†Quote of the Day
"Have caution in not allowing yourself to be struck down by adversity nor becoming vain by prosperity."
–St. Clare of Assisi †Today's Meditation
"Finally—and this is perhaps the most difficult aspect of what concerns the practice of conformity to the will of God—we should desire virtue itself and the degrees of grace only insofar as God wishes to give them, and not desire more. Our whole ambition should be to attain the degree of perfection that has been appointed for us, since it has not been given to everybody to reach the same height. It is obvious that however well we may correspond with the graces given us, we can never equal the humility, charity and other virtues of the Blessed Virgin. And who can even presume to imagine that he can reach the same heights as the Apostles? Who can equal St. John the Baptist whom Christ called the greatest of the children of men? Or St. Joseph to whom God entrusted His Son? In this we must as in all else submit to the will of God. He must be able to say of us, My will is in them; it rules and governs everything. So when we hear or read that God in a short time has brought some souls to a very high degree of perfection and shown them signal favors, enlightened their understanding and imbued their hearts with His love, we should repress any desire to be treated likewise so as not to fall short in pure love of conformity to His Will. We should even unite ourselves still more closely to His Will by saying, 'I praise Thee, O Lord, and bless Thee for deigning to show Thyself with so great love and familiarity to the souls Thou has chosen …'"
—Jean Baptiste Saint-Jure, p. 75-76 An Excerpt From
Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence †Daily Verse
"The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their refuge in the time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked, and saves them, because they take refuge in him."
–Psalm 37:39-40 |  click to read more | | St. Victor Maurus St. Victor Maurus (d. 303 A.D.), also known as Victor the Moor and Victor of Milan, was born in Mauretania (North Africa) in a Christian household. He later relocated to Milan, Italy, as a soldier of the Praetorian Guard that served Roman Emperor Maximian during his persecution of Christians. Although Victor was a Christian since childhood, this fact was not widely known until he destroyed an altar to a pagan god. The Emperor, infuriated, had Victor imprisoned and starved for six days. The Emperor then gave him every chance to recant his faith, including offering him riches, but Victor refused each attempt. He was then tortured mercilessly, unless he would offer sacrifice to the gods, by being stretched on the rack and having molten lead poured over his body. Victor remained steadfast and boldly proclaimed his faith in Christ, declaring that the Roman gods were demons. Finally the saint was beheaded on May 8 in the year 303 A.D. The Emperor refused him burial so that wild beasts would consume his body. However, after six days the body was discovered untouched with two beasts guarding it at the head and foot. The local bishop then received permission to bury the body. A church was later erected over Victor's grave and many miracles occurred there. St. Victor's feast day is May 8th. | Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 14:5-18 There was an attempt in Iconium
by both the Gentiles and the Jews,
together with their leaders,
to attack and stone Paul and Barnabas.
They realized it,
and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe
and to the surrounding countryside,
where they continued to proclaim the Good News. At Lystra there was a crippled man, lame from birth,
who had never walked.
He listened to Paul speaking, who looked intently at him,
saw that he had the faith to be healed,
and called out in a loud voice, "Stand up straight on your feet."
He jumped up and began to walk about.
When the crowds saw what Paul had done,
they cried out in Lycaonian,
"The gods have come down to us in human form."
They called Barnabas "Zeus" and Paul "Hermes,"
because he was the chief speaker.
And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city,
brought oxen and garlands to the gates,
for he together with the people intended to offer sacrifice. The Apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their garments
when they heard this and rushed out into the crowd, shouting,
"Men, why are you doing this?
We are of the same nature as you, human beings.
We proclaim to you good news
that you should turn from these idols to the living God,
who made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them.
In past generations he allowed all Gentiles to go their own ways;
yet, in bestowing his goodness,
he did not leave himself without witness,
for he gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons,
and filled you with nourishment and gladness for your hearts."
Even with these words, they scarcely restrained the crowds
from offering sacrifice to them. Responsorial Psalm Ps 115:1-2, 3-4, 15-16 R.(1ab) Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us
but to your name give glory
because of your mercy, because of your truth.
Why should the pagans say,
"Where is their God?"
R. Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Our God is in heaven;
whatever he wills, he does.
Their idols are silver and gold,
the handiwork of men.
R. Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
May you be blessed by the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
Heaven is the heaven of the LORD,
but the earth he has given to the children of men.
R. Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Jn 14:26 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Holy Spirit will teach you everything
and remind you of all I told you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 14:21-26 Jesus said to his disciples:
""Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him.""
Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him,
""Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us
and not to the world?""
