Quote of the Day "Occupy your mind with good thoughts, or the enemy will fill them with bad ones. Unoccupied, they cannot be." — St. Thomas More Today's Meditation "A man must go through a long and great conflict in himself before he can learn fully to overcome himself, and to draw his whole affection towards God. When a man stands upon himself he is easily drawn aside after human comforts. But a true lover of Christ, and a diligent pursuer of virtue, does not hunt after comforts, nor seek such sensible sweetnesses, but is rather willing to bear strong trials and hard labors for Christ." —Thomas a' Kempis, p. 64
An excerpt from Imitation of Christ Daily Verse "And he said, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.'" — Job 1:21 | Blessed Imelda Lambertini Bl. Imelda Lambertini (1322–1333) was born to a noble and devout family in Bologna, Italy. As a child she developed a great love for prayer, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and the Holy Eucharist. She spent much of her time in the Dominican monastery praying with the nuns, and at nine years of age requested to enter there as a postulant. Her parents and the nuns allowed her to enter, however, in that era children her age were not permitted to receive Holy Communion. Imelda repeatedly pleaded to receive Communion, but each time she was denied. Nevertheless, she developed a close relationship with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. When the feast of the Ascension approached, Imelda begged to make her First Holy Communion on this feast. Again, she was denied. On the Vigil of the Feast of the Ascension she was in the chapel praying, as usual, as the other Sisters received Holy Communion. Afterwards a glowing host was seen suspended in the air above the child. The priest understood this as a sign that the child should be permitted to receive, and he ministered the Holy Eucharist to her. Imelda remained kneeling in prayer in thanksgiving as the nuns left the chapel. When they returned for her, they found her just as they had left her, but her body was lifeless. It was understood that Imelda died of pure ecstatic joy after receiving Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, as she had so ardently desired. Bl. Imelda Lambertini is the patron saint of First Communicants. Her feast day is May 12th. | Monday of the Fourth Week of Easter Lectionary: 279
Reading I Acts 11:1-18 The Apostles and the brothers who were in Judea
heard that the Gentiles too had accepted the word of God.
So when Peter went up to Jerusalem
the circumcised believers confronted him, saying,
'You entered the house of uncircumcised people and ate with them."
Peter began and explained it to them step by step, saying,
"I was at prayer in the city of Joppa
when in a trance I had a vision,
something resembling a large sheet coming down,
lowered from the sky by its four corners, and it came to me.
Looking intently into it,
I observed and saw the four-legged animals of the earth,
the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the birds of the sky.
I also heard a voice say to me, 'Get up, Peter. Slaughter and eat.'
But I said, 'Certainly not, sir,
because nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.'
But a second time a voice from heaven answered,
'What God has made clean, you are not to call profane.'
This happened three times,
and then everything was drawn up again into the sky.
Just then three men appeared at the house where we were,
who had been sent to me from Caesarea.
The Spirit told me to accompany them without discriminating.
These six brothers also went with me,
and we entered the man's house.
He related to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, saying,
'Send someone to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter,
who will speak words to you
by which you and all your household will be saved.'
As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them
as it had upon us at the beginning,
and I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said,
'John baptized with water
but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'
If then God gave them the same gift he gave to us
when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
who was I to be able to hinder God?"
When they heard this,
they stopped objecting and glorified God, saying,
"God has then granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too." Responsorial Psalm Psalm 42:2-3; 43:3, 4 R. (see 3a) Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
As the hind longs for the running waters, so my soul longs for you, O God.
Athirst is my soul for God, the living God. When shall I go and behold the face of God? R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Send forth your light and your fidelity; they shall lead me on
And bring me to your holy mountain, to your dwelling-place. R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Then will I go in to the altar of God, the God of my gladness and joy;
Then will I give you thanks upon the harp, O God, my God! R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia John 10:14 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my sheep, and mine know me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel John 10:1-10 Jesus said:
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate
but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.
But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,
as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he has driven out all his own,
he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him,
because they recognize his voice.
But they will not follow a stranger;
they will run away from him,
because they do not recognize the voice of strangers."
Although Jesus used this figure of speech,
the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them. So Jesus said again, "Amen, amen, I say to you,
I am the gate for the sheep.
All who came before me are thieves and robbers,
but the sheep did not listen to them.
