Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings 9-May-2024

For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments, questions, discussion.

KEYWORDS: catholic; easter; jn16; prayer;

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John
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	John 16
16.	A little while, and now you shall not see me; and again a little while, and you shall see me: because I go to the Father.	Modicum, et jam non videbitis me ; et iterum modicum, et videbitis me : quia vado ad Patrem.	μικρον και ου θεωρειτε με και παλιν μικρον και οψεσθε με οτι υπαγω προς τον πατερα
17.	Then some of the disciples said one to another: What is this that he saith to us: A little while, and you shall not see me; and again a little while, and you shall see me, and, because I go to the Father?	Dixerunt ergo ex discipulis ejus ad invicem : Quid est hoc quod dicit nobis : Modicum, et non videbitis me ; et iterum modicum, et videbitis me, et quia vado ad Patrem ?	ειπον ουν εκ των μαθητων αυτου προς αλληλους τι εστιν τουτο ο λεγει ημιν μικρον και ου θεωρειτε με και παλιν μικρον και οψεσθε με και οτι εγω υπαγω προς τον πατερα
18.	They said therefore: What is this that he saith, A little while? we know not what he speaketh.	Dicebant ergo : Quid est hoc quod dicit : Modicum ? nescimus quid loquitur.	ελεγον ουν τουτο τι εστιν ο λεγει το μικρον ουκ οιδαμεν τι λαλει
19.	And Jesus knew that they had a mind to ask him; and he said to them: Of this do you inquire among yourselves, because I said: A little while, and you shall not see me; and again a little while, and you shall see me?	Cognovit autem Jesus, quia volebant eum interrogare, et dixit eis : De hoc quæritis inter vos quia dixi : Modicum, et non videbitis me ; et iterum modicum, et videbitis me.	εγνω ουν ο ιησους οτι ηθελον αυτον ερωταν και ειπεν αυτοις περι τουτου ζητειτε μετ αλληλων οτι ειπον μικρον και ου θεωρειτε με και παλιν μικρον και οψεσθε με
20.	Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.	Amen, amen dico vobis : quia plorabitis, et flebitis vos, mundus autem gaudebit ; vos autem contristabimini, sed tristitia vestra vertetur in gaudium.	αμην αμην λεγω υμιν οτι κλαυσετε και θρηνησετε υμεις ο δε κοσμος χαρησεται υμεις δε λυπηθησεσθε αλλ η λυπη υμων εις χαραν γενησεται

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

16:16–22

16. A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.

17. Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father?

18. They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith.

19. Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me?

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxxix) Our Lord after having relieved the spirits of the disciples by the promise of the Holy Spirit, again depresses them: A little while, and ye shall not see Me. He does this to accustom them to the mention of His departure, in order that they may bear it well, when it does come. For nothing so quiets the troubled mind, as the continued recurrence to the subject of its grief.

BEDE. (Hom. 1. Dom. See. Par. Oct. Pasch.) He saith, A little while, and ye shall not see Me, alluding to His going to be taken that night by the Jews, His crucifixion the next morning, and burial in the evening, which withdrew Him from all human sight.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxxix. 1) But then, if one examines, these are words of consolation: Because I go to the Father. For they shew that His death was only a translation: and more consolation follows: And again, a little while, and ye shall see Me: an intimation this that He would return, and after a short separation, come and live with them for ever.

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. c. 1) The meaning of these words however was obscure, before their fulfilment; Then said some of His disciples among themselves, What is this that He saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see Me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see Me: and, Because I go to the Father.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxxix. 1) Either sorrow had confused their minds, or the obscurity of the words themselves prevented their understanding them, and made them appear contradictory. If we shall see Thee, they say, how goest Thou? If Thou goest, how shall we see Thee? What is this that He saith unto us, A little while? We cannot tell what He saith.

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. ci. 1) For above, because He did not say, A little while, but simply, I go to the Father, He seemed to speak plainly. But what to them was obscure at the time, but by and by manifested, is manifest to us. For in a little while He suffered, and they did not see Him; and again, in a little while He rose again, and they saw Him. He says, And ye shall see Me no more; for the mortal Christ they saw no more.

