Quote of the Day "What great faith our Lord Jesus Christ asks of us—and how just that is. Do we not owe him such faith? It looks impossible to us, but Jesus is Master of the impossible." — Saint Charles de Foucauld Today's Meditation "Mary knows the power of the Redemption, the power of merciful Love, better than anyone. In fact, Pope St. John Paul II says she knows it "more than any other heart in the whole universe, visible and invisible." Therefore, she calls us not only to conversion but "to accept her motherly help to return to the source of Redemption." For again, Mary's task is to bring us to the Fountain of Mercy, to the pierced side of Christ, to his Merciful Heart. Essentially, then, consecrating ourselves to Mary "means accepting her help to offer ourselves and the whole of mankind" to the infinitely Holy God. —Michael E. Gaitley, MIC, p.103
An excerpt from 33 Days to Morning Glory Daily Verse "He is 'the stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.' There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved." — Acts 4:11-12 | St. Judith Of Prussia St. Judith of Prussia (13th c.), also known as St. Jutta, was born to a wealthy family in Thuringia in what is now Germany. She desired to model her life after another noble saint from her country, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, who lived in the previous century. Judith was married at age fifteen to a man of equal rank, and together they raised a family. Despite their great wealth, Judith desired that they should live in a simple way and share their fortune generously with the poor. Her husband was at first displeased with her because he desired a lifestyle according to their means and rank. However, Judith persevered and eventually won him over to join her in a life of greater humility and piety. Her husband later died while on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, leaving Judith to raise her children alone. Once her children were grown, she rid herself of her costly clothes, jewelry, and other possessions and joined the Third Order of St. Francis. She committed herself to serving the poor and the sick, for which she incurred mockery due to her noble rank in society. In the final years of her life she relocated to Prussia to live as a hermitess in a simple hut. There she spent her days in prayer and penance for the conversion of the pagan Prussians. After she died many miracles occurred at her grave, and she became the patron saint of Prussia. Her feast day is May 5th. | Monday of the Third Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 6:8-15 Stephen, filled with grace and power,
was working great wonders and signs among the people.
Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen,
Cyreneans, and Alexandrians,
and people from Cilicia and Asia,
came forward and debated with Stephen,
but they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.
Then they instigated some men to say,
"We have heard him speaking blasphemous words
against Moses and God."
They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes,
accosted him, seized him,
and brought him before the Sanhedrin.
They presented false witnesses who testified,
"This man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law.
For we have heard him claim
that this Jesus the Nazorean will destroy this place
and change the customs that Moses handed down to us."
All those who sat in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him
and saw that his face was like the face of an angel. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 119:23-24, 26-27, 29-30 R. (1ab) Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Though princes meet and talk against me,
your servant meditates on your statutes.
Yes, your decrees are my delight;
they are my counselors. R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia.
I declared my ways, and you answered me;
teach me your statutes.
Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds. R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Remove from me the way of falsehood,
and favor me with your law.
The way of truth I have chosen;
I have set your ordinances before me. R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Matthew 4:4b R. Alleluia, alleluia.
One does not live on bread alone
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel John 6:22-29 [After Jesus had fed the five thousand men, his disciples saw him walking on the sea.]
The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea
saw that there had been only one boat there,
and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat,
but only his disciples had left.
Other boats came from Tiberias
near the place where they had eaten the bread
when the Lord gave thanks.
When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they themselves got into boats
and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
And when they found him across the sea they said to him,
"Rabbi, when did you get here?"
Jesus answered them and said,
"Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me
not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For on him the Father, God, has set his seal."
So they said to him,
"What can we do to accomplish the works of God?"
