CATHOLIC WORLD NEWS: SUN. MAY 9, 2010: HEADLINES-
VATICAN: POPE: MAY DEDICATED TO MARY "BEAUTIFUL FLOWER"-
ASIA: INDIA: PRIEST TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER ASSAULT-
AFRICA: UGANDA: MARTYRS CHURCH DESECRATED BY INTRUDERS-
AUSTRALIA: WOMAN SERVES 10 YEARS PRISON ON WRONGFUL CONVICTION-
AMERICA: USA: OUR LADY OF THE LAKE UNIVERSITY REBUILT AFTER FIRE-
EUROPE: FRANCE: WILL HOST 23RD WORLD CONGRESS OF CATHOLIC DOCTORS-
VATICAN
POPE: MAY DEDICATED TO MARY "BEAUTIFUL FLOWER"
Vatican Channel-Youtube report: Pope Benedict said this morning during his Regina Coeli prayer in St. Peters Square that Mary is "the most beautiful flower bloom in creation," the "spiritual heart" of the Christian community, and the model of the Church, the first and most perfect disciple of Jesus.
The Pope recalled that it is Church tradition to devote the Month of May to the Virgin Mary.
The Holy Father said Mary in fact was the first to fully observe the word of her son, thus proving that she loves him not only as a mother, but first as a humble and obedient servant, which is why God the Father has loved her and why the Holy Trinity dwelt within her.
The Pope then spoke about his upcoming trip to Portugal'
http://www.youtube.com/vatican#p/a/u/0/Ixhdt4_fnY8
ASIA
INDIA: PRIEST TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AFTER ASSAULT
UCAN report — A parish in Kerala, southern India, is tense after a Catholic layman beat a priest, putting him in hospital, in a row over maintenance of the church.
Parishioners blocked a national highway on May 6 demanding action against the priest’s attacker. Police have deployed armed guards in Ezhupunna, a village in Alleppey district.
Father Basil Punchaputhssery, parish priest of Ezhupunna’s St. Raphael Church, was admitted to hospital in Kochi, the state’s commercial capital.
The parish belongs to Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese .
A police official told UCA News on May 7 that they have registered a case against two parishioners for attacking the priest.
According to the police, Lalan Tharakan and his son Thomas wanted the priest to cut a tree growing atop the church building. The son beat the priest after a heated argument.
The church, built by the Tharakan family in 1859, was closed 20 months ago after it was found to be in a dilapidated condition. Now, Mass is conducted in a nearby makeshift tent.
The Tharakan family had earlier filed a petition in court against constructing a new church. The court is yet to decide on the matter.
Father Paul Thelakat, the archdiocesan spokesperson, described the incident as “unfortunate and of criminal nature.” He told UCA News May 7 that most parishioners want to rebuild the church.
The parish priest says the father-son duo attacked him unprovoked when he explained to them that the tree could not be cut since the Archeological Survey of India which is looking after the church had banned its renovation.
Thomas told UCA News he only intervened when the priest tried to push his father out of the room. “The parish priest abused my father and me,” he added.
He also pointed out the priest and his assistant are living in the “unsafe” building
http://www.ucanews.com/2010/05/07/priest-beaten-parishioners-block-road
AFRICA
UGANDA: MARTYRS CHURCH DESECRATED BY INTRUDERS
All Africa report: MEMBERS of the Martyrs of Uganda Catholic Church in Mamprobi, Accra, Ghana received a rude shock on Sunday when they turned up for worship only to find the sanctity of their church desecrated with human excreta and offensive posters by unknown persons.
The act is said to have been carried out at 3:00am in protest against some policies of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, Charles Palmer-Buckle, who was expected at the church for a confirmation service, according to Ghanaian media reports.
The first church service, which was to begin at 7:00am, was delayed as members waited for the mess to be cleaned up.
Archbishop Palmer-Buckle is facing accusations that he owns a $2m property at the plush Trassacco Valley in Accra. He denies the allegation, which was one of the grievances pinned on the church walls.
"We found human excreta spread across the main entrance of the church this morning," Stephen Avornyo, the general secretary of the Parish Pastoral Council, told Joy News' Yaa Asamoah, according to the online Ghanaweb.com.
Avornyo said the act came as a shock to them. He said Archbishop Palmer-Buckle and the entire church were dumbfounded.
