SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Monday - April 1, 2019

Monday - April 1, 2019

“As Lent is the time for greater love, listen to Jesus’ thirst… ‘Repent and believe’ Jesus tells us. What are we to repent? Our indifference, our hardness of heart. What are we to believe? Jesus thirsts even now, in  your heart and in the poor – He knows  your weakness. He wants only your love, wants only the chance to love you.”

--Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

 

April 1 2019

 

« March 31  |  April 2 »

Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Lectionary: 244

Reading 1IS 65:17-21

Thus says the LORD:
Lo, I am about to create new heavens
and a new earth;
The things of the past shall not be remembered
or come to mind.
Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness
in what I create;
For I create Jerusalem to be a joy
and its people to be a delight;
I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and exult in my people.
No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there,
or the sound of crying;
No longer shall there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not round out his full lifetime;
He dies a mere youth who reaches but a hundred years,
and he who fails of a hundred shall be thought accursed.
They shall live in the houses they build,
and eat the fruit of the vineyards they plant.

Responsorial PsalmPS 30:2 AND 4, 5-6, 11-12A AND 13B

R. (2a)  I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear
and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O LORD, you brought me up from the nether world;
you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger lasts but a moment;
a lifetime, his good will.
At nightfall, weeping enters in,
but with the dawn, rejoicing.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
"Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;
O LORD, be my helper."
You changed my mourning into dancing;
O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

Verse Before The GospelAM 5:14

Seek good and not evil so that you may live,
and the LORD will be with you.

GospelJN 4:43-54

At that time Jesus left [Samaria] for Galilee.
For Jesus himself testified
that a prophet has no honor in his native place.
When he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him,
since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast;
for they themselves had gone to the feast.

Then he returned to Cana in Galilee,
where he had made the water wine.
Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum.
When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea,
he went to him and asked him to come down
and heal his son, who was near death.
Jesus said to him,
"Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe."
The royal official said to him,
"Sir, come down before my child dies."
Jesus said to him, "You may go; your son will live."
The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.
While the man was on his way back,
his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live.
He asked them when he began to recover.
They told him,
"The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon."
The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him,
"Your son will live,"
and he and his whole household came to believe.
Now this was the second sign Jesus did
when he came to Galilee from Judea.

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Miracles Without Signs and Wonders

Why is it that we so easily feel discouraged when we don't "see" the answers to our prayers? Jesus says in today's Gospel passage, "Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe." He said this to a dad who wanted Jesus to come to his house to heal his son.

This man's faith depended on the same thing that ours so often does: "Seeing is believing". He thought that he could only get a miracle if Jesus physically showed up at his house to pray over the boy. Jesus invited him to grow beyond that.

Have you ever wished that Jesus would appear to you in person to assure you that everything is going to turn out okay? I sure have! But then where is our trust in the power and goodness of God? What kind of faith exists without trust?

Jesus told the worried father, "Go on with your life as normal. Your son will live."

This is what Jesus is saying to all of us every time we pray. "Go on with your life as normal," he says. "Now that you've given the problem to me, trust in my wisdom and perfect timing. Don't take it back by disbelieving that I'm working on it. Go about your normal business as if I'm taking care of it beyond your field of vision, because I am."

That message is so true, so important, and so essential to living in faith, copy it and post it where you can see it every day!

Do you know why Genesis says God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh? Not because he got tired. It's assuring us that God never rests until his work is done!

In the meantime, we should keep praying about it with a spirit of thanksgiving and trust. This enables us to hear God when he says, "Okay, here's what I want you to do next..." when it's time for us to do something about it.

Remember, when we pray with the Church: "Lord, hear our prayer", it's an offering, not an implication that God is idle until we ask. In faith, what we're really saying is: "Lord, thank you for hearing our prayer! I trust your timing and your way of handling it."

That's what "amen" means.

What miracles do you need? Think of your most important prayer requests and consider how God won't rest until your prayers are answered.

This is how to live an "amen" kind of life instead of worrying and disbelieving and seeking signs and wonders for proof of God's involvement. The signs and wonders will happen, but the who, what, when and where of them will be God's choosing, not ours. After all, would you really want it any other way?

Today's Prayer:

Lord, forgive me for the times that Your Word was not enough for me to believe in Your promises. Heal my heart from any trace of distrust in You. Amen.

