A Controversial Holiday:
Every year, a debate rages among Christians: Is Halloween a satanic holiday or merely a secular one? Should Christian children dress up like ghosts and goblins? Is it good for children to be scared? Lost in the debate is the history of Halloween, which, far from being a pagan religious event, is actually a Christian celebration that's almost 1,300 years old.

The Christian Origins of Halloween:
"Halloween" is a name that means nothing by itself. It is a contraction of "All Hallows Eve," and it designates the vigil of All Hallows Day, more commonly known as All Saints Day. ("Hallow," as a noun, is an old English word for saint. As a verb, it means to make something holy or to honor it as holy.) All Saints Day, November 1, is a Holy Day of Obligation, and both the feast and the vigil have been celebrated since the early eighth century, when they were instituted by Pope Gregory III in Rome. (A century later, they were extended to the Church at large by Pope Gregory IV.)

Religion is not a matter of opinion. Someone's needs to be right and someone's needs to be wrong.

How You Can Help Increase Priestly Vocations

-Pray for an increase in vocations to the priesthood.

-Offer your time and financial support to strengthen youth ministries in your parish.

-Teach your children and grandchildren how to
listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

-Ask your children and grandchildren if they ever thought about becoming a priest.

-If you know someone who has the qualities of a good priest, point it out to him.

-Pray for young men discerning priesthood.

-Find ways to support and encourage seminarians in your diocese.

A Prayer for Priests

Gracious and loving God, we thank you for the gift of our priests.

Through them, we experience your presence in the sacraments.
Help our priests to be strong in their vocation. Set their souls on fire with love for your people. Grant them the wisdom, understanding, and strength they need to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Inspire them with the vision of your Kingdom.

Give them the words they need to spread the Gospel. Allow them to experience joy in their ministry.
Help them to become instruments of your divine grace. We ask this through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns as
our Eternal Priest. Amen

A.M.T.G.

 

 

The Shadow Priest talks about the only fight that matters!

Pope Benedict XVI has declared a “Year for Priests” beginning with the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 19, 2009. The year will conclude in Rome with an international gathering of priests with the Holy Father on June 19, 2010.

With the announcement of this Year for Priests, the Pope has declared St. John Vianney the Universal Patron of Priests on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the death of the Curé d’Ars.

On this website you will find a number of resources to aid your parish’s celebration of the year for priests. There is also information regarding events for priests that will occur throughout the Year for Priests.

Please pray for our priests that they might always be faithful to their sacred calling.

"What is a priest?

A man who holds the place of God, a man clothed with all the powers of God. 'Go,' our Lord said to the priest, 'As my Father has sent me, I also send you." St. John Vianney

Prayer for the Priests (approved by the USCCB)

Dear Lord,
we pray that the Blessed Mother
wrap her mantle around your priests
and through her intercession
strengthen them for their ministry.
We pray that Mary will guide your priests
to follow her own words,
“Do whatever He tells you” (Jn 2:5).
May your priests have the heart of St. Joseph,
Mary’s most chaste spouse.
May the Blessed Mother’s own pierced heart
inspire them to embrace
all who suffer at the foot of the cross.
May your priests be holy,
filled with the fire of your love
seeking nothing but your greater glory
and the salvation of souls.
Amen.

Saint John Vianney, pray for us.

Indulgences for the Year for Priests

Steps for the lay faithful to receive indulgence

On the first and last days of the Year for Priests, on the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Vianney, on the first Thursdays of the month, or on any other day established by your local ordinary:

Attend Mass
Receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation
Pray for priests
Pray for the intentions of the Holy Father
What “duly approved prayers” might priests use to obtain the partial indulgence?

While this is by no means an exhaustive list, several worthy prayers that may be recited by priests seeking to obtain the partial indulgence during the Year for Priests include:

-Prayers of Thanksgiving After Mass, found in Appendix I of the Roman Missal (Sacramentary)
-The Rosary
-The Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
-“A Priest’s Prayer” approved by the USCCB Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations
Or any other prayer found in the Manual of Indulgences (is the one on the top)

 

This is a very special song to me. It touches my heart every time I hear it. I hope it has touched yours as well

Everyone of us needs the touch of the potters hands. To be molded into his image, into the vessel He can use.

I want to be a willing vessel, ready for service, for whatever he has for me to do.

Yield to the Potters Hand today

LYRICS:

The Potters Hand

Beautiful Lord, wonderful Saviour
I know for sure all of my days are
Held in Your hand,
Crafted into Your perfect plan.

You gently call me into Your presence
Guiding me by Your Holy Spirit
Teach me dear Lord
To live all of my life through Your eyes.

I'm captured by Your Holy calling
Set me apart, I know You're drawing
Me to Yourself, lead me Lord I pray.

Take me, mold me, use me, fill me
I give my life to the Potter's hand
Call me, guide me, lead me, walk beside me
I give my life to the Potter's hand

I'm so secure, You're here with me
You stay the same, Your love remains here in my heart

So close I believe, You're holding me now
In Your Hands I belong, You'll never let me go
So close I believe You're holding me now
In Your Hands I belong, You'll never let me go

You gave your life
In Your endless love
You set me free
And showed the way
Now I am found

All along, You were beside me
Even when I could'nt tell
Through the years, You showed me more of You, more of You

Meditation:

There is one thing we all want, even if we do not realize it yet, and that is to be so close to God that we feel His presence. (Psalms 16:11) You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. In God's presence we feel the most awesome pleasure that a person is capable of experiencing. We experience a full amount of joy that fills us to overflowing. It is like being bathed in warm liquid love that fills us from the inside and then overflows and covers our entire being. Nothing on Earth can compare to the joy and pleasure of being in God's presence, once you get a taste nothing else can ever satisfy you. (Psalms 34:8) Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who trust in him!

The definition of heaven is to be with God, the definition of hell is to be separated from God (both forever). The fear of the Lord is not to be afraid of God; it is the fear of being separated from God. (Proverbs 8:13) The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate. (Proverbs 14:27) Fear of the LORD is a life-giving fountain; it offers escape from the snares of death. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil and sin because these separate us from God. (Isaiah 59:1-2) Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. {2} But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

Just as sin separates us from God, Holiness brings us into God's presence. (Psalms 24:3-6) Who may climb the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? {4} Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies. {5} They will receive the Lord's blessing and have right standing with God their savior. {6} They alone may enter God's presence and worship the God of Israel.

When we first accept Jesus into our heart through the Sacraments and in the Church’s teachings, we feel Him cleanse our heart and we feel the freedom of being set free from sin. (James 4:8) Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Being clean and holy allows us to experience the presence of God. (Matthew 5:8) Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

If we are not always focused on God, and seeking to stay close to Him and in His presence then we can easily fall away by thinking about the things of this world. (1 Chronicles 16:11) Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually. We must continually seek God and His righteousness as our only source of all that we need and want. (Matthew 6:31-33) So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' {32} For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. {33} But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

When we do get distracted by the cares of this world and find ourselves separated from God by sin, then we call upon Him and confess our sins, and say we are sorry, and He forgives us and makes us righteous again. Then we have access again into His presence and our heart has joy and pleasure again. (1 John 1:9) If we confess our sins to a priest, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. (Jesus) said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.) Sometimes we also need to ask forgiveness from other people and tell them we are sorry if we have sinned against them and hurt them. (Matthew 5:23-24) "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, {24} leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.
God wants us to demonstrate His love in our hearts to other people. (1 John 3:14) We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Whatever is not of love is sin. Whatever is love is from God. (Romans 13:10) Love does no wrong to anyone, so love satisfies all of God's requirements. (1 John 4:12-13) No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love has been brought to full expression through us. {13} And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. The Spirit of God in us is Love, because God is Love. When we feel compassion for each other and act in compassion toward each other that is God in us, that is proof that we live in God and He lives in us. The feeling of being in God's presence is the feeling of love. It is the best that we can ever hope for, long for, and seek after. When we experience the presence of God it is better than anything we have ever dreamed about.

