Give us this day our daily bread

 "If you ate only one meal a week would you survive? It is the same for your soul. Nourish it with the Blessed Sacrament."— St. André Bessette

This quote really helps put priorities straight. I am blessed to be able to attend daily mass and it is this grace that keeps me focused on Jesus.  It brings peace.  A day with our Lord is a good day!

Like most of us there are many daily opportunities at churches around us that help make daily mass possible.  If you look around there is a time that will work for you.  Around me there are early morning, mid morning, mid day and evening masses.  It all comes down to priorities and who is first in your life.

There are other ways to nourish our soul and draw close to God each day...

Daily spiritual communion when you are not able to attend mass.

Adoration is available at various times and even purpetually at some parishes like my own (St. John Neumann Sunbury).​

Morning and evening prayers and reading daily mass using prayer tools like Magnificat which you can get on line or a paper copy. There are many resources like this. 

Draw close to God throughout the day by praying The Liturgy of the Hours, The Angelus (at 6am, noon, 6pm), The 3 O’Clock Hour Divine Mercy Prayer and the Rosary. 

Reading the Word of God daily.

And you can also draw close by fulfilling God’s mission through Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy. 

Divine Mercy Sunday

Jesus said to St. Faustina:

My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the First Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.

Origin of Divine Mercy Sunday, the Divine Mercy image, the Chaplet, and the Novena

(from usccb.org) 

Saint Faustina: Mankind’s need for the message of Divine Mercy took on dire urgency in the 20th Century, when civilization began to experience an “eclipse of the sense of God” and, therefore to lose the understanding of the sanctity and inherent dignity of human life. In the 1930s, Jesus chose a humble Polish nun, St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, to receive private revelations concerning Divine Mercy that were recorded in her Diary. St. John Paul II explains:

This was precisely the time when those ideologies of evil, nazism and communism, were taking shape. Sister Faustina became the herald of the one message capable of off-setting the evil of those ideologies, that fact that God is mercy—the truth of the merciful Christ. And for this reason, when I was called to the See of Peter, I felt impelled to pass on those experiences of a fellow Pole that deserve a place in the treasury of the universal Church.
    ~ Pope Saint John Paul II, Memory and Identity (2005)

Divine Mercy Sunday: St. Faustina’s Diary records 14 occasions when Jesus requested that a Feast of Mercy (Divine Mercy Sunday) be observed, for example:

My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the Fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. … Let no soul fear to draw near to Me. … It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy. (Diary, no. 699)

On May 5, 2000, five days after the canonization of St. Faustina, the Vatican decreed that the Second Sunday of Easter would henceforth be known as Divine Mercy Sunday.

The Image:  Jesus appeared to St. Faustina in a vision, with his right hand raised in a blessing and his left touching his garment above his heart. Red and white rays emanate from his heart, symbolizing the blood and water that was poured out for our salvation and our sanctification. The Lord requested that “Jesus, I trust in You” be inscribed under his image. Jesus asked that his image be painted and venerated throughout the world: “I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish” (Diary, no. 48) and “By means of this image I will grant many graces to souls” (Diary, no. 742).

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy: The Chaplet was also given to St. Faustina with this promise: “Encourage souls to say the chaplet which I have given you” (Diary, no. 1541). “Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death. … Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite mercy. I desire that the whole world know My infinite mercy” (Diary, no. 687). (Instructions for its recitation are provided on a separate page.)

The Divine Mercy Novena: Jesus gave St. Faustina nine intentions for which to pray the Chaplet beginning on Good Friday and ending on the Saturday before Divine Mercy Sunday. (http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/novena.htm

All your questions about Divine Mercy Sunday can be answered here:

 http://www.divinemercysunday.com/

Has a song ever moved you so much that it changed or challenged your faith or lifestyle?

​I saw this quote from St. Ephrem.

I really liked it so I wanted to know more about him. 

St. Ephrem was born in Mesopotamia in the 4th Century.  He was a teacher and a deacon and wrote hymns to counteract the heresies of the times.