I am the gate.
Whoever enters through me will be saved,
and will come in and go out and find pasture.
A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;
I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly." | Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! | Daily Meditation: Acts 11:1-18 Who was I to be able to hinder God? (Acts 11:17) Peter was a faithful Jewish man who always strived to obey the Mosaic law. He was careful never to let an unclean animal touch his lips. So he must have been surprised when God told him in a vision to slaughter and eat animals that the Jewish people considered "unclean" (Acts 11:8)! He finally understood what the vision meant when he witnessed the Holy Spirit being poured out on the pagan soldier Cornelius and his household (11:5). "Who was I to be able to hinder God?" Peter realized, now that the Lord had "granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles" (11:17, 18). The Spirit brought Gentiles and Jews together in a way that Peter—and probably none of the other apostles—could ever have imagined. This outpouring of the Spirit was so powerful that Peter and the other apostles knew without a doubt that their former enemies were now their brothers and sisters in Christ. As the Catholic Church teaches, our oneness in Christ is something we share with everyone who has been baptized into the Lord, regardless of their faith tradition. But like Peter, we sometimes understand our unity more clearly when we see the Spirit working in a variety of ways among our brothers and sisters who come from different Christian backgrounds. That's especially true when we join with other believers to build God's kingdom. This can happen when we intercede together, when we stand side by side against injustices in our society, and when we serve those who are neediest. In such situations, we can witness the Spirit moving among us and empowering all of us with his gifts. It's even more apparent when together we preach the good news of Jesus our Savior! God wants to bring all his children together in Christ. Just as Peter discovered, his plan is always bigger and wider in scope than anything we can conceive on our own. Let's widen our horizons today and thank God for the love and fellowship we can experience with Christians of every tradition. Let's pray that together we can witness to the power of the Spirit working among us! "Lord Jesus, help me to experience the unity that the Spirit brings whenever he moves among us." Psalm 42:2-3; 43:3-4
John 10:1-10 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Hear AI Read it for u | From today's Holy Gospel: In the Gospel we hear today:
"Jesus said:
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate
but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.
But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,
as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out........." - Word of the Lord! | From Roberto Juarez:
"He also warns us that there are voices that steal, kill and destroy. The voice of Christ, on the other hand, makes us live with hope and true joy, even in the midst of difficulties. • Do I recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd among so many voices in the world? • Do I give myself time to enter through the door that is Christ every day: in prayer, the Word, the Eucharist? • Am I living my faith as an abundant, full, and fruitful life? Lord Jesus,
You are the door that leads to true life.
Teach me to come in every day for you,
to listen to your voice that calls me with tenderness,
not to be seduced by false shepherds
that promise happiness and only bring emptiness.
Give me the grace to follow you with confidence,
for you have come that I may have life
and have it in abundance.
Amen.
... End quote.
From brother Adrian:
Our Lord says He is the gate.
The Jews did not understand.
What He says next should've opened their eyes: "Whoever enters through me will be saved,
and will come in and go out and find pasture."
Salvation was at hand.
But they were baffled, and did not follow Him out...of this life into an abundant life.
You see, anything that is not of our Lord, it is of darkness, destruction, slaughtering, and stealing. And this is evident as we still hear those say "it's a dog eat dog world" which is fully demonstrated in a "jungle law" world.
But our Lord Jesus presents Himself as God's will. He speaks of a gate. And sheep. He presents Himself as the "Lamb of God". The kind that does not cry, even as it is being slaughtered.
I remember as kids, another kid lifted up a puppy by its neck skin, and the puppy didn't make a sound and the kid said "this is a tough dog" not like the other whimpering pups.
When our Lord invites us to go through Him to the Father, He is asking us to follow Him to the Father God. Mind you, it is not an easy task, to live the way of the Lamb.
The gate, is the Way. Jesus, is the Truth.
And He is inviting us to the Life...that few rarely take to...of self surrender, of not whimpering, but of pure sacrificial love, of God our Father...and each other.
And our Father's will is demonstrated in this manner.
Lord, give us this day, our daily grace, the bread, the strength, this lamb, this holiness, this light, that the world needs to see in me, and you. |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
1 Peter 3:18 18 For Christ also suffered1 once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