(Psalms 68:3-6) But let the godly rejoice. Let them be glad in God's presence. Let them be filled with joy. {4} Sing praises to God and to his name! Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds. His name is the LORD-- rejoice in his presence! {5} Father to the fatherless, defender of widows-- this is God, whose dwelling is holy. {6} God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.
God Bless

Verse 1:

This is my prayer in the desert
And all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in the hunger in me
My God is a God who provides

Verse 2:

And this is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flames

Chorus:

And I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon forged against me shall remain

I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

Verse 3:
And this is my prayer in the battle
And triumph is still on it's way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I'll stand

Bridge:

All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

Verse 4:

This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I'm filled to be empited again
The seed I've recieved I will sow

Meditation:

Satan tries to tempt Jesus by quoting Scripture out of context. Satan tempts Jesus three times, and each time Jesus responds with a proper application of Scripture. Knowing the Bible is invaluable when we face our own temptations. God doesn’t tempt us to sin, but He does allow testing in our lives and other people and situations will tempt us. It reminds me of 1 Corinthians 10:13 – No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

The Temptation of Jesus

1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Christians should be in the Word of God daily. Are you feeling weak? If so, have you been reading the Bible? When friends have been reading the Bible regularly I can see it in their words and actions. The correlation is remarkable.

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6“If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
” ‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Sometimes people test God by saying, “If you do this, I’ll do that . . .” But God is not a circus animal.

Fortunately for us, Jesus didn’t take the route of avoiding pain and suffering. He could have had countless angels protect him at any time, including when He was to be crucified.

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

11Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

 

Wonder

I should have been the guilty one
But You took the blame for everything
I should have been in exile
But You became the door to freedom.

I used to live in the darkness,
Searching for a way of escape.
Then You turned the light on
Now I can see, now I can see

You’re the answer for the world
The healer of our hearts
Oh, what a wonder You are.
You’re my all-sufficiency
The author of forgiveness
Oh, what a wonder,
A wonder-working God.

Once I was a stranger
You welcomed me as a long lost friend
Now I have a future
Found in the Son, found in the Son.

Why are you striving these days
Why are you trying to earn grace
Why are you crying
Let me lift up your face
Just don't turn away

Why are you looking for love
Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough
To where will you go child
Tell me where will you run
To where will you run

And I'll be by your side
Wherever you fall
In the dead of night
Whenever you call
And please don't fight
These hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you

Look at these hands and my side
They swallowed the grave on that night
When I drank the world's sin
So I could carry you in
And give you life
I want to give you life

(Chorus 2x)

Cause I, I love you
I want you to know
That I, I love you
I'll never let you go

(Chorus 2x)

 

Hello Friends of St John Friends:

As you know, abortionist George Tiller is dead.

First, we should grieve for him that he did not have an opportunity to properly prepare his soul to face his Maker. Unless some miracle happened, he left this life with his hands drenched with the innocent blood of tens of thousands of babies that he murdered. Surely there will be a dreadful accounting for what he has done.

It now falls to pro-life activists like you and me to stand strong and unflinching in the face of the unjust criticism we will now endure because of his killing. And so I turn my attention to the attacks that will follow his death.

We must use this as a “teaching moment;” a chance for “dialogue” with our fellow Americans concerning this terrific holocaust of the unborn. In that light, I am going to speak clearly and without compromise. I beg you to read this entire letter, and to then watch the video I filmed.

Let us be clear: George Tiller was a mass murderer. He routinely killed innocent children who were “viable.” For the unlearned, that means that those babies could live outside the womb on their own. He specialized in killing “handicapped” children whose parents decided that they were not fit to live. He even offered photographs of the dead children and baptisms for the victims that fell under his knife.

According to God’s laws, and the laws that govern how we protect the innocent in times of peace, George Tiller was one of the most evil men on the planet; every bit as vile as the Nazi war criminals who were hunted down, tried, and sentenced after they participated in the “legal” murder of the Jews that fell into their hands.

I write all of these words with surgical precision to shore up the more timid elements of the pro-life movement. Pro-life leaders are already falling over themselves to exclaim, “We are peaceful! We deplore this violence!”

Of course we are peaceful; that is why this horrific shooting in a church has immediately garnered national attention. It is precisely because we are peaceful that Dr. Tiller’s killing sticks out like a huge wart on an otherwise flawless complexion. If abortionists were gunned down every week, it would gather no more attention than crack dealers who are gunned down every week by fellow drug dealers.

For those surprised by my words, let me tell you exactly why I am using such clear and unflinching rhetoric.

Here is what is about to happen: President Obama has already relayed his "shock." The arch proponents of child killing such as Planned Parenthood, the National Organization of Women, NARAL, and a host of other enemies of children are going to blame the pro-life movement for Dr. Tiller’s death.

These child killers, and their allies in the Obama administration and on Capitol Hill, will attempt to browbeat the pro-life movement into surrendering our most effective weapons in this battle: our rhetoric, our actions, and our images.

Concerning rhetoric, they will blame those of us who call abortion “murder” and say that it is this highly charged rhetoric that inspires people to “take the law into their own hands.”

Concerning actions, they will say that our protests and vigils and sit-ins are responsible for the shooting.

Concerning images, they will whine that the pictures of babies murdered at the hands of Tiller and other abortionists incite people to acts of violence.

All of these accusations are lies.

Beyond that, these foolish accusations fly in the face of equally radical rhetoric, images, and images in the civil rights movement, the suffragette movement, and the abolitionist movement. If Dr. Martin Luther King had followed the advice of the timid in his day, President Obama would still be riding in the back of the bus.

Simply put: pro-lifers must not flinch, waver, or in any way alter our course in our epic struggle to make child killing illegal again.

Our rhetoric must bear witness to the truth: abortion is murder. Abortion is the brutal slaughter of innocent human beings; a vile, demonic murder of a human being made in the image of God. Those “doctors” like George Tiller who slay the innocent are hired assassins whose hands are covered with blood. As the sacred Scriptures say: “Cursed is he who receives a bribe to strike down an innocent person.”

Our actions must be equal to this crime: we must protest with vigorous (yet peaceful) actions such as have been used by every social revolution since America’s birth. The easiest picture to have is that of the civil rights activists of the 1960s. They held “illegal” marches, freedom rides, and “sit-ins” at lunch counters; they were met with water canons, dogs, police brutality, arrests, and jail. If we are going to end child killing, we must unflinchingly adopt the strategies of heroes past.

Our images must simply reflect the truth. We must continue to show the victims’ bodies that we have pulled out of dumpsters; we must not retreat a single inch from showing the decapitated heads of little boys and girls, the arms and legs that were suctioned or carved out of their mothers wombs; we must paint the picture of sewers and landfills being used as unholy graves for these holy victims.

In the days following Dr. Tillers killing, every pro-abortion advocate in the country will howl that Tiller’s death is the fault of the pro-life movement’s rhetoric, actions, and images. We must not fear, nor flinch, nor waver on any front.

Our mission is to end the legalized killing of the unborn from conception until natural birth. In this epic struggle – this “war” between the “culture of death” and the “culture of life” – there are going to be unforeseen crises and difficulties. Dr. Tiller’s death is one such unforeseen moment.

However, we must not allow the forces of death to use this moment to glorify their heinous acts. Rather, we must use Dr. Tiller’s death as a “teaching moment” to pull the veil away from the insidious murder that is happening every day, every hour, in abortion mills like Tiller’s across the country.

Wherever Mr. Tiller’s soul is right now – I know he agrees.

Be strong, be brave, and be unflinching in the coming days. We must defend the babies in the face of the death of their killer.

During Sunday night's competition, Prejean was asked by openly gay celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, a judge in the pageant, if she felt all states should move toward allowing same-sex marriage.

She said, "I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman ... that's how I was raised." Besides setting off a firestorm of pro- and con-gay-marriage/freedom-of-speech twittering and blogging, the remark was widely believed to have cost her the crown. It also prompted Hilton to later post a nasty and unprintable rant about her.

"I was ready for my question, and when I heard it from (Perez), I knew at that moment after I'd answered the question, I knew that I was not going to win because of my answer," she said. "Because I had spoken from my heart, for my beliefs and for my God. ... It's not about being politically correct, for me, it's about being biblically correct."

Earlier in the day Prejean went on MSNBC's morning show, where she was asked about Hilton's attack on her.
"I can only say to him that I will be praying for him. I feel sorry for him, I really do," Prejean said. "I think he's angry, I think he's hurt.

Everybody is entitled to their own opinion. He asked me specifically what my opinion was on that subject and I gave him an honest answer."

For all the times I have offended you, forgive me.

For all the times I have been prideful, forgive me.

For all the times I have ignored you, overlooked you, slighted you, forgive me.

For all the times I have been churlish, forgive me.

For all the times I have envied you, forgive me.

For all the times I have distracted you or led you to distraction, forgive me.

