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
and the fidelity of the Lord endures forever. R. Gospel Acclamation Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood,
remains in me and I in him, says the Lord. Jn 6:56
Alleluia, alleluia. John 6:52-59 The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?" Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my Flesh is true food, and my Blood is true drink. Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever." These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. | DAILY MEDITATION: JOHN 6:52-59
For my Flesh is true food, and my Blood is true drink. (John 6:55) The sixth chapter of John's Gospel is called the "Bread of Life Discourse" for good reason. Jesus emphasizes again and again that he is the Bread come down from heaven (6:51), that his Body and Blood are true food and drink (6:55), and that whoever eats his Body and drinks his Blood will live forever (6:54, 58). In fact, in almost every sentence of today's reading, Jesus uses the word eat. It's easy to understand why the Jews would have been uneasy. The idea of eating Jesus' flesh was shocking. Surely, they said to one another, he couldn't possibly be serious! He must mean something different. But Jesus didn't back off of his startling claims. In fact, he doubled down on them. At first, the word Jesus used is translated simply as "eat," which some might think was just a metaphor for believing in him. But as the conversation continued, he used a stronger word. He said, "The one who feeds on me will have life because of me" (John 6:57). Scholars tell us that the word in this verse can also be translated as gnaw or chew on. Now, the idea of eating a sacrifice wouldn't have been so outlandish to the Jews. They would have thought about the sacrificial lamb that each family ate at their Passover meal. And that's part of what Jesus was pointing to. He would offer himself on the cross as a sacrifice—and he would then invite us to eat his Body and drink his Blood as we celebrate the new Passover. Every time we celebrate Mass, we are brought before this eternal sacrifice of Jesus' Body and Blood. We celebrate the new covenant he has entered into with us on the cross, and we embrace that covenant every time we eat and drink of him. Taking his Body and Blood into our own bodies, we unite ourselves with him in a deep and intimate bond. It was probably hard for Jesus' audience to grasp this mysterious gift he was offering them. We may find it a little challenging as well. But we can ask Jesus to help us accept this precious gift for what it is. We can give him thanks for becoming the sacrifice that brings us eternal life! "Thank you, Lord, for offering us your own flesh as the Bread of Life!" Acts 9:1-20
Psalm 117:1-2 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"...a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" He said, "Who are you, sir?" The reply came, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." end quote. Our Lord was being persecuted. And it was in the body of Christ. For Saul was persecuting Christians. It was Christ Himself that he was unknowingly persecuting. And to this day He is being persecuted. | We pray today:
"Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
Praise the Lord all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples!" | In the Gospel today we heard: "Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my Flesh is true food, and my Blood is true drink." end quote. Our Lord is the true bread. Drink His blood. Eat His Body. | We've been working on moving the tabernacle for months, planning, designing, budgeting, and it hasn't been easy. The design looks simple, but it is complicated. Ordering a new tabernacle to hold our Lord's bread, body, soul and divinity, I thought would be an easy thing. Nothing has been easy. We finally ordered it after many distractions and obstacles. And they said it'd be at least 4 months wait to have it made! That's a whole new obstacle in of itself. The timing. Nothing has been as planned, quick and easy.
Nothing worthwhile seems quick and easy, except...giving your life to our Lord, who Himself gives of Himself totally in the Eucharist, His bread, His Body, consecrated by laying of hands from His very hands, the very inception granted to the Apostles, now unto our priests.
I almost shed a tear, meditating, because, I remembered my dad, God, Lord rest His soul. I know my dad was and is a firm believer in the Holy Eucharist, believing like me, in the true presence of God in the Eucharist.
And it is interesting to note that most do NOT believe in this presence of God.
If people truly believed, like me, why don't they all make a good effort to attend daily Mass, or go to Adoration, or at least go to Sunday Mass where He offers Himself totally!
That my friend, is where you and me come in.
We must usher in a new faith, revived in the blood and body of our Lord and our God Himself. Let's pray:
...†....
Lord, You fortify my soul, my body, my blood, with Your Holy Divinity. Thank YOU! | Random Bible Verse 1
Hebrews 13:16 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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