I looked at one of my favorite sites for Saint facts: learn more about St. Ephrem: https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=3 . Here are some excerpts from the article on St. Ephrem. 

“Ephrem (or Eprhaim) the Syrian left us hundreds of hymns and poems on the faith that inflamed and inspired the whole Church, but few facts about his own inspiring life.

According to tradition, Ephrem began to write hymns in order to counteract the heresies that were rampant at that time. For those who think of hymns simply as the song at the end of Mass that keeps us from leaving the church early, it may come as a surprise that Ephrem and others recognized and developed the power of music to get their points across. Tradition tells us that Ephrem heard the heretical ideas put into song first and in order to counteract them made up his own hymns.

The originality, imagery, and skill of his hymns captured the hearts of the Christians so well, that Ephrem is given credit for awakening the Church to the important of music and poetry in spreading and fortifying the faith.

In His Footsteps:

Has a song ever moved you so much that it changed or challenged your faith or lifestyle -- for good or bad? How do you feel about the music you sing during liturgy? Put your whole heart and soul into the hymns you sing next. Listen to the words and let them speak to you.

Prayer:

Saint Ephrem, sometimes we treat the power of song lightly. Help us to open our hearts and souls to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit given us through music.  Amen”

Who is the patron saint of the internet and computers?

​Well it’s not St. Isidore the Farmer from Spain in the 1100’s...which I erroneously thought until this morning (thank you Catholic Company for MorningOffering.com).  When I googled, “Who is the patron saint of the internet and computers?”, it came up St. Isidore...who knew there were two?

This makes so much more sense, that St. Isidore if Seville, who is a learned Father of the Church who wrote dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a database of learning, would be the patron saint of the internet and computers...not a farmer.​

ST. ISIDORE OF SEVILLE

St. Isidore of Seville (560 - 636 A.D.) was born in Carthagena, Spain, to noble and pious parents. After the example of their parents, he, as well as his two brothers and sister, all became saints. Isidore received his early education at the cathedral school in Seville where a group of learned men taught classical education, among them was his brother Leander, the Archbishop of Seville. The cathedral school was the first of its kind in the country and Isidore excelled in his studies there. He became a man of great learning, zeal, piety, and apostolic endeavor, assisting his brother in converting the Visigoths from the Arian heresy. He followed his brother in becoming next Archbishop of Seville, leading his diocese for nearly 40 years. Isidore was an important saint for his time. He was one of the most learned men of the 6th century and is considered the last of the early Church Fathers. He was a prolific writer on the sciences and the classics which in effect helped preserve western civilization during the early middle ages following the barbarian invasions. He composed history books, a dictionary with a structure akin to a database, and an encyclopedia which was used for nine centuries. St. Isidore reunited Spain after the barbarian onslaught, making it a center of culture and learning. He required seminaries to be built in every diocese, wrote a rule for religious orders, and founded schools that taught every branch of learning. Spain then became a model for similar renewal in other European countries. For his great learning and written works he was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XIV. St. Isidore of Seville is the patron of computers, schoolchildren, and the internet. His feast day is April 4th.

Christ is Risen, He has Risen Indeed. Hallelujah!

MONTH OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST

The month of April is traditionally dedicated to devotion to Jesus in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. The Catholic Church teaches that the Blessed Sacrament is the real and living presence of Christ—His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity—received into our souls with every reception of Holy Communion. Our Eucharistic Lord is the source and summit of our Christian life, the ultimate proof of His infinite love for us.

MORNING OFFERING PRAYER

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, for the salvation of souls, the reparation of sins, the reunion of all Christians, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father this month. Amen.

PRAYER INTENTIONS OF THE HOLY FATHER

MONTH OF APRIL

Universal: For Those who have Responsibility in Economic Matters

That economists may have the courage to reject any economy of exclusion and know how to open new paths.

