†Saint Quote
"Oh, my soul, how much longer do you wish to be so stingy with Jesus? Why so negligent towards Jesus who made You? Why so lazy towards Jesus who redeemed you? Who do you want to love, if you do not want to love Jesus?"
–St. Gemma Galgani †Today's Meditation
"But you, 'a chosen generation', weak things of the world, who have forsaken all things, so that you may follow the Lord, go after him, and confound the strong; go after him, you beautiful feet, and shine in the firmament so that the heavens may declare his glory . . . Shine over the whole earth, and let the day, brightened by the sun, utter unto day speech of wisdom, and let the night, shining with the moon, declare to the night the word of knowledge . . . Run into every place, O you holy fires, you beautiful fires! You are the light of the world, and you are not put under a measure. He to whom you have held fast has been exalted, and he has exalted you. Run forth, and make it known to all nations."
—Saint Augustine, p.318-319 An Excerpt From
The Confessions of Saint Augustine †Daily Verse
"Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. Do not give heed to all the things that men say, lest you hear your servant cursing you; your heart knows that many times you have yourself cursed others."
–Ecclesiastes 7:20-22 |  click to read more | | St. Gemma Galgani St. Gemma Galgani (1878-1903) was born in Italy, the fifth of eight children born to a prosperous pharmacist. When she was young, Gemma's mother and three of her siblings died of tuberculous. When she was 18 her father died as well, leaving Gemma to help care for her younger siblings. She rejected two marriage proposals and became a housekeeper while trying to enter the religious life as a Passionist. She was rejected due to her poor heath, and later became a Tertiary member of the order. Gemma developed spinal meningitis but was miraculously healed, which she attributed to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through the intercession of St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. Throughout her life she united herself with the Passion of Christ and experienced great suffering as a result, but not without receiving many remarkable graces as well. She experienced many mystical visions and was often visited by her guardian angel, Jesus, and the Virgin Mary. For this she was known as a great mystic, and, according to her spiritual director, developed the stigmata at age 21. After a selfless life of love given to God for the conversion of sinners, she died on the Vigil of Easter at the age of 25. She is the patron saint of pharmacists, loss of parents, back illnesses, temptations, and those seeking purity of heart. Her feast day is April 11th. | Tuesday in the Octave of Easter Reading 1 Acts 2:36-41 On the day of Pentecost, Peter said to the Jewish people,
"Let the whole house of Israel know for certain
that God has made him both Lord and Christ,
this Jesus whom you crucified." Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart,
and they asked Peter and the other Apostles,
"What are we to do, my brothers?"
Peter said to them,
"Repent and be baptized, every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins;
and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
For the promise is made to you and to your children
and to all those far off,
whomever the Lord our God will call."
He testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them,
"Save yourselves from this corrupt generation."
Those who accepted his message were baptized,
and about three thousand persons were added that day. Responsorial Psalm pS 33:4-5, 18-19, 20 and 22 R.(5b) The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.
R. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Ps 118:24 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us be glad and rejoice in it.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 20:11-18 Mary Magdalene stayed outside the tomb weeping.
And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb
and saw two angels in white sitting there,
one at the head and one at the feet
where the Body of Jesus had been.
And they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?"
She said to them, "They have taken my Lord,
and I don't know where they laid him."
When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there,
but did not know it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?
Whom are you looking for?"
She thought it was the gardener and said to him,
"Sir, if you carried him away,
tell me where you laid him,
and I will take him."
Jesus said to her, "Mary!"
She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni,"
which means Teacher.
Jesus said to her, "Stop holding on to me,
for I have not yet ascended to the Father.
But go to my brothers and tell them,
'I am going to my Father and your Father,
to my God and your God.'"
Mary went and announced to the disciples,
"I have seen the Lord,"
and then reported what he had told her.
