† Quote of the Day "Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them, every day begin the task anew." — St. Francis de Sales Today's Meditation "Many Christians regard Confession in the light of an unimportant act of piety, if not mere ceremony . . . many go even frequently to Confession, but so few amend, and consequently derive little or no benefit from the Sacrament. ... Be, then, most thoroughly convinced of the immense importance of this Sacrament, and be filled with an earnest desire of approaching it worthily, bestowing the utmost care and attention upon your preparation for this great duty, if you desire to obtain eternal salvation. Confession is one of the seven Sacraments instituted by Christ; it is called the Sacrament of Penance, and by its means alone can he who has committed mortal sin after Baptism hope to save his soul; therefore it is called by the holy Council of Trent: the second plank after shipwreck. In this Sacrament Jesus Christ has deposited His Precious Blood, that it may be to our souls as a salutary bath wherein they may be cleansed from all the stains of sin, their wounds closed, their maladies cured, their weakness strengthened, and grace unto salvation imported to them. This Divine Blood is dispensed to us by the priest in the holy absolution, and is abundantly poured forth upon all souls approaching the tribunal of confession with proper dispositions." —Fr. Ignatius of the Side of Jesus, p. 284-285
An excerpt from The School of Jesus Crucified Daily Verse "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at last he will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then from my flesh I shall see God." — Job 19:25-26 | St. Dymphna St. Dymphna (7th c.) was the daughter of a pagan Irish chieftain and a beautiful Christian noblewoman. Dymphna was raised as a Christian, and she consecrated her virginity to Christ at a young age. Dymphna's father loved his wife deeply. When her mother died, Dymphna's father was so overcome with grief that he became mentally unstable. Unable to find another suitable wife of equal character and beauty to his first wife, he attempted to marry Dymphna due to her close resemblance to her mother. Upon learning of his wicked plan, Dymphna fled across the sea into Belgium along with her tutor and confessor, Father Gerebran. Her father pursued them and eventually discovered their location by tracing the foreign money they used along the way. He killed Dymphna's confessor and pleaded with his daughter to return with him to Ireland to be his wife. When she refused, he cut off her head in a mad rage. St. Dymphna's church still stands on the place of her burial near Antwerp. There have been numerous accounts of those afflicted with epilepsy and mental illness visiting her tomb and receiving miraculous cures through her intercession. Because of this, St. Dympha is the patroness of those suffering from mental and neurological disorders and illnesses, as well as of mental health professionals. Her feast day is May 15th. | Reading 1 Acts 20:28-38 At Miletus, Paul spoke to the presbyters of the Church of Ephesus:
"Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock
of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers,
in which you tend the Church of God
that he acquired with his own Blood.
I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you,
and they will not spare the flock.
And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth
to draw the disciples away after them.
So be vigilant and remember that for three years, night and day,
I unceasingly admonished each of you with tears.
And now I commend you to God
and to that gracious word of his that can build you up
and give you the inheritance among all who are consecrated.
I have never wanted anyone's silver or gold or clothing.
You know well that these very hands
have served my needs and my companions.
In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort
we must help the weak,
and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said,
'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"
When he had finished speaking
he knelt down and prayed with them all.
They were all weeping loudly
as they threw their arms around Paul and kissed him,
for they were deeply distressed that he had said
that they would never see his face again.
Then they escorted him to the ship. Responsorial Psalm 68:29-30, 33-35a, 35bc-36ab R. (33a) Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Show forth, O God, your power,
the power, O God, with which you took our part;
For your temple in Jerusalem
let the kings bring you gifts.
R. Sing to God, O Kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You kingdoms of the earth, sing to God,
chant praise to the Lord
who rides on the heights of the ancient heavens.
Behold, his voice resounds, the voice of power:
"Confess the power of God!"
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Over Israel is his majesty;
his power is in the skies.
Awesome in his sanctuary is God, the God of Israel;
he gives power and strength to his people.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Jn 17:17b, 17 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Your word, O Lord, is truth;
consecrate us in the truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 17:11b-19 Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying:
"Holy Father, keep them in your name
that you have given me,
so that they may be one just as we are one.
When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me,
and I guarded them, and none of them was lost
except the son of destruction,
in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
But now I am coming to you.
I speak this in the world
so that they may share my joy completely.
I gave them your word, and the world hated them,
because they do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.
I do not ask that you take them out of the world
but that you keep them from the Evil One.
They do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.
Consecrate them in the truth.
Your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world,
so I sent them into the world.