Divine Mercy Novena, Day 2

This is the second day of the Novena.  EWTN  is another site you can go to for your daily readings.

 https://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/novena.htm#2

Second Day

"Today bring to Me the Souls of Priests and Religious,

and immerse them in My unfathomable mercy. It was they who gave me strength to endure My bitter Passion. Through them as through channels My mercy flows out upon mankind."

Most Merciful Jesus, from whom comes all that is good, increase Your grace in men and women consecrated to Your service,* that they may perform worthy works of mercy; and that all who see them may glorify the Father of Mercy who is in heaven.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the company of chosen ones in Your vineyard -- upon the souls of priests and religious; and endow them with the strength of Your blessing. For the love of the Heart of Your Son in which they are enfolded, impart to them Your power and light, that they may be able to guide others in the way of salvation and with one voice sing praise to Your boundless mercy for ages without end. Amen.

* In the original text, Saint Faustina uses the pronoun "us" since she was offering this prayer as a consecrated religious sister. The wording adapted here is intended to make the prayer suitable for universal use.

Divine Mercy Novena Starts On Good Friday

Day 1

On Good Friday, 1937, Jesus requested that Saint Faustina make a special novena. He Himself dictated the intentions for each day. By means of this specific prayer she was to bring to His heart a different group of souls each day and thus immerse them in the ocean of His mercy.Since Saint Faustina was commanded to write it down our Lord must have intended the novena to be used by others, not only in preparation for the Feast of Mercy but at other times as well.
Day One“Today bring to Me all mankind, especially all sinners, and immerse them in the ocean of My Mercy, In this way, you console Me, in the bitter grief into which the loss of souls plunges me.”
Why pray the novena?
Our Lord Speaks:“I demand from you deeds of mercy which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it. I am giving you three ways of exercising mercy toward your neighbor: the first, by deed. The second, by word. The third, by prayer. In these three degrees is contained the fullness of mercy, and it is an unquestionable proof of love for Me. By this means a soul glorifies and pays a reverence to My mercy.” (Diary of Saint Faustina, #742)
Write this for the many souls who are often worried to carry out an act of mercy. Yet spiritual mercy, which requires neither permission or storehouses, is much more meritorious and is within the grasp of every soul. If a soul does not exercise mercy somehow or other, it will not obtain My mercy on the day of judgment. Oh, if only souls knew how to gather eternal treasure for themselves, they would not be judged, for they would forestall My judgment with their mercy.” (#1317)
Our Lord demands from us acts of mercy in our everyday lives and by this novena we fulfill the act of spiritual mercy in prayer.
Jesus further asked that this Feast of the Divine Mercy be preceded by a Novena of Chaplets to the Divine Mercy which would begin on Good Friday. Say one chaplet each day following the novena intention. In her diary, St. Faustina wrote that Jesus told her:
"On each day of the novena you will bring to My Heart a different group of souls and you will immerse them in this ocean of My mercy... On each day you will beg My Father, on the strength of My passion, for the graces for these souls. By this novena I will grant every possible grace to souls." (Diary 1209, 796)

https://feastofmercy.net/

Visit Tim’s site for more info on Divine Mercy Sunday ! 

Did the apostles know that this day was different?

I have enjoyed The Best Lent Ever with Matthew Kelly on Dynamic Catholic.

Matthew has us ponder what the apostles knew and how they felt on this Holy Thursday.   And challenges us how will  we approach the day as we enter into this most sacred time of the year.

Let Jesus shake you up today and change you this Easter! 

https://dynamiccatholic.com/bestlentever/lent-reflections-2018/holy-thursday/?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTURRME1EUXpOekUxTURZeCIsInQiOiJaaXBvK2dwYWs0ckhaMTU0aVRHOCtVdHNqSGFETEhCV1FkMjlrY0djQ0dkVXI5Y3VUbW4wUkVFV2E3UlA4WHlseG5pSFNoMmZLQitTT3NaWFU1UnpCVGc0VmNVZWpcL2xVK2xKcGZNMVV5WFUrdCtLNlFJQ1paQkExRmxZT1JJV3kifQ%3D%3D

Maunday Thursday, The Great Commandment

The Triduum begins today, the 3 most holy days of the year.  So much happens today that is at the center of our faith.  Jesus gives the great commandment to love one another and then he shows us how we do this, by serving others.  He washes the disciplines feet then he breaks bread with them giving them the meaning of the Eucharist.  