The walls of the church also had offensive posters pasted demanding the resignation of the resident pastor and the Archbishop. Some of the inscriptions on the posters, Avornyo said, read: "Palmer-Buckle, if you want more money, sell your $2m Trasaaco mansion".
"We want the resident priest and the Archbishop removed".
It is unclear why the act was committed, but sources say it is linked to recent disagreements between the church leadership and some members in the congregation over a purported take-over of a three-storey facility by the archbishop.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201005060680.html
AUSTRALIA
WOMAN SERVES 10 YEARS PRISON ON WRONGFUL CONVICTION
Cath News report. Roseanne Catt, who served 10 years in jail before her conviction for soliciting murder was quashed, is suing the NSW Government for compensation for "loss of liberty under horrific circumstances".
Mrs Catt, a Catholic, is now known as Mrs Beckett, after reverting to her maiden name upon her release from jail. She said her faith in God had helped her survive in jail, said an AAP report in the Sydney Morning Herald.
"I had God on my side and truth so I knew one day I would be vindicated and these people will be brought to justice."
In 1991, a jury found the Wollongong woman guilty of soliciting the murder of her ex-husband Barry Catt by ordering a hit on him.
Ten years later a judicial inquiry was ordered into allegations she was framed. She was released from jail in 2001 after serving most of a 12-year sentence.
One of NSW's longest serving female prisoners, Ms Beckett said it was "absolutely criminal" that the individuals who framed her had not been held accountable for their actions.
"I sat in jail for 10 years because of these wicked people and they haven't been brought to justice."
During the proceedings on Thursday, counsel for the state of NSW Patrick Saidi sought to strike out much of Ms Beckett's statement of claim, including allegations of misconduct by police.
Malicious prosecution has been conceded.
http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=21172
AMERICA
USA: OUR LADY OF THE LAKE UNIVERSITY REBUILT AFTER FIRE
CNA report: Almost two years after a four-alarm fire destroyed a historic, architectural feature of Our Lady of the Lake University’s Main Building, a rebuilt spire weighing 5,000 pounds was raised and set atop of the north tower on April 21. A celebration featuring food, drinks and music preceded the raising of the spire.
The original spire — part of the campus building that opened in 1896 — toppled in flames from Main on May 6, 2008. A local company, Progressive Solutions, reconstructed the spire using modern and traditional methods to ensure it matches the surviving south spire. On March 31, a flatbed trailer delivered the rebuilt spire from Progressive Solutions — located on Broadway — to the campus.
The oversized load required special permits, escorts and a route specified by the Texas Department of Transportation. A crane lifted the two-and-a-half ton structure and placed it in front of Main and cheers rose from assembled faculty and staff on 24th Street.Bartlett Cocke, the general contractor for Main Building, prepared the site for the spire. Bricks that were damaged or destroyed during the fire were replaced and the structure secured. In addition, installation of shingles on the surrounding rooftop was completed for the spire raising.
When the spire was raised, a crested railing was added to the roof on both sides of the statue of Mary. The crested railing is an original architectural feature that was removed at some point in the history of the building.
To recreate the railing, artisan Roman Peña studied old photos of Main building and created a drawing of the railing. He then carved a form out of wood. The form was used to make a mold and that was used to create a cast aluminum railing. He used a similar process to recreate two weather vanes that used to sit atop the two spires.
Recreating these architectural features will assist OLLU with seeking National Register historic designation for Main when it is complete.
Sister Jane Ann Slater, superior general of the Congregation of the Divine Providence, offered a prayer and a special blessing. Carlos Gonzalez, OLLU Student Government Association president, also spoke, and OLLU music major Mallorie Gonzales sang “On Eagles Wings” as the spire was raised.
OLLU President Dr. Tessa Martinez Pollack delivered remarks on the historical significance of the day.
“I have a little bit of déjà vu being here, but it has a different tenor today, as there is hope and optimism,” said Martinez Pollack. “This is another transformation an institution and family undergoes when it experiences an event not of its choosing. This represents our ascent.”
The OLLU president said the return of the spire was not just about replacing a piece of missing architecture, but a renewal of the spirit made possible by the tireless work of university faculty and staff, who have been working in cramped temporary quarters following the loss of the building.