Jesus answered and said to them,
"This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent."
| Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! | Daily Meditation: John 6:22-29 This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent. (John 6:29) Jesus has performed an amazing miracle, feeding five thousand people with a few loaves and fishes (John 6:1-15). When the crowd goes looking for him, he knows it's because they want more to eat. So he tells them, "Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life" (6:27). But again, the crowd misunderstands. They think Jesus is telling them to do something more or to try harder. So he clarifies: at its heart, this "work of God" is all about believing in him, the One whom the Father has sent (John 6:29). We might wonder—as perhaps the people in the crowd did that day—what the "work" of believing involves. Isn't believing just a matter of our minds? But Jesus seems to indicate that belief is something that requires us to be active, not passive. Let's see what that might be. Believing in Jesus means that, just as we would with any loved one, we seek to nurture our relationship with him. This is why listening to him in prayer and reflecting on the Scriptures are so essential. It's why we need to do the "work" of setting aside time each day for him. The "work" of believing requires that we trust in the Lord, even when we are suffering or when we are going through a trial. In those times, we may be tempted to doubt God's love or care for us. That's when we need to actively lean into our relationship with Jesus, making a point of turning to him as often as we can. It's also when we have to set aside our doubts and proclaim our trust in the Lord. Along with trust, the "work" of believing involves surrendering our lives to Jesus and placing ourselves in his capable hands. It involves actively believing that Jesus can handle any problem we encounter and that he knows better than we do what is best for us. This "work" of believing is the work of a lifetime. But of course, it's not all up to us. Faith is a gift, and Jesus always answers our prayers when we ask for the grace to believe in him! "Lord, help me to believe in you more deeply today!" Acts 6:8-15
Psalm 119:23-24, 26-27, 29-30 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Hear AI Read it for u | From today's Holy Gospel: In the Gospel we hear today:
"Jesus answered them and said,
"Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me
not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For on him the Father, God, has set his seal."
So they said to him,
"What can we do to accomplish the works of God?"
Jesus answered and said to them,
"This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent........" - Word of the Lord! | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, the crowd that experienced the miracle of the loaves pursues Jesus to see more wonders. They finally track him down in the synagogue in the lakeside town of Capernaum. When they ask Jesus how he got there ahead of them, the Lord chides them: "Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life." Ordinary bread satisfies only physical longing, and it does so in a transient way: one eats and one must eat soon again. But the heavenly bread, Jesus implies, satisfies the deepest longing of the heart, and does so by adapting the one who eats it to eternal life. The Church Fathers loved to ruminate on this theme of divinization through the Eucharist, the process by which the consumption of the bread of life readies one for life in the eternal dimension.... " End quote.
From brother Adrian:
"Finally, let us remember that in the Eucharist there is this living bread come down from heaven, which is capable of filling any void and allows us to see beyond what we can humanly appreciate. Let's go and eat it often.
We ask you, Lord, not to be distracted by what the world offers us, but rather to find a way to reach the goods of heaven. It increases our faith. Amen" from Salesians Argentina. "What can we do to accomplish the works of God?"
Jesus answered and said to them,
"This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent" Word of the Lord.
I was reflecting on these last words of our Lord in the Holy Gospel today, and I prayed like reflections said " I do believe, help my disbelief". And then, I thought, "wait a minute, but I do believe, my problem is, I don't love the way I ought, even the devils believe there is a God, what I want is more than belief in God, but a sincere love of God". And our priest brought that up on his homily this Monday morning mass too.
Were the crowds following for another miracle?
Our Priest, Fr. Joseph, asked us to consider "why we just show up to Mass, to receive bread", why? What is our sincere intentions? Right?
Is it just a habit now? Do we simply want to follow orders? What about the true reason for receiving the bread from Heaven...the very love of God? What would we do with it? What would you do with the love of God Himself?
And so, whence He entered me in the Eucharist today, I pondered these questions and asked the Lord even when arriving back to work, "I don't know Lord, I want you to help me do Your will, I want You to berid me of what keeps me from truly loving You, the sins, the bad habits, thoughts, words, anything that displeases Thee". Less of me, more of Him would make the world a much brighter and joyful place to live and enjoy with Him. But even if it is to remain half dark, like at night, then, it is for the greater Glory of God, because a light shines more in the night.
Lord, Be My Light and my Salvation, and burn bright in my heart both now and forever! |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Matthew 5:43–45 [Matthew 5]
Love Your Enemies 43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." Word of the Lord. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