For all the times I have been argumentative, forgive me.

For all the times I’ve been uncouth, forgive me.

For all the times I’ve lacked charity, forgive me.

For all the times I have been impatient, forgive me.

For all the times I have been intolerant, forgive me.

For all the times I wanted to tell you I cared, and didn’t, forgive me.

For all the times when I did not care and should have, forgive me.

For all the times I have failed, through my own fault, to see Christ within you, forgive me.

For all the times when you have failed to see Christ within me, forgive me.

For the next 7 days of the Holy Week, we need to use this podcast as a tool to enter deeply into the Passion of Jesus. We need to see Him through the eyes, minds, and words of others who have traveled this journey as His friends. Don’t forget, we are friends of St. John. This means that we need to see through the eyes of the one that our Church tradition calls “The eagle” (and of course you know one of the specials skill of this animal)

And we’ll have John Paul II with us every day of this Holy Week:

A Radical Conversion

Can we be fully reconciled with Christ without being fully reconciled among ourselves? Can we bear joint and effective witness to Christ if we are not reconciled with one another? Can we be reconciled with one another without forgiving one another? Forgiveness is the condition for reconciliation. But this cannot take place without interior transformation and conversion, which is the work of grace. We need to be able to confront ourselves, to undertake a rigorous examination of conscience; this is the indispensable premise for a radical conversion that can transform our lives.

 

 

St. Mary's Youth Group isn't just an ordinary Youth Group. You see we're not just here to eat pizza and talk about a bunch of issues that don't matter to your life. Our group is REAL. Life is to short to waste time doing things that don't matter. You see, we're Catholic, all encompassing, universal and welcoming. Our group isn't afraid to be a beacon of light in a dark world. We aren't afraid to ask the tough questions about our world and our faith. No one will shy away from a real answer, either. We believe in our faith. We challenge each other to be holy, to shun the ways of the world.

In Short, we laugh together, eat together and pray together.

We are Catholic and we are St. Mary's Youth Group.

You can use the songs as your meditation (specially the second one and third one)

First Song:

Welcome

There is nothing complicated
about the way we live
we are here for each other, hand me to give
proud of who we are
humble beneath the stars

we've everything we need
the moon, the sun
there is more than enough here for everyone
all we have we share
and all of us we care

so come on
welcome to our family time
welcome to our brotherly time
we're happy for given an taken to the friends we're makin'
there is nothing we won't do

welcome to our family time
welcome to our happy to be time
this is the best of all
ya know the best of all
we're here to share it all

If there is a bond between us nobody can explain
It's a celebration of life
we see our friends again
I'll be there for you
I know you'll be there for me too

so come on
welcome to our family time
welcome to our brotherly time
this is the best of all
ya know the best of all
we're here to share it all

remember we love once we're parted
someone need in your heart
finding love, heading a future
telling stories, loving with friend
precious moments you'll never forget

this has to be the most beautiful, the most peaceful place I've ever been to
It's nothing like I've never seen before
When I think how far I've come I can't believe it, yet I see it
when I see family I see the way we used to be

Come on
welcome to our family time
welcome to our brotherly time
we're happy for given an taken to the friends we're makin'
there is nothing we won't do

so come on
welcome to our family time
welcome to our happy to be time
this is the best of all
ya know the best of all
we're here to..

We're here to share it all!

Second Song:

Free
would you believe me if I said....
that we are the ones who can make the change
in the world today....
would you believe me if I said...
that all of the dreams in your heart
can come true....today
would you believe me if I said...
that life could be all that you want it to be...today..

Chorus:
and if I had wings I would fly
'cause all that I need, you are...
and if the world caved in around me...
to you I'd still hold on
'cause You're all that I believe...
and the one that created me...
JESUS...because of you...I'M FREE

Verse2:
would you blieve me if I said...
that God can make miracles happen today....
would you believe me if I said..
that you don't need to wait for the answers before...
you step out in faith...
would you believe me if I said...
that nothing is ever impossible...for God...

Bridge:
just live your life...with God inside..
you won't regret one moment of it...
and give all that you can for God,for God

Third Song:

I Surrender
Purify this tainted soul
I'm tired of living life a fool
Soften up this hardened clay
To be a servant, this I pray
A reflection of You, I long to be
So Your kingdom I will seek

I surrender to Your throne
Oh, I surrender to Your throne
I will make my heart Your home
Oh, I surrender to Your throne

I've taken things I thought my own
Only to reap what I've sown
You've given back the years I fought
An ending love and grace You've brought
Eternal hope and peace You bring
And forever unto You I will sing

I surrender to Your throne
Oh, I surrender to Your throne
And I will make my heart Your home
Oh, I surrender to Your throne

Forever unto You I will sing
Forever unto You I will sing
Forever unto You I will sing
Forever unto You I will sing

I surrender
I surrender
I surrender, now
Oh, I surrender
And I surrender
And I surrender, now
Oh, I surrender
I surrender
I surrender
Oh, I surrender
I surrender
I surrender, now

I've got my memories
Always
Inside of me
But I can't go back
Back to how it was
I believe you now
I've come too far
No I can't go back
Back to how it was
Created for a place
I've never known

Chorus:
This is home
Now I'm finally
Where I belong
Where I belong
Yeah, this is home
I've been searching
For a place of my own
Now I've found it
Maybe this is home
Yeah, this is home

Belief over misery
I've seen the enemy
And I won't go back

Back to how it was
And I got my heart
Set on
What happens next
I got my eyes wide
It's not over yet
We are miracles
And we're not alone

(Chorus)

And now after all
My searching
After all my questions
I'm gonna call it home
I got a brand new mindset
I can finally see
The sunset
I'm gonna call it home

(Chorus)

Now I know
Yeah, this is home

I've come too far
And I won't go back
Yeah, this is home

And now, something to meditate:

When you have your doubts, remember this: God isn't on vacation, and He hasn't moved out of town, God isn't taking a coffee break, and He isn't snoozing on the couch. He's right here, right now, listening to your thoughts and prayers, watching over you.

The comforting words of Psalm 46:

"Be still, and know that I am God." will be real in your life. You will be comforted by the certain knowledge that God is not far away . . . and He isn't even nearby. He is, quite literally, here. And it's up to each of us to sense His presence.

Sometimes, you will allow yourself to become very busy, that's when you may be tempted to ignore God. But, when you quiet yourself long enough to acknowledge His presence, God will touch your heart and restore your spirit. By the way, He's ready to talk right now…. are you?

Hear now this Declaration from out across the nation, we need to wake up and understand. Many hurting hearts are crying, but our voices seem to be dying, can you see this battle raging on?

We are the light to reach this world, we are the salt preserving these souls. lets show them all the love that we've received. We are, we are in desperation. we need to reach this generation, we are speaking louder than before. we are the hope that's been forgotten, we have a love that has been brought & we are speaking louder than before

Take every chance that you can, move together, taking a stand, never losing heart, we'll speak as one. We need to be the image of christ, to show love and serve at all times.we can make a difference in this land,

Everything's surreal, but this urgency I fell, we should be reachung out to all these desperate pleas, the need is real, can't you feel this call to revolution? My beating heart is breaking for them. that's why I am speaking up, that's why I am speaking now.

St. Mary's Youth Group isn't just an ordinary Youth Group. You see we're not just here to eat pizza and talk about a bunch of issues that don't matter to our lives. Our group is REAL. Life is too short to waste time doing things that don't matter. You see, we're Catholic, all encompassing, universal, welcoming and proud of it. Our group isn't afraid to be a beacon of light in a dark world. We aren't afraid to ask the tough questions about our world and our faith. No one will shy away from a real answer, either. We believe in our faith. We challenge each other to be holy, to shun the ways of the world. In Short, we believe that we aren’t too young to make a difference in this world. We laugh together, eat together, pray together and most importantly have fun together.
Stand for something, join us!
St. Mary's Youth Group isn't just an ordinary Youth Group. You see we're not just here to eat pizza and talk about a bunch of issues that don't matter to our lives. Our group is REAL. Life is too short to waste time doing things that don't matter. You see, we're Catholic, all encompassing, universal, welcoming and proud of it. Our group isn't afraid to be a beacon of light in a dark world. We aren't afraid to ask the tough questions about our world and our faith. No one will shy away from a real answer, either. We believe in our faith. We challenge each other to be holy, to shun the ways of the world. In Short, we believe that we aren’t too young to make a difference in this world. We laugh together, eat together, pray together and most importantly have fun together.
Stand for something, join us!