Prior to the spire raising, OLLU announced InSpire, a new year-long program that will cover all tuition and fees for qualifying freshman students that will begin with the entering fall class of 2010.
In addition to covering tuition and fees, the program will offer enhanced mentoring and experiential learning opportunities focused on meeting their high aspirations for a college education.
Through InSpire, OLLU is going beyond its financial support for students in order to add value to their educations, to increase their persistence toward graduation and to ultimately receive their degrees. The initiative is one part of the university’s goal to provide 100 percent of students with an internship prior to graduation. At present, over 50 percent of OLLU students complete an internship as undergraduates.
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/san-antonio-university-celebrates-raising-of-two-ton-spire-after-fire/
EUROPE
FRANCE: WILL HOST 23RD WORLD CONGRESS OF CATHOLIC DOCTORS
Fides report: The town of Lourdes is hosting the 23rd World Congress and General Assembly of the International Federation of Associations of Catholic Doctors (FIAMC or Fédération Internationale des Associations Médicales Catholiques"), on the theme “Medicine and Faith”. Sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, the Congress-pilgrimage is reflecting on the theme “Our Faith as Doctors”. For the first time this event has brought thousands of doctors from all over the world to Lourdes. In the opening address, Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, President Pontifical Council for Pastoral Care of Health Workers, recalled that the Charter of Health Workers, states “ pastoral care of the sick consists of spiritual and religious assistance and this is a fundamental right of every sick person and a duty of the Church”. Again quoting the Charter, issued in 1995 by the Pontifical Council, Archbishop Zimowski said because of the “ necessary interaction between physical, psychic and spiritual dimension of the person and because of the duty to bear witness to one's faith, the health-care worker is bound to create the conditions to ensure that religious assistance is given to anyone who explicitly or implicitly demands it ”. The President also mentioned the figure and thought of certain doctors who, worked to protect life and rejecting speculative and/or superficial behaviour, walked the path of holiness or in any case of witness to what it means to be 'authentic' Catholic doctors. These persons include Saint Giuseppe Moscati and Saint Riccardo Pampuri, O.H, Saint Gianna Beretta Molla and Prof. Jèrôme Lejeune. Because “Catholic doctors - the Archbishop concluded - are able to represent the authentic image of care and hope ”.
The “mission” of FIAMC is to safeguard, protect and promote human life in all the different cultures. In this context, individual action is not sufficient. The Federation comprises circa 60 national associations of Catholic doctors from all over the world, subdivided in 6 regions: Africa, Asia (AFCMA), Australia and New Zealand, Europe (FEAMC), North America, Latin America
http://www.fides.org/aree/news/newsdet.php?idnews=26627&lan=eng
TODAY´S SAINT
St. Pachomius
ABBOTT AND BISHOP
Feast: May 9
Information: Feast Day: May 9
Born: 292, Thebes, Egypt
Died: 9 May 348, Egypt
Such an uncommon example of disinterested virtue made a great impression on the mind of Pachomius. He inquired who their pious benefactors were, and when he heard that they believed in Jesus Christ the only Son of God, and that in the hope of a reward in the world to come, they labored continually to do good to all mankind, he found kindled in his heart a great love of so holy a law, and an ardent desire of serving the God whom these good men adored. The next day, when he was continuing his journey down the river, the remembrance of this purpose strengthened him to resist a carnal temptation. From his infancy he had been always a lover of chastity and temperance but the example of the Christians had made those virtues appear to him far more amiable, and in a new light.
After the overthrow of Maximinus, his forces were disbanded. Pachomius was no sooner returned home, but he repaired to a town in Thebais, in which there was a Christian church, and there he entered his name among the catechumens, or such as were preparing for baptism; and having gone through the usual course of preliminary instructions and practices with great attention and fervor, he received that sacrament at Chenoboscium, with great sentiments of piety and devotion. From his first acquaintance with our holy faith at Thebes, he had always made this his prayer: "O God, Creator of heaven and earth, cast on me an eye of pity: deliver me from my miseries: teach me the true way of pleasing you, and it shall be the whole employment, and most earnest study of my life to serve you, and to do your will." The perfect sacrifice of his heart to God, was the beginning of his eminent virtue. The grace by which God reigns in a soul, is a treasure infinitely above all price. We must give all to purchase it. To desire it faintly is to undervalue it. He is absolutely disqualified and unfit for so great a blessing, and unworthy ever to receive it, who seeks it by halves, or who does not esteem all other things as dung that he may gain Christ.
