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Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 05-08-13
USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 05-08-13 | Revised New American Bible

Posted on 05/07/2013 9:06:35 PM PDT by Salvation

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Information:
St. Peter of Tarantaise
Feast Day: May 8
Born: 1102, Saint-Maurice-l'Exil near Vienne, a town ot the Rhône-Alpes
Died: 1174, Bellevaux Abbey
Major Shrine: 1191 by Pope Celestine III



21 posted on 05/08/2013 8:01:11 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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Interactive Saints for Kids

Blessed Catherine of St. Augustine

Feast Day: May 08
Born: 1632 :: Died: 1668

Catherine de Longpre was born at Saint Saveur near Cherbourg in France. Catherin family was devout Catholics and she was baptized the very day she was born. Her grandparents were very good examples because of their true love and care of the poor.

Catherine watched wide-eyed as her grandmother invited a handicapped beggar into her home. She offered him a bath, clean clothes and a delicious meal. As Catherine and her grandparents sat around the fire that night, they prayed the Our Father out loud. They thanked God for his blessings.

Because there was no hospital in their small French town, the sick were nursed back to health in the home of Catherine's grandparents. Catherine began to realize that sickness and suffering take patience. She was just a little girl but she prayed to ask Jesus to make people suffer less.

When she was still quite young, she joined the convent of Sisters of St. Augustine. The sisters who took care of the sick in hospitals were called Hospitaller Sisters of the Mercy of Jesus. Her older sister took her vows and became a nun the day Catherine entered the convent.

In 1648, Cathereine listened to the missionary priests begging sisters to come to New France or Canada. Catherine's sister was chosen to be one of the first of their order to go as a missionary to Canada. Sister Catherine was just sixteen, but she begged to be chosen too. She pronounced her vows on May 4, 1648. Then she sailed for Canada the next day. It was the day before her sixteenth birthday.

Her parents were very distressed. Her father even presented a petition in the courts to stop her. Because Catherine was very affectionate by nature, she felt an extreme gratitude and tenderness for their concern. But she had made up her mind to live and die in Canada in service to the poor and sick. Years later, her farther had a change of heart and supported her.

Life was hard in Quebec, Canada but Sister Catherine loved the people. The Indians were very grateful for her cheerful ways. She cooked and cared for the sick in the order's poor hospital building. But Sister Catherine learned about fear, too.

The Iroquois Indians were killing people and burning villages. She prayed to St. John Brebeuf, one of the Jesuit priests who had just been killed by the Iroquois in 1649. She asked him to help her be true to her calling. She heard him speaking in her heart, telling her to remain.

Food was not enough and the winters were terribly cold. Some of the sisters could not take the hard life and constant fear of death and they returned to France. Sister Catherine was afraid, too. Sometimes she could hardly pray. And while she smiled at all the dear people she cared for in the sick wards, she grew sad.

But she made a promise never to leave Canada and to remain, performing her works of charity until death. She was just twenty-two years old when she made that vow. Despite the hard pioneer life of the French colony, more people came. The Church grew. God blessed the new land with more missionaries.

In 1665, Sister Catherine became the novice mistress of her community. She kept up her life of prayer and hospital ministry until her death. Sister Marie Catherine of St. Augustine died on May 8, 1668. She was thirty-six years old. She was declared "blessed" by Pope John Paul II in 1989.

Reflection: Jesus never promised us that our lives would be easy and without pain. But he did promise to be with us always. We pray that we may learn to trust him completely.


22 posted on 05/08/2013 8:26:56 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
 
Catholic
Almanac:
Wednesday, May 8
Liturgical Color: White

Pope St. Benedict II died on this day in 685 A.D., after serving as pope for less than a year. Although his reign was short, he was able to direct the restoration of many churches in Rome and set up endowments to help the poor.

23 posted on 05/08/2013 1:44:53 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for: May 08, 2013
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Grant, we pray, O Lord, that, as we celebrate in mystery the solemnities of your Son's Resurrection, so, too, we may be worthy to rejoice at his coming with all the Saints. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Easter: May 8th

Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

Old Calendar: Vigil of the Ascension (Trad); Apparition of St. Michael the Archangel (Hist); St. Acathius, martyr (Hist)

According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of the apparition of St. Michael. The feast commemorates an apparition of St. Michael on the summit of Monte Gargano, in Italy on the Adriatic coast, and the dedication of the sanctuary built on the site of the apparition. It is also the feast of St. Acathius, a priest at Sebaste, Armenia, during Diocletian's persecution.


