2015
#Novena to the #HolySpirit for Pentecost SHARE this Prayer
ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE HOLY GHOST
On my knees before the great multitude of heavenly witnesses I offer myself, soul and body to You, Eternal Spirit of God. / I adore the brightness of Your purity the unerring keenness of Your justice and the might of Your love. You are the Strength / and Light of my soul. In You I live and move and am. I desire never to grieve You by unfaithfulness to grace and I pray with all my heart! To be kept from the smallest sin against You. Mercifully guard my every thought and grant that I may always watch for Your light: and listen to Your voice and follow Your gracious inspirations. I cling to You and give myself to You and ask You / by Your compassion to watch over me in my weakness. Holding the pierced Feet of Jesus and looking at His Five Wounds / and trusting in His Precious Blood and adoring His opened Side and stricken Heart / I implore You / Adorable Spirit I Helper of my infirmity, so to keep me in Your grace that I may never sin against You. Give me grace O Holy Ghost, Spirit of the Father and the Son to say to You always and everywhere / “Speak Lord for Your servant heareth.” Amen.
PRAYER FOR THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY GHOST
O Lord Jesus Christ Who, before ascending into heaven did promise to send the Holy Ghost to finish Your work in the souls of Your Apostles and Disciples deign to grant the same Holy Spirit to me that He may perfect in my soul / the work of Your grace and Your love. Grant me the Spirit of Wisdom that I may despise the perishable things of this world and aspire only after the things that are eternal the Spirit of Understanding to enlighten my mind with the light of Your divine truth / the Spirit on Counsel that I may ever choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining heaven, the Spirit of Fortitude, that I may bear my cross with You I and that I may overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation the Spirit of Knowledge that I may know God find know myself and grow perfect in the science of the Saints the Spirit of Piety that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable / the Spirit of Fear that I may be filled with a loving reverence towards God and may dread in any way to displease Him. Mark me, dear Lord with the sign of Your true disciples / and animate me in all things with Your Spirit. Amen.
DAY 6 OF NOVENA
If Thou take Thy grace away, nothing pure in man will stay, All his good is turn'd to ill.
The Gift of Understanding
Understanding, as a gift of the Holy Spirit, helps us to grasp the meaning of the truths of our holy religion BY faith we know them, but by Understanding we learn to appreciate and relish them. It enables us to penetrate the inner meaning of revealed truths and through them to be quickened to newness of life. Our faith ceases to be sterile and inactive, but inspires a mode of life that bears eloquent testimony to the faith that is in us; we begin to "walk worthy of God in all things pleasing, and increasing in the knowledge of God."
Prayer
Come, O Spirit of Understanding, and enlighten our minds, that we may know and believe all the mysteries of salvation; and may merit at last to see the eternal light in Thy Light; and in the light of glory to have a clear vision of Thee and the Father and the Son. Amen.
6 Ways to Protect you Kids from Pornography by Matt Fradd
6 Ways to Protect your Kids From Porn
I’d like to begin this post with a warning from the U.S Justice Department:
“Never before in the history of telecommunications media in the United States has so much indecent and obscene material been so easily accessible by so many minors in so many American homes with so few restrictions.”
If that sounds about right, it will be sobering to consider that it was written in 1996—before wireless broadband, before iPads, before selfies and sexting. Before pornography took over twelve percent of the Internet, with more than 25 million sites today raking in over $5 billion a year. Before it was considered common practice, as it is today, for porn consumption to begin with a first encounter around age 11 and go on to radically shape the ideas that teens and young adults
have about sexual intimacy.
have about sexual intimacy.
Now, before you tell me that there’s no way your child is looking at porn, consider this: Porn is made, not by back alley perverts peddling nude photos to dirty old men, but by multimillion dollar companies that have a vested interest in getting kids—your kids—into porn when they are young.
Two week ago I was contacted by a prominent leader in the Church. He told me that his teenage son just confessed to him that he had been looking at porn regularly for the past year. The man said to me, “I talk to parents all the time about why it’s so necessary that they protect their children, that they get accountability and filtering software, but I never did.” You might be surprised at how many times I hear that from people who should know better.
So here are five things that you need to start doing if you want to protect your children from porn:
1. EDUCATE YOURSELF
Educate yourself about the dangers of pornography. If you aren’t convinced that porn is harmful, you won’t be motivated to protect your family from it. Here are three free resources that can help. 1) A free ebook on up to date Pornography Statistic , 2) Bishop Loverde’s recent pastoral letter on pornography, Bought with a Price, and 3) a great article by Dr. Donal L. Hilton, Jr. on how porn affects the brain, Slave Master: How Pornography Drugs and Changes Your Brain.