When Pachomius was baptized, he began seriously to consider with himself how he should most faithfully fulfil the obligations which he had contracted, and attain to the great end to which he aspired. There is danger even in fervor itself. It is often an artifice of the devil to make a novice undertake too much at first, and run indiscreetly beyond his strength. If the sails gather too much wind, the vessel is driven ahead, falls on some rock and splits. Eagerness is a symptom of secret passion, not of true virtue, where it is wilful and impatient at advice. Pachomius was far from so dangerous a disposition, because his desire was pure, therefore his first care was to find a skilful conductor.
Hearing that a venerable old man named Palemon, served God in the desert in great perfection, he sought him out, and with great earnestness begged to live under his direction. The hermit having set before him the difficulties and austerities of his way of life, which several had already attempted in vain to follow, advised him to make a trial of his strength and fervor in some monastery; and, to give him a sketch of the difficulties he had to encounter in the life he aspired to, he added: "Consider, my son, that my diet is only bread and salt: I drink no wine, use no oil, watch one half of the night, spending that time in singing psalms or in meditating on the holy scriptures, and sometimes pass the whole night without sleeping." Pachomius was amazed at this account, but not discouraged. He thought himself able to undertake every thing that might be a means to render his soul pleasing to God, and readily promised to observe whatever Palemon should think fit to enjoin him; who thereupon admitted him into his cell, and gave him the monastic habit. Pachomius was by his example enabled to bear solitude, and an acquaintance with himself. They sometimes repeated together the psalter, at other times they exercised themselves in manual labors (which they accompanied with interior prayer,) with a view to their own subsistence and the relief of the poor. Pachomius prayed above all things, for perfect purity of heart, that being disengaged from all secret attachment to creatures, he might love God with all his affections. And to destroy the very roots of all inordinate passions, it was his first study to obtain the most profound humility, and perfect patience and meekness. He prayed often with his arms stretched out in the form of a cross; which posture was then much used in the church. He was in the beginning often drowsy at the night office. Palemon used to rouse him, and say: "Labor and watch, my dear Pachomius, lest the enemy overthrow you and ruin all your endeavors." Against this weakness and temptation he enjoined him, on such occasions, to carry sand from one place to another, till his drowsiness was overcome. By this means the novice strengthened himself in the habit of watching. Whatever instructions he read or heard, he immediately endeavored fervently to reduce to practice.
One Easter-day Palemon bade the disciple prepare a dinner for that great festival. Pachomius took a little oil, and mixed it with the salt, which he pounded small, and added a few wild herbs, which they were to eat with their bread. The holy old man having made his prayer, came to table; but at the sight of the oil he struck himself on the forehead, and said, with tears: "My Saviour was crucified, and shall I indulge myself so far as to eat oil?" Nor could he be prevailed upon to taste it.
Pachomius used sometimes to go into a vast uninhabited desert, on the banks of the Nile, called Tabenna, in the diocese of Tentyra, a city between the Great and Little Diospolis. While he was there one day in prayer, he heard a voice which commanded him to build a monastery in that place, in which he should receive those who should be sent by God to serve him faithfully. He received, about the same time, from an angel who appeared to him, certain instructions relating to a monastic life.. Pachomius going back to Palemon, imparted to him this vision; and both of them coming to Tabenna, built there a little cell towards the year 325, about twenty years after St. Antony had founded his first monastery. After a short time, Palemon returned to his former dwelling, having promised his disciple a yearly visit, but he died soon after, and is honored in the Roman Martyrology on the 11th of January.