| Daily Meditation: John 20:11-18 Woman, why are you weeping? (John 20:13, 15) Isn't it obvious why Mary Magdalene is crying? Just three days before, she had watched Jesus suffer a painful death on a cross. All she wants to do now is give him a proper burial, and she can't even do that because his body is missing. Actually, Mary is asked why she is weeping, not once, but twice that morning: first by the angels at the tomb, and then by Jesus, whom she mistakes for a gardener. The fact that it happens twice—and involves both angels and Jesus—should make us sit up and take notice. Jesus asks a lot of questions in the Gospels. Some are rhetorical, some are challenging, and some, like this one, have obvious answers. But there is one thing that they all have in common: Jesus doesn't ask because he needs to know the answer. It's because we do. It's quite possible that Jesus asked Mary this question as a way of directing her away from the painful memory of his death and toward the joy of his resurrection. It was time to put aside her grief and fear. Jesus is risen! Death has no hold on him, and now it has no hold on her—or on us. Why are you weeping? What worries, problems, or disappointments are weighing on your soul? Whatever they are, know that Jesus sees them and wants to help you work through them. He wants to help draw your attention to his presence with you. He is there, standing right in front of you. He is risen, and heaven is opened for you! This message applies not only to your literal death, but also to the "little deaths" you experience throughout your life: the ending of a relationship, for instance, or a necessary move from a familiar home. Jesus can bring new life out of situations like these. He can bring peace to your heart as you turn to him and tell him why you are weeping. He can convince you that sorrow and death don't have the final word. Even in your darkest times, he is there, planting seeds of new life in you and working to lead you toward joy, both in this life and the next. "Jesus, help me to remember that you are always with me, even when you seem absent." Acts 2:36-41
Psalm 33:4-5, 18-20, 22 |  click to hear 2cents | Listen to my2cents audio. Share the link if you like:
Click to hear it My 2 cents with your brother Adrian | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
""Repent and be baptized, every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins;
and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
For the promise is made to you and to your children
and to all those far off,
whomever the Lord our God will call." end quote. Wait, did the author of the book of Acts just say that baptism was even for children? And for all those who are way off our path? And who wrote Acts anyway? They say it was Luke, and if this is true, it is very important, because they say they say he was doctor, physician, artist, and very close companion of our Blessed Mother Mary in his interview with her. In other words, he is an extremely viable and reliable source, meaning, we can believe, stop having doubts, but believe! In what? Our Lord! In what else? Baptism! Why? Resurrection! That's why! It is everything for the believer...of Christ, our Lord, and our Savior. This is the natural means to enter God's Grace, by simply having Him in us, in the Holy Spirit! Sure you can argue there are other ways, but they are not the normal that God has set forth! | We pray today:
"Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord" end quote.
He is trustworthy. And this is good.
Are you trustworthy? If not, then we should be like Him, made one into Himself, more and more intimately united, until it is an unbreakable bond, and this is possible, through Christ our Lord. | In the Gospel today we heard: "Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" Mary Magdalene was weeping at the tomb. Where were the apostles?
Mary Magdalene was lamenting, sobbing, seeking the Lord. Where were His disciples?
Seek and ye shall find.
As Mary wept, angels appeared to console her and to guide her.
Mary crying, choking in sentiment, and anguish, spoke with the angels and the Lord, and didn't even realize it was Him speaking, comforting her, and like the angels, guiding her.
You can be rest assured this type of thing still happens today.
Seek Him and He will come to the encounter.
You may not recognize Him, but you will know in the end, the truth is realized after the fact of...faith.
What does this message say? Persevere in your faith.
The apostles were lost and confused and trying to have faith, but this woman that wept at the cross, and now weeping at the tomb...she didn't care about herself anymore...all she cared about was GOD.
She had more fear of GOD than any person or thing in the world.
One could say she was the clinging type of person, once they get on something they won't let go.
And so, she clung to the Lord. | "She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni," which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, "Stop holding on to me,
for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am going to my Father and your Father,
to my God and your God.'" end quote. They say that when a loved one dies, we tend to hold onto them and they are not free to ascend, to move on, because we hold on to them.
They also say, that if you really love somebody, to let them free. If they return, it was meant to be. This is love and faith.
It was hard to let go of my best friend, my dad, and it is still kind of an empty feeling, as I write to you, I see his chair in front of mine, empty, quiet, after spending 20 years facing each other in our family business. But I felt the longer I held on to sentiments, the harder it'd be for him to go to our Father, and your Father.
Those sensations of pain must be turned into deep prayer and suffering offerings to the Father, atonement for sin.
No matter how much we try to cling, to hold on to stuff, it is like sand in your hand, that spills through your fingers. Time is not ours. Time belongs to God too.
There is a time for everything. Here on earth, many things happen, and they happen for a reason...and all good signs point to Heaven.
Our Lord arose from the dead, and immediately resumes, His Father's business...and our Father's business.
This means GOD is supreme, great, and amazing, and to be loved and to be feared to turn away from.
For in Him we have Christ and salvation, and Kingship. And if you follow the Holy Church closely...Divine Mercy. Let's pray:
...†...
Lord, I cling to things, thoughts, ideas, and I get distracted and lost. Please help me clear my path to You, to focus more on Your most precious Love both here and forever. | Random Bible Verse 1
Matthew 18:5–6 "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,1 it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea." | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
