Today's Feast: After Jesus' Resurrection from the dead, He continued to appear to His disciples for a period of 40 days. After this time, with His Apostles gathered around Him on the Mount of Olives, Jesus was taken up bodily into heaven, as recorded in the Gospels. To comfort them in His physical absence, He promised to send them a Consoler and Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to be with them and to guide them into all truth until the end of the world. The Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord is celebrated on the 40th day after Easter Sunday, also called Ascension Thursday. It is a Holy Day of Obligation, and among the oldest and most solemn feasts on the liturgical calendar. In many dioceses the celebration of the feast is transferred to the following Sunday. | † Quote of the Day "Today our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven; let our hearts ascend with him." — St. Augustine Today's Meditation "There is a symbolic beauty in the circumstance that the tomb of Jesus was only a few paces from His Cross. Suffering and death are but two aspects of the same thing; the one lays us low, and the other completes the work of destruction. Yet through Jesus they both raise us up, and our joint ascension presents the three stages of the Cross, the tomb, and Heaven. - A.G. Sertillanges, p. 197-198 Daily Verse "Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from thee, and thou rulest over all. In thy hand are power and might; and in thy hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank thee, our God, and praise thy glorious name." — 1 Chronicles 29:11-13 | Blessed Caroline Gerhardinger
Bl. Caroline Gerhardinger (1797-1879), also known as Mother Maria Theresa of Jesus, was born into a working class family in Bavaria. Her giftedness as an educator was apparent early in her life, and she became a certified teacher at the age of 15. Although she was drawn to a quiet, contemplative life, her desire was to teach young girls to aspire to their full potential. For this she was greatly loved by her students. Responding to the needs of the time, and with the guidance of her bishop, she began a new religious order dedicated to education called the Poor School Sisters of Notre Dame. This was during a period when all religious orders were closed by decree of the Bavarian government. She sent her Sisters in groups of twos and threes into the local villages to teach the poor young girls who would otherwise have no opportunity for education, a novelty in her day which grew into a new form of apostolic religious life. In this way she sought to remedy social ills through education, which she believed was just as necessary for a child as love, food, and shelter. When the Vatican negotiated the reopening of Bavaria's religious communities in 1828, the Sisters moved into a convent. Caroline took the religious name Mary Theresa of Jesus for her devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. At the time of her death her order had grown to 2,500 sisters. She was beatified by Pope St. John Paul II in 1985. Her feast day is May 9th. | Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord Lectionary: 58
Reading I Acts 1:1-11 In the first book, Theophilus,
I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught
until the day he was taken up,
after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit
to the apostles whom he had chosen.
He presented himself alive to them
by many proofs after he had suffered,
appearing to them during forty days
and speaking about the kingdom of God.
While meeting with them,
he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem,
but to wait for "the promise of the Father
about which you have heard me speak;
for John baptized with water,
but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." When they had gathered together they asked him,
"Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"
He answered them, "It is not for you to know the times or seasons
that the Father has established by his own authority.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
throughout Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth."
When he had said this, as they were looking on,
he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.
While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going,
suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them.
They said, "Men of Galilee,
why are you standing there looking at the sky?
This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven
will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven." Responsorial Psalm Ps 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9 R. (6) God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
All you peoples, clap your hands, shout to God with cries of gladness,
For the LORD, the Most High, the awesome, is the great king over all the earth.
R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy; the LORD, amid trumpet blasts.
Sing praise to God, sing praise; sing praise to our king, sing praise.
R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
For king of all the earth is God; sing hymns of praise.
God reigns over the nations, God sits upon his holy throne.
R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia. Reading II Brothers and sisters,
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the calling
you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit
through the bond of peace:
one body and one Spirit,
as you were also called to the one hope of your calling;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each of us
according to the measure of Christ's gift. And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets,
others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,
to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,
for building up the body of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of faith
and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature to manhood,
to the extent of the full stature of Christ. Alleluia Mt 28:19a, 20b R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Go and teach all nations, says the Lord;
I am with you always, until the end of the world.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 16:15-20 Jesus said to his disciples:
"Go into the whole world
and proclaim the gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;
whoever does not believe will be condemned.
These signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will drive out demons,
they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.
They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them,
was taken up into heaven
and took his seat at the right hand of God.
But they went forth and preached everywhere,
while the Lord worked with them
and confirmed the word through accompanying signs. | Daily Meditation: Acts 18:1-8 Every sabbath, he entered into discussions in the synagogue, attempting to convince both Jews and Greeks. (Acts 18:4) Do your days ever feel so full that you grit your teeth through the week and "thank God it's Friday"? As the weekend rolls around, you treasure your free time—a chance to do what you want, to enjoy the people in your life, and to feel refreshed before the next week begins. In today's first reading, we see someone whose days were also likely long and tiring. Paul's work as a tentmaker in Corinth was physically taxing. We can imagine that he looked forward to having some downtime. But Paul didn't spend his day off lying on the couch. Instead, he poured his energy into doing what God had called him to do: "Every sabbath, he entered into discussions in the synagogue" (Acts 18:4). Paul's passion was focused on the purpose God had given him: to preach the gospel to everyone in the city who hadn't heard it. Even though he set out to "not burden anyone" by working as a tentmaker (2 Corinthians 11:9), he kept his eyes on his true objective. When we're very busy, giving up our precious free time is hard! Of course, the Lord wants us to rest and to enjoy the people in our lives. Yet, like Paul, we can be assured that God will also give us strength to do whatever he leads us to. You might ask him today, Is there any of my free time that you would like me to use differently? Perhaps he will alert you to an opportunity to help someone or bring to mind a friend or coworker that you could spend time with. Or maybe, like Paul, he will ask you to share the gospel in a new way. On the other hand, some of us are in the habit of saying yes to so many things that we constantly feel exhausted. If that sounds familiar, ask the Lord for clarity today. What are those things, if any, that you would like me to stop doing? Am I getting the rest and refreshment that I need? Sometimes the answer isn't clear or takes time to unfold. But trust that as you surrender your time—even your free time—to the Lord, he will give you the wisdom to find balance and fulfill his purpose for you. "Lord, thank you for showing me what to focus on today." Psalm 98:1-4
John 16:16-20 |  try to hear it read by AI | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"Jesus said to his disciples:
"Go into the whole world
and proclaim the gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;
whoever does not believe will be condemned......." end quote. | Happy Ascension Day! Right?
