†Saint Quote:“I will simply counsel every man and woman to beware of even the very least speck of [pride], which seems to me to be the mere delight and liking of ourselves for anything whatsoever that either is in us or outwardly belongs to us.” -St. Thomas More Today’s Meditation"How many souls might reach a high degree of sanctity if properly directed from the first. I know God can sanctify souls without help, but just as He gives the gardener the skill to tend rare and delicate plants while fertilizing them Himself, so He wishes to use others in His cultivation of souls. What would happen if the gardener were so clumsy that he could not graft his trees properly, or knew so little about them that he wanted to make a peach tree bear roses?" —St. Therese of Lisieux, p. 64
An excerpt from The Story of a Soul Daily VerseThe Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not smite you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and for evermore. -Psalm 121:5-8
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EWTN Daily Saint
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St ZitaSt. Zita (d. 1271) was born into poverty in Tuscany, Italy. Her mother taught her to develop a strong prayer life, which, combined with her happy disposition, enabled her to seek God's will in all her life circumstances. At the age of twelve she became a servant for a noble Italian family. The family she served lived near a church, and Zita would rise early to attend daily Mass before beginning her duties. She saw her work as being in the service of God, which she executed with care and diligence. Because of her goodness she suffered harsh treatment and even physical abuse at the hands of both her employers and the other servants. From her patient endurance of such mistreatment, Zita's humility and virtue became evident to all. She was eventually respected and promoted to a leadership role of managing the entire household and its servants. Throughout her life she exemplified hard work, gentleness, and a life of prayer, despite being overworked. She died at the age of 60 serving the same family, and after her death many miracles occurred through her intercession. The family contributed to the cause for her canonization. St. Zita is an incorruptible, and her relics are kept in the Basilica of St. Frediano where she attended Mass. She is the patron saint of maids, domestic servants, butlers, waiters, rape victims, lost keys, and people ridiculed for their piety. St. Zita's feast day is April 27th.
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Monday of the Fourth Week of EasterLectionary: 279 Reading 1Acts 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 PsalmPsalm 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. AlleluiaJohn 10:14 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my sheep, and mine know me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. GospelJohn 10:11-18 Jesus said:
“I am the good shepherd.
A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
A hired man, who is not a shepherd
and whose sheep are not his own,
sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away,
and the wolf catches and scatters them.
This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd,
and I know mine and mine know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;
and I will lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice,
and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
This is why the Father loves me,
because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.
I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.
This command I have received from my Father.”
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Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ!
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From Word Among Us WAU.org
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Daily Meditation: John 10:11-18I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me. (John 10:14) We have many relationships throughout our lives. Our first relationships are with family: our mother and father and perhaps siblings. As we grow up, we develop friendships with neighbors, classmates, teachers, and coaches. Some will deepen, like our relationship with a best friend, a mentor, a spouse, or a spiritual director. But as close as some of these relationships can be, they don’t compare to our relationship with God, who knows us from the inside out. In fact, in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples that he knows us in the same way that the Father knows him (John 10:15). He tells us that he and the Father are one and that his Father knows Jesus as deeply as Jesus knows himself. That is the kind of relationship that Jesus, our Good Shepherd, has with us. Just as a shepherd knows all his sheep and can recognize each one individually—even though to an untrained eye they all look the same—Jesus knows us uniquely, intimately. He knows our greatest strengths and deepest weaknesses and sins. He knows and loves us so completely that he freely gave his life for us. “No one takes it from me,” he said, “but I lay it down on my own” (John 10:18). It can feel unsettling to realize that Jesus knows the depths of our sin, but it is also comforting—he looks upon us with great love and compassion. Think for a minute about a painting or a statue of the Good Shepherd that you might have seen. Maybe Jesus has a lamb around his neck, or perhaps he is holding it close to his heart. Hold onto that image as you pray today. Imagine yourself as that lamb. What thoughts or feelings arise as you are held safely in the arms of Jesus, who knows and loves you so fully? What might you say to the Lord? He already knows your cares and burdens, so you can place them in his capable hands. Open your heart to receive the love that the Good Shepherd has for you. “Jesus, you are my Good Shepherd. Thank you for laying down your life for me.” Acts 11:1-18
Psalm 42:2-3; 43:3-4
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YouTube Video BACK TO THE GARDEN
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Reflections with Brother Adrian:
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Audio of 2 Cents
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From today's Holy Gospel: "... I will lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice,
and there will be one flock, one shepherd.
This is why the Father loves me,
because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own.
I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.
This command I have received from my Father.”.. ”
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From Roberto Juarez: "Today the Lord invites us to something very concrete, to listen to his voice in the midst of daily life, to discern among so many voices and to follow him with trust.
Let us ask today that we learn to be silent interiorly, that we may tune the ear of our hearts, and that we may know how to recognize the voice of Jesus of Nazareth. So that our life may not be lost in wrong paths... but, guided by Him, we may attain that promise of life in abundance." end quote.
Sheep must have good an distinct hearing abilities.
They say that we humans also have a powerful and distinct ability to hear, even if we appear to be unconscious they say many can still hear.
It is an amazing sense. Now, if we could only train ourselves to hear the voice of God, our Father in Jesus through the Holy Spirit!
And that is where this Easter season is leading us. That we may hear the voice of God, and heed. That way may do everything He desires and needs.
Can it be that the God of everything has a need? Is a desire a need?
We know that God lives among us. In the poor. In the family. In the ministry. And there is a need for mercy. From your heart. There is a need of sacrificial love...from the heart.
It is interesting to note that in the first Scripture today, we heard in the Book of the Apostles, the disciple saying: "The Spirit told me to accompany them without discriminating. "
The Spirit of God is leading Luke the evangelist to move and speak on behalf of the Lord Himself. It is His calling. It is His voice.
Now...have you heard His voice? If I have heard it speak, and I can explain it, it is more of a consciousness calling of the greater good and a spiritual pull that is formidable. Once heard, you cannot undo it again.
The other day, during Mass, I heard who the intentions was for. I knew who called for the intention, and a knowing came about that said thank you for the Mass, so I called the person to say that the person had said thank you from the other side of our worldly realms.
And the voice connects the higher realms to our heart...that is...our will. It is a spiritual pull for the greater good. Most often...for me, it is a bit uncomfortable to listen. I've heard of that voice for some that have had a near death experience. They try to ignore the voice, and our Lord veers them back with force...like Jonah. His will shall be done.
He is King. He is the Good Shepherd King. He is the King of the Lambs. King of the Sheep. That He became one of us...for the greater good. This we cannot ignore.
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, our Holy Sacrificial Lamb, help us love Thee more and more! Help us know Thy Holy Voice...and follow You as you please...
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Random Bible Verse 1
Mark 12:30–31 " And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Word of the Lord!
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