What starts as Jesus being with his closest friends in the upper room ends with him alone in the garden.  This day, when we process with Jesus and sit with him in adoration, always touches me very deeply.  We are entering into the passion of our Lord.

Will you be not spend an hour with Him tonight?   

Tomorrow the tabernacle will be empty. 

Support St. Gabriel Radio AM820 Spirit Drive Today

Call 614-459-4820 today and give generously to support Catholic Radio. 

Chip is minus his usuals co-host (me😉) so he’s going to use all your support😊🙏❤️

Powerful Adoption Documentary Releases Today Online

I Lived On Parker Avenue

After watching the trailer, I am excited to see this documentary that contains a string Prolife message.  Check it out and share! 

THE FILM

Adopted at birth and raised in Louisiana, David Scotton is on a journey to Indiana to meet the birth parents he’s never known.  His tattooed birth mother, Melissa, and reserved birth father, Brian, anxiously wait for him, concerned David will reject them for decisions they made before he was born.   I Lived on Parker Avenue is a short documentary about a mother’s agony in choosing what’s best, the joy of a couple starting a family, and young man’s search for where his life began.

I Lived on Parker Avenue will be released online March 8 2018 on this site and will remain here for free viewing from that point on.  DVDs will be available for purchase at that time.

The Trailer https://www.ilivedonparkerave.com/

learn more here

https://www.ilivedonparkerave.com/ 

Here is a good article about adopting from The Dave Thomas Foundation

If you watch the popular TV show This Is Us, I’m wondering if it will have an affect on fostering and adoption. 

 https://davethomasfoundation.org/rita/5-reasons-you-wont-adopt-from-foster-care-and-why-theyre-wrong/

Patron Saint of Handguns? St. Gabriel Possenti

 Saint Gabriel Possenti’s feast day is February 27. He is the patron of hanguns because his marksmanship enabled him to rescue a woman about to be raped by a marauding gang of thugs at Isola del Gran Sasso, Italy in 1860.

Here’s the story:

After freeing a young woman from would-be rapists, St. Gabriel Possenti confronted the onrushing brigands waving revolvers. At that moment, Possenti fired at a lizard that happened to be running across the road and dispatched it with one shot. Thus having demonstrated his excellent handgun marksmanship, he was able to take command of the situation and ran the now-frightened brigands out of town.

St. Gabriel Possenti performed this feat of courage without causing physical harm to a single human being.

Francesco Possenti had been the fanciest dresser in town as well as the best dancer. He was a superb horseman and an excellent marksman. Engaged to two girls at the same time and a great partygoer, he had shocked his family by announcing after his graduation that he was going to become a Passionist monk. No one believed him and expected him back within a few weeks. 

He had become very sick during his school years and had promised that if he got better, he would dedicate his life to God. St. Gabriel Possenti got better and forgot about it. He got sick again and made the same promise, but again got well and forgot his promise. Once, during a church procession in which a great banner of Our Lady, Help of Christians, was being carried, the eyes of Our Lady looked straight at him and he heard the words: "Keep your promise." Shaken, he remembered his promise, changed his life completely, and entered the Passionists.

After freeing a young woman from would-be rapists, St. Gabriel Possenti confronted the onrushing brigands waving revolvers. At that moment, Possenti fired at a lizard that happened to be running across the road and dispatched it with one shot. Thus having demonstrated his excellent handgun marksmanship, he was able to take command of the situation and ran the now-frightened brigands out of town.

St. Gabriel Possenti performed this feat of courage without causing physical harm to a single human being.

Francesco Possenti had been the fanciest dresser in town as well as the best dancer. He was a superb horseman and an excellent marksman. Engaged to two girls at the same time and a great partygoer, he had shocked his family by announcing after his graduation that he was going to become a Passionist monk. No one believed him and expected him back within a few weeks. 