Apparition of St. Michael
It is evident from Holy Scripture that God is pleased to make frequent use of the ministry of the heavenly spirits in the dispensations of His providence in this world. The Angels are all pure spirits; by a property of their nature they are immortal, as is every spirit. They have the power of moving or conveying themselves at will from place to place, and such is their activity that it is not easy for us to conceive of it. Among the holy Archangels, Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are particularly distinguished in the Scriptures. Saint Michael, whose name means Who is like unto God?, is the prince of the faithful Angels who opposed Lucifer and his followers in their revolt against God. Since the devil is the sworn enemy of God’s holy Church, Saint Michael is given to it by God as its special protector against the demon’s assaults and stratagems.

Various apparitions of this powerful Angel have proved the protection of Saint Michael over the Church. We may mention his apparition in Rome, where Saint Gregory the Great saw him in the air sheathing his sword, to signal the cessation of a pestilence and the appeasement of God’s wrath. Another apparition to Saint Ausbert, bishop of Avranches in France, led to the construction of Mont-Saint-Michel in the sea, a famous pilgrimage site. May 8th, however, is destined to recall another no less marvelous apparition, occurring near Monte Gargano in the Kingdom of Naples.

In the year 492 a man named Gargan was pasturing his large herds in the countryside. One day a bull fled to the mountain, where it could not be found. When its refuge in a cave was discovered, an arrow was shot into the cave, but the arrow returned to wound the one who had sent it. Faced with this mysterious occurrence, the persons concerned decided to consult the bishop of the region. He ordered three days of fasting and prayers. After three days, the Archangel Michael appeared to the bishop and declared that the cavern where the bull had taken refuge was under his protection, and that God wanted it to be consecrated under his name and in honor of all the Holy Angels.

Accompanied by his clergy and people, the pontiff went to that cavern, which he found already disposed in the form of a church. The divine mysteries were celebrated there, and there arose in this same place a magnificent temple where the divine Power has wrought great miracles. To thank God’s adorable goodness for the protection of the holy Archangel, the effect of His merciful Providence, this feast day was instituted by the Church in his honor.

It is said of this special guardian and protector of the Church that, during the final persecution of Antichrist, he will powerfully defend it: “At that time shall Michael rise up, the great prince who protects the children of thy people.”

— Excerpted from Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on Butler’s Lives of the Saints and other sources by John Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894); Vie des Saints pour tous les jours de l’année, by Abbé L. Jaud (Mame: Tours, 1950).


St. Acathius
At Constantinople, St. Acathius, who, being denounced as a Christian by the tribune Firmus, and cruelly tortured at Perinthus by the judge Bibian, was finally condemned to death at Byzantium by the procunsul Flaccinus. His body was afterwards miraculously brought to the shore of Squillace in Calabria, where it is preserved with honor. — Excerpted from the Martyrology.

Saint Acacius was a priest at Sebaste, Armenia, during Diocletian's persecution. He was arrested and executed under the governor Maximus with seven women and Hirenarchus, who was so impressed with the devotion to their faith he became a Christian and suffered the same fate. — Excerpted from the Catholic Encyclopedia.

Patron: Against headaches and at the time of death's agony.

Symbols: Pictured with a crown of thorns.


24 posted on 05/08/2013 1:51:54 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation
John
  English: Douay-Rheims Latin: Vulgata Clementina Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
  John 16
12 I have yet many things to say to you: but you cannot bear them now. Adhuc multa habeo vobis dicere, sed non potestis portare modo. ετι πολλα εχω λεγειν υμιν αλλ ου δυνασθε βασταζειν αρτι
13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will teach you all truth. For he shall not speak of himself; but what things soever he shall hear, he shall speak; and the things that are to come, he shall shew you. Cum autem venerit ille Spiritus veritatis, docebit vos omnem veritatem : non enim loquetur a semetipso, sed quæcumque audiet loquetur, et quæ ventura sunt annuntiabit vobis. οταν δε ελθη εκεινος το πνευμα της αληθειας οδηγησει υμας εις πασαν την αληθειαν ου γαρ λαλησει αφ εαυτου αλλ οσα αν ακουση λαλησει και τα ερχομενα αναγγελει υμιν
14 He shall glorify me; because he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it to you. Ille me clarificabit, quia de meo accipiet, et annuntiabit vobis. εκεινος εμε δοξασει οτι εκ του εμου ληψεται και αναγγελει υμιν
15 All things whatsoever the Father hath, are mine. Therefore I said, that he shall receive of mine, and shew it to you. Omnia quæcumque habet Pater, mea sunt. Propterea dixi : quia de meo accipiet, et annuntiabit vobis. παντα οσα εχει ο πατηρ εμα εστιν δια τουτο ειπον οτι εκ του εμου λαμβανει και αναγγελει υμιν