2. TALK TO YOUR KIDS ABOUT PORN
Talk to your children about pornography. One former pornographer, Martin Daubney, after having researched how pornography affects the minds and lives of children, wrote this:
“Like many parents, I fear that my boy’s childhood could be taken away by pornography.
So we have to fight back. We need to get tech-savvy, and as toe-curling as it seems, we are the first generation that will have to talk to our children about porn.
We have to tell our kids that pornographic sex is fake and real sex is about love, not lust. By talking to them, they stand a chance. If we stick our head in the sand, we are fooling only ourselves.”
So we have to fight back. We need to get tech-savvy, and as toe-curling as it seems, we are the first generation that will have to talk to our children about porn.
We have to tell our kids that pornographic sex is fake and real sex is about love, not lust. By talking to them, they stand a chance. If we stick our head in the sand, we are fooling only ourselves.”
One way you can learn how to talk to your children, in an age-appropriate way, about the dangers of pornography is by getting the book, Good Pictures Bad Pictures: Porn-Proofing Today’s Young Kids.
3. PUT PROTECTIONS IN PLACE
You need to put all the proper protections in place. You need to use technology to your advantage to block access to pornographic images. There are places online children (or anyone for that matter) have no business going to, and there are technological ways to prevent children from accidentally or purposely finding these places.
When I meet parents and speak to them about the destructive nature of pornography, I never ask them if they have internet filtering and accountability software on their computers, phones, and tablets. I ask them what internet filtering and accountability software they use. In other words, it’s if you want to protect your kids from porn, filtering and accountability is not an option, it’s a necessity.
4. KNOW EXACTLY WHERE THEY GO ONLINE
Parents need to access accurate information about what your kids are already doing online. You need to be monitoring all the places your kids go online, all the choices they’re making. This is what distinguishes accountability software from filtering. Filtering blocks the bad stuff but it doesn’t tell you where your kids went online, or what they searched for. Accountability software does.
5. A REGULAR REMINDER TO TALK TO YOUR KIDS
It’s not enough to know that you should talk to your kids about pornography, or even how you should do it. You need a regular reminder to do so. A kid’s time on a computer tends to be out-of-sight-out-of-mind for most parents. It’s easy to let weeks or months go by without a single conversation about what kids are doing online. So we need to have a built-in reminder because it is so easy to forget.
Steps 2-5 can be accomplished by downloading Covenant Eyes. Covenant Eyes has a great filter but its claim to fame is that it invented accountability software.
What is accountability software? Here’s how it works: Once you sign up to Covenant Eyes, it asks you to enter the email(s) of an accountability partner. Since you’re installing this for your children, you would be the accountability partner. You may then choose to receive a complied report once a day, once a week, once a month; you decide. From that point on, if your children visit any websites they shouldn’t, you’ll know about it. Learn more by watching this short video:
6. SPEAK TO OTHER PARENTS
Finally, would you ever allow your kids to play at a friends house whose Dad kept piles of porn about the place? Of course not. And yet if the parents of your child’s friend do not have the proper protections in place on their own computer, game consoles, phones, etc. then there’s a strong chance your child will be exposed to pornography. I personally will not allow my child to play at friends house who does not have good filtering on all devices.
