† Quote of the Day "The Eucharist is the bread that gives strength... It is at once the most eloquent proof of His love and the most powerful means of fostering His love in us. He gives Himself every day so that our hearts as burning coals may set afire the hearts of the faithful." — St. Damien of Molokai Today's Meditation "In our self-centered culture and classic American emphasis on work, we often feel we have to accomplish something during our times of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. We rate our experience by how 'good' our prayer was, how heartfelt our devotion was, or how focused we could remain. Yet prayer and contemplation are fundamentally God's work, in which we are invited to participate. We need only to give Him the opening, and He will do the rest. By coming to adoration, we are handing Him the keys to our hearts, allowing the rays of His love and grace to bathe our souls in the light of His Presence, as the rays of the sun bathe our bodies in light. If we can take the time to pull away from the busyness and distractions of life and just sit at His feet, He will lead us." —Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration, p. 33
An excerpt from Manual for Eucharistic Adoration Daily Verse "The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and his ears toward their cry. The face of the Lord is against evildoers, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit." — Psalm 34: 15-18 | St. Damien De Veuster Of Molokai St. Damien de Veuster (1840–1889), also known as St. Damien of Molokai, was a priest from Belgium belonging to the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. He had a special devotion to St. Francis Xavier and desired, like him, to be a missionary. His desire was fulfilled when he was sent to minister in Hawaii in place of his brother, a religious of the same congregation, who was assigned to go but was unable due to illness. The island was suffering from an influx of unknown diseases brought by foreigners, among them Hansen's disease (leprosy). The island of Molokai became quarantined as a leper colony, and all lepers were forcibly exiled there. The local bishop believed that the people living on the island, numbering over 800 at the time, needed a priest. Yet, the bishop knew that ministering to a people of this contagious and deadly disease would be a death sentence for the priest who went. The bishop asked for priests to volunteer to serve in Molokai. After serving in Hawaii for nine years, Fr. Damien was the first to volunteer. He began his ministry to the lepers in 1873. He built a church on the island and did much to improve the morale and joy among the people. St. Damien lived and ministered at the Kalaupapa leper colony for 15 years, fully knowing that this decision would eventually cause him to contract and die of the horribly mutilating disease. St. Damian died of leprosy in 1889 at the age of 49. He became known as a "martyr of charity" and the "Apostle to the Lepers." He was canonized during the Year of Priests in 2009. His feast day is May 10. | Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter • Readings for the Optional Memorial of John of Avila, Priest and Doctor of the Church Reading 1 Acts 18:9-18 One night while Paul was in Corinth, the Lord said to him in a vision,
"Do not be afraid.
Go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you.
No one will attack and harm you,
for I have many people in this city."
He settled there for a year and a half
and taught the word of God among them. But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia,
the Jews rose up together against Paul
and brought him to the tribunal, saying,
"This man is inducing people to worship God contrary to the law."
When Paul was about to reply, Gallio spoke to the Jews,
"If it were a matter of some crime or malicious fraud,
I should with reason hear the complaint of you Jews;
but since it is a question of arguments over doctrine and titles
and your own law, see to it yourselves.
I do not wish to be a judge of such matters."
And he drove them away from the tribunal.
They all seized Sosthenes, the synagogue official,
and beat him in full view of the tribunal.
But none of this was of concern to Gallio. Paul remained for quite some time,
and after saying farewell to the brothers he sailed for Syria,
together with Priscilla and Aquila.
At Cenchreae he had shaved his head because he had taken a vow. Responsorial Psalm Ps 47:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 R. (8a) God is king of all the earth.
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 is king of all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He brings people under us;
nations under our feet.
He chooses for us our inheritance,
the glory of Jacob, whom he loves.
R. God is king of all the earth.
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 is king of all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia See Lk 24:46, 26 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead,
and so enter into his glory.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 16:20-23 Jesus said to his disciples:
"Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn,
while the world rejoices;
you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.
When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived;
but when she has given birth to a child,
she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy
that a child has been born into the world.
So you also are now in anguish.
But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice,
and no one will take your joy away from you.