Lyrics:

O Holy night, the stars are brightly shining.
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh hear the angel voices!
Oh night divine! Oh night when Christ was born!
Oh night divine! Oh night! Oh night divine!

Chains shall he break for the slave is our brother,
and in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we;
Let all within us praise his holy name.
Christ is the lord, that ever, ever praise we.
Noel! Noel! Oh night; oh night divine!
Noel! Noel! Oh night; oh night divine!
Noel! Noel! Oh night; oh night divine!

Some prayers for you and for you and your family:

This the prayer:

O God of all seasons and senses, grant us the sense of your timing
to submit gracefully and rejoice quietly in the turn of the seasons.
In this season of short days and long nights, of grey and white and cold,
teach us the lessons of endings;
children growing, friends leaving,
loved ones dying, grieving over,
grudges over, blaming over, excuses over.
O God, grant us a sense of your timing.
(Time for silent prayer)
In this season of short days and long nights, of grey and white and cold,
teach us the lessons of beginnings;
that such waitings and endings may be the starting place,
a planting of seeds which bring to birth
what is ready to be born--
something right and just and different,
a new song, a deeper relationship, a fuller love--
in the fullness of your time.
O God, grant us the sense of your timing.

This is for the dinner:

Father, We thank Thee for this day.
Bless all we do and all we say.
May we each enjoy Thy blessings great
As Jesus' Birth we celebrate.
And may the love that we share here
Remain throughout the coming year.
Amen!

And before I finish, something about the "REAL" Santa:

Saint Nicholas, the 4th century saint who inspired our modern figure of Santa Claus, was born near Myra, a port on the Mediterranean Sea serving the busy sea lanes that linked the seaports of Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Ships sailing these waters, laden with grain and all kinds of goods, found safety in the port from raging storms and menacing pirates.

Nicholas came from one of the city's wealthy merchant families, but he was not spoiled by his family's wealth. His mother and father taught him to be generous to others, especially those in need. So Nicholas came to see that helping others makes one richer in life than anything else.
One day, by chance, Nicholas heard about a rich man in Myra who lost all his money when his business failed. The man had three lovely daughters, all wishing to get married, but he had no money for their marriage. Besides, who would marry them, he thought, since their father is such a failure? With nothing to eat, the man in desperation decided to sell one of his daughters into slavery. At least then the rest of them might survive.

That night before the first daughter was to be sold, Nicholas, with a small bag of gold in his hand, softly approached their house, and, tossing the gold through an open window, quickly vanished into the darkness.
The next morning, the father found a bag of gold lying on the floor next to his bed. He had no idea where it came from. "Maybe it's counterfeit," he thought. But as he tested it, he knew it was real. He went over the list of his friends and business associates. None of them could possibly have given him this.

The poor man fell to his knees and great tears came to his eyes. He thanked God for this beautiful gift. His spirits rose higher than they had been for a long time because someone had been so unexpectedly good to him. He arranged for his first daughter's wedding and there was enough money left for the rest of them to live for almost a year. Often he wondered: who gave them the gold?

But by the end of the year, the family again had nothing, and the father, again desperate and seeing no other way open, decided his second daughter must be sold. But Nicholas, hearing about it, came by night to their window and tossed in another bag of gold as before. The next morning the father rejoiced, and, thanking God, begged His pardon for losing hope. Who, though, was the mysterious stranger giving them such a gift?

Each night afterwards the father watched by the window. As the year passed their money ran out. In the dead of one night he heard quiet steps approaching his house and suddenly a bag of gold fell onto the floor. The father quickly ran out to catch the one who threw it there. He caught up with Nicholas some distance away and recognized him, for the young man came from a well-known family in the city.

"Why did you give us the gold?" the father asked.

"Because you needed it," Nicholas answered. "But why didn't you let us know who you were?" the man asked again. "Because it's good to give and have only God know about it."

When the bishop of Myra died, the priests and leading people of the city along with the neighboring bishops came together in their cathedral to select a new bishop. They prayed and asked God to point out who it would be. In a dream, God said to one of them that they should all pray together the next morning. Someone would come through the cathedral door as they prayed. He should be their choice.

It was Nicholas who entered the cathedral the next morning. Immediately, the people of the city named him their bishop, for they knew that this unassuming person, whose good deeds they had learned about, was meant by God to lead them.

As bishop of Myra, Nicholas seemed more aware than ever of people's needs. He would appear all over the city offering help to anyone in difficulty, then quietly disappear without waiting for thanks. He shunned publicity. Still, his reputation as a holy man grew and grew, even spreading to distant cities that had never seen him.
He was especially interested that families had enough to eat and a good place to live, that children got ahead in life, and that old people lived out their lives with dignity and respect. And he always loved the sailors living so dangerously on the sea. Without their ships, people everywhere would be without food and other goods they carried for trade.

Yet it is as a lover of children that Nicholas is best remembered today. While he lived, he gave the little ones he met small gifts-- some candy, a toy. His kindness, which always managed to surprise them, touched their hearts, and they learned from this holy man what a beautiful thing giving is.

In the figure of Santa Claus, whose name and activity Nicholas inspired, we have this saint with us today.

Mary did you know?

Mary did you know that your baby boy would someday walk on water?

Mary did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters? Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?

This child that you delivered will soon deliver you?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man? Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand? Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?

When you kissed your little baby, you kissed the face of God?

The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the dead will live again; The lame will leap, the dumb will speak, the praises of the Lamb. Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?

Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?

Did you know that your baby boy was heaven’s perfect Lamb? This sleeping child you’re holding is the great, the great “I Am!”

Have you noticed that everyone in the Christmas story seems to be talking except Mary? She says very little and in today’s text, she does not speak. Everyone around her is talking but she is silent.

An angel of the Lord tells the shepherds not to be afraid because he has good news for them. More angels appear on the scene praising God for the gift of His Son. The shepherds talk among themselves about what they should do and after traveling to Bethlehem, they tell everyone along their way what they experienced.

What about Mary, though? What does scripture say about her reaction to all that happened on that holy night? “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” Luke 2:19. For Mary, it really was a “Silent Night.”
Carlos Castaneda, in A Separate Reality said that old Don Juan, the Yaqui soothsayer spoke of “using the darkness.” “The darkness,” he said, “is the best time to see.”

What do you think Mary saw that night in a Bethlehem stable? What was she thinking about as she held her baby tightly? Perhaps the usual things that new mothers think about. Is he healthy? Is he comfortable? Is he getting enough to eat? Is he warm? Whom does he look like? How will I travel so soon after giving birth?

I think her thoughts went much deeper, though. Luke’s word, ponder, implies this because it comes from a root word that means “to weigh.” We get our word “pound” from it. To ponder means to weigh things, to turn them over and over in your mind until you figure out how things connect and make sense.

What do you think Mary was trying to figure out? Luke doesn’t tell us but I have an idea. I think she was trying to understand what God was saying to her and what He wanted her to do. If her baby was special, as she knew in her heart he was, what did he come to do and what did she need to do in order to help him accomplish all that God sent him to do.

These are two things we need to ponder, too. What did Jesus come to do and what do I need to do to help him accomplish what God sent him to do? Coming to grips with these two questions can fill your life with meaning, purpose and direction. It can rescue you from a life of confusion, depression, loneliness and despair.

Did you see the movie, “The Five People You Meet in Heaven,” based upon Mitch Albom’s book by that title? I read the book several months ago and found it intriguing. It is a novel about Eddie, a war veteran that feels trapped in a meaningless life of fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. His days are a dull routine of work, loneliness and regret.

On his eighty-third birthday, Eddie dies in a tragic accident trying to save the life of a little girl from a falling cart. He awakens in the afterlife to discover that heaven is a place where your earthly life is explained by five people who were in it. Each person adds a piece to the puzzle and helps you see how events and decisions were connected. Throughout the movie, you could sense that Eddie was pondering; seriously weighing what every person was telling him so he could make sense of his life on earth.
Mary was not waiting until she got to heaven to figure out the purpose and significance of her life. She was doing it that night in a stable and based upon the life of Jesus, I think she figured it out. It is obvious that she provided what Jesus needed in order for him to fulfill his divine mission.

Are you a ponderer? Do you spend much time thinking about what Jesus came to do and what you need to do to help him accomplish it? I hope you do because pondering enables you to see life from God’s perspective and what a breathtaking view that is! For you see, from God’s perspective, there is no such thing as insignificant people or events. Even the smallest deed performed by the most common person can have an immeasurable impact upon society when seen as a part of the drama and mystery of life.