SHARED from http://mattfradd.com/
Latest #News from #Vatican and #PopeFrancis at #HolySee
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21-05-2015 - Year XXII - Num. 094
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Summary |
| - The Pope thanks the Italian police for their efforts in receiving immigrants and fighting human trafficking |
| - Presentation of the Second International Conference on Women |
| - Audiences |
| - Other Pontifical Acts |
| The Pope thanks the Italian police for their efforts in receiving immigrants and fighting human trafficking Vatican City, 21 May 2015 (VIS) – This morning in the Paul VI Hall the Holy Father received in audience six hundred relatives of members of the State Police gravely injured in killed in service, and thanked them for their witness of Christian hope and for their faithfulness to institutions and to a mission that “demands the courage of helping those in danger and stopping the aggressor”. Society as a whole, he added, “is indebted to you for the possibility of conducting an orderly life, free of the arrogance of the violent and the corrupt”. “Those who, day after day, take on the seriousness and commitment of their profession and place themselves at the disposal of the community, and especially those who are in danger or find themselves in situations of grave difficulty, 'go forth' to their neighbours and serve. Acting in this way, they live their life, even in the eventuality of losing it, as Jesus did, dying on the Cross. Only by contemplating Jesus on the Cross can we find the strength to forgive and the consolation that our crosses too will redeem His; therefore, every sacrifice and every tragedy will find redemption in Him”, affirmed the Holy Father. “The witness of Christian values is even more eloquent in our times, in which the generous zeal of so many is not often accompanied by the capacity to channel it in a coherent and constant way. In our times, evidently, it proves easier to commit oneself to something temporary or partial. On the contrary, the work of the Police force requires something solid in time and, although contingent situations change, there is a constant in all ages: that of guaranteeing legality and order for all citizens, allowing us to reap the benefits”. The Pope also remarked that during recent years the police have carried out decisive action in managing the impact of the flow of refugees arriving in Italy, seeking refuge from wars and persecution. “You are on the front line both in the initial reception of immigrants, and in counteracting unscrupulous traffickers. In this task … you are distinguished by your spirit of service and humanity, motivated not only by the law but first and foremost by the moral imperative to do good, to save as many people as possible and to spare no energy or time in this commitment”. “Be proud of your work and continue to serve the state, every citizen and every person in danger. In defending the weak and the law you will find the truest meaning of your service and will be an example to the country, which needs people who serve it with altruism, and generosity and constancy”. |
| Presentation of the Second International Conference on Women Vatican City, 21 May 2015 (VIS) – This morning a press conference was held in the Holy See Press Office to present the second International Conference on Women (22-24 May, ex Domus Pacis, Rome) organised – like the first Conference held in 2009 – by the Pontifical Council “Justice and Peace”, in collaboration with the World Union of Catholic Women's Organisations (WUCWO) and the World Women's Alliance for Life and Family (WWALF). The theme of the conference will be “Women and the post-2015 development agenda - the challenges of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”. The conference will be attended by over a hundred participants – mostly women, but to a lesser extent also men – from diverse cultural and social contexts and from all five continents, and will aim to offer the most complete overview possible of the main issues that affect women throughout the world in our times. The speakers at the conference were Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council “Justice and Peace”; Flaminia Giovanelli, under-secretary of the same dicastery; Olimpia Tarzia, president of the WWALF, and Maria Giovanni Ruggieri, president of the WUCWO. Cardinal Turkson explained that the first day, 22 May, will begin with an analysis of female anthropology in the context of modern culture, which will also seek to shed light on recent and increasingly incisive semantic changes in terms of reference. The second panel will focus on the theme of education and the role of women in this field, as well as “the alliance between men and women and their mutual respect … in order to combat violence and abuse of power”. The cardinal emphasised that “education is an essential resource for ensuring the right to life, which is still denied in some parts of the planet where the birth of a female child is seen as a misfortune, since the sole destiny of a woman is an arranged marriage for which the family is required to provide a dowry”. Another theme is interreligious dialogue as a path towards lasting peace, and the role of women in this context. “The many episodes in recent times in which women and girls have been victims of unspeakable atrocities involving sexual violence, also and above all due to their Christian faith, are an important challenge to us. Such episodes demand that we intensify interreligious dialogue and appeal to our shared human nature, that transcends all religions and cultures, to forcefully condemn such atrocities in order to protect those under threat”. The second International Conference on Women will also offer the opportunity to discuss the many old and new forms of slavery and violence that affect women in various ways in different parts of the world. While in the western world domestic violence prevails and there is an increasing incidence of episodes of so-called “femicide”, in other poorer areas of developing countries the infanticide of female children and selective abortion of female foetuses are widespread practices. Inspired by Pope Francis' Message for Peace, the theme of which this year is “Slaves no more, but