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God Bless You.....

Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”

SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Sunday - March 31, 2019

Sunday - March 31, 2019

“I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.”  

--Saint Mother Teresa

 

March 31 2019 - Year C

 

« March 30  |  April 1 »

Fourth Sunday of Lent – Year C Readings
Lectionary: 33

Reading 1JOS 5:9A, 10-12

The LORD said to Joshua, 
“Today I have removed the reproach of Egypt from you.”

While the Israelites were encamped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, 
they celebrated the Passover
on the evening of the fourteenth of the month.
On the day after the Passover,
they ate of the produce of the land 
in the form of unleavened cakes and parched grain.
On that same day after the Passover, 
on which they ate of the produce of the land, the manna ceased.
No longer was there manna for the Israelites, 
who that year ate of the yield of the land of Canaan.

Responsorial PsalmPS 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7.

R. (9a)  Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
 and from all his distress he saved him.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Reading 22 COR 5:17-21

Brothers and sisters:
Whoever is in Christ is a new creation:
the old things have passed away;
behold, new things have come.
And all this is from God,
who has reconciled us to himself through Christ 
and given us the ministry of reconciliation, 
namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, 
not counting their trespasses against them 
and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
So we are ambassadors for Christ,
as if God were appealing through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
be reconciled to God.
For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin,
so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

Verse Before The GospelLK 15:18

I will get up and go to my Father and shall say to him:
Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.

GospelLK 15:1-3, 11-32

Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So to them Jesus addressed this parable:
“A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father,
‘Father give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’
 
So the father divided the property between them.
After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings
and set off to a distant country
where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.
When he had freely spent everything,
a severe famine struck that country,
and he found himself in dire need.
So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens
who sent him to his farm to tend the swine.
And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed,
but nobody gave him any.
Coming to his senses he thought,
‘How many of my father’s hired workers
have more than enough food to eat,
but here am I, dying from hunger.
I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him,
“Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I no longer deserve to be called your son;
treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’
So he got up and went back to his father.
While he was still a long way off,
his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion.
He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.
His son said to him,
‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you;
I no longer deserve to be called your son.’
But his father ordered his servants,
‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him;
put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
Take the fattened calf and slaughter it.
Then let us celebrate with a feast,
because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again;
he was lost, and has been found.’
Then the celebration began.
Now the older son had been out in the field
and, on his way back, as he neared the house,
he heard the sound of music and dancing.
He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean.
The servant said to him,
‘Your brother has returned
and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf
because he has him back safe and sound.’
He became angry,
and when he refused to enter the house,
his father came out and pleaded with him.
He said to his father in reply,
‘Look, all these years I served you
and not once did I disobey your orders;
yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends.
But when your son returns
who swallowed up your property with prostitutes,
for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’
He said to him,
‘My son, you are here with me always;
everything I have is yours.
But now we must celebrate and rejoice,
because your brother was dead and has come to life again;
he was lost and has been found.’”

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WHY WE ARE WORTHY OF LOVE

Who is worthy to receive the love and unconditional forgiveness of God? During every Mass, we pray, "Lord, I am not worthy... but say the Word and my soul shall be healed." Jesus illustrates in this Sunday's Gospel reading that we are all worthy, but not because of what we do -- rather, it's because of what Jesus did do: He died on the cross to take our sins into death so that we can rise up with him in the perpetual Easter experience of unity with God.

In the parable of the Prodigal Son, it's not what the son did that made his return home acceptable. It's not his repentance that made him worthy of receiving his father's love. It's what the father did. He loved his child. Unconditionally. He loved him even while he was far away, even while he was straying in a sinful lifestyle.

The dad's unconditional, faithful love was his gift to the son even while the son was rejecting it.

The gift that the son gave to his dad upon his return home was an open heart to receive the love that had always been available.

During every Mass, we come to church as prodigal children. It doesn't matter that we think we've been good Christians all week long. In some way or other, we have turned our backs on God's full, unconditional, faithful love. This is why we always start Mass acknowledging that we have sinned. Let's take this opportunity very seriously!

Next, we listen to the Word that heals our broken relationships with God. The homily should always be carefully planned to enhance this, but if it's not, Jesus is nonetheless speaking to you through his Holy Spirit; listen in your heart. Jesus, who is the Word made flesh, has already begun to respond to your presence at Mass.