In recent years, I have sensed a renewed interest among Christians in meditation, a form of pondering. I’m glad because I think there is great value in it for us and those around us.

Let me encourage you to spend a “Silent Night” this week pondering, all alone in front of a lighted Christmas tree. Think about what Jesus came to do and what you need to do to help him accomplish it. Ask the Lord to lead and guide your thoughts and decisions. I assure you it will make Christmas more meaningful and life more fulfilling. Just ask Mary.

This is a familiar saying which we often hear at this time of year. I has a nice ring to it, and it rhymes!

But one question comes to mind, "Why is it important to even have a reason to celebrate this mid-winter holiday we call Christmas?" Why not just do it because it's tradition? After all, Christmas is good for the economy and it feels good. We often hear the saying, "If it ain't broke don't fix it." Some might say of Christmas, "Just do it - don't distract us by asking such philosophical questions."

However, in the tradition of the prophets, we believe that it's important to periodically come back to the meaning that we affix to matters which are religious.

Consider these examples in Isaiah:

1:12-17 - When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations-- I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

58:5,6 - Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?

Also, we recall the teaching of Jesus concerning tithing, which could be paraphrased, "don't not do it, but make sure you're doing it for the right reasons."

In a similar vein, at this Christmas time, it would be good to just remind each other, and the world around us why we do what we do.

But why do we need to keep reminding ourselves that "Jesus is the Reason" for Christmas? In part, because there are many other good reasons which are in competition.

Christmas Competition #1. Christmas is a festival of lights, as in most other religions. In India for example, the Hindus observe a holiday associated with lights, it's called "Divali". There are actually two nights of celebration, the first is for "Little Lights", and the next night is when the fire crackers and rockets are set off to commemorate "Big Lights". The Jewish religion has Chanukah, which is also a festival of lights. So if we're not careful, Christmas will be reduced to the same - just a time to enjoy lights. We do it in many ways, on the trees, decorating houses, shops and city squares. In one town where we lived the custom was to place candles at the bottom of small brown paper sacks and line the driveways and sidewalks leading up to the homes. But is that the meaning of Christmas? The beauty of lighted decorations?

Christmas Competition #2. Christmas is an opportunity to express love through giving. For many people, there could be no Christmas if there were no exchange of gifts. But first, if we get this idea from the Persians Kings who brought gifts to the new born Christ child, why is it that we give gifts to each other, and not to Him? Also, why do we do this only for Christmas? Isn't gift giving a regular feature of all loving relationships? And why all the attention on toys? Is that the meaning of Christmas - dolls, trucks, ice skates, electric trains and video games?

Christmas Competition #3. Christmas is for family gatherings and lots of food. Family members who don't have time for each other all year suddenly feel a need to gather at the parent's home, or the home of one of the grown children. But if "family" is the "Reason for the Season", then what about those who are alienated from their families, or whose families are far away, or no longer living? Closely related to this is the idea that Christmas is a celebration of children - but what if you have none, or have bad memories of your own?

Christmas Competition #4. Then there's the interpretation that Christmas is nothing more than our way of celebrating the winter solstice, a celebration of the turn of the season, when the days begin getting longer again. Patterned after the old Roman holiday, Saturnalia, it gives us a much needed time to rest and celebrate during the darkest days of the year. Perhaps this is why so many have bought into the idea that you can't have a legitimate Christmas without snow!

But none of these really satisfy: Lights, Gifts, Family, Winter - these have all become associated with Christmas, but none of them represent the true "Reason for the Season."

There's only one satisfactory answer - "Jesus is the Reason for the Season".

Some time ago, someone gave me this poem, written by Donald Arey, Sr., titled

"Happy Birthday, Jesus"
I had a birthday party, most everybody came.

They danced and ate and had a ball, But no one spoke My name.

They gave each other presents, as nice as they could be.

People came from far and near, But no one mentioned Me.

The stores were filled with shoppers, The restaurants crowded out,

But no one seemed to really know what the party was about.

They talked about a reindeer. I think Rudolph was his name.

Then someone mentioned "Jesus", And they hung their heads in shame.

You see, it was My birthday. They didn't even know.

That is why from heaven My heart is grieving so.

I came to earth from heaven on that first Christmas day--

Born in a lowly manger From sin to show the way.

I died one day on Calvary, on a cruel Roman cross

To save a world of sinners from a life of awful loss.

When you next have a party, with presents, friends and tree,

Remember Me, your Savior, whose birth has set you free.

Jesus

In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Did you know
That your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
That your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that youve delivered
Will soon deliver you

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Did you know
That your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know
That your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little boy
Youve kissed the face of god

Mary, did you know?
The blind will see
The deaf will hear
And the dead will live again
The lame will leap
The dumb will speak
The praises of the lamb

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy is lord of all creation?
Did you know
That your baby boy will one day rules the nations?
Did you know
That your baby boy is heavens perfect lamb?
This sleeping child youre holding
Is the great I am

I come to you because I need your prayers for my priest. One more time... I plead you "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest." Mt 9,35

This prayer will help you to undestand more what I am saying...

Did you ever really consider the catholic priesthood and understand what it is to be a priest?
Did you ever consider…

o That not even the Most Holy Virgin can do what a priest does?

o That not even the angels, the archangels including Michael, Gabriel, or Rafael, or any of those who conquered Lucifer, can do what a priest does?

Did you ever consider….

o That our Lord Jesus Christ carried out a greater miracle at the Last Supper than was done at the creation of the entire universe, even with all the splendors of the universe? The miracle that He performed at the Last Supper was converting the bread and the wine into His Body and His Blood so that the world may be fed and not be hungry. This miracle, this wonder, is one before which angels and mankind kneel, and which can be made a reality every day by a priest.

Did you ever consider….

o That humanity has been redeemed and that the world subsists because there are men and women that are able, every day, to eat His redeeming Body and Blood, and that only a priest can carry out the transformation of the bread and wine into body and blood?

o That a priest has a dignity infinitely greater than a king when he celebrates at the altar, and when a priest is at the altar, he is not a symbol, or even Christ's ambassador? Rather, when a priest celebrates at the altar, he is one with Christ working God’s greatest miracle.
Did you ever consider…

o That a priest is needed more than a king, more than a military general, more than a banker and more than a teacher because a priest can substitute for all of them but no one can substitute for a priest?
Did you ever consider….

o That this miracle, the greatest miracle, can be lacking when there is a scarcity of saintly and vigorous priestly vocations; and if this were to happen, if there were no priests to perform this miracle, then the heavens and the earth would be shaken, and people would clamor from hunger and anguish; they would want the bread, but there won't be anyone to give it to them; they will request absolution for their faults, but there won't be anyone to absolve them?

When one takes all this into consideration, you can begin to understand the immense necessity of forming priestly vocations. You will understand the eagerness with which families used to desire for their sons to become priests.
Once you take all this into consideration, you will understand…

o The immense respect that the towns’ people had for priests, which was reflected in their laws.
You will understand…

o The worst crime that someone can commit is to impede or discourage a vocation.

o That if a father or a mother obstructs a son’s priestly vocation, it is as if they are choosing to give up a title of incomparable nobility.

You will understand

o That to raise or maintain a Seminarian or a Novice is to multiply the births of our Redeemer.
When you understand what the priesthood is, you will understand

o That to give to a priest is to receive more than all the dignities of the world because a priest is the same as Christ when he offers Christ’s Body and Christ’s Blood for the world to eat.

o That to give towards the studies of a youth moving toward the priesthood is to pave the road to the altar to where he must arrive and from where you will be fed.

Lyrics:

Tell me what do you believe in
Does your life have rhyme or reason
Something in your heart that makes you care
I hope that you don't mind me asking
But I have got a burning passion
I need to know forever you'll be there

I can't make it clearer
Put it any other way
If you can't see the simple truth I do
Then there's nothing in this world that's left to say
But jesus loves you

I know I don't have all the answers
And I have wasted many chances
To prove to you a faith that lives inside
I'm praying there will be a breakthrough
Cause I can't be the one to save you
God knows how many times I've tried

I can't explain
But I can't deny
So many times for you I've cried
And to see you on your knees tonight

I cant make it clearer
Put it any other way
To know you know simple truth I do
And to know that your forever has been changed
Cause jesus loves you

This is something Very Good!