He had become very sick during his school years and had promised that if he got better, he would dedicate his life to God. St. Gabriel Possenti got better and forgot about it. He got sick again and made the same promise, but again got well and forgot his promise. Once, during a church procession in which a great banner of Our Lady, Help of Christians, was being carried, the eyes of Our Lady looked straight at him and he heard the words: "Keep your promise." Shaken, he remembered his promise, changed his life completely, and entered the Passionists.

 "I will attempt day by day to break my will into pieces. I want to do God’s Holy Will, not my own."

— St. Gabriel Possenti

He hoped to be sent to the missions after his ordination to the priesthood, but at the young age of twenty-four, he died. Canonized in 1920, he is, along with St. Aloysius, one of the patrons of youth. He was very fond of his family and is particularly remembered as a remarkable young man who, at the age of twenty, threw all aside for God, determined to become a saint.

Thought for the Day: By his courage, St. Gabriel showed that holiness is in no way opposed to the best qualities of manhood. He showed courage in very dangerous circumstances, where he could have very well been killed. We may not have to face such dangers, but we do need that kind of courage to witness to our faith on a daily basis.

Saint Gabriel Possenti, pray for us.

Are you ready to be bold? Enter the desert this Lent.

Today’s readings challenge us.  Are we ready to be bold, to be great, to be holy.  Can we be like Daniel and admit to God and ourselves that we have sinned?  Are we ready to cry out for his mercy and go into the desert this Lent to become more holy, more merciful, more forgiving?

Daniel 9:4b-10

“Lord, great and awesome God, you who keep your merciful covenant toward those who love you and observe your commandments! We have sinned, been wicked and done evil; we have rebelled and departed from your commandments and your laws. We have not obeyed your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers, and all the people of the land. Justice, O Lord, is on your side; we are shamefaced even to this day: we, the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem, and all Israel, near and far, in all the countries to which you have scattered them because of their treachery toward you. O Lord, we are shamefaced, like our kings, our princes, and our fathers, for having sinned against you. But yours, O Lord, our God, are compassion and forgiveness! Yet we rebelled against you and paid no heed to your command, O Lord, our God, to live by the law you gave us through your servants the prophets.”

 holy Gospel according to Luke 6:36-38

Jesus said tohis disciples: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

“Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”

These words from Fr. Michael Denk’s Sunday homily show us the way and encourage us that by the example of Jesus we can enter the desert with the help of the Holy Spirit. 

“Ready or not . . . Lent is here. Are you able to let go of control and be driven by the Holy Spirit?” Fr. Michael Denk

https://www.theprodigalfather.org/blog/are-you-a-control-freak/

The confessional at The National Shrine of The Divine Mercy www.thedivinemercy.org/shrine

Prepare yourself to be merciful by accepting God’s mercy in the sacrament of penance.   

Prepare by a good examination of conscience. 

 http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/sacraments-and-sacramentals/penance/examinations-of-conscience.cfm

Thanks be to God for this sacrament!

Check your bulletins for your parish Lenten penance services.  See you in line!

Mary, Model of Christian Faith and Authentic Feminism: A Response to "A Day Without Women"

Mary, with her yes, leads us on our faith pilgrimage.  Her strength comes from her humility and obedience to God.  From the beginning she was "the handmaid of the Lord".  As her first act she doesn't protest, she doesn't complain, she doesn't look for attention, but she trusts God and goes with haste to support her kinswoman, Elizabeth.  Elizabeth greets Mary "blessed are you among women".  Mary replies by pointing towards her son with her Magnificat.  

"My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on his servant in her lowliness. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name: And his mercy is from age to age on those who fear him. He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud-hearted, he has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity for ever." (Lk. 1 :46-55)

 Saint, Pope John Paul II wrote a beautiful encyclical on Mary's role as our spiritual model.  The complete text is filled with examples of Mary's heart for Jesus and us as her spiritual children. https://www.ewtn.com/library/encyc/jp2mothe.htm

From the encyclical, this is the kind woman I aspire to become.

