Quote of the Day "The glory of God is man fully alive, and the life of man is the vision of God." — St. Irenaeus Today's Meditation "What words, can, alas, express the deep grief of the Blessed Virgin? Her eyes closed, a death-like tint overspread her countenance; unable to stand, she fell to the ground, but was soon lifted up, and supported by John, Magdalen, and the others. She looked once more upon her beloved Son—that Son whom she had conceived by the Holy Ghost, the flesh of her flesh, the bone of her bone, the heart of her heart—hanging on a cross between two thieves; crucified, dishonored, condemned by those whom He came on earth to save; and well might she at this moment be termed 'the Queen of Martyrs.'" —Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich, p. 294 An excerpt from The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ Daily Verse "For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite."" — Isaiah 57:15 | St. Ivo St. Ivo of Kermartin (1253–1303) was born to a noble family in Brittany, France. He studied civil and canon law, philosophy, and theology. He went on to practice law for many years in both the civil and ecclesiastical courts. He graciously defended the poor without charge, and visited them in prison as they awaited trial. He also worked to settle matters out of court to save litigants money and time. For these good works he became known as "Advocate of the Poor." St. Ivo also practiced a life of asceticism; he wore a hairshirt under his clothing, fasted regularly, and became a Franciscan Tertiary. These spiritual disciplines aided him in his practice of virtue in the courtroom: he fought the State in court on behalf of the rights of the Church, and became a diocesan judge who was unable to be tempted by bribes. St. Ivo eventually resigned from practicing law and joined the priesthood. He used the funds from his years practicing law to build a hospital for the poor, and he fed them with the harvests of his land. He became a miracle-worker during his life, feeding hundreds from a single loaf of bread. St. Ivo is the patron saint of judges, attorneys, lawyers, orphans, bailiffs, advocates, and canon lawyers. His feast day is May 19th. | Monday of the Fifth Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 14:5-18 There was an attempt in Iconium
by both the Gentiles and the Jews,
together with their leaders,
to attack and stone Paul and Barnabas.
They realized it,
and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe
and to the surrounding countryside,
where they continued to proclaim the Good News. At Lystra there was a crippled man, lame from birth,
who had never walked.
He listened to Paul speaking, who looked intently at him,
saw that he had the faith to be healed,
and called out in a loud voice, "Stand up straight on your feet."
He jumped up and began to walk about.
When the crowds saw what Paul had done,
they cried out in Lycaonian,
"The gods have come down to us in human form."
They called Barnabas "Zeus" and Paul "Hermes,"
because he was the chief speaker.
And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city,
brought oxen and garlands to the gates,
for he together with the people intended to offer sacrifice. The Apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their garments
when they heard this and rushed out into the crowd, shouting,
"Men, why are you doing this?
We are of the same nature as you, human beings.
We proclaim to you good news
that you should turn from these idols to the living God,
who made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them.
In past generations he allowed all Gentiles to go their own ways;
yet, in bestowing his goodness,
he did not leave himself without witness,
for he gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons,
and filled you with nourishment and gladness for your hearts."
Even with these words, they scarcely restrained the crowds
from offering sacrifice to them. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 115:1-2, 3-4, 15-16 R.(1ab) Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us
but to your name give glory
because of your mercy, because of your truth.
Why should the pagans say,
"Where is their God?" R. Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Our God is in heaven;
whatever he wills, he does.
Their idols are silver and gold,
the handiwork of men. R. Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
May you be blessed by the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
Heaven is the heaven of the LORD,
but the earth he has given to the children of men. R. Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give the glory.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia John 14:26 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Holy Spirit will teach you everything
and remind you of all I told you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel John 14:21-26 Jesus said to his disciples:
"Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him."
Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him,
"Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us
and not to the world?"
Jesus answered and said to him,
"Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine
but that of the Father who sent me. "I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit
whom the Father will send in my name--
he will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you." | Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! | Daily Meditation: Acts 14:5-18 He had the faith to be healed. (Acts 14:9) There is something remarkable about the man whom St. Paul healed in today's first reading. He had been paralyzed from birth, so he had likely been resigned to the thought that he would never walk. He was a Gentile, so he probably had been taught from his youth to mistrust Jews and their belief in the God of Israel. And now he was hearing about a Jew, Jesus, who had risen from the dead. The odds that a man in his situation would be open to Paul's message were slim indeed! And yet Paul could tell that this man "had the faith to be healed" (Acts 14:9). Let's take some time to consider this man's faith and the insights his story might give us when we face our own challenges to believe. First, this man didn't seem to be bound by bitterness over his condition. In his culture, a disability like lifelong paralysis was devastating. Accommodations like wheelchair ramps and special parking spots are becoming more common for us, but there was nothing like that back then. They didn't even have wheelchairs! Everything would have been difficult for him. But through Paul's preaching, the Holy Spirit helped this man embrace the very real possibility that God could turn his life around. Second, this man eagerly listened to Paul's preaching. He could have been cynical about any thought of divine healing—his own pagan gods were of no help, after all. But something in Paul's preaching sparked a new faith in him and moved him to listen with an open heart. And that faith in the God of Israel—the God revealed in the risen Lord Jesus—was so evident to Paul that he healed him (Acts 14:9). We may sometimes feel as if we are sitting at God's feet, with imploring eyes, begging him to answer us. Whether it's a need for physical healing, a wounded relationship, or a persistent sin pattern, we all have something we have implored God about for years. It can be frustrating to see those prayers unanswered. Yet the hope that this man showed can inspire us. Like him, we can still dare to believe! We can keep asking, keep hoping, and keep loving the Lord. We can still trust that he has a purpose for all things under heaven—including each one of us! "Lord, I believe in you!" Psalm 115:1-4, 15-16
John 14:21-26 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Hear AI Read it for u | From today's Holy Gospel: In the Gospel we hear today:
"Jesus said to his disciples:
"Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him."......Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine
but that of the Father who sent me......." - Word of the Lord! | This weekend, we celebrated my daughter's quinceanera, a 15 year traditional party for a young girl. It was difficult to find last minute video people, our original people wanted thousands of dollars that we didn't budget for. Almost the night before, a man answered to an ad on marketplace, and his business name was Kingdom Photography. He was available, and we hired him. When I met him, I asked him in various conversations "why the name Kingdom?" and it was never the answer I wanted, to be all about God's Kingdom, his last name was King though, and he said he is a refuge from African persecutions, King is a white man. He said they were kicked out or be killed at age seven. He said he'd been in 14 different schools in our country, and I probed his faith, and he said he was taught about Christianity, and believes in the ten commandments. He said he had just prayed for a job, reaching to God, and then I contacted him. I said "here is your proof, that God heard your prayer, this is your confirmation". He got chills, and I got chills. Then, we walked to the front of the conference center, and there, I said "look" and I pointed to the ten commandments monument in the front "there is your sign" confirmation after confirmation, and I said "God loves you, He is reaching out to you".
I say this, because today, we heard that to show God we love Him, to prove it, we must follow His commandments.
We must know them and teach them and live them, and then, we will show the world, that God is love in His Will, because to live out His will is everything...Everything Our Father desires shall be done, if only....we allow Him to flourish in our souls..... |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
2 Timothy 2:15 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,1 a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