brothers and sisters”, the Conference will denounce the phenomenon of human trafficking which the Pontiff has on numerous occasions described as a crime against humanity whose victims are, for the most part, girls and women. “While in many countries there has certainly been significant progress in favour of women, especially in the fields of education, political representation and economic participation, much still remains to be done”, observed the president of Justice and Peace, noting that it is true that poverty continues to affect women disproportionately, and many women “have no protection in many fields, including domestic, manufacturing and agricultural work”. However, the Conference does not intend merely to provide an overview of the most urgent matters linked to the conditions of women, or to be simply an opportunity to denounce the violations of the dignity of women and their rights. It will also endeavour to offer a contribution that may be useful within the framework of current negotiations for the new agenda for post-2015 developments. Therefore, on the second day of the meeting, onSaturday 23 May, working groups will focus on the main thematic areas of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). “The question of women is transversal and crucial in the majority of the current proposals of the SDGs: women play a key role in the reduction of poverty, hunger throughout the world, and education, and are also the guardians of life in all its phases”. |
| Audiences Vatican City, 21 May 2015 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father received in audience: - Mabel Chitiga, ambassador of Zimbabwe to the Holy See, presenting her credential letters; - Josel Musa Nhleko, ambassador of Swaziland to the Holy See, presenting his credential letters; - Cardinal Fernando Filone, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples; - Cardinal Carlo Caffara, archbishop of Bologna, Italy. |
| Other Pontifical Acts Vatican City, 21 May 2015 (VIS) – The Holy Father has: - accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Merida-Badajoz, Spain, presented by Bishop Santiago Garcia Aracil upon reaching the age limit. He is succeeded by Bishop Celso Moga Iruzubieta, coadjutor of the same archdiocese. - appointed Rev. Fr. Dominique Blanchet as bishop of Belfort-Montbeliard (area 1,472, population 327,800, Catholics 249,500, priests 73, permanent deacons 14, religious 36), France. The bishop-elect was born in Cholet, France in 1966 and was ordained a priest in 1999. He has served in a number of pastoral roles in the diocese of Angers, France, including episcopal delegate for youth pastoral ministry and parish priest. He is currently vicar general of the diocese of Angers, moderator of the Curia, administrator of the parish of Chalonnes-sur-Loire and parish priest of the parish of Sts. Lazarus and Nicholas in Angers. |
Help the Emergency Middle East Campaign - supported by the Church
(photo: John E. Kozar)
CNEWA Canada Launches Emergency Middle East Campaign
In the USA please see: http://www.cnewa.org/
22 Apr 2015 – Ottawa, Ontario — CNEWA appeals to Canadians to continue their support for families fleeing the barbaric violence perpetrated by ISIS and the unresolved Syrian civil war. Among the millions affected are the once vibrant Christian communities of Syria and Iraq, which may, for the first time in 2000 years, be forced from their homeland.
In 2014 alone, Canadians have donated more than $1 million to the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA) in order to support the peoples and churches of the Middle East. Along with this Canadian contribution, an additional $6 million in donations were made to CNEWA globally to aid struggling Christians to be used in 2015.
“We are grateful that the response is growing in Canada, but, tragically, the needs are also growing because of the realities of ongoing war,” says Carl Hétu, CNEWA’s national director in Canada. “In Syria, civil war has displaced more than 450,000 Christians. In Iraq, more than 100,000 Christians remain homeless after ISIS attacked the city of Mosul and nearby villages.”
In a statement released this week on the occasion of the papal agency’s 10thanniversary in Canada, Archbishop Terrence Prendergast of Ottawa, Chair of CNEWA Canada, said, “I know from firsthand experience that CNEWA and its supporters are making a real difference in the lives of our sisters and brothers in Christ and in the lives of people of many other religions. I am so proud of what we have accomplished together and am optimistic about our continuing ability to respond to growing needs.”
CNEWA’s Middle East program includes an array of aid including emergency relief for refugees and displaced Syrian and Iraqi Christian families; support of youth initiatives, schools, health clinics and hospitals; helping people with special needs, elderly and vulnerable children; and the support of pastoral work of the church, such as the formation of seminarians and lay leaders in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Israel, Palestine and Gaza.
“These ancient communities are concerned about more than just the preservation of their identity,” adds Hétu. “Christians contribute vital services to humanity, ranging from health care to education. They’re crucial to the region’s future, where they’ll foster reconciliation among peoples of every faith.”
Canadians interested in making donations to help CNEWA and its partners in the Middle East or other areas like Ukraine in which the organization operates are invited to do so by visiting www.cnewa.ca or to write a cheque to CNEWA Canada at 1247 Kilborn Place, Ottawa, Ontario, K1H 6K9 or by phone at 1-866-322-4441. As a registered charity, CNEWA will issue a tax receipt.
About CNEWA
CNEWA, founded by Pope Pius XI in 1926 to work on behalf of the Eastern churches, is well established in the Middle East with offices in Amman, Beirut and Jerusalem. In 2015, this agency of the Holy See marks its 10th year in Canada, running emergency programs in Gaza, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Egypt and Ukraine as well as implementing long-term programs for the formation of the church in the region. Elsewhere, CNEWA works in the northeast of Africa, India and Eastern Europe.