ALCUIN. Or thus, It will be a little time during which ye will not see Me, i. e. the three days that He rested in the grave; and again, it will be a little time during which ye shall see Me, i. e. the forty days of His appearance amongst them, from His Passion to His ascension. And ye shall see Me for that little time only, Because I go to the Father; for I am not going to stay always in the body here, but, by that humanity which I have assumed to ascend to heaven. It follows; Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask Him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see Me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see Me? Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament. Their merciful Master, understanding their ignorance and doubts, replied so as to explain what He had said.

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. ci) Which must be understood thus, viz. that the disciples sorrowed at their Lord’s death, and then immediately rejoiced at His resurrection. The world (i. e. the enemies of Christ, who put Him to death) rejoiced just when the disciples sorrowed, i. e. at His death: Ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice; and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.

ALCUIN. But this speech of our Lord’s is applicable to all believers who strive through present tears and afflictions to attain to the joys eternal. While the righteous weep, the world rejoiceth; for having no hope of the joys to come, all its delight is in the present.

Catena Aurea John 16

Ascension of Christ

Andrea di Vanni d'Andrea

1355-60
Tempera on wood, 68 x 28 cm
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Saint George Preca

I am putting this brief account of Saint George Preca, Malta's first canonised saint, on the occasion of his feast day (9 May). It fills me with pride and at the same time with humbleness to know that this saint is a distant relative from my mother's side. Godwin

SAINT GEORGE PRECA
Diocesan Priest

Founder of the Society of Christian Doctrine, M.U.S.E.U.M.

(Valletta, Malta, 12 February 1880 - Sta. Venera, Malta, 26 July 1962)

SAINT GEORGE PRECA was born in Valletta, Malta on 12 February 1880 of Vincenzo and Natalina Ceravolo. He was baptised in the Parish Church of Our Lady of Porto Salvo, Valletta, on 17 February. In 1888 the Preca family moved to Ħamrun, a fast growing town not far from Valletta. George received his Confirmation and his first Holy Communion in the parish church of St Cajetan. One day when he was 17 years old George was walking along the Maglio Gardens (Il-Mall) in Floriana. He met one of his Lyceum Professors, Fr Ercole Mompalao, who told him: “Preca, when you grow up, people who revere God will befriend you and you them. You will find your good fortune through them and they through you”. After his studies at the Lyceum, George entered the Seminary of Malta with the aim of becoming a priest.

His confessor, Fr Aloysius Galea, died on 8 April 1905. Blessed George used to recount how Fr Galea appeared to him a few days later and told him: “God has chosen you to teach his people”. George Preca was enthused with this idea. He wrote a rule in Latin which he wanted to send to Pope Pius X for approval. He envisaged groups of seven permanent deacons in every parish who, with the help of lay auxiliaries, would be responsible for the formation of the people of God. It was around this time (1905-1906) that George met a group of young people at Ħamrun and invited them to start attending his spiritual conferences. He set his eye on their leader, Eugenio Borg, and started explaining the Gospel of John to him. (Later on Eugenio Borg became the first Superior General of the Societas Doctrinae Christianae and was renowned for his holiness when he died in 1967).

A few months before his ordination to the priesthood George Preca almost died of a very serious sickness. Through the intercession of St Joseph he survived the ordeal, but as a consequence of the illness his left lung was permanently impaired. He was ordained priest on 22 December 1906 by Bishop Pietro Pace, and he celebrated his first Solemn Mass at the St Cajetan Parish Church in Ħamrun on Christmas Day. For a number of weeks after ordination George would not venture out of home except to say Mass, after which he would retire to a small room on the roof and remain there all day bereft in meditation and contemplation. Towards the end of January 1907 he called the same group of young people and invited them for a spiritual conference on 2 February at the Ta’ Nuzzo Church at Ħamrun. The little group subsequently rented a small place at n. 6, Fra Diegu Street, Ħamrun and met there for the first time on 7 March 1907. These two dates mark the beginning of the Society of Christian Doctrine: a group of lay people leading an exemplary life, well formed in the principles of the Catholic faith and sent to teach the faith to the people. At first, Fr George called his society Societas Papidum et Papidissarum (Society of the Sons and Daughters of the Pope). In the meanwhile, however, the rundown place where the first members met was jokingly referred to as the “museum”. The nickname soon became the name of the group itself and it stuck. The founder had no alternative but to devise an acrostic in Latin: M.U.S.E.U.M., Magister Utinam Sequatur Evangelium Universus Mundus! which in translation means: "Teacher, O that the whole world would follow the Gospel!" The female branch of the Society was inaugurated in 1910 with the help of Giannina Cutajar who later became the first Superior General of the same branch.