25 posted on 05/08/2013 6:32:51 PM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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To: annalex
12. I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
13. However when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he will show you things to come.
14. He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine and shall show it to you.
15. All things that the Father has are mine; therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it to you.

THEOPHYL. Our Lord having said above, It is expedient for you that I go away, He enlarges now upon it: I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

AUG. All heretics, when their fables are rejected for their extravagance by the common sense of mankind, try to defend themselves by this text; as if these were the things which the disciples could not at this time bear, or as if the Holy Spirit could teach things, which even the unclean spirit is ashamed openly to teach and preach.

But bad doctrines such as even natural shame cannot bear are one thing, good doctrines such as our poor natural understanding cannot bear are another. The one are allied to the shameless body, the other lie far beyond the body. But what are these things which they could not bear; I cannot mention them for this very reason; for who of us dare call himself able to receive what they could not? Some one will say indeed that many, now that the Holy Ghost has been sent, can do what Peter could not then, as earn the crown of martyrdom.

But do we therefore know what those things were, which He was unwilling to communicate; for it seems most absurd to suppose that the disciples were not able to bear then the great doctrines, that we find in the Apostolic Epistles, which were written afterwards, which our Lord is not said to have spoken to them. For why could they not bear then what every one now reads and bears in their writings, even though he may not understand? Men of perverse sects indeed cannot bear what is found in Holy Scripture concerning the Catholic faith, as we cannot bear their sacrilegious vanities; for not to bear means not to acquiesce in.

But what believer or even catechumen before he has been baptized and received the Holy Ghost, does not acquiesce in and listen to, even if he does not understand, all that was written after our Lord's ascension; But some one will say, Do spiritual men never hold doctrines which they do not communicate to carnal men, but do to spiritual?

There is no necessity why any doctrines should be kept secret from the babes and revealed to the grown up believers. Spiritual men ought not altogether to withhold spiritual doctrines from the carnal, seeing the Catholic faith ought to be preached to all; nor at the same time should they lower them in order to accommodate them to the understanding of persons who cannot receive them, and so make their own preaching contemptible, rather than the truth intelligible.

So then we are not to understand these words of our Lord to refer to certain secret doctrines which if the teacher revealed, the disciple would not be able to bear, but to those very things in religious doctrine which are within the apprehension of all of us. If Christ chose to communicate these to us, in the same way in which He does to the Angels, what men, yea what spiritual men, which the Apostles were not now, could bear them? For indeed every thing which can be known of the creature is inferior to the Creator; and yet who is silent about Him?

While in the body we cannot know all the truth, as the Apostle says, We know in part (1 Cor 13); but the Holy Spirit sanctifying us fits us for enjoying that fullness of which the same Apostle says, Then face to face. Our Lord's promise, But when He the Spirit of truth shall come, He shall teach you all truth, or shall lead you into all truth, does not refer to this life only, but to the life to come, for which this complete fullness is reserved. The Holy Spirit both teaches believers now all the spiritual things which they are capable of receiving, and also kindles in their hearts a desire to know more.

DIDYMUS. Or He means that His hearers had not yet attained to all those things which for His name's sake they were able to bear; so, revealing lesser things, He puts off the greater for a future time, such things as they could not understand till the Cross itself of their crucified Head had been their instruction. As yet they were slaves to the types, and shadows, and images of the Law, and could not bear the truth of which the Law was the shadow. But when the Holy Ghost came, He would lead them by His teaching and discipline into all truth, transferring them from the dead letter to the quickening Spirit, in Whom alone all Scripture truth resides.

CHRYS. Having said then, you cannot bear them now, but then you shall be able, and, The Holy Spirit shall lead you into all truth; lest this should make them suppose that the Holy Spirit was the superior, He adds, For He shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak.