CNEWA, founded by Pope Pius XI in 1926 to work on behalf of the Eastern churches, is well established in the Middle East with offices in Amman, Beirut and Jerusalem. In 2015, this agency of the Holy See marks its 10th year in Canada, running emergency programs in Gaza, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Egypt and Ukraine as well as implementing long-term programs for the formation of the church in the region. Elsewhere, CNEWA works in the northeast of Africa, India and Eastern Europe.
Source : Carl Hétu, National Director, Canada
Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA)
Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA)
For more information : Toronto office: Vanessa Santilli
Tel : 647-244-7059
vanessa@torchiacom.com
Tel : 647-244-7059
vanessa@torchiacom.com
Montreal office: Lauriane Ayivi
Tel : 514-288-8290 ext. 233
lauriane@torchiacom.com
Tel : 514-288-8290 ext. 233
lauriane@torchiacom.com
#BreakingNews Hundreds supports Archbishop Cordileone - SHARE
SF Catholics Release: Hundreds Stand with Cordileone at Archbishop Family Support Day
On Saturday May 16 approximately 500 joyful Catholics of every age and ethnic group came together in San Francisco’s Sue Bierman Park to show support for the City’s fighting Archbishop, Salvatore Cordileone. The faithful were there to back the Archbishop’s ongoing efforts to ensure that the High Schools under his jurisdiction affirm and proclaim the truth of the Catholic Church.
On Saturday May 16 approximately 500 joyful Catholics of every age and ethnic group came together in San Francisco’s Sue Bierman Park to show support for the City’s fighting Archbishop, Salvatore Cordileone. The faithful were there to back the Archbishop’s ongoing efforts to ensure that the High Schools under his jurisdiction affirm and proclaim the truth of the Catholic Church.
The day began at 9:30AM with High Mass in the Extraordinary Form celebrated by Canon Olivier Menes of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest at the Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi. At least 100 of the faithful were in the Church as Mass began, and one attendee later told us that by the time Mass ended practically every seat in the church was filled.
At Sue Bierman Park, the faithful began to arrive even before the 11:30AM scheduled start time. The event was called the “Archbishop Family Support Picnic” and that is exactly what it turned out to be: a big joyful family picnic. The grass of Sue Bierman Park was a checkerboard of blankets and picnic hampers, through which scores of children happily chased one another, holding helium filled blue balloons emblazoned with the motto “Thank You ABC!” Blue was the color of the day. Organizers had encouraged those attending to wear blue as a sign of solidarity, and even got special blue M & M’s printed with the Archbishop’s motto “In Verbo Tuo” (“At Your Word”). The faithful were of all ages: from infants in arms to grandmas & grandpas. The picnic was unusual for San Francisco: normal, multi-generational families, gathered together to honor God, the Church, and the leader who is promoting those truths in the face of virulent opposition. A number of the children were even seen running up to and hugging some of the police officers on duty. In a telling juxtaposition, the Archbishop Family Support Picnic was followed the next day by the City’s annual “Bay to Breakers”–ostensibly a race, but in reality an opportunity for hundreds of thousands of people to engage in drunkenness, drug use, and debauchery.
Although the event had the intimacy of a parish picnic–at one point a small group started singing Happy Birthday to one of their fellow-parishioners and all the surrounding Catholics joined in–it was a parish picnic with many parishes. Religious and lay Catholics were from churches all over the Bay Area and beyond: Old St. Mary’s, St. Francis, Star of the Sea, Saints Peter and Paul and Epiphany in San Francisco; Good Shepherd and St. Peter’s in Pacifica; San Francisco de Asis in East Palo Alto; Our Lady of Mercy in Daly City; St. Edwards in Newark; Nativity in Menlo Park; Corpus Christi in Piedmont; St. Isidore in Danville, St. Mark’s in Belmont and many others. Male Religious in attendance included San Francisco’s beloved Bishop Emeritus Ignatius Wang; a number of Franciscans, including Fr. John De La Riva, Rector of the Shrine of St. Francis; Benedictine Chant Master Fr. Richard Weber from St. Patrick’s Seminary; Fr. Patrick Lee of Presentation Parish and retired Fr. Patrick O’Rafferty, both from Sacramento; Jesuits Fr. Joseph Fessio, editor of Ignatius Press and Fr. John Piderit of the Archdiocese of San Francisco; Fr. Patrick Driscoll of Star of the Sea; a number of priests from the Institute of Christ the King, and a number of seminarians. Female religious included members of the Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist, who recently made news for walking out of Marin Catholic High School when students distributed pro-sodomy propaganda; the Missionaries of the Mother of God the Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa; and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians.