It was around 1910 that Dun George had a very powerful mystical experience which he always referred to as “the extraordinary vision of the child Jesus”. One morning, he was passing in the vicinity of the Marsa Cross when he suddenly saw a twelve-year old boy pushing a low cart with a bag full of manure. The boy turned to George and ordered him imperiously: “Lend me a hand!” The moment Fr George put his hand on the cart he felt an extraordinary spiritual sweetness and he never could remember where they went or what happened to the young boy. He later understood however that the boy was Jesus and that the Lord was asking him and his followers to help him with nurturing the Lord’s field and vineyard with sound doctrine and formation.

The M.U.S.E.U.M. developed along the years into the society we know today: a group of lay people who dedicate themselves to the apostolate of catechesis, lead a simple evangelical lifestyle, commit themselves to a life of prayer using short prayers or meditations at regular intervals during the day (“The Museum Watch”), teach the young catechesis for an hour everyday, which is then followed by a group meeting for personal permanent formation (“The Assignment”).

The Society had its difficult moments. In 1909 Dun George was ordered to close his Museum centres. Broken-hearted but without hesitation, he started following superior orders until the parish priests themselves protested with the ecclesiastical authorities and the ban was revoked by Vicar General Salvatore Grech. Between 1914-1915 a number of daily newspapers carried articles and letters denigrating the new Society. Dun George ordered his members to take a vow or promise of meekness, gladly forgiving anybody who poked fun at them and taught them “to love the contempt” they suffered and not to let it trouble them unduly. In 1916 Bishop Mauro Caruana ordered an enquiry concerning the Society. After many humiliations for the founder and his close followers, the Curia issued a favourable report. Although some changes were required, the way was open for definitive ecclesiastical approval. Bishop Caruana canonically erected the Society of Christian Doctrine on 12 April 1932.

Dun George Preca strived unceasingly to spread the values and teaching of the Gospel in the Maltese islands. He wrote a great number of books on dogma, morals and spirituality in Maltese. He also published numerous booklets with prayers for the private use of his members and for popular devotion. He was undoubtedly a great apostle of the Word of God, especially of the Gospel which he used to call “The Voice of the Beloved”. He would encourage his followers and the public in general to memorize sentences and phrases from the Gospel and his charismatic preaching constantly referred to parables and stories from Scripture and the life of the saints. He zealously defended the honour due only to God and persuasively illustrated how ugly sin was. He never shied away from openly preaching about death, judgement, hell and heaven. Utterly convinced of God’s justice, he nevertheless movingly proclaimed the Lord’s infinite mercy.

People flocked to him for advice or a word of encouragement. They trusted in his intercession and many still recount stories of healings wrought by God through Fr George’s prayers. He was endowed with many supernatural gifts, among which were the knowledge of hearts and of the future. He was nonetheless a priest of great humility, goodness, meekness and generosity. He was truly a holy pastor of the people of God.

Dun Ġorġ, as the Maltese know him, is well known for his constant efforts to promote devotion to the mystery of the Incarnation. From 1917 he propagated devotion for the text from the Gospel of John: “Verbum Dei caro factum est!” (Jn 1, 14). He wanted the SDC members to wear a badge with these words. On Christmas Eve 1921 the Society organized the first “Demonstration in honour of the Baby Jesus” in the towns and villages of Malta and Gozo and this event has since become a typical aspect of Christmas celebrations on the islands. Fr George wanted every child who attended catechism classes to take a small crib or statue of the baby Jesus home for Christmas.

The holy priest learnt to trust in the maternal protection of Our Lady, especially during the difficult moments of the Society. He was enrolled as a Carmelite tertiary on 21 July 1918 and at his profession in September 1919 he chose the name of Fr Franco. Children attending the Society’s centres are still enrolled in Our Lady’s scapular. Dun Ġorġ also nurtured a filial devotion to Our Lady of Good Counsel; he promoted use of the Miraculous Medal and in fact wanted the Church of the Society’s Motherhouse to be dedicated to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. In 1957 he suggested the use of five “Mysteries of Light” for the private recitation of the Rosary.