AUG. This is like what He said of Himself above, i.e., I can of My own Self do nothing; as I hear I judge. But that may be understood of Hi m as man; how must we understand this of the Holy Ghost, Who never became a creature by assuming a creature? As meaning that He is not from Himself: The Son is born of the Father, and the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father. In what the difference consists between proceeding and being born, it would require a long time to discuss, and would be rash to define.

But to hear is with Him to know, to know to be. As then He is not from Himself, but from Him from Whom He proceeds, from Whom His being is, from the same is His knowledge. From the same therefore His hearing. The Holy Ghost then always hears, because He always knows; and He has heard, hears, and will hear from Him from Whom He is.

DIDYMUS. He shall not speak of Himself, i.e., not without Me, and Mine and the Father's will: because He is not of Himself, but from the Father and Me. That He exists, and that He speaks, He has from the Father and Me. I speak the truth; i.e., I inspire as well as speak by Him, since He is the Spirit of Truth. To say and to speak in the Trinity must not be understood according to our usage, but according to the usage of incorporeal natures, and especially the Trinity, which implants Its will in the hearts of believers, all of those who are worthy to hear It.

For the Father then to speak, and the Son to hear, is a mode of expressing the identity of their nature, and their agreement. Again, the Holy Spirit, Who is the Spirit of truth, and the Spirit of wisdom, cannot hear from the Son what He does not know, seeing He is the very thing which is produced from the Son, i.e. truth proceeding from truth, Comforter from Comforter, God from God. Lastly, lest any one should separate Him from the will and society of the Father and the Son, it is written, Whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak.

AUG. But it does not follow from hence that the Holy Spirit is inferior; for it is only signified that He proceeds from the Father.

AUG. Nor let the use of the future tense perplex you; that hearing is eternal, because the knowledge is eternal. To that which is eternal, without beginning, and without end, a verb of any tense may be applied. For though an unchangeable nature does not admit of was and shall be, but only is, yet it is allowable to say of It, was and is and shall be: was, because It never began; shall be, because It never shall end; is, because It always is.

DIDYMUS. By the Spirit of truth too the knowledge of future events has been granted to holy men. Prophets filled with this Spirit foretold and saw things to come, as if they were present: And He will show you things to come.

BEDE. It is certain that many filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit have foreknown future events. But as many gifted saints have never had this power, the words, He will show you things to come, may be taken to mean, bring back to your minds the Joys of your heavenly country. He did however inform the Apostles of what was to come, viz. of the evils that they would have to suffer for Christ's sake, and the good things they would receive in recompense.

CHRYS. In this way then He raised their spirits; for there is nothing for which mankind so long, as the knowledge of the future. He relieves them from all anxiety on this account, by showing that dangers would not fall upon them unawares. Then to show that He could have told them all the truth into which the Holy Spirit would lead them, He adds, He shall glorify Me.

AUG. By pouring love into the hearts of believers, and making them spiritual, and so able to see that the Son Whom they had known before only according to the flesh, and thought a man like themselves, was equal to the Father. Or certainly because that love filling them with boldness, and casting out fear, they proclaimed Christ to men, and so spread His fame throughout the whole world. For what they were going to do in the power of the Holy Ghost, this the Holy Ghost says He does Himself.

CHRYS. And because He had said, You have one Master, even Christ (Matt 23:8), that they might not be prevented by this from admitting the Holy Ghost as well, He adds, For He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it to you.

DIDYMUS. To receive must be taken here in a sense agreeable to the Divine Nature. As the Son in giving is not deprived of what He gives, nor imparts to others with any loss of His own, so too the Holy Ghost does not receive what before He had not; for if He received what before He had not, the gift being transferred to another, the giver would be thereby a loser.

We must understand then that the Holy Ghost receives from the Son that which belonged to His nature, and that there are not two substances implied, one giving and the other receiving, but one substance only. In like manner the Son too is said to receive from the Father that wherein He Himself subsists. For neither is the Son any thing but what is given Him by the Father, nor the Holy Ghost any substance but that which is given Him by the Son.

AUG. But it is not true, as some heretics have thought, that because the Son receives from the Father, the Holy Ghost from the Son, as if by gradation, that therefore the Holy Ghost is inferior to the Son. He Himself solves this difficulty, and explains His own words: All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall show it to you.

DIDYMUS. As if He said, Although the Spirit of truth proceeds from the Father, yet all things that the Father has are Mine, and even the Spirit of the Father is Mine, and receives of Mine. But beware, when you hear this, that you think not it is a thing or possession which the Father and the Son have. That which the Father has according to His substance, i.e. His eternity, immutability, goodness, it is this which the Son has also.