Although the dominant ambiance of the day was joy, Catholics were there for a reason, and pulled no punches. Attendee Joni Durling explained to KGO News that those who claim to have a problem with Cordileone over his new high school initiative really have a problem with the Catholic Church: “The term ‘gravely evil’ is found in our Catechism, so really if the people are going to the school and they have a problem with it, the archbishop using gravely evil, then they really have a problem with the Catholic Church.” KGO also interviewed a man named Alfredo Martinez, who, with a group of friends, got up at 2AM Saturday morning to make the drive from Southern California. Martinez, echoing the words of Pope Francis’s January speech in Manila, said “The family is under attack. Children in the womb are under attack and so we have to show our support in whatever way we can.”
At about 1:00 the chant of “ABC! ABC! ABC!” was suddenly heard. Archbishop Cordileone had arrived. He was quickly surrounded by a mass of Catholics, eager to show their support. The San Francisco Chronicle described the scene: “’He’s like a rock star,’ said Eva Muntean of San Francisco as she watched Cordileone try to inch his way through the throng of well-wishers… Muntean, who started the website sfcatholics.org, said she organized the event because she believes many Bay Area Catholics feel their support of the archbishop isn’t being heard. The archbishop appeared to have felt that support Saturday.”
He certainly did. The Archbishop was beaming as he spent an hour speaking with well-wishers (he did not speak with the press) including old friends and allies such pro-life hero the Rev. Walter Hoye. Many of the faithful asked for and received his blessing and many, especially children, posed for pictures. Even after the Archbishop left, the faithful remained in the park for some time, enjoying the day and the company of their fellow Catholics.
Fewer than a dozen protestors sat on benches on the fringes of the park, clutching rainbow flags. They included Billy Bradford, an LGBT activist from the East Bay who works with “Get Equal” and “Marriage Equality USA” in the East Bay. Although neither a Catholic school student or a parent of a Catholic School student, Bradford has been prominent in the movement opposing the teaching of Catholicism in Catholic Schools.
Shared from San Francisco Catholics/Image share Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle
#PopeFrancis "We have to make room for the Spirit, so that we are transformed as the Father is in the Son: one being":
(Vatican Radio) His wounds are the "price" that Jesus paid for the Church to be united forever to Him and to God. Christians today are called to ask for the grace of unity and to fight against all "spirit of division, of war, of jealousy." That was Pope Francis’s reflection during his Homily at Mass Thursday morning in the chapel of the Santa Marta guesthouse.
For Pope Francis, "the great prayer of Jesus" is that the Church is united - that Christians "be one" as Jesus is with his Father. Drawing his reflections from the day’s readings, Pope Francis immerses us in the atmosphere of the Last Supper - not long before Christ gives Himself over to the Passion. Recalling Christ’s weighty words entrusted to the Apostles, the Pope warns us against "the great temptation" and entreats us not to yield to the other "father:" the one of "lies" and "division."
The price of unity
It is comforting, observes Francis, to hear Jesus say to the Father that He did not want to pray simply for his disciples but also for those who will believe in Him "through their word." That’s a familiar phrase, but one the Pope thinks is worth drawing special attention to:
"Maybe, we do not pay enough attention to these words: Jesus prayed for me! This is really a source of confidence: He prays for me; He prayed for me ... I imagine …a figure …as Jesus is before the Father in Heaven. It is so: He prays for us; He prays for me. And what does the Father see? The wounds, the cost. The price He paid for us. Jesus prays for me with His wounds, with His wounded heart and He will continue to do so.”