On 19 May 1951 he blessed the foundation stone of the St Michael School at Santa Venera, and in 1952 he sent the first members to start the Society in Australia. The SDC is today also found in England, Albania, the Sudan, Kenya and Peru.

On 2 October 1952 Pope Pius XII nominated Dun Ġorġ as Privy Chamberlain with the title of Monsignor. Dun George was mortified. He kept the title for six years until Pope Pacelli passed away in 1958.

In 1955 Dun George blessed the foundation stone of the Sacred Family Institute at Żabbar which later housed SDC members living in common who had been staying at Żebbuġ ever since their establishment in 1918.

After a long and very active life in the service of the Gospel and of the Christian formation of the people of God, Dun Ġorġ Preca died on Thursday evening 26 July 1962 at his house: “San Cajetan”, Parish Street, Santa Venera, Malta. He was deeply missed by all the Maltese population. He had wished for a very simple funeral but thousands, including the highest civil and ecclesiastical authorities, turned up to pay him homage. He was buried in the crypt of the Church of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal at Blata l-Bajda which soon became a venue for constant pilgrimages.

Fr George Preca was beatified by Pope John Paul II in Malta on 9 May 2001 and canonised by Pope Benedict XVI on 3 June 2007. His liturgical feast is celebrated on 9 May.

pro-tridentina-malta.blogspot.com

Statue of Saint George Preca at Montekristo Estates, Hal Farrug, Luqa

NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)

First Reading:

From: Acts 18:1-8

Paul in Corinth, with Aquila and Priscilla
------------------------------------------
[1] After this he left Athens and went to Corinth. [2] And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, lately come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them; [3] and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them, and they worked, for by trade they were tentmakers. [4] And he argued in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded Jews and Greeks.

Preaching to Jews and Gentiles
------------------------------
[5] When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with preaching, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. [6] And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, "Your blood be upon your heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles." [7] And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshipper of God; his house was next door to the synagogue. [8] Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with all his household; and many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.

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Commentary:

1-11. St Paul must have arrived in Corinth very discouraged by what happened in Athens, and very short of money. Some time later he wrote: "And I was with you in weakness and in much fear and trembling; and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God..." (1 Cor 2:3-4). He would never forget his experience in the Areopagus before the Athenians, who "were friends of new speeches yet who paid no heed to them or what they said; all they wanted was to have something new to talk about" (Chrysostom, "Hom. on Acts", 39).

Corinth was a very commercial, cosmopolitan city located on an isthmus between two gulfs (which are now joined). Ships came to Corinth from all over the world. Low moral standards, concentration on money-making and voluptuous worship of Aphrodite meant that Corinth did not seem the best ground for sowing the word of God; but the Lord can change people's hearts, especially if he has people as obedient and zealous as Paul, Silvanus, Timothy and the early Christians in general. The Athenians' intellectual pride proved to be a more formidable obstacle than the Corinthians' libertarian lifestyle.

Christians should not soft-pedal if they find themselves in situations where paganism and loose living seem to be the order of the day: indeed this should only spur them on. When addressing his Father at the Last Supper Jesus prayed: "I do not pray that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil one" (Jn 17:15).

2. This married couple were probably already Christians when they arrived in Corinth. Since they came from Rome, the indications are that there was a community of Christians in the capital from very early on. Aquila and Priscilla (the diminutive of Prisca) proved to be of great help to Paul from the very beginning of his work in Corinth.

Later on they both must have returned to Rome (cf. Rom 16:3); and it may well be that apostolic considerations dictated their movements, as would be the case with countless Christians after them. "The Christian family's faith and evangelizing mission also possesses this Catholic missionary inspiration. The sacrament of marriage takes up and reproposes the task of defending and spreading the faith, a task which has its roots in Baptism and Confirmation and makes Christian married couples and parents witnesses of Christ 'to the ends of the earth' (Acts 1:8) [...].