On that day you will not question me about anything.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you." | Daily Meditation: John 16:20-23 I will see you again. (John 16:22) Picture yourself in the upper room with Jesus as he celebrates the Last Supper with his disciples. You're amazed by the beauty of his teaching, but your heart is filled with confusion and anxiety because he has announced that he is leaving you soon. He sees your turmoil, acknowledges it, and promises, "I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you" (John 16:22). As is often the case, Jesus was speaking on two different levels here. First, he knew that he would soon suffer and die, and he wanted to reassure his friends before it happened. But he also knew that he would rise from the dead and he would see them again! Then nothing could take their joy from them: whatever happened, the disciples would still have seen and touched the risen Lord! This promise of Jesus also had a second meaning—for them and for us. Jesus knew that he would ascend into heaven, and his disciples would no longer see him physically. They would "see him" by faith instead. Similarly, we don't see Jesus in his bodily form; we can't hear him or touch him the way his disciples once did. But his promise is as true for us as it was for them. For now, we see Jesus by faith. We trust that he sees us in our joys and sorrows, and we believe that he walks beside us through them all. But one day, Jesus will return. On that day, he will see us, and we will behold our Lord, face-to-face, in all his glory. Today, let Jesus' promise encourage you: he will see you again—and not just in heaven! Whether your life is currently filled with peace or with grief and trials, Jesus sees you. He knows everything about you. If you are struggling, you may feel alone or wonder if God really cares about what happens to you. But that feeling can fade as you pray and imagine yourself standing face-to-face with Jesus. You can let his loving gaze cut through your shadowy doubts. You can let him speak these words to you: I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are intimately aware of you. They are thinking of you always, with love. Rest in Jesus' words and let them fill your heart with joy. "Jesus, I trust in your promise." Acts 18:9-18
Psalm 47:2-7 |  try to hear it read by AI | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
""Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn,
while the world rejoices;
you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.
When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived;
but when she has given birth to a child,
she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy
that a child has been born into the world......." end quote. | These words resonate often in my soul. This world does not offer complete joy. We will always feel incomplete, so long as we are apart from our Lord, and we make the distance even greater when we choose sin. We can close that gap though. We can choose joy.
We do suffer in this world. You do feel lonely. You do feel like there is more. That's because there is! There is more waiting for us. There is a completion waiting to happen. And it will if you remain faithful.
I like the saint of the day today. The young priest, Fr. Damien, looks so pure in his white vestments with the Sacred Heart of Jesus emblems across his chest. Then,fast forward to the end of his life at 49 years old, his face, his body is disfigured with leprosy, it looks like the disease of the people he went to help finally got him and killed him. He left earth with scars. And these scars are precious jewels in Heaven.
The scars of our Lord remain in Heaven, the holes in his hands, the stab in the heart, the stripping of His skin off his back. This is what made Him king.
Yet, we don't want to suffer a bit. We look at suffering as evil. But it is evil that causes suffering. Our own evil causes suffering for ourselves and those around us.
Suffering in Jesus changes everything.
What can we learn today? The woman in labor suffers. And some suffer throughout the whole pregnancy, even bed ridden. And the pains, they say not even a man could withstand. But God designed the woman with the ability to take much pain.
We are like that woman in the spirit. We can take the pain...if we tend to the faith. If we offer it up in faith. In the true hope that is to come, and who is to come into the world because of our pains and sufferings.
I'm talking about our sacrifices for true love...of God our Father in Heaven.
In the world you must choose to suffer for love. Hold your tongue when they attack you. Pray in silence. Endure. Let it burn and tear your heart. Let it pierce you, let the lashings come across your back, let your knees bleed in prayer. Be not like the world, but be like Christ our Lord.
In a world where darkness is normal, we must then stand out like bright lights to show that there is true hope, true life, and true light.
I say this because we are so often tempted to quit. That is easy! Quitting is easy! Divorce? Just sign the papers! But then, what about the good fight and the good fruit for sacrificing everything for love of the children for the children are the ones that will pay the whole price. And I'm talking about fruit of God.
You see, I am in teams for retreats, and boy, the quarreling! Even on a parish level, the battle of minds and wills and the spirits. It's all there. We must remain for the common one, the Body of Christ, the heart of Jesus, the Eucharist, the love of God! I'm asking you to go beyond yourself in the name of the Lord, look at what is possible if we remain true to Him. Endless possibilities will begin to emerge. Miracles become the norm. And then what? Right now we must learn to love God, to adore Him, to value Him as the most precious source of salvation and to be grateful, oh to be truly grateful, then, Eucharist, thanksgiving, everything will change. A prisoner will see the light. A loved one will reunite. And we will have done God's will. Because of Him, because of His Holy name.
May we always pray and make His name Holy by our lives. |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Revelation 1:8 8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