Away with the evils of logicians who say, therefore the Father is the Son. Had He said indeed, All that God has are Mine, impiety might have taken occasion to raise its head; but when He said, All things that the Father has are Mine, by using the name of the Father, He declares Himself the Son, and being the Son, He usurps not the Paternity, though by the grace of adoption He is the Father of many saints.

HILARY. Our Lord therefore has not left it uncertain whether the Paraclete be from the Father, or from the Son; for He is sent by the Son, and proceeds from the Father; both these He receives from the Son. You ask whether to receive from the Son and to proceed from the Father be the same thing.

Certainly, to receive from the Son must be thought one and the same thing with receiving from the Father; for when He says, All things that the Father has are Mine, therefore said I, that He shall receive of Mine, He shows herein that the things are received from Him, because all things which the Father has are His, but that they are received from the Father also. This unity has no diversity; nor does it matter from whom the thing is received; since that which is given by the Father is counted also as given by the Son.

Catena Aurea John 16
26 posted on 05/08/2013 6:33:24 PM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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To: annalex


The Sermon of St Stephen

Vittore Carpaccio

1514
Tempera on canvas, 152 x 195 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris

27 posted on 05/08/2013 6:33:52 PM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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To: annalex
The Word Among Us

Meditation: Acts 17:15, 22–18:1

6th Week of Easter

What therefore you unknowingly worship, I proclaim to you. (Acts 17:23)

As a young Helen Keller was learning about the world, she met a famous preacher who introduced her to Christianity. Helen exclaimed, “I always knew he was there, but I didn’t know his name!”

The Athenians who received Paul’s message must have felt as Helen Keller did. Amongst their many shrines was an altar inscribed “To an Unknown God” (Acts 17:23), ensuring that no deity was excluded from worship. The people in Athens were intrigued by Paul’s preaching, but his novel message seemed odd to them. Some thought Paul was preaching two different gods: “Jesus” and a goddess, “Anastasis” (“Resurrection”).

Whereas once Paul would have regarded these gentile idolaters as impure and under God’s unwavering condemnation, he now regarded them as children of God awaiting the light of truth. So, guided by “the Spirit of truth” that Jesus promised in today’s Gospel (John 16:13), Paul tailored his speech in a way they could understand. He was not harsh and didn’t condemn them. Instead, he used their own culture and their own faith vocabulary as a springboard for teaching them about the one Creator God and the Redeemer, Christ. Paul didn’t win everyone over that day, but a few followed him, and seeds were planted in others, who asked to hear him again.

In our own day, many people are like these Athenians. They are hungry for spiritual things, but they have little knowledge of the one true God. They may have heard about Jesus and his resurrection but have never understood how this message applies to them. They may even have been brought up in the Church, yet never grasped the depth of God’s love for them.

And so, God is calling you. You are part of his plan to ignite a fire in hearts that are seeking—even in hearts that don’t yet know they are seeking the Lord. You don’t need Paul’s oratorical skills. Your own words, spoken in love, can be life-changing—especially when they are reinforced by the evidence of your own life. So go ahead and tell God you want to cooperate with him. Perhaps he’ll use your efforts to encourage someone at just the right moment!

“Holy Spirit, lead me to those seeking truth just as you led St. Paul.”

Psalm 148:1-2, 11-14; John 16:12-15


28 posted on 05/08/2013 6:45:57 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
 
Marriage = One Man and One Woman
Til' Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for May 8, 2013:

Your spouse is not your competitor. Too often couples keep score on who cleaned more, took care of the kids last, or has the hardest job. You’re both on the same team. If somebody wins an argument, that means the other lost. The marriage loses.


29 posted on 05/08/2013 6:54:58 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Vultus Christi

A School of the Lord's Service

 on May 8, 2013 5:58 AM |
 
La+Regola+094.jpg
7 Jan. 8 May. 7 Sept.
We have, therefore, to establish a school of the Lord's service, in the setting forth of which we hope to order nothing that is harsh or rigorous. But if anything be somewhat strictly laid down, according to the dictates of sound reason, for the amendment of vices or the preservation of charity, do not therefore fly in dismay from the way of salvation, whose beginning cannot but be strait and difficult. But as we go forward in our life and in faith, we shall with hearts enlarged and unspeakable sweetness of love run in the way of God's commandments; so that never departing from His guidance, but persevering in His teaching in the monastery until death, we may by patience share in the sufferings of Christ, that we may deserve to be partakers of His kingdom. Amen.