Jesus answered and said to him,
""Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine
but that of the Father who sent me. ""I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit
whom the Father will send in my name--
he will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.""
| Daily Meditation: John 14:21-26 We will come . . . and make our dwelling with him. (John 14:23) The apostles must have been astonished when they heard Jesus speak these words. The Jews at that time knew that God was near; they believed that his presence had filled the Temple in Jerusalem. But that was quite different from the Lord making his dwelling with them. Could God be so close as to live in them? Yes, he could, through Jesus' death and resurrection! On the cross, Jesus defeated sin and death. Cleansing us of all the sin that had separated us from God, he made a way for his Father to dwell in our very hearts. This is what the Lord had always desired: to make his home in us. So what does it look like to have God dwell in us? On a human level, "home" means the place where we share life with those we love. We spend time together, we share in one another's joys and sorrows, we embrace the same dreams and goals. This is the same kind of life that God wants us to enjoy with him. He wants to spend time with us as we pray. He wants to share in all of our joys and sorrows—even the smallest details of our day. He wants to invite us to join him in building his kingdom in whatever way best suits our skills and talents. In short, he wants to be with us! God comes to us: this is his initiative. But we have a role to play as well. We need to be willing to share our lives with him. As we listen to his word and receive his grace, we'll have him on our minds throughout the day. We will be more conscious that he is always with us, always seeking to share his life with us. We will want to be wherever he is. We will want to do whatever he is doing. In today's Gospel, Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit will "teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you" (John 14:26). It is the Spirit who leads us into this intimate relationship with the Lord. It is he who convinces us that God is with us and who prompts us to turn our hearts to him throughout the day. And it is he who will help us make our home in the Lord just as he has made his home in us! "Come, risen Christ, and dwell with me this day." Acts 14:5-18
Psalm 115:1-4, 15-16 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"Men, why are you doing this? We are of the same nature as you, human beings.
We proclaim to you good news that you should turn from these idols to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them." Idol worshiping is not as obvious nowadays, is it?
So does it exist? It borders now, but what God said is true...when Jesus entered, the whole world was programmed in the spiritual DNA with His truths and His commandments. It was for no reason that our Lord said "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."
The only idols are those we place in love or trust more than God Himself nowadays. Maybe science, maybe medical people or psychologists, or ideals, all things that can actually be put in direct opposition...to faith. Faith matters, and it is supreme. Faith rules, and this is our creed, this is our religion, and the ignorance of people make even the word religion to be a bad name, but it just means beliefs! LOL. The world with all its communication seems to be losing much of the light. And that's where you and me come in...to spread the truth, and the light. | We pray today:
"Not to us, O LORD, not to us
but to your name give glory
because of your mercy, because of your truth.
Why should the pagans say,
"Where is their God?"
Our God is in heaven;
whatever he wills, he does.
Their idols are silver and gold,
the handiwork of men." I would love to be in love with the mystery of God. Once something is figured out, it takes out all the mystery. Let us respect and love the mystery of God. And to give it an example, I think of my bride, my wife. There is a certain mystery. The human mind is a mystery. What will she say next? Will it make me laugh, or get me on edge? Isn't love like that? A living out of a relationship? And I'll tell you something about being put on edge...it is a calling for humility. When our priest gives me this look like this morning when the choir microphones squealed super loud, it put me on edge, or when he makes a request that will make me do something I've been avoiding or I should have done, these things make me realize the order of obedience.
I'm obedient, yes, but my real job is to obey without complaint, or feeling weird. That's what I'm working on, how about you?
For the Lord loves a cheerful giver. A natural lover. | In the Gospel today we heard: "Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me.
Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him." said our Lord Jesus today. A couple of my RCIA students needed a sponsor. Now I am the godfather of a 6ft tall blond and blue eyed guy, and later one after having their first child, he still asked "how can I show God that I love Him?"
And I said, "do what He says".
That was the gist of today's homily with our Priest, Fr. Joseph, about how a child loves the parents by doing what they say.
But what happens when the child grows up?
I want to make an info graphic of how I see children grow up. When they are babies and toddlers oh man are they so cute! Like puppy dogs with big eyes, chubby cheeks, and oh so sweet and innocent! But as they grow, and if they hit "adult" things, their smiles and wonders start wearing off, and then you get serious faced teens, and then worried faced adults...as they lose faith...and God...and this means to lose love, and true love.
They don't go to church, they are not happy, they are lost, and they cannot make their way back to Our Father's house.
Why does God our Father want us in His temple?
So that there, we let Him inside of our temple...our soul. Our lives. Our very essence of being.
What happens when God takes over? Peace and joy takes over, not as the world offers, but as He sees fit.
What if the whole of our lives is a preparation for an eternal reality? | ...†....
Let's pray:
Lord, Father, My Love, how can we make a return to true Love of You Father, how can we show You we love You? Let us do Your Holy Will, let us be found toiling away for love of Your will, Your calling, and not focus on things that detract us from You...and true Love forever. | Random Bible Verse
Romans 8:15
"For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