(Click the links)

http://whatisprop8.com/

https://www.icontribute.us/protectmarriage/initiative/truth

...Also something about proposistion 4:

http://www.yeson4.net/

 

A journey home to God

God's reconciling work in us doesn't happen in an instant. Reconciliation is often a long, sometimes painful process. It is a journey not confined to, but completed in, sacramental celebration. It is a round-trip journey away from our home with God and back again that can be summed up in terms of three C's: conversion, confession and celebration—and in that order.

In the past the order was different: Receiving the sacrament meant beginning with a recitation of sins (confession). Then we expressed our sorrow with an Act of Contrition, agreed to make some satisfaction for our sins by accepting our penance, and resolved to change our ways (conversion). Celebration was seldom, if ever, part of the process.

The Parable of the Prodigal Son can help us understand the stages in our journey to reconciliation—and the order in which they occur. This helps us see why the theology of the new Rite of Reconciliation suggests a reordering in the pattern that we were familiar with in the past.

The journey for the young man in the parable (and for us) begins with the selfishness of sin. His sin takes him from the home of his parents—as our sin takes us from the shelter of God and the Christian community. His major concern in his new self-centered lifestyle—as is ours in sin—is himself and his personal gratification. None of the relationships he establishes are lasting. When his money runs out, so do his "friends." Eventually he discovers himself alone, mired in the mud of a pigpen, just as he is mired in sin. Then comes this significant phrase in the story: "Coming to his senses at last...." This is the beginning of the journey back, the beginning of conversion.

Come on! what are you waiting for? He is waiting for that hug!

...The rest of this meditation is in:

http://stmarysvacaville.com/index.cfm?page=subcontent&id=27&sub=174

Lyrics:

Living on my own, thinking for myself
Castles in the sand, temporary wealth
Walls are falling down, storms are closing in
Tears have filled my eyes, here I am again

Chorus:
And I've held out as long as I can
Now I'm letting go and holding out my hand
Daddy, here I am again, will you take me back tonight
I went and made the world my friend, and it left me high and dry
I dragged Your name back through the mud
That You first found me in
Not worthy to be called Your son
Is this to be my end?
Daddy, here I am
Here I am again

Curse this morning sun, drags me in to one more day
Of reaping what I've sown, of living with my shame
Welcome to my world, and the life that I have made
Where one day you're a prince, the next day your a slave

Chorus x 2

Something interesting...

The well-known Parable of the Prodigal Son is perhaps the most strikingly powerful illustration of the human process of reconciliation, and of the theology inherent in the new Rite of Reconciliation. But many of us find it difficult to believe the story (see Luke 15:11-32). The father welcomes the son back instantly—doesn't even wait for him to get to the house. And he isn't at all interested in the young man's confession, only in celebrating.

This is not the way we Catholics have viewed the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Even with the new Rite, most of us tend to view this sacrament with the attitude of the older son in the story: Forgiveness comes only after you recite your list of sins, agree to suffer a bit for them, do something to make up for your offenses, give some guarantee you won't commit the same sins again, and prove yourself worthy to join the rest of us who haven't been so foolish!

But God really is like the merciful parent in this parable: not out to catch us in our sin but intent on reaching out and hanging on to us in spite of our sin. Reconciliation (and the new Rite is careful to point this out) is not just a matter of getting rid of sin. Nor is its dominant concern what we, the penitents, do. The important point is what God does in, with and through us.

Lyrics:

I was sure by now,God, that You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
and it's still raining
as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away.

Chorus:
And I'll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to You
and raised me up again
my strength is almost gone how can I carry on
if I can't find You
and as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away

Chorus

I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

Chorus

Lyrics:

It used to be darkness
Without you I
I lived my life in blindness
But now I'm found

CHORUS:
And I'll sing, sing I love you so
And I'll sing
Because the world can't take away
Your love

Found me in weakness
Broken
You came to me in kindness
And now I live

CHORUS

BRIDGE:

I give my life for you Lord
For all you've done

CHORUS

I Found thid poem and I think you will like it!

Here's a little song
To help you get along.
It'll see you through
When you're feeling blue.

And though it's not profound,
When you're feelin' down,
Sing this little tune
And you'll feel better soon.

You're not alone.
Even though right now you're on your own.
You are loved in ways that can't be shown.
You're needs are known.
You're not alone.

And when you cry.
You're just lettin' go a heartache deep inside,
So tomorrow they'll be sunshine and sky
And love close by.
You're not alone.

And I know that it's not easy,
But I know that it won't last -
'Cause one who loves you more than me
Is sending blessings fast.

You're not alone.
Say it one more time, "I'm not alone."
And even when it's hard to find the words,
You're always heard.
You're not alone.

You're not alone.
Say it one more time, "I'm not alone."
Even when it's hard to find the words,
You're always heard.
You're not alone.

Lyrics:

You want to be real, you want to be empty inside
You want to be someone laying down your pride
You want to be someone someday
Then lay it all down before the king

You want to be whole, you want to have purpose inside
You want to have virtue and purify your mind

You want to be set free today
Then lay it all down before the King

This is my desire, this is my return
This is my desire to be used by You

You want to be real, you want to be empty inside
And I know my heart is to feel You near
And I know my life
It's to do Your will
It's to do Your will

This is my desire, this is my return
This is my desire, to be used by You
Oo yea
This is my desire, this is my desire
To be used by You

All my life I have seen
Where You've taken me
Beyond all I have hoped
And there's more left unseen

There's not much I can do to repay all You've done
So I give my hands to use

This is my desire, this is my return
This is my desire, to be used by You
Oo yea
This is my desire, this is my desire
To be used by You

Here I am, once again
I pour out my heart
For I know that you hear
Every cry
You are listening
No matter what state my heart is in

You are faithful to answer
With words that are true
And a hope that is real
As I feel your touch
You bring a freedom
To all that’s within
In the safety of this place
I’m longing to ...

Pour out my heart
To say that I love you
Pour out my heart
To say that I need you
Pour out my heart
To say that I’m thankful
Pour out my heart
To say that you’re wonderful

Lyrics:

Is there anyone that fails
Is there anyone that falls
Am I the only one in church today feeling so small

Cause when I take a look around
Everybody seems so strong
I know they’ll soon discover
That I don’t belong

So I tuck it all away, like everything’s okay
If I make them all believe it, maybe I’ll believe it too
So with a painted grin, I play the part again
So everyone will see me the way that I see them

*Chorus*
Are we happy plastic people
Under shiny plastic steeples
With walls around our weakness
And smiles to hide our pain
But if the invitation’s open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade

Is there anyone who’s been there
Are there any hands to raise
Am I the only one who’s traded
In the altar for a stage

The performance is convincing
And we know every line by heart
Only when no one is watching
Can we really fall apart

But would it set me free
If I dared to let you see
The truth behind the person
That you imagine me to be

Would your arms be open
Or would you walk away
Would the love of Jesus
Be enough to make you stay

Chorus x2

Well if the invitation’s open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade

Is there anyone that fails
Is there anyone that falls
Am I the only one in church today feeling so small

This will maybe help you...

We want to be yours Lord;
yours truly:

Those that do not back down,
those that do not loose heart

Nor those with uncertain knowledge, those that give everything instead denying you.

For that reason, we beg of you: teach us, form us,
win us and ignite us in holy passion and eagerness of victory.

Make us apostles of your kingdom, fighters for your holy church, to wander the world always at your
service, with the single vision that you reign,
that you are loved, that you are well known...more.

Our Lady of the brave ones,
Our Lady of the humble ones,
incarnate again Christ in our poor life, Amen.

Say this everyday for a month and God will show you His gifts!

Oh that You would bless me indeed
Oh that You would bless me indeed
And enlarge my border
That Your hand would be with me
That You'd keep me from evil
That I might not cause pain
Oh when I call on Your name
Oh that You would bless me
That Your hand would be with me

Lyrics:

She is running
A hundred miles an hour in the wrong direction
She is trying
But the canyon's ever widening
In the depths of her cold heart
So she sets out on another misadventure just to find
She's another two years older
And she's three more steps behind

Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?
Or does anybody even know she's going down today
Under the shadow of our steeple
With all the lost and lonely people
Searching for the hope that's tucked away in you and me
Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?

She is yearning
For shelter and affection
That she never found at home
She is searching
For a hero to ride in
To ride in and save the day
And in walks her prince charming
And he knows just what to say
Momentary lapse of reason
And she gives herself away

Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?
Or does anybody even know she's going down today
Under the shadow of our steeple
With all the lost and lonely people
Searching for the hope that's tucked away in you and me
Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?