Adoration in Spirit and in Truth

In writing his Rule, Saint Benedict seeks only to establish a school of the Lord's service, that is to say, a school of adoration in spirit and in truth. A man enters the monastery to learn how to adore God as God seeks to be adored.

The hour cometh, and now is, when the true adorers shall adore the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father also seeketh such to adore him. God is a spirit; and they that adore him, must adore him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:23-24)

Men Who Have Their Gaze Directed to God

The Father seeks men who will adore Him in the Holy Spirit and in union with the Son. He seeks men who will adore Him as the Son adores Him, that is, perpetually. The school of the Lord's service is a school of perpetual adoration. Perpetual adoration does not imply that a monk be, at every moment, kneeling before the Sacred Host; it means, rather, that the compass of his heart is oriented steadily and unswervingly ad Patrem: towards the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit. It was to this that Pope Benedict XVI referred in his discourse at Subiaco, the cradle of Benedictine life, in April 2005, only days before his election: "We need men who have their gaze directed to God."

Come to the Father

In the school of the Lord's service a man learns, through obedience, silence, and humility, to surrender to the mysterious operations of the Holy Ghost by which his spirit enters the rhythm of a ceaseless return to the Father through the Son, in filial love and in sacerdotal offering. He begins, over time, to hear what Saint Ignatius of Antioch describes in his Epistle to the Romans: "There is within me a water that lives and speaks, saying to me inwardly, Come to the Father."

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity. For we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit himself asketh for us with unspeakable groanings. And he that searcheth the hearts, knoweth what the Spirit desireth; because he asketh for the saints according to God. (Romans 8:26-27)

The Sacred Liturgy

Nowhere does the Holy Spirit help our infirmity more powerfully than in the sacred liturgy of the Church: "the foremost and indispensable font of the Christian spirit" (Saint Pius X, Tra le sollecitudini). Saint Benedict's school of the Lord's service gives absolute primacy to the Opus Dei (the Work of God, i.e. the Divine Office) because it is there that the Holy Spirit descends mightily and sweetly to succour our weakness, praying for us and in us with unspeakable groanings. Father Augustine Baker's disciple, the English Benedictine mystic, Dame Gertrude More wrote:

The Divine Office is such a heavenly thing that in it we find whatsoever we can desire: for sometimes in it we address ourselves to Thee for help and pardon for our sins; and sometimes Thou speakest to us, so that it pierceth and woundeth with desire of Thee the very bottom of our souls; and sometimes Thou teachest a soul to understand more in it of the knowledge of Thee and of herself than ever could have been by all the teaching in the world showed to a soul in five hundred years; for Thy words are works.

The Holy Spirit, labouring in us through the Divine Office, obtains all that the Father, in His wisdom and love, desires to bestow upon the saints, that is, upon the Body of the Church, the Bride of Christ. Thus does the monastery's stable rhythm of choral prayer refresh the Church with wave upon wave of divine life.


30 posted on 05/08/2013 7:05:30 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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Comment #31 Removed by Moderator

To: All

The Athenians and Us

 

by Food For Thought on May 8, 2013 ·

What does this promise of our Lord before his passion have to do with
us 2,000 years after his death and resurrection? Also, what connection
is there with the Athenians of the first century, during the time of
Jesus and St. Paul? What did Jesus mean when he said, “The Spirit of
truth to guide us to all truth.”

Jesus had earlier said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” When
Jesus realized that his death was near, he implanted to the disciples
all the tools that they would need to help them continue their mission
here on earth. It was at that moment that Jesus wanted them to grasp
the truth: He was not only sent by God like the prophets before him,
but that he himself is one with God.

At that time, most of his teachings must have appeared confusing and
hard to accept. Jesus gave hope to those who were very confused and
very sad. If we were in the place of the apostles during the Last
Supper, how would we have felt? What would be going through our minds?
Would we have been confused and overwhelmed by his many teachings even
if they touched the heart and may have appeared at that time
ridiculous?

After his resurrection, our Lord sent the Holy Spirit to the apostles
so that he may be with them in a different way. The Spirit guided them
in all the things they did and reminded them of all that he had said.
It was the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that they began to understand
the teachings of Jesus.