Today we mark 40 days since Easter, and on the 40th day HE rose to another level. He first rose from the dead and the land of the dead in the spiritual world. Now He is rising to Heaven.
Now what?
Wait just a moment. Before ascending, He gave us some very important commands! They were not suggestions. Even at the end of a Holy Mass, the priest always in the person of Christ, says some final commands before the final blessing, an actual blessing that blesses your soul!
In this case our Lord says 2 things:
1. "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation."
2. "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."
It is our duty as a citizen of Heaven to preach to all creation. This means to everyone and everything, all created things, and of course top priority is to all of the human race to become God's children.
And that is where step 2 comes in. Holy Baptism. Through Holy Baptism we are created anew, born new into the Body of Christ, and this means salvation from death eternal. Baptism is beautiful! Baptism is critical!
How I wish like all the souls I met were baptized! And then, how I wish the baptized souls were on fire!
And that is the 3rd step.
Our Lord will step in with the Holy Spirit, and more easily through Baptism.
I'm a teacher. I'm a father. I'm a father teacher. I also teach fathers. Fathers teach fathers. We are all teachers in this respect. We are preaching by teaching! It's not bad. Most hate it when you are "preaching" to them, but sometimes they mean you are proselytizing them, or you are "judging them". So what do you do? Is it wrong to try to convert someone? No. Is it bad to judge evil? No! It's the devil talking and saying "leave me alone! I'm fine without you and your righteous talk!" But if done wrong, you could push people away they say. I'd say the odds are 50, 50. What if you gave someone a 50% chance to live...forever!? Would you take the chance over zero?
There is an easy way to convert and win souls for God. Do you care to know how? If you care then read on. If you don't care about the salvation of others, then stop here. But your own salvation could hinge on theirs!
It has never worked for me, to hit somebody on the head with the bible, reciting bible verses and accusing them, the lost people. Yet this is the approach many take to, especially protestants. They come hit weak catholics all the time as if to say "you are so dumb! you don't know the bible! read it! look what it says! you are so wrong in all your beliefs!".
And the dumb catholic follows the protestant out of the most precious faith on earth, the one Jesus Christ implemented His Body and Soul into it in the Eucharist. LOL.
I've gone off on a tangent. Who is being saved? Are protestants damned too? Do they not know that we are the original Christ followers? How can they say we are damned if we are all baptized in water and fire? Our Sacraments include a second baptism, the baptism of fire in Holy Confirmation!
And right now, you are hearing from a soul on fire for God. Not a perfect person, but a soul that has had many visions, and reflections, and one of which I am about to divulge that should leave us pondering on what is to come.
Once a pervading vision came upon me of what it could be like to get closer and closer to God. The soul calling, the calling to God was answering the call, I felt it was my own, and it was a bit frightening. The light in the highest parts of Heaven was beyond brightness, I would call it a blinding light. And the closer you go to it, meant that you were going to lose your soul, or, better said, become one with that tremendous light, no longer would you....be your own entity, your own self. That was the scary part. That I would disappear and cease to exist. It really bothered me that though, the thought of "how can one cease to exist like that? To be engulfed into a light and become one with it?
Looking back, yes, it makes sense. The bible says less of me, more of him, let Him increase and let me decrease. I treat sinners like I'd like to treat God, with care. And if you care about their soul, then you will care to go where nobody else will go. I will pray to find a way to speak truth into their lives. All my "god talks" get shut down. And so, here is the way that God works. The light persists. The light will not cease to exist. The light will keep working and burning and purifying.
The sun can destroy just about anything on earth. And just so, is the light of God. We can go willingly into His light, or be destroyed by the light that we so try to hide from.
So what do I mean on how to reach souls? Again. The ways of God are Love and mercy. There are those who persistently reject me. I love them anyways. I know how far I can push the buttons of faith, and sometimes I have to take a leap of faith and press harder. Time is ticking. Every life on earth is precious. Every creature. And above all, every person. We must treat each other with the utmost care.
Wouldn't it be sad that you knew a very faithful church family, and they never bothered to invite you to church or to talk to you about God? Why would it be sad? Because it means they didn't care about your soul, your eternal and true life! Such is the case and often the case; that the devil has everyone silence about God and religion, and the devil gets to have all the say on what to live for and die for.
This is what happens, and this is why the book of Revelation says that our Lord wants us hot or cold, nothing lukewarm. You can't live in sin and live saying you are of God. We must choose! Today you must say "I no longer want to live in sin". This is called repentance. And then you must say "I want everyone in my household to be baptized and saved". And this is what us crazy Catholics did from the beginning, baptized every single soul, no matter the age or if they were sick or had autism and couldn't decide for themselves! Life is too precious to leave it up for chance. Every day is precious, every minute. Think about God our Father, and pray. Lift up your head, see Him rise, see Him in the skies, and then say "Lord, enter into my life, and do with me whatever You please!" and then our lives will unite with the light in the sky...Jesus the Christ!
We will become one.
One Love. One Body. |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Galatians 3:24–26 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.** | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