 "This Marian dimension of Christian life takes on special importance in relation to women and their status. In fact, femininity has a unique relationship with the Mother of the Redeemer, a subject which can be studied in greater depth elsewhere. Here I simply wish to note that the figure of Mary of Nazareth sheds light on womanhood as such by the-very fact that God, in the sublime event of the Incarnation of his Son, entrusted himself to the ministry, the free and active ministry of a woman. It can thus be said that women, by looking to Mary, find in her the secret of living their femininity with dignity and of achieving their own true advancement. In the light of Mary, the Church sees in the face of women the reflection of a beauty which mirrors the loftiest sentiments of which the human heart is capable: the self-offering totality of love; the strength that is capable of bearing the greatest sorrows; limitless fidelity and tireless devotion to work; the ability to combine penetrating intuition with words of support and encouragement."

The seven sorrows of Mary give us a model of courage and perseverance. 

When you compare Mary's model of femininity with the current women's movement protestors the differences are striking.  The women marching with vulgar signs and knitted pink hats claim to be working to support women but they have a distorted truth that is full of anger as they advance their true cause abortion and hate for anyone who does not agree with their agenda that us clearly not inclusive of all women's values.  Mary is obedient and humbly points towards her son, Jesus.  Mary has a quiet inner strength that she draws from her faith and trust in God.   As woman we need to choose carefully the models we desire for ourself and the young woman who are our future.

This is a vision of motherly love and strength. 

 "Loving Mother of the Redeemer, gate of heaven, star of the sea, assist your people who have fallen yet strive to rise again. To the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator!"

Amen. 

Caution:Sin is at work, harden not your heart!

 

     Jesus speaks to us everyday.  He speaks and is present to us in a special and unique way in the sacraments.  The sacraments are Christ’s own gift that provide us with his grace.  This grace can strengthen us to bring about change to overcome sin if we only ask, but do we really want to change?

     Today's reading hit me like a rock, or shall I say like a stone, my own stoney heart.  Just last week I asked for strength and persistence in one of my ministries that I have been lax in serving.  Well, today is the day I planned to get back on track and too many times my thoughts have drifted towards excuses of why I just couldn't do it.  I don't think that was Jesus talking.

      And now, at daily mass, Jesus did speak to me through the reading and it was loud and clear!

 Reading 1 Heb 3:7-14

"The Holy Spirit says:
Oh, that today you would hear his voice,"Harden not your hearts as at the rebellionin the day of testing in the desert,where your ancestors tested and tried meand saw my works for forty years.Because of this I was provoked with that generationand I said, 'They have always been of erring heart,and they do not know my ways.'As I swore in my wrath,'They shall not enter into my rest.'"
Take care, brothers and sisters,
that none of you may have an evil and unfaithful heart,
so as to forsake the living God.
Encourage yourselves daily while it is still "today,"
so that none of you may grow hardened by the deceit of sin.
We have become partners of Christ
if only we hold the beginning of the reality firm until the end."

      I have allowed sin to deceive me into thinking that my little no's didn't really matter.  They do!  I literally found myself there in the pews trying to hide from the glaring eyes of truth himself,  reminding me of how Adam and Eve thought they could hide.  There Jesus was in front of me on the cross and in person, body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Eucharist and I was trying to hide.  Hide from the one I came to seek.  Funny, but I suppose this happens throughout the day when I say yes to my worldly desires and no to my savior, the one I profess to love above all else.   So what to do now?  Well, thanks be to God and His saving grace I was given the answer in His own word, yesterday's gospel.

Gospel Mk 1:29-39

"On leaving the synagogue
Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.
Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever.
They immediately told him about her.
He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up.
Then the fever left her and she waited on them...."

     Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law, grasped her hand, and helped her up.  He wants us to take his hand.  I need to share that this is the message that Jesus spoke to me this past Sunday morning!  

 

Just reach out your hand, Jesus wants to be your friend for life...to save your life! 