If judgment looms under every steeple
If lofty glances from lofty people
Can't see past her scarlet letter
And we've never even met her

If judgment looms under every steeple
If lofty glances from lofty people
Can't see past her scarlet letter
And we've never even met her

If Judgement looms under every steeple
If lofty glances from lofty people
Can't see past her scarlet letter
And we've never even met her

Never even met her
(Never Even Met her)

(OHHHHH)Does anybody hear her? Does anybody see?
Or does anybody even know she's going down today
Under the shadow of our steeple
With all the lost and lonely people
Searching for the hope that's tucked away in you and me

Does anybody hear her? (Does anybody hear her?) Does anybody see? (Does anybody See?)
Does anybody even know she's going down today?
Under the shadow of our steeple (shadow of her steeple)
With all the lost and lonely people (Lost and Lonely people)
Searching for the hope that's tucked away in you and me
Does anybody hear her? Does anybody see?

Lyrics:

Looked down from a broken sky.
Traced out by the city of lights.
My world from a mile high.
Best seat in the house tonight.
Touch down on the cold black-top.
Hold on for the sudden stop.
Breathe in the familiar shock of confusion and chaos.
All those people goin somewhere, why have I never cared.

Give me your eyes for just one second,
Give me your eyes so I can see,
Everything that I keep missing,
Give your love for humanity.
Give me your arms for the broken-hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten.
Give me Your eyes so I can see.
Yeah...

Step out on the busy street.
See a girl and our eyes meet.
Does her best to smile at me.
To hide what's underneath.
There's a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie.
Too ashamed to tell his wife he's out of work, he's buyin time.
All those people goin somewhere, why have I never cared.

Give me your eyes for just one second,
Give me your eyes so I can see,
Everything that I keep missing,
Give me your love for humanity.
Give me Your arms for the broken-hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten.
Give me Your eyes so I can see.
Yeah...

I've been there a million times.
A couple million lives.
Just movin past me by, I swear I never thought that I was wrong.
But I wanna second glance so give me a second chance to see the way you've seen the people all along.

Give me your eyes for just one second,
Give me your eyes so I can see,
Everything that I keep missing,
Give me your love for humanity.
Give me Your arms for the broken-hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten.
Give me Your eyes so I can see.

Give me your eyes for just one second,
Give me your eyes so I can see,
Everything that I keep missing,
Give me Your love for humanity
Give me Your arms for the broken-hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten.
Give me Your eyes so I can see.
Yeah...

First of all hello to all the ones that love the scriptures and specially the bible study group in Vacaville!

As a Catholic, I have, without a doubt, the best insurance policy available to mankind. I am in the hands of a mighty God. He protects, He comforts, He directs, and he promises me that if I follow Him, he has a flawless plan that in the end is best for me. Show me an insurance company that gets close to that.

So yes, I'm in great hands. The same hands that calmed the sea, calm me . The hands that were nailed to the cross, tell me I don't have to carry my burdens anymore. The hands that rolled the stone away, tell me death is not the end. The hands that hold me, hold the world. They are the hands of God.

So are you in good hands?

Lyrics:

Beautiful Lord, Wonderful savior
I know for sure all of my days are held in your hands
Crafted into your perfect plans

You gently called me into your presence
Guiding me by Your Holy Spirit
Teach me dear Lord to live all of my life
Through your eyes

I'm captured by your holy calling
Set me apart. I know you're drawing me to yourself
lead me, Lord. I pray

Oh Take me, mold me, use me, fill me
I give my life to the potter's hand

Oh Call me, guide me, lead me, walk beside me
I give my life to the potter's hand

You gently call me into your presence
Guiding me by your holy spirit
Teach me dear lord to live all of my life through your eyes

I'm captured by your holy calling
Set me apart. I know you're drawing me to yourself
lead me, Lord. I pray

Oh Take me, mold me, use me, fill me
I give my life to the potter's hand

Oh Call me, guide me, lead me, walk beside me
I give my life to the potter's hand

Falling on my knees in worship
Giving all i am to seek your face
Lord i am yours

My whole life i place in your hands
God of mercy
Humbled i bow down
In your presence, at your throne

I called
You answered
And came to my rescue
And i want to be where you are

In my life
Be lifted high
In my world
Be lifted high
In our Love
Belifted high

The reason why I stand
The answer lies in you
You hung to make me strong
Though my praise was few
When I fall I bring your name down
But I have found in you
A heart that bleeds forgiveness
replacing all these thoughts of painful memories
But I know that your response will always be

I'll take you back always
Even when your fight is over now (x2)
I'll take you back always
Even when the pain is coming through (x2)
I'll take you back

You satisfy this cry
Of what I'm looking for
And I'll take all I can
And lay it down before
The throne of endless grace now that radiates what's true
I'm in the only place that
erases all these faults
That have overtaken me
But I know that your response will always be

I'll take you back always
Even when your fight is over now(x2)
I'll take you back always
Even when the pain is coming through(x2)
I'll take you back

I can only speak with a grateful heart
As I'm pierced by this gift of your love
I will always bring an offering
I can never thank you enough

You take me back always
Even when my fight is over now (x2)
You take me back always
Even when my pain is coming through(x2)
You take me back (repeat these 5 lines twice)

It's crowded in worship today
As she slips in
Trying to fade into the faces
The girls' teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know
Farther than they know

CHORUS
But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way
There is a way

A traveler is far away from home
He sheds his coat
And quietly sinks into the back row
The weight of their judgmental glances tells him that his chances
Are better out on the road

CHORUS
But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way

Jesus paid much too high a price
For us to pick and choose who should come
And we are the Body of Christ

Chorus (2x)
If we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way

Jesus is the way

If I lift my head
From the bit of stars the ocean wide
If I call your name
Would you carry me on inside

And if I close my eyes
Let me put my faith in the whole design
Could you raise your voice up
feelin it whole together with mine

But I'm on my way
Yes I'm on my way
Said I'm on my way yeah
But I'm on my way

If I'm on my way now
I'm better for it all cause I'm moving on yeah
and whether they might say
I belong you can't say
yeah you can't say
I'm gone

But I'm on my way
Yes I'm on my way
Said I'm on my way yeah
But I'm on my way

I'll never find my way back here from anywhere
I'll never find my way back here from anywhere
I'll never find my way back here from anywhere
I'll never find my way back here from anywhere

But I'm on my way
Said I'm on my way

yes I'm on my way (I'm on my way)
Said I'm on my way (said I'm on my way)
yes i'm on my way (i'm on my way)
said i'm on my way yeah
but i'm on my way

"My Desire"

You want to be real
You want to be empty inside
You want to be someone laying down your pride
You want to be someone someday
Then lay it all down before the King
You want to be whole
You want to have purpose inside
You want to have virtue and purify your mind
You want to be set free today then lay it all down before the King

[Chorus:]
This is my desire
This is my return
This is my desire to be used by you

You want to be real
You want to be emptied inside
And I know my heart is to feel you near
And I know my life
It's to do your will
It's to do your will

[Chorus]

All my life I have seen where you've taken me
Beyond all I have hoped and there's more left unseen
There's not much I can do to repay all you've done so I give my hands to use

[Chorus]

O Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy, at this most critical time, we entrust the United States of America to your loving care. Most Holy Mother, we beg you to reclaim this land for the glory of your Son. Overwhelmed with the burden of the sins of our nation, we cry to you from the depths of our hearts and seek refuge in your motherly protection. Look down with mercy upon us and touch the hearts of our people. Open our minds to the great worth of human life and to the responsibilities that accompany human freedom. Free us from the falsehoods that lead to the evil of abortion and threaten the sanctity of family life. Grant our country the wisdom to proclaim that God’s law is the foundation on which this nation was founded, and that He alone is the True Source of our cherished rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. O Merciful Mother, give us the courage to reject the culture of death and the strength to build a new Culture of Life.
Trusting in your most powerful intercession, we pray...
Remember O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, we fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, our Mother. To thee do we come, before thee we stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not our petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer us. Amen.

Lord, this is what went wrong...
I give it all to you, every detail, every barb, every frustration,
The major things and the petty things.
May the pain I am feeling be for healing,
and not a spring of bitterness.
May my hurts be Christ-centered, and for those involved,
rather than self-centered and against them.