"Just as at the dawn of Christianity Aquila and Priscilla were presented as a missionary couple (cf. Acts 18; Rom 16:3f), so today the Church shows forth her perennial newness and fruitfulness by the presence of Christian couples who [...] work in missionary territories, proclaiming the Gospel and doing service to their fellowman for the love of Jesus Christ" (John Paul II, "Familiaris Consortio", 54).

The edict of Claudius (41-54 A.D.) expelling the Jews from Rome was issued before the year 50. It is referred to by Suetonius, the Roman historian, but the details of the decree are not known. We do know that Claudius had protected the Jews on a number of occasions. He gave them the right to appoint the high priest and to have charge of the temple. Apparently, conflict between Jews and Christians in Rome led him to expel some Jews from the city, on a temporary basis, or at least to advise them to leave.

3. St Paul earns his living and manages to combine this with all his preaching of the Gospel. "This teaching of Christ on work," John Paul II writes, "based on the example of his life during his years in Nazareth, finds a particularly lively echo in the teaching of the Apostle Paul. Paul boasts of working at his trade (he was probably a tent-maker: cf. Acts 18:3), and thanks to that work he was able even as an Apostle to earn his own bread" ("Laborem Exercens", 26).

During this stay of a year and a half in Corinth St Paul wrote some rather severe letters to the Thessalonians, pointing out to them the need to work: "If any one will not work, let him not eat. [...] we command and exhort [idlers] in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work in quietness and to earn their own living" (2 Thess 3:10, 12). St John Chrysostom, commenting on this passage of Acts, says that "Work is man's natural state. Idleness is against his nature. God has placed man in this world to work, and the natural thing for the soul is to be active and not passive" ("Hom. on Acts", 35).

Taking Christ's own example, St J Escriva points out that "Work is one of the highest human values and a way in which men contribute to the progress of society. But even more, it is a way to holiness" ("Conversations", 24). In Jesus' hands, "a professional occupation, similar to that carried out by millions of people in the world, was turned into a divine task. It became a part of our redemption, a way to salvation" ("ibid"., 55).

In fact, it is in work, in the middle of ordinary activity, that most people can and should find Christ. God "is calling you to serve him in and from the ordinary, material and secular activities of human life. He waits for us everyday [...] in all the immense panorama of work" ("ibid"., 114). Man thereby finds God in the most visible, material things, and Christians can avoid the danger of what might be called "a double life: on one side, an interior life, a life of relation with God; and on the other, a separate and distinct professional, social and family life, full of small earthly realities" ("ibid".).

Like most people Paul spent part of his day working to earn his living. When engaged in work he was still the Apostle of the Gentiles chosen by God, and his very work spoke to his companions and friends. We should not think that there was any split between his on-going personal relationship with God, and his apostolic activity or his work--or that he did not work in a concentrated or exemplary manner.

4. It is easy to imagine the hope and eagerness Paul felt when preaching the Gospel to his fellow Jews. He knew from experience the difficulties they had about recognizing Jesus as the Messiah and accepting the Good News. Paul feels both joy and sorrow: he is happy because the moment has arrived for the sons of Abraham to receive the Gospel as is their right by inheritance; but he also realizes that although it brings salvation to some, it spells rejection for those who refuse to accept it.

Origen spoke in similar terms: "I experience anxiety to speak and anxiety not to speak. I wish to speak for the benefit of those who are worthy, so that I may not be taken to task for refusing the word of truth to those who have the ability to grasp it. But I am afraid to speak in case I address those who are unworthy, because it means I am giving holy things to dogs and casting pearls before swine. Only Jesus was capable of distinguishing, among his listeners, those who were without from those who were within: he spoke in parables to the outsiders and explained the parables to those who entered with him into the house" ("Dialogue with Heraclides", 15).

6. The blindness of the Jews once again causes Paul great sadness; here is further evidence of the mysterious resistance to faith of so many of the chosen people. As he did in Pisidian Antioch (cf. 13:51), the Apostle shakes the dust from his clothes to show his break from the Jews of Corinth: their apparent fidelity to the religion of their forefathers disguises their proud rejection of God's promises.