The faces of the division
Jesus prays "for the unity of His people, for the Church." But Jesus knows, Pope Francis says, that “the spirit of the world" is "a spirit of division, of war, of envy, jealousy, even in families, even in religious families, even in dioceses, even in the Church as a whole: it is the great temptation." One that leads, the Pope says, to gossiping, to labelling, to pigeonholing people. All attitudes and behavior, the Pope stresses, that we are called to refrain from:
"We must be one, just one being, as Jesus and the Father are one. This is precisely the challenge for all of us Christians: to not give way to division among us; to not let the spirit of division, the father of lies, come between us. Continuously seek unity. Everyone is different in his own way, but [we must] try to live in unity. Has Jesus forgiven you? He forgives everyone. Jesus prays that we are one, one being. And the Church has great need of this prayer of unity. "
Unity is grace, not "glue"
A Church held together by "glue," jokes the Pope, doesn’t exist - because the unity Jesus calls us to "is a grace of God" and "a struggle" to be won on this earth. "We have to make room for the Spirit, Pope Francis concludes, so that we are transformed as the Father is in the Son: one being":
"Another bit of advice that Jesus gave in these days before He takes His leave is to remain in Him: 'Abide in me.' And He asks for this grace, that we all remain in Him. And here He shows us why; He clearly says: 'Father, I want those whom you have given me, that they too may be with me where I am.' That is, that they remain there, with me. Remaining in Jesus, in this world, in the end [means] remaining with Him 'so that they may see my glory.' "
Today's Mass Readings and Video : Thursday May 21, 2015
Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Lectionary: 300
Reading 1ACTS 22:30; 23:6-11
Wishing to determine the truth
about why Paul was being accused by the Jews,
the commander freed him
and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to convene.
Then he brought Paul down and made him stand before them.
Paul was aware that some were Sadducees and some Pharisees,
so he called out before the Sanhedrin,
“My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees;
I am on trial for hope in the resurrection of the dead.”
When he said this,
a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees,
and the group became divided.
For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection
or angels or spirits,
while the Pharisees acknowledge all three.
A great uproar occurred,
and some scribes belonging to the Pharisee party
stood up and sharply argued,
“We find nothing wrong with this man.
Suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”
The dispute was so serious that the commander,
afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them,
ordered his troops to go down and rescue Paul from their midst
and take him into the compound.
The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage.
For just as you have borne witness to my cause in Jerusalem,
so you must also bear witness in Rome.”
about why Paul was being accused by the Jews,
the commander freed him
and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to convene.
Then he brought Paul down and made him stand before them.
Paul was aware that some were Sadducees and some Pharisees,
so he called out before the Sanhedrin,
“My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees;
I am on trial for hope in the resurrection of the dead.”
When he said this,
a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees,
and the group became divided.
For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection
or angels or spirits,
while the Pharisees acknowledge all three.
A great uproar occurred,
and some scribes belonging to the Pharisee party
stood up and sharply argued,
“We find nothing wrong with this man.
Suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”
The dispute was so serious that the commander,
afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them,
ordered his troops to go down and rescue Paul from their midst
and take him into the compound.
The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage.
For just as you have borne witness to my cause in Jerusalem,
so you must also bear witness in Rome.”
Responsorial PsalmPS 16:1-2A AND 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11
R. (1) Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.”
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I bless the LORD who counsels me;
even in the night my heart exhorts me.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence;
Because you will not abandon my soul to the nether world,
nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
May they all be one as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that the world may believe that you sent me, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.”
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I bless the LORD who counsels me;
even in the night my heart exhorts me.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence;
Because you will not abandon my soul to the nether world,
nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
or:
R. Alleluia.
AlleluiaJN 17:21
R. Alleluia, alleluia.May they all be one as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that the world may believe that you sent me, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelJN 17:20-26
Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying:
“I pray not only for these,
but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
so that they may all be one,
as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that they also may be in us,
that the world may believe that you sent me.
And I have given them the glory you gave me,
so that they may be one, as we are one,
I in them and you in me,
that they may be brought to perfection as one,
that the world may know that you sent me,
and that you loved them even as you loved me.
Father, they are your gift to me.
I wish that where I am they also may be with me,
that they may see my glory that you gave me,
because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Righteous Father, the world also does not know you,
but I know you, and they know that you sent me.
I made known to them your name and I will make it known,
that the love with which you loved me
may be in them and I in them.”
“I pray not only for these,
but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
so that they may all be one,
as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that they also may be in us,
that the world may believe that you sent me.
And I have given them the glory you gave me,
so that they may be one, as we are one,
I in them and you in me,
that they may be brought to perfection as one,
that the world may know that you sent me,
and that you loved them even as you loved me.
Father, they are your gift to me.
I wish that where I am they also may be with me,
that they may see my glory that you gave me,
because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Righteous Father, the world also does not know you,
but I know you, and they know that you sent me.
I made known to them your name and I will make it known,
that the love with which you loved me
may be in them and I in them.”