Pachomius received first his own eldest brother John, and after his death many others, so that he enlarged his house; and the number of his monks in a short time amounted to a hundred. Their clothing was of rough linen; that of St. Pachomius himself often haircloth. He passed fifteen years without ever lying down, taking his short rest sitting on a stone. He even grudged himself the least time which he allowed to necessary sleep, because he wished he could have been able to employ all his moments in the actual exercises of divine love. From the time of his conversion he never ate a full meal. By his rule, the fasts and tasks of work were proportioned to every one's strength; though all are together in one common refectory, in silence, with their cowl or hood drawn over their heads, that they might not see one another at their meals. Their habit was a tunic of white linen without sleeves, with a cowl of the same stuff; they wore on their shoulders a white goatskin, called a Melotes. They received the holy communion on the first and last days of every week. Novices were tried with great severity before they were admitted to the habit, the taking of which was then deemed the monastic profession, and attended with the vows. St. Pachomius preferred none of his monks to holy orders, and his monasteries were often served by priests from abroad, though he admitted priests, when any presented themselves, to the habit, and he employed them in the functions of their ministry. All his monks were occupied in various kinds of manual labor: no moment was allowed for idleness. The saint, with the greatest care, comforted and served the sick himself. Silence was so strictly observed at Tabenna, that a monk, who wanted any thing necessary, was only to ask for it by signs. In going from one place to another, the monks were ordered always to meditate on some passage of the holy scripture, and sing psalms at their work. The sacrifice of the mass was offered for every monk that died, as we read in the life of St. Pachomius. His rule was translated into Latin by St. Jerome, and is still extant. He received the sickly and weak, rejecting none for the want of corporal strength, being desirous to conduct to heaven all souls which had fervor to walk in the paths of perfection. He built six other monasteries in Thebias, not far asunder, and from the year 336, chose often to reside in that of Pabau, or Pau, near Thebes, in its territory, though not far from Tabenna, situated in the neighboring province of Diospolis, also in Thebais. Pabau became a more numerous and more famous monastery than Tabenna itself. By the advice of Serapion, bishop of Tentyra, he built a church in a village for the benefit of the poor shepherds, in which for some time he performed the office of Lector, reading to the people the word of God with admirable fervor; in which function he appeared rather like an angel than a man. He converted many infidels, and zealously opposed the Arians, but could never be induced by his bishop to receive the holy order of priesthood. In 333, he was favored with a visit of St. Athanasius at Tabenna. His sister, at a certain time, came to his monastery desiring to see him; but he sent her word at the gate, that no woman could be allowed to enter his enclosure, and that she ought to be satisfied with hearing that he was alive. However, it being her desire to embrace a religious state, he built her a nunnery on the other side of the Nile, which was soon filled with holy virgins. St. Pachomius going one day to Pane, one of his monasteries, met the funeral procession of a tepid monk deceased. Knowing the wretched state in which he died and to strike a terror into the slothful, he forbade his monks to proceed in singing psalms, and ordered the clothes which covered the corpse to be burnt, saying: "Honors could only increase his torments; but the ignominy with which his body was treated, might move God to show more mercy to his soul; for God forgives some sins not only in this world, but also in the next." When the procurator of the house had sold the mats at market at a higher price than the saint had bid him, he ordered him to carry back the money to the buyers, and chastised him for his avarice.
Among many miracles wrought by him, the author of his life assures us, that though he had never learned the Greek or Latin tongues, he sometimes miraculously spoke them; he cured the sick and persons possessed by devils with blessed oil. But he often told sick or distressed persons, that their sickness or affliction was an effect of the divine goodness in their behalf; and he only prayed for their temporal comfort, with this clause or condition, if it should not prove hurtful to their souls. His dearest disciple, St. Theodorus, who after his death succeeded him in the government of his monasteries, was afflicted with a perpetual headache. St. Pachomius, when desired by some of the brethren to pray for his health, answered: "Though abstinence and prayer be of great merit, yet sickness, suffered with patience, is of much greater." He chiefly begged of God the spiritual health of the souls of his disciples and others, and took every opportunity to curb and heal their passions, especially that of pride. One day a certain monk having doubled his diligence at work, and made two mats instead of one, set them where St. Pachomius might see them. The saint perceiving the snare, said, "This brother hath taken a great deal of pains from morning till night, to give his work to the devil." And, to cure his vanity by humiliations, he enjoined him, by way of penance, to keep his cell fire months, with no other allowance than a little bread, salt, and water. A young man named Sylvanus; who had been an actor on the stage, entered the monastery of St. Pachomius with the view of doing penance, but led for some time an undisciplined life, often transgressing the rules of the house, and still fond of entertaining himself and others with buffooneries. The man of God endeavored to make him sensible of his danger by charitable remonstrances, and also employed his more potent arms of prayer, sighs, and tears, for his poor soul. Though for some time he found his endeavors fruitless, he did not desist on that account; and having one day represented to this impenitent sinner, in a very pathetic manner, the dreadful judgments which threaten those