And I consecrate myself for them,
so that they also may be consecrated in truth." | Holy Father, keep them in your name . . . , so that they may be one just as we are one. (John 17:11) When we are baptized into the body of Christ, we receive a new family, united in love with our heavenly Father. And in today's Gospel, Jesus reminds us that the source of that unity is God himself! Yet we all know that living as brothers and sisters fully united in Christ, while beautiful in theory, is easier said than done. In our families and parishes, each of us brings our own experiences, opinions, and personalities to the table. Discord and clashes are bound to happen. That's why we need to turn to our heavenly Father, who is the ultimate standard-bearer in our quest for unity. Here's how one Christian author described this unity: "One hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other. They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow." So if God the Father is like our tuning fork, then one sure way to live in unity with our sisters and brothers in Christ is to yield to him. For example, as we surrender our thinking to God in prayer, we begin to view our spouse or children the way that God does; we recognize their gifts or see their point of view instead of focusing solely on their faults. As we read Scripture, our hearts are stirred by God's call to forgive. When we receive God's mercy, we become more merciful with the people in our parishes. In fact, every time we stop and listen to God during the day, we can realign our hearts with his and find unity with the members of his family. Even in a moment of tension, we can pause and listen to him rather than reacting out of our fallen nature. Of course, it's not always easy. Because of our sinfulness, we are often "out of tune" with the Lord. But God desires unity for us, and Jesus himself is praying for us! With every effort we make to yield to him, he will bring us closer to one another. "Thank you, Father, for knitting us together as one family." Acts 20:28-38
Psalm 68:29-30, 33-36 |  try to hear it read by AI | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"I gave them your word, and the world hated them,
because they do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.
I do not ask that you take them out of the world
but that you keep them from the Evil One.
They do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.
Consecrate them in the truth.
Your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world,
so I sent them into the world.
And I consecrate myself for them,
so that they also may be consecrated in truth........" end quote. | From Bishop Barron:
"The Israelite conception of God is fiercely monotheistic and hence it excludes any diversity or syncretism at the level of basic belief: "The Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." Joseph Ratzinger commented that the opening line of the Nicene Creed, Credo in unum Deum (I believe in one God), is a subversive statement because it automatically rules out any rival claimant to ultimate concern.
To say that one accepts only the God of Israel and Jesus Christ is to say that one rejects as ultimate any human being, any culture, any political party, any artistic form, or any set of ideas. A Christian is someone who, at the most fundamental level of his or her being, is centered on the one God of Jesus Christ." end quote.
There has been in the world an increased presence and power of the demonic, for about the last 100 years. It has been allowed, and for good reason. We must realize how evil the darkness can be. There have been world wars, and still some lurking and looming trying to come to be. And how does so much evil grow in power and come to be at all?
It all happens with our permission.
That's it!
Just be permissive, just allow a little few bad things to come, a few sins, a few sinful thoughts, a few sinful lifestyles, just allow it all to be without comment, without lifting a finger about it, and call yourself a good person without "judging" and telling anyone the truth of God. Just let them live however they want! And watch the world unravel, all coming undone because of our permission. You see, it starts with you.
Tomorrow I will go into a prison retreat with a team of men. And I was asked last night to give a talk to prisoners. And I will tell them the same things that I tell you and the same message I tell the elderly folk.
You think you can't make a difference where you are, but you are so wrong to think that. It's not how many people you've converted or thought you saved. It's not about the big institutions that you started. It's not all about that. Yes that matters too, but that's not all in the body of Christ. They say that over 90% of the Catholic Church is made up of the laity, ordinary people that are not consecrated to the religious life, but, we are consecrated to Jesus in the Holy Sacraments, we all matter in the station of life we are put in. And because you matter, everyone matters, and what you do, no matter where you are, makes a difference in the body of Christ.
Why did God allow an increased demonic force in the last 100 years?
It had to be. Why? There was perversion among the people of God.
We had to see the serpent at work for us to be engraved in our minds what evil does and what it really looks like.
First, there were wars. Then famines, killing people to the tune of millions. And the last phase, the snake emerges. We see the head of evil trying to keep itself hidden but it is not. Evil is emerging to show its ugly head in our perverted state that begin about 100 years ago. The emergence of flamboyant abortions, and sexual promiscuity calling on the world to allow any sexual relation you can imagine and please yourself with. This is what causes wars.
Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said "first comes nudity, then comes violence" as He spoke of this issue back in the days of black and white TV. Did we hear that? Did people turnaround? No. This was about the time of "Woodstock" and the emergence of even more promiscuity in the world. And now? We bask in the glut of dark productions. Look around. They say more children are born out of wedlock than ever before. Fatherless children more than ever before. They make babies in science labs so you don't need a real "father". They kill tons of embryos just to make that one "perfect" one happen.
About 80% of couples live together without being married. And if we say anything, they get upset. I've experienced that just in the last week. In our church, if a priest doesn't let people have their sacraments when and how they want, they leave the church, or rant on social media how evil the priest is and so forth. These things are happening right now as we speak, and even to our own parish. The devil don't stop. And guess what? Darkness will not stop until the end of the world.
And so, the message reaches you once again in this day of life the Lord has granted you.
Will you sacrifice yourself, your ego, your pride, and will you follow in humble obedience the ways of purity, the ways of humility, the ways of true love of God and one another that our Lord came to emphasize with His life....in the Eucharist? These are questions asked in Holy Baptism, do you reject evil and all its ways! Do you accept our Lord truly?
We do not belong to this world. We belong to God our Father. Nothing belongs to you. Not even anything good that you do can be all accredited to you. And why would you want all the credit and attention...the glory that belongs to God Himself anyway?
It is not about you, when you consecrate your life away. Light calls on light. We are one, and the more light in us for the world,the better the world will be...if only you will sacrifice yourself too, in true Love of God our Father. |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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