In the Offertory, we offer ourselves to the Father; it's our moment of surrender: "I no longer deserve to be called your child, so do with me as you will." What God wills is for us to be restored to a fully loving, give-and-take relationship with him and his family. And thus, in the grandest moment of the Liturgy, we receive the Eucharist as a gift of unity with God and with his whole family, the Church. (Those who cannot receive the Communion of the Host and Cup are graced with a Spiritual Communion.)

Today's Prayer:

Lord Jesus: Forgive me for my lack of gratitude to You and to those people who have been in my life an instrument of Your love. Bless them, wherever they are. Amen.

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God Bless You.....

Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”

SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Saturday - March 30, 2019

Saturday - March 30, 2019

“The Eucharist is the secret of my day.  It gives strength and meaning to all my activities of service to the Church and to the world.”

--Pope Saint John Paul II

 

March 30 2019

 

« March 29  |  March 31 »

Saturday of the Third Week of Lent
Lectionary: 242

Reading 1HOS 6:1-6

"Come, let us return to the LORD,
it is he who has rent, but he will heal us;
he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds.
He will revive us after two days;
on the third day he will raise us up,
to live in his presence.
Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD;
as certain as the dawn is his coming,
and his judgment shines forth like the light of day!
He will come to us like the rain,
like spring rain that waters the earth."

What can I do with you, Ephraim?
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your piety is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that early passes away.
For this reason I smote them through the prophets,
I slew them by the words of my mouth;
For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice,
and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Responsorial PsalmPS 51:3-4, 18-19, 20-21AB

R. (see Hosea 6:6)  It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.
Be bountiful, O LORD, to Zion in your kindness
by rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem;
Then shall you be pleased with due sacrifices,
burnt offerings and holocausts.
R. It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.

Verse Before The GospelPS 95:8

If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.

GospelLK 18:9-14

Jesus addressed this parable
to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
and despised everyone else.
"Two people went up to the temple area to pray;
one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,
'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity — 
greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week,
and I pay tithes on my whole income.'
But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.'
I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;
for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

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The Healing Shadow of Jesus

When is a saint not a sinner? Certainly not when he thinks he's guiltless!

A saint is anyone who has chosen to follow Jesus to heaven. We are all saints! However, Jesus points out in this Saturday's Gospel reading that there's pride in claiming to do all the right things and using this to prove that we are righteous. A truly holy person knows that he or she can be tempted to sin and continually relies on strength from the Holy Spirit while putting energy into a real effort to be holy.

So let me rephrase the question: When is a saint living out his true identity instead of living like a sinner? When he repents, of course.

In Saturday's first reading, we can identify with the affliction as well as with the desire to return to God: Until we're healed by his forgiveness, we're afflicted with the sorrow and regret of realizing how easily we stumble on our journey of faith. We want to be godly, and so, if we really take an honest look at how unlike Jesus we sometimes are, we feel wretched. We dislike ourselves. We're disappointed with ourselves.

Such feelings are too uncomfortable to live. So how do we cope? Most of us stop thinking about our wretchedness.

This is why Saturday confession lines in church are short. We'd rather live in the illusion that we don't need the Sacrament of Reconciliation than feel the affliction of our wretchedness.

However, the fact is, God doesn't look at us and see ugly wretches. No, when he looks at us, he sees Jesus on the cross in his affliction. Remember, Jesus substituted himself for us. He who never sinned took our sins upon himself.

By placing ourselves behind Jesus, we have a great advantage! When God our Father looks at us, it is through the filter of Christ's blood. He recognizes us as a holy child who wants to be free of sin. And so he is very pleased with us.

So be the saint that you truly are by choosing to rise above the daily weaknesses that make you vulnerable to temptation. Choose to rely on the Holy Spirit for strength. And in the midst of falling prey to sin, rather than feel ashamed of your guilt, put your faith in Jesus on the cross. Look up at Jesus and thank him for taking your punishment.

Then, step into the confessional and ask Jesus to give you the power of his Holy Spirit to overcome your sins and to avoid them in the future.

And then, step into Mass fully aware of how easily you sin and receive God's forgiveness in the Penitential Rite that the priest leads us through soon after the celebration begins.

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God Bless You.....

Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”