Quote of the Day "Be brave and try to detach your heart from worldly things. Do your utmost to banish darkness from your mind and come to understand what true, selfless piety is. Through confession, endeavor to purify your heart of anything which may still taint it. Enliven your faith, which is essential to understand and achieve piety." St. John Bosco Today's Meditation "Walking by faith, let us do good works. In these let there be a free love of God for His own sake and an active love for our neighbor. For there is nothing we can do for God. But because we have something we can do for our neighbor, we shall by our good offices to the needy gain the favor of Him Who is the source of all abundance. Let us then do what we can for others; let us freely bestow upon the needy out of our abundance."
—St. Augustine, p. 144
Cover image from the book, Augustine Day by Day
An Excerpt From Augustine Day by Day
Recommended Products Daily Verse "O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure." Isaiah 25:1 | Saint of the Day St. Augustine of Canterbury (d. 604 A.D.), also known as St. Austin, was prior of a monastery in Rome before being called by Pope Gregory the Great to be a missionary to the British Isles. The Pope received word that the pagans of Britain would embrace the faith in great numbers if priests were sent to teach them, and previous missionaries had been unsuccessfu in the holy endeavor. In order to realize the Holy Father's desire to evangelize the island, Augustine set out on a new quest at the head of forty monks in 596 A.D. When they arrived in France they heard stories of the ferocity of the Anglo-Saxons. Out of fear, Augustine returned to Rome and asked the Pope to release him from the mission. Pope Gregory encouraged Augustine in his task and sent him back. When the monks landed in Kent they were treated kindly. The King of Kent himself accepted baptism and set up a residence for St. Augustine in Canterbury. There Augustine established a church and monastery as the center of his apostolic mission. Although his labor among the pagans was slow and difficult, his work bore much fruit and England eventually became a Christian nation. Augustine was the first Archbishop of Canterbury, England, and is known as the "Apostle of England." His feast day is May 27th. | Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 16:22-34 The crowd in Philippi joined in the attack on Paul and Silas,
and the magistrates had them stripped
and ordered them to be beaten with rods.
After inflicting many blows on them,
they threw them into prison
and instructed the jailer to guard them securely.
When he received these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell
and secured their feet to a stake. About midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying
and singing hymns to God as the prisoners listened,
there was suddenly such a severe earthquake
that the foundations of the jail shook;
all the doors flew open, and the chains of all were pulled loose.
When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open,
he drew his sword and was about to kill himself,
thinking that the prisoners had escaped.
But Paul shouted out in a loud voice,
"Do no harm to yourself; we are all here."
He asked for a light and rushed in and,
trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas.
Then he brought them out and said,
"Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus
and you and your household will be saved."
So they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house.
He took them in at that hour of the night and bathed their wounds;
then he and all his family were baptized at once.
He brought them up into his house and provided a meal
and with his household rejoiced at having come to faith in God. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 138:1-2ab, 2cde-3, 7c-8 R. (7c) Your right hand saves me, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple,
and give thanks to your name. R. Your right hand saves me, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Because of your kindness and your truth,
you have made great above all things
your name and your promise.
When I called, you answered me;
you built up strength within me. R. Your right hand saves me, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Your right hand saves me.
The LORD will complete what he has done for me;
your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands. R. Your right hand saves me, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia See John 16:7, 13 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I will send to you the Spirit of truth, says the Lord;
he will guide you to all truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel John 16:5-11 Jesus said to his disciples:
"Now I am going to the one who sent me,
and not one of you asks me, 'Where are you going?'
But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts.
But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go.
For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you.
But if I go, I will send him to you.
And when he comes he will convict the world
in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation:
sin, because they do not believe in me;
righteousness, because I am going to the Father
and you will no longer see me;
condemnation, because the ruler of this world has been condemned." | Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! | Daily Meditation: Acts 16:22-34 Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. (Acts 16:25) Picture yourself with Paul and Silas: it's midnight, it's cold and damp, and you are in the innermost recesses of a Roman prison. You've been beaten with rods, and now you are chained to a stake in the ground. Would you feel much like singing hymns of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord? Probably not. Sure, Paul and Silas would be singing. That's what saints do! But don't forget that they were human, just like you. They probably didn't feel like singing in that moment, either. But they did it anyway. And you can bet it wasn't the first time! In almost every letter, you see Paul giving thanks to the Lord and exhorting his readers to "rejoice always." And he means "always"! "In all circumstances," he says, "give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:16, 18). In every single circumstance. Even when you've been brutally beaten and are lying in a prison cell! So how did Paul—and Silas and all his other companions—do it? They made a habit of expressing their praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. Each time they lifted their hearts and voices in prayer, it changed them a little bit more. They found a new perspective when they raised their eyes above their circumstances and fixed their gaze on God. Their dispositions gradually changed, and they became more grateful to him in every situation. We can work to develop this same habit of gratitude. Like anything we do, giving thanks and praise is something we can get better at. So practice it today, even in life's ordinary moments. Thank the Lord for a beautiful sunrise, or for a short wait at the doctor's office, or for the smiling clerk at your favorite store. Look for the Holy Spirit's presence in these situations and praise God. Then, like Paul and Silas, you will be more likely to give thanks to God even in the more difficult moments. As you keep doing this, you will find the "prison doors" inside your heart opening. Any chains of fear and anxiety that you may struggle with will fall away, and you will be loosed from the shackles of resentment or bitterness that hold you bound. "Lord, teach me to be thankful in every circumstance!" Psalm 138:1-3, 7-8
John 16:5-11 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Hear AI Read it for u | From today's Holy Gospel: "Now I am going to the one who sent me,
and not one of you asks me, 'Where are you going?'
But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts.
But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go.
For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you...." | Our Lord ascends...so He can descend into the world in the most powerful of ways imaginable....
Himself in the Spirit, that is just a whisper away, and in every baptized soul in the world.
He is there, like the air we breathe, He is here.
It is glorious and it is the holiness we need.
Do we trust now, that the Lord is going and coming back?
We are not alone. He said we would not be alone. He said "I will be with you until the end of the world" and He is...because of the Holy Spirit. What it is is inexplicable, but one word describes the Holy Spirit well....amazing.
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful, and kindle in us the fire of God's love. |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
John 6:47 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