The Holy Spirit revealed and confirmed that the God loves all that he
had created. Today, the Holy Spirit continues to reveal and guide us
towards this truth, even in the midst of all the troubles and problems
we are encountering.

As for the Athenians in the 1st century, the Holy Spirit showed them an
indication of this truth. Through his preaching at the Areopagus, St.
Paul opened their hearts and minds to accept the fullness of this
truth.


32 posted on 05/08/2013 7:13:35 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Vultus Christi

Humble thy heart and endure

 on May 8, 2013 8:19 AM |
 
Cima_da_conegliano,_san_girolamo.jpg
7 Jan. 8 May. 7 Sept.
We have, therefore, to establish a school of the Lord's service, in the setting forth of which we hope to order nothing that is harsh or rigorous. But if anything be somewhat strictly laid down, according to the dictates of sound reason, for the amendment of vices or the preservation of charity, do not therefore fly in dismay from the way of salvation, whose beginning cannot but be strait and difficult. But as we go forward in our life and in faith, we shall with hearts enlarged and unspeakable sweetness of love run in the way of God's commandments; so that never departing from His guidance, but persevering in His teaching in the monastery until death, we may by patience share in the sufferings of Christ, that we may deserve to be partakers of His kingdom. Amen.

Hard and Rugged Paths

In contrast with some of the Desert Fathers and, in fact, with certain other schools of holiness, Saint Benedict resolves to order nothing that is harsh or rigorous. This does not mean that the Benedictine way is strewn with rose petals; in Chapter LVIII of the Rule, Saint Benedict says that the senior monk charged with caring for novices must set before then "all the hard and rugged paths by which we walk towards God." The Benedictine way, although characterized by mildness, moderation, and mercy, remains the via crucis (the way of the Cross), the narrow way, the way of immolation and of sacrifice, because for the Christian there can be no other way. "If we be dead with him, we shall live also with him. If we suffer, we shall also reign with him" (2 Timothy 2:11-12).

Moderation

Harshness and rigour have no place in the pedagogy of the Rule; it is a pedagogy of moderation, flexibly adapted, and re-adapted, with gentleness and discretion, to the infirmities and weakness of those enrolled in the school of the Lord's service. Both Saint Francis de Sales and Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face would find in the pedagogy of the Rule a spiritual sensibility akin to their own.

Saint Benedict acknowledges that, at certain hours and seasons, it may be necessary to hold his monks to a certain strictness, according to the dictates of sound reason. The strict application of certain principles derives then, not from the subjective moods or personal inclinations of the superior, but from the necessity of amending vices (bad habits) or preserving charity.

Patience and Perseverance

Being a merciful father, full of sympathy for the fearful and fragile among his sons, Saint Benedict enjoins them not to retreat in dismay when the observance seems narrow and too difficult. "Do not therefore lose your confidence, which hath a great reward. For patience is necessary for you; that, doing the will of God, you may receive the promise" (Hebrws 10:35-36).

Son, when thou comest to the service of God, stand in justice and in fear, and prepare thy soul for temptation. Humble thy heart, and endure: incline thy ear, and receive the words of understanding: and make not haste in the time of clouds. Wait on God with patience: join thyself to God, and endure, that thy life may be increased in the latter end. Take all that shall be brought upon thee: and in thy sorrow endure, and in thy humiliation keep patience. For gold and silver are tried in the fire, but acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation. Believe God, and he will recover thee: and direct thy way, and trust in him. Keep his fear, and grow old therein. Ye that fear the Lord, wait for his mercy: and go not aside from him, lest ye fall. Ye that fear the Lord, believe him: and your reward shall not be made void. Ye that fear the Lord, hope in him: and mercy shall come to you for your delight. (Ecclesiasticus 2:1-9)

A Calm and Quiet Soul

The first steps in one's conversion of life are never easy. The primary classes in the school of the Lord's service are daunting to those unaccustomed to the pedagogy of the Rule. It would be foolish to yield to a sudden panic and, breathless, bolt for the door. Rather one must quiet one' soul in the presence of the Lord and wait upon Him to bestow the peace that allows one to see clearly and to judge rightly.

Delight in the Lord, and he will give thee the requests of thy heart. Commit thy way to the Lord, and trust in him, and he will do it. And he will bring forth thy justice as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. Be subject to the Lord and pray to him. (Psalm 36:4-7)


33 posted on 05/08/2013 7:16:04 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Regnum Christi

Nothing But the Truth
| SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY
Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter



Father John Doyle, LC

 

John 16:12-15

Jesus said to his disciples: "I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you."

