†Quote of the Day
"I have been all things unholy; if God can work through me, He can work through anyone."
–St. Francis of Assisi †Today's Meditation
"On the whole, God's love for us is a much safer subject to think about than our love for Him. Nobody can always have devout feelings: and even if we could, feelings are not what God principally cares about. Christian Love, either towards God or towards man, is an affair of the will. If we are trying to do His will we are obeying the commandment, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God.' He will give us feelings of love if He pleases. We cannot create them for ourselves, and we must not demand them as a right. But the great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not. It is not wearied by our sins, or our indifference; and, therefore, it is quite relentless in its determination that we shall be cured of those sins, at whatever cost to us, at whatever cost to Him."
—C. S. Lewis, p. 146
An Excerpt From
Mere Christianity †Daily Verse
"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have become near by the blood of Christ."
–Ephesians 2:13 |  click to read more | | St. Simon Stock St. Simon Stock (1165-1265) was born in Kent, England. He was strongly drawn to God as a child, and at the age of twelve he began to live as a hermit in the hollow of an oak tree. After two decades of this solitary and penitential life, he entered the world again to study theology and become a priest. His studies complete, he then returned to his hermitage. At this time the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to him, instructing him to join the Carmelite Order that was just entering England. St. Simon became a Carmelite in 1212. By 1215 he became the order's leader and worked to establish it across Europe, especially at the great universities. He also traveled to Rome and Mt. Carmel in the Holy Land, and revised the Carmelite Rule to make them mendicant friars instead of hermits. Tradition holds that the Virgin Mary appeared to him again and presented him with a brown scapular, the habit of his order, promising that those who wore it would not be eternally lost in hell. This apparition is known as Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and her "scapular promise" is that she will intercede with her Son to ensure that the wearer of the scapular obtains the grace of final perseverance, that is, of dying in a state of grace. This is the origin of the Brown Scapular devotion which soon spread to the laity to obtain the graces promised by Our Lady, a devotion later encouraged by many popes. St. Simon Stock's feast day is May 16th. | Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 16:22-34 The crowd in Philippi joined in the attack on Paul and Silas,
and the magistrates had them stripped
and ordered them to be beaten with rods.
After inflicting many blows on them,
they threw them into prison
and instructed the jailer to guard them securely.
When he received these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell
and secured their feet to a stake. About midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying
and singing hymns to God as the prisoners listened,
there was suddenly such a severe earthquake
that the foundations of the jail shook;
all the doors flew open, and the chains of all were pulled loose.
When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open,
he drew his sword and was about to kill himself,
thinking that the prisoners had escaped.
But Paul shouted out in a loud voice,
"Do no harm to yourself; we are all here."
He asked for a light and rushed in and,
trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas.
Then he brought them out and said,
"Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus
and you and your household will be saved."
So they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house.
He took them in at that hour of the night and bathed their wounds;
then he and all his family were baptized at once.
He brought them up into his house and provided a meal
and with his household rejoiced at having come to faith in God. Responsorial Psalm Ps 138:1-2ab, 2cde-3, 7c-8 R. (7c) Your right hand saves me, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple,
and give thanks to your name.
R. Your right hand saves me, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Because of your kindness and your truth,
you have made great above all things
your name and your promise.
When I called, you answered me;
you built up strength within me.
R. Your right hand saves me, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Your right hand saves me.
The LORD will complete what he has done for me;
your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands.
R. Your right hand saves me, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia See Jn 16:7, 13 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I will send to you the Spirit of truth, says the Lord;
he will guide you to all truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 16:5-11 Jesus said to his disciples:
"Now I am going to the one who sent me,
and not one of you asks me, 'Where are you going?'
But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts.
But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go.
For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you.
But if I go, I will send him to you.