He finds himself confronted by the great enigma of salvation history, in which God dialogues with human freedom. As St Justin writes, "The Jews, in truth, who had the prophecies and always looked for the coming of Christ, not only did not recognize him, but, far beyond that, even mistreated him. But the Gentiles, who had never even heard anything of Christ until his Apostles went from Jerusalem and preached about him and gave them the prophecies, were filled with joy and faith, and turned away from their idols, and dedicated themselves to the Unbegotten God through Christ" ("First Apology", 49, 5).

Paul's words on this occasion are addressed to the Jews of Corinth, not to Jews elsewhere. For a long time past he has directed his preaching to Gentiles as well as Jews. The phrase "From now on I will go to the Gentiles" does not mean that he will no longer address Jews, for in the course of his apostolic work he continues to evangelize Jews as well as Gentiles (cf. Acts 18:19; 28:17).

7. Titus Justus had a Roman name and was a Gentile, but the fact that he lived next door to the synagogue and, in particular, the Greek term used to identify him as a "worshipper" of God, indicates that he was a convert to Judaism. Cf. note on Acts 2:5-11.

Gospel Reading:

From: John 16:16-20

Fullness of Joy
---------------
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [16] "A little while, and you will see Me no more; again a little while, and you will see Me." [17] Some of His disciples said to one another, "What is this that He says to us, `A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me'; and, `because I go to the Father'?" [18] They said, "What does He mean by `a little while'? We do not know what He means." [19] Jesus knew they wanted to ask Him; so He said to them, "Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, `A little while and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me'? [20] Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy."

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Commentary:

16-20. Earlier our Lord consoled the disciples by assuring them that He would send them the Holy Spirit after He went away (verse 7). Now He gives them further consolation: He is not leaving them permanently, He will come back to stay with them. However, the Apostles fail to grasp what He means, and they ask each other what they make of it. Our Lord does not give them a direct explanation, perhaps because they would not understand what He meant (as happened before: cf. Matthew 16:21-23 and paragraph). But He does emphasize that though they are sad now they will soon be rejoicing: after suffering tribulation they will be filled with a joy they will never lose (cf. John 17:13). This is a reference primarily to the Resurrection (cf. Luke 24:41), but also to their definitive encounter with Christ in Heaven.

Click here to go to the My Catholic Life! Devotional thread for today’s Gospel Reading.

If your diocese is celebrating the Ascension today:
Click here to go to the My Catholic Life! Devotional thread for today’s Gospel Reading

Please join Cardinal Burke’s novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe for ‘crises of our age’ (Started March 12—Never too late to join!)

Let us pray.

O Virgin Mother of God, we fly to your protection and beg your intercession against the darkness and sin which ever more envelop the world and menace the Church. Your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, gave you to us as our mother as He died on the Cross for our salvation. So too, in 1531, when darkness and sin beset us, He sent you, as Our Lady of Guadalupe, on Tepeyac to lead us to Him Who alone is our light and our salvation.

Through your apparitions on Tepeyac and your abiding presence with us on the miraculous mantle of your messenger, Saint Juan Diego, millions of souls converted to faith in your Divine Son. Through this novena and our consecration to you, we humbly implore your intercession for our daily conversion of life to Him and the conversion of millions more who do not yet believe in Him. In our homes and in our nation, lead us to Him Who alone wins the victory over sin and darkness in us and in the world.

Unite our hearts to your Immaculate Heart so that they may find their true and lasting home in the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Ever guide us along the pilgrimage of life to our eternal home with Him. So may our hearts, one with yours, always trust in God's promise of salvation, in His never-failing mercy toward all who turn to Him with a humble and contrite heart. Through this novena and our consecration to you, O Virgin of Guadalupe, lead all souls in America and throughout the world to your Divine Son in Whose name we pray. Amen.

“O Spirit of truth, make me know your Word; teach me to remember all he has said; enlighten me, guide me, make me conformable to Jesus as an alter Christus, another Christ, by giving me his virtues, especially his patience, humility, and obedience; let me take part in his redemptive work by making me understand and love the cross.
Sister Carmela of the Holy Spirit, O.C.D.”

(From Magnificat magazine)

May is the month of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary:

Readings at Mass

Paul lodged with them and worked, and held debates in the synagogues

You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy

Universalis podcast: The week ahead – from the Ascension to 18 May

Christian Art

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Saint George Preca