Introductory Prayer: Lord, as I begin this prayer I offer you my whole self: my thoughts, desires, decisions, actions, hopes, fears, weaknesses, failures and petty successes. I open my entire being to you, aware that you know everything already. I’m certain of your mercy and of the purifying power of your penetrating, loving gaze.

Petition: Lord, allow me to be sincerely and truthfully yours.

1. My Truth Before God: Jesus tells his apostles he has many more things to tell them, but it seems that they are not yet ready to accept the truth. They were not ready, for one thing, to acknowledge the fact that in a few short hours all of them would flee before the prospect of the Cross, leaving Christ quite alone. I, too, may find it hard to see, or to accept, a realistic picture of my relationship with Christ or my state of soul. I may justify myself or my indifference with any number of psychological consolations. I might convince myself that I am not quite as bad off as so-and-so. Perhaps I put up an excellent external show, living all the motions, but with little true conviction and sincerity.

2. Cheap Deceptions: In our consumer-oriented world, first impressions often seem to count more than the goodness or evil of a thing. Opinion polls appear to set the standard for right and wrong, and a false idea of tolerance is a highly held ideal. Truth can be seen as bluntly offensive, and so it is repackaged in a more appealing way. However, none of these attempts by the “spirit of the world” can ever succeed in the end, just as no amount of darkness can ever stop the smallest beam of light. The Holy Spirit is at work in the world declaring the truth loud and clear in the depths of the human soul. Only the truth -- which comes from Christ -- has the power to bring true peace and joy to the human heart when all illusions are shown up as such.

3. Living in the Truth: As Christians we must be on guard against the spirit of insincerity. No one who lives outside the truth can claim to be a disciple of Christ. Little falsehoods in our lives are utterly destructive to the action of the “Spirit of Truth” in our souls. Our Savior never spoke out so strongly against anything as he did against the pretended righteousness of the leaders of his time. How many things have I done recently just to be praised by others? How many good things have I done which are known to God alone? Am I capable of standing firm to my convictions in the face of misunderstanding or ridicule?

Conversation with Christ: Jesus, the example of your life and death is one of complete honesty. Empower me through the “Spirit of Truth” to be sincere in all that I do before God and others.

Resolution: I will ask forgiveness in the sacrament of reconciliation at the first available opportunity for any insincerity in my life.


34 posted on 05/08/2013 7:21:22 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

 


<< Wednesday, May 8, 2013 >>
 
Acts 17:15, 22—18:1
View Readings
Psalm 148:1-2, 11-14 John 16:12-15
 

WHAT'S WRONG?

 
"He has set the day on which He is going to 'judge the world with justice' through a Man He has appointed — One Whom He has endorsed in the sight of all by raising Him from the dead." —Acts 17:31
 

When Paul had proclaimed to the Athenians that Jesus had been risen from the dead, "some sneered, while others said, 'We must hear you on this topic some other time' " (Acts 17:32). Today, the reaction to Jesus' resurrection is similar. Over a month ago, we began the Easter season. We may have tried to proclaim that Jesus is risen. Yet "who has believed what he has heard from us?" (Rm 10:16)

We may feel like blaming those that we've talked to about Jesus' resurrection for hardening their hearts. But how do we know their hearts? Rather, we ought to remove the planks from our own eyes by repenting of not witnessing more for Christ, and not backing up our witness with a radical life of faith (see Mt 7:5). Maybe the first persons to believe in the risen Christ this Easter season will be those who claim to already be believers.

We can bear witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus with power (Acts 4:33). Let's ask the Spirit to prove us wrong about our compromises with the world (see Jn 16:8). He will guide us to all truth (Jn 16:13). Then we will be able to guide others to the ultimate truth: "Jesus is risen!"

 
Prayer: Father, make these next ten days among the most eventful of my life. Give me a new Pentecost.
Promise: He "will announce to you the things to come." —Jn 16:13
Praise: Teenagers Sam and Monica, brother and sister, read the Bible each evening before going to sleep.

35 posted on 05/08/2013 7:24:58 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Did you pray in front of a
Planned Parenthood Clinic
today? 
Please pray for an
end to abortion in the United States.
Click to see pro-life march video in Aurora - 1-16-10

36 posted on 05/08/2013 7:27:20 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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