Saint May 21 St. Godric of Finchale : Hermit
HERMIT
Feast: May 21
Information:
| He was born of very mean parents at Walpole, in Norfolk, and in his youth carried about little peddling wares which he sold in villages. Having by degrees improved his stock, he frequented cities and fairs, and made several voyages by sea to traffic in Scotland. In one of these he called at Holy Island, or Lindisfarne, where he was charmed and exceedingly edified with the retirement and religious deportment of the monks, and especially with the account which they gave him of the wonderful life of St. Cuthbert. He inquired of them every particular relating to him, visited every corner of that holy solitude and of the neighboring isle of Fame, and falling on his knees, prayed with many tears for grace to imitate the fervor of that saint in serving God, resolving for that purpose to give up all earthly pretensions. He entered upon a new course of life by a penitential devout pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and visited Compostella in his way home. After his return into Norfolk, he accepted the charge of house-steward in the family of a very rich man. The servants were not very regular, and for their private junketings often trespassed upon their neighbors. Godrick finding he was not able to prevent these injustices, and that the nobleman took no notice of his complaints about them, being easy so long as he was no sufferer himself, left his place for fear of being involved in the guilt of such an injustice. After making a pilgrimage to St. Giles in France, and to Rome, he went to the north of England in order the better to carry into execution his design of devoting himself wholly to a retired life. A fervent servant of God, named Godwin, who had passed a considerable time in the monastery of Durham, and by conversing with the most holy monks and exercising himself in the interior and exterior practices of all virtues, was well qualified to be a director to an inexperienced novice, joined our saint, and they led together an austere anchoretical life in a wilderness situated on the north to Carlisle, serving one another, and spending both the days and nights in the praises of God. After two years God called Godwin to himself by a happy death after a short sickness. St. Godrick having lost his companion, made a second painful pilgrimage to Jerusalem. After his return he passed some time in the solitude of Streneshalch, now Whitby; but after a year and some months went to Durham to offer up his prayers before the shrine of St. Cuthbert, and from thence retired into the desert of Finchal, or Finkley, three miles from Durham, near the river Wear. St. John Baptist and St. Cuthbert he chose for his principal patrons and models. The austerities which he practiced are rather to be admired than imitated. He had his regular tasks of devotion, consisting of psalms and other prayers which he had learned by heart, and which he constantly recited at midnight, break of day, and the other canonical hours, besides a great number of other devotions. Though he was ignorant of the very elements of learning, he was too well experienced in the happy art of conversing with God and his own soul ever to be at a loss how to employ his time in solitude. Whole days and nights seemed too short for his rapturous contemplations, one of which he often wished with St. Bruno he could have continued without interruption for eternity, in inflamed acts of adoration, compunction, love, or praise. His patience under the sharpest pains of sicknesses or ulcers, and all manner of trials, was admirable; but his humility was vet more astonishing. His conversation was meek, humble, and simple. He concealed as much as possible from the sight and knowledge of all men whatever might procure their esteem, and he was even unwilling any one should see or speak with him. Yet this he saw himself obliged to allow on certain days every week to such as came with the leave of the prior of Durham, under whose care and obedience he died. A monk of that house was his confessor, said mass for him, and administered him the sacraments in a chapel adjoining to his cell, which the holy man had built in honor of St. John Baptist. He was most averse from all pride and vanity, and never spoke of himself but as of the most sinful of creatures, a counterfeit hermit, an empty phantom of a religious man: lazy, slothful, proud, and imperious, abusing the charity of good people who assisted him with their alms. But the more the saint humbled himself, the more did God exalt him by his grace, and by wonderful miraculous gifts. For several years before his death he was confined to his bed by sickness and old age. William of Newbridge, who visited him during that time, tells us that though his body appeared in a manner dead, his tongue was ever repeating the sacred names of the three divine Persons, and in his countenance there appeared a wonderful dignity, accompanied with an unusual grace and sweetness. Having remained in the desert sixty-three years, he was seized with his last illness, and happily departed to his Lord on the 21st of May, 1170, in the reign of Henry II. His body was buried in the chapel of St. John Baptist. Many miracles confirmed the opinion of his sanctity, and a little chapel was built in his memory by Richard, brother to Hugh Pidsey, bishop of Durham. See William of Newbridge, 1. 2, c. 20; Matthew Paris, Matthew of Westminster, his life written by Nicholas of Durham his confessarius, and abridged by Harpsfield, Saec. 12, c. 45. |
source: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/G/stgodricoffinchale.asp#ixzz1vXZDqSVu
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
#CatholicQuote to SHARE by Mother Teresa "At the hour of death when we come face-to-face..."
“At the hour of death when we come face-to-face with God, we are going to be judged on love; not how much we have done, but how much love we put into the doing.” ― Mother Teresa
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