that mock God, the divine grace touching the heart of Sylvanus, he from that moment began, to lead a life of great edification to the rest of the brethren; and being moved with the most feeling sentiments of compunction, he never failed, wheresoever he was, and howsoever employed, to bewail with bitterness his past misdemeanors. When others entreated him to moderate the floods of his tears, "Ah," said he, "how can I help weeping, when I consider the wretchedness of my past life, and that by my sloth I have profaned what was most sacred? I have reason to fear lest the earth should open under my feet, and swallow me up, as it did Dathan and Abiron. Oh! suffer me to labor with ever-flowing fountains of tears, to expiate my innumerable sins. I ought, if I could, even to pour forth this wretched soul of mine in mourning; it would be all too little for my offences." In these sentiments of contrition he made so "real progress in virtue, that the holy abbot proposed him as a model of humility to the rest; and when, after eight years spent in this penitential course, God had called him to himself by a holy death, St. Pachomius was assured by a revelation, that his soul was presented by angels a most agreeable sacrifice to Christ. The saint was favored with a spirit of prophecy, and with great grief foretold the decay of monastic fervor in his order in succeeding ages. In 348 he was cited before a council of bishops at Latopolis, to answer certain matters laid to his charge. He justified himself against the calumniators, but in such a manner that the whole council admired his extraordinary humility. The same year, God afflicted his monasteries with a pestilence, which swept off a hundred monks. The saint himself fell sick, and during forty days suffered a painful distemper with incredible patience and cheerfulness, discovering a great interior joy at the approach of the end of his earthly pilgrimage. In his last moments he exhorted his monks to fervor, and having armed himself with the sign of the cross, resigned his happy soul into the hands of his Creator in the fifty-seventh year of his age. He lived to see in his different monasteries seven thousand monks. His order subsisted in the cast till the eleventh century: for Anselm, bishop of Havelburgh, writes, that he saw five hundred monks of this institute in a monastery at Constantinople. St. Pachomius formed his disciples to so eminent a degree of perfection chiefly by his own fervent spirit and example; for he always appeared the first, the most exact, and the most fervent, in all the exercises of the community. To the fervor and watchfulness of the superior it was owing that in so numerous a community discipline was observed with astonishing regularity, as Palladius and Cassian observe. The former says that they ate with their cowl drawn so as to hide the greatest part of their faces, and with their eyes cast down, never looking at one another. Many contented themselves with taking a very few mouthfuls of bread and oil, or of such like dish; others of pottage only. So great was the silence that reigned among them while every one followed his employment, that in the midst of so great a multitude; a person seemed to be in a solitude. Cassian tells us, that the more numerous the monastery was, the more perfect and rigorous was regular observance of discipline, and all constantly obeyed their superior more readily than a single person is found to do in other places. Nothing so much weakens the fervor of inferiors as the example of a superior who easily allows himself exemptions or dispensations in the rule. The relaxation of monastic discipline is often owing to no other cause. How enormous is the crime of such a scandal!
http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/P/stpachomius.asp
TODAY´S MASS READINGS
6TH SUNDAY OF EASTER- YEAR C
Acts 15: 1 - 2, 22 - 29
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1 But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brethren, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved."
2 And when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question.
22 Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsab'bas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren,
23 with the following letter: "The brethren, both the apostles and the elders, to the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cili'cia, greeting.
24 Since we have heard that some persons from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions,
25 it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
26 men who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ.
27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth.
28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:
29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from unchastity. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell."
Psalms 67: 2 - 3, 5 - 6, 8
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2 that thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving power among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise thee, O God; let all the peoples praise thee!
5 Let the peoples praise thee, O God; let all the peoples praise thee!
6 The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, has blessed us.
Revelation 21: 10 - 14, 22 - 23
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10 And in the Spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,
11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.
12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed;
13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates.
14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.
23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb.
John 14: 23 - 29
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23 Jesus answered him, "If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
24 He who does not love me does not keep my words; and the word which you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.
25 "These things I have spoken to you, while I am still with you.
26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
28 You heard me say to you, `I go away, and I will come to you.' If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than I.
29 And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place, you may believe.
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