And when he comes he will convict the world
in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation:
sin, because they do not believe in me;
righteousness, because I am going to the Father
and you will no longer see me;
condemnation, because the ruler of this world has been condemned."
| Daily Meditation: Acts 16:22-34 Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. (Acts 16:25) That sounds lovely, doesn't it? Two apostles praising God and singing hymns to him. It conjures up the image of a pair of eager saints, surrounded by a softly glowing light, their eyes turned upward toward heaven. But that's not what Luke is describing here. Paul and Silas had just been attacked by a mob and then "stripped" and "beaten with rods" by the city's magistrate (Acts 16:22). Now they were in prison with their feet "secured . . . to a stake" (16:24). So maybe it's more accurate to imagine two men bent over in pain, bloodied and with fresh bruises swelling and turning purple as they offer their prayers in weak, raspy voices. That's what makes this scene so powerful—and a powerful lesson for us. It's easy to sing and praise the Lord when you're sitting peacefully at Mass or in your prayer corner at home. It's not hard to drum up the faith to offer the Lord some words of praise in the middle of a hectic workday. But when you've just been subjected to a brutal beating? That's something different! Think of the kind of faith you would need to sing and praise the Lord at such a time. A strong faith that is determined to worship the Lord in every situation. A stubborn faith that is focused on the facts of God's saving love more than the convenience or inconvenience of circumstances. A trusting faith that believes in a God who will never leave his people alone—especially as they undergo trials. It's hard to praise the Lord when you're facing a mountain of bills, enduring a long-standing illness, or picking up the pieces of a broken marriage. But hard doesn't mean impossible—or even nearly impossible. Even if all you can manage is a tearful Our Father or a raspy-voiced "Amazing Grace," offer what you can to the Lord. He hears you and is holding you close to his heart. He treasures your faith, even if it seems weak to you. He will care for you. "Lord, teach me how to praise you in good times and in bad. May I never lose sight of your love and your glory!" Psalm 138:1-3, 7-8
John 16:5-11 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"So they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house.
He took them in at that hour of the night and bathed their wounds;
then he and all his family were baptized at once."
End of scripture verse. Notice, the apostles were in prison, and they were in chains, in darkness, but they were singing hymns, and praying, and the earth shook and broke their shackles, and once they were freed, the prison guard was about to take his life, but instead, their preaching saved his household. And all were baptized, everybody, child, children, babies, everyone was baptized always from the beginning. Nowadays, protestants have ripped that away, and the evil one has kept people from being baptized. Evil? What evil? The evil of nothingness, no preaching, no reaching to the ends of the earth as Christ said before ascending into Heaven, that we are to go everywhere, baptizing all in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit! | We pray today:
" I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple,
and give thanks to your name.
Your right hand saves me, O Lord."
end of psalm. Notice, that the tongue can give words, and words of blessing or a curse, of salvation, or of damnation. What words will you choose? Notice too, every word is being taken into account, everything actually matters. | In the Gospel today we heard: _"For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you.
But if I go, I will send him to you.
And when he comes he will convict the world
in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation:
sin, because they do not believe in me" says our Lord Jesus the Christ. One of the most amazing things I can say that exists is the revelation of the Holy Spirit. It is God Himself! Jesus our Lord was God manifesting Himself in the flesh! It is God who gave His life for You! It is the Father who gave His life! And now, the Holy Spirit gives us life. The Holy Spirit of Love, yes, you cannot see, but you sense the Presence, and what an astonishment to be able to sense the Holy Spirit at work and His Presence.
I'm training myself now, to sense His Holy Presence. How? Adoration. Train yourself. You won't know it with your mind, but your being will sense His being. You won't be able to discern Him in thought. You won't be able to discern Him with feelings. You will just know. You will just KNOW. There is no way around it when He is present. There is no denying Him.
So take heart today with this message. He knows you, and this means one thing: He loves you. Love should change us. Can love change you? Mercy has formed who I am. So yes, I believe in love changing us. But only when I sense remorse, a real disgust with my sin. Otherwise, the Love will not change me.
Soon, we will enter Pentecost. We've been in the Easter tide, the season of the Resurrection, and already, we see the risen Lord at work...in the Holy Spirit.
This means He is a whisper away, a breath away from us, a thought away. In the heart, and in our soul. What can make us love Him more? The thought that I couldn't breathe or have my heart beat one more time without His permission? No. The thought is that to live without His love would mean death forever.
You see, God loves us...forever.
This means something. It is the Spirit of Love desiring to enter my soul, and illuminating the whole world with a fire of love unseen, made visible, therefore, it becomes a Sacrament in our world. | ...†....
Let's pray:
Lord, how You Love us is inexplicable. I find no words, because Your love is infinite. I pray we can sing hyms of praise in our darkest moments, hyms of real faith, hymns of real love. Forever. | RANDOM BIBLE VERSE WOW! Amazing words from our Father: Luke 12 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?1 And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