     And now it all comes together for me with the next line in the gospel , "The fever left her and she waited on them."  Yesterday the priest focused on this line.  He pointed out that when she was healed, she served others.  So too when Jesus heals us, our response should be to serve others.  The gospel goes on to say that Jesus continued on to serve His purpose of preaching and healing.  So if I want to be more Christlike, I must glorify the Lord with my life by loving and serving Him and others and by announcing the Gospel of the Lord.

   Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning, and now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen!

Standing by the Charcoal fire

On Friday in the Octave of Easter the Gospel is JN 21:1-14  where Jesus appears to the disciples while they are fishing.  Our priest made an excellent point about symbolism of the Gospel writer specifically mentioning a charcoal fire that Jesus had waiting for the apostles.  It was the same type of fire that Peter stood next to as he denied Jesus.  And the message to Peter and all the apostles was, I know what you did (do) and I still invite you to join me.

A bigger message that we got from the homily was this.  Here they are just a few days after the resurrection, and the disicples have gone back to their old life.  Leaving the glory of Christ's sacrifice and triumph over death, and going back to the same old, same old.  How much are we like that?  Each Sunday we visit again the sacrifice, and redemption of the resurrection and on Monday morning we are back at the same old, same old.  We are called to not just witness the glory of salvation and keep it to ourselves, but to witness it and be a witness of it to others every day.

Let's take the fire and spread it around, not just stand next to it to keep ourselves warm.

See you on the road.

Angel sitting on a stone, or What I learned from a Benedictine monk

First of all, let me say if you ever have the chance to attend Vespers at a Benedictine priory, you should jump at it.  Or any place where it is chanted Vespers.  I got such an opportunity, and it was magical.  The entire service was in Latin, and yet even without knowing what was being chanted I was transported to a place closer to heaven.    

Now the Father Prior gave a brief homily towards the end of the service, and there were a couple of things that struck me.  First he referenced antiphons as being like keys that unlock the Psalms.  They are a way to focus our minds on what the Psalmist is telling us about our relationship with God.  Maybe in today's age a password is a more apt description.  As you use a password over and over it is easier to remember and it is easier to get on with the purpose of what your are about to do.  Or sticking with the key analogy, a well worn key opens the door much easier than a brand new never used one.  We must use the antiphons to open our hearts to the psalms in order to better understand scripture.  And there is a reason why we repeat it over and over at Mass.

The second thing that was such a great image, was angel that rolled the stone away from the tomb and was sitting on the stone when the women came to the tomb.  He said that angel was a representation of Christ and that by sitting on the stone that once sealed the tomb of he was figuratively sitting on death, representing Christ's victory over death, and providing a path to heaven through the resurrection.

Vespers- find one near you and go.  Or pick up the Divine Office app for your phone, and do it yourself.  Start using the keys we've been given by our Church.

See you on the road!

I Don't Get Anything Out Of Mass

My response to...

I Don't Get Anything Out Of Mass

Catholic365.com article

I say to The Catholic Church what Peter said to Jesus "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe".

When Jesus came to save us many came to see but didn't believe and they walked away empty.  

Those who did see and believe became his church and gathered in thanksgiving to celebrate and receive the bread of life and then they were sent forth.

Every mass is our opportunity to unite with each other, celebrate, give thanks, and receive the true presence of Christ. Then we are sent forth...to be Christ to the world.  

To me, the mass is my everything...my glimpse of heaven and my salvation through Christ's sacrifice.

To those who no longer see, but yearn for Christ, I suggest spending an hour in adoration in front of the Holy Eucharist. 
The gift of The Father is the true bread from heaven. Taste and see the goodness of The Lord. 

Reflect on John 6:28-69.

The Catholic Church is alive in The Spirit. There are many opportunities to join small faith sharing groups, bible studies, read good Catholic books, and a good place to start is to listen to EWTN or your local Catholic radio. In central Ohio, St. Gabriel AM820.

Come back, Jesus is waiting.
http://www.catholicscomehome.org/