PHRRASE FOR THE WEEK:

But don't be discouraged, He is always with you! (Mt 28, 19...)

Lyrics:
Oh,what I would do to have
the kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves
To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown
Where Jesus is,
And he's holding out his hand

But the waves are calling out my name
and they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
time and time again
"Boy, you'll never win,
you'll never win."

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
the voice of truth says "do not be afraid!"
and the voice of truth says "this is for my glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Oh, what I would do
to have the kind of strength it takes
To stand before a giant
with just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound
of a thousand warriors
shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out
my name and he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
time and time again
"Boy you'll never win,
you'll never win."

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
the voice of truth says "do not be afraid!"
and the voice of truth says "this is for my glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

But the stone was just the right size
to put the giant on the ground
and the waves they don't seem so high
from on top of them looking down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
when I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
singing over me

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says do not be afraid
And the voice of truth says this is for my glory
Out of all the voices calling out to me (calling out to me)
I will choose to listen and believe (I will choose to listen and believe)
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

I will listen and believe
I will listen and believe the voice of truth
I will listen and believe
'Cause Jesus you are the voice of truth
And I will listen to you.. oh you are

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Have you understood all this?" They answered, "Yes." And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old." (Matthew 13: 44-52)

Lord, I long to discover the mystery of your Kingdom and live it ardently in my daily life. May I, with the help of the Holy Spirit, penetrate into this mystery in prayer.

Lord, I want to be generous and give up everything for the sake of your Kingdom in my life and in the lives of those souls entrusted to me. You know that I cannot do so on my own. Help me with your grace to be generous. AMEN

Who Am I

Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
Vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours, I am Yours

Who am I, that the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love and watch me rise again
Who am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
Vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
Vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours

I am Yours
Whom shall I fear
Whom shall I fear
'Cause I am Yours
I am Yours

This passage occurs after the death and resurrection of Jesus, just before his ascension to the Father. It represents the birth of the Church.

The disciples had questioned Jesus about the time of the restoration of Israel. His words ‘You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you’ were somewhat surprising – they referred to a new meaning of the word “power”. Jesus promises a different kind of “power” to help the Jews from under the yoke of Roman occupation. The power He promises to give is the very Spirit of God, the dynamic potential for transformation, the very condition of living according to the manner of Jesus’ life.

This Spirit is not a vague ambiguous force, rather it is a Divine Person, the true Self Gift of the Father to the Son, and the Son to the Father, and hence the gift of the Father to us in the Son – with Him we say “Our Father”. Only with the reception of the Spirit of Jesus can we exercise the authentic passion of the Heart of Christ, and hence by being set on fire with it do we as persons become witnesses to Him and everything for which He stands.

The ultimate witness we can make is to follow in the pattern of His life through the total self gift of our lives, lived authentically in truth and love for Him and at the service of others.

One striking feature of the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds that is easy to overlook is the balance and maturity of the servants. If there were immature or unbalanced servants among them, the parable might have ended in a different way, such as this:

And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?” He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them.” And one of the slaves answered, “Not me, Master, for I know exactly the difference between wheat and weeds.” And he went out and began to pull out the weeds but some of them turned out to be wheat as the Master had foretold.
Too many Christians today are like such over-zealous servants who could not tolerate the evil weeds. In their zeal to serve God they go on a crusade against those they perceive as evil with the intention of cleaning up the church, the nation, or the world. In the end they discover they have made a big mistake.

Imagine the surprise and shock the servants must have felt when they went to the farm owner to report the presence of the weeds in the farm and asked for permission to go and pull them out. As far as the servants were concerned that was the right thing to do in order to maximise output, as any good farmer knows. Why then did the farm owner restrain them from pulling out the weeds? We can think of two reasons.

First, the master knew that the wheat would survive in spite of the presence of the weeds. The weeds might inconvenience the wheat temporarily but they would not choke them to death or take over the farm. Secondly, and this is crucial, he knew how difficult it is to distinguish between the wheat and the weeds. They look so much alike. Only at harvest time could they be distinguished for sure by their fruits. If it were possible to distinguish with accuracy the weeds from the wheat he would probably not have prevented them. But he prevented them for this one reason, “lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them” (Matthew 13:29).

Jesus then went on to explain to his disciples that “the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one (verse 38). This explanation makes it clear that the point of the parable is that Christians should not try to get rid of bad people from the world. We must let good and evil people live side by side in the world till the Day of Reckoning when they will be known for sure by their fruits. We should be content to let good and evil people live in the same house, the same apartment building, the same neighbourhood, the same country and in the same world, for the simple reason that we cannot absolutely identify without error who is the good and who the bad guy. Of course we all have our ideas of who the good and the bad guys are but, like the servants, we could be wrong.

Faithful servants are those who recognise this possibility that they could be wrong and so are prepared to suspend judgment and action. Intolerance, the desire to get rid of evil people around us, breads fanatics who end up being unfaithful servants of our God who “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45).

Examples of such overzealous servants who want to get rid of people they perceive as evil but who end up going against the mind of God abound. We can think immediately of the young man Saul who went on to become St Paul. He undertook a personal crusade to root out Christianity because he believed it was a bad idea. We can think of those “zealous Christians” who go about hunting down abortion providers and homosexuals. We can think of Benjamin Smith of the White supremacist World Church of the Creator who went on a shooting rampage gunning down Jews, Blacks and Asians. To people like these the message of today’s gospel is loud and clear: If you want to be a faithful servant of God you must be prepared to make room for those we perceive as evil. We must heed the words of the Master, “Let both of them grow together until the harvest” (verse 30).

Lyrics:

Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

Blessed Heart of Jesus, You who have chosen us to promote the Holiness in the Spirituality of your Heart, give us companions of your life and apostolate. If you increase our brothers You will have more followers of Your Heart and more apostles of Your spirituality, and more followers of the Holy Gospel. At the same time, your Mother will gain more children of Your Love and more apostles of Your Heart and More promoters of holiness. Jesus through your Mother help our family grow, Amen.

Lyrics:

All for love a Father gave
For only love could make a way
All for love the heavens cried
For love was crucified

Oh how many times have I broken Your heart
But still You forgive
If only I ask
And how many times have You heard me pray
Draw near to me

Everything I need is You
My beginning, my forever
Everything I need is You

Let me sing all for love
I will join the angel song
Ever holy is the Lord
King of Glory
King of all

Oh how many times have I broken Your heart
But still You forgive
If only I ask
And how many times have You heard me pray
Draw near to me

Everything I need is You
My beginning, my forever
Everything I need is You (x2)

All for a love a Saviour prayed
Abba Father have Your way
Though they know not what they do
Let the Cross draw man to You

Everything I need is You
My beginning, my forever
Everything I need is You (x2)

The young man Eric was giving testimony to the turnaround in his life since he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Saviour. Two years before, he confessed, he had no appetite for the Word of God. On Sundays he used to shop round the neighbourhood churches for the priest that gave the shortest homilies. His idea of a good church service was one that took as little time as possible. The shorter the better. But now that he is born again he could sit down and listen to the preaching of God’s word for hours on end. Our disposition for the Word of God is a good indication of our relationship with the Lord. Today’s gospel is an invitation to review and renew our attitude to the word of God.
The Parable of the Sower likens the teaching of God’s word to the sowing of seeds. The seeds fall on different types of soil, the pathway soil, the rocky soil, the thorny soil, and the good soil. Each of these types of soil is said to represent a certain type of heart with which hearers receive the word of God. The question each of us must ask ourselves today is, “What type of soil for the word of God do I represent? Am I like the pathway where the seed cannot even sprout, or like the rocky ground where the seed sprouts but has no roots, or like thorny ground where the word of God is choked to death by worldly cares, or like the good soil that bears much fruit? Comparing our different dispositions to different types of soil has one crucial limitation. Soil cannot help being what it is. We can. And so the question that follows is: “How can I improve the disposition of my heart so that the word of God can bear fruit in my life or bear fruit more abundantly? To help us answer this question we shall go back to the story of Eric.

Prior to his conversion, Eric did not relish the preaching of the word of God. Many young people today and many that are not so young are in a similar situation. The responsibility for this attitude to God’s word could be shared between those who communicate it and those who receive the message. Preachers often take pride in saying it “just as it is.” The fact that Jesus used stories and parables to teach tells us that it is not enough to say it just as it is. Truth is bitter and bitter pills are often coated in sugar to make them more palatable. One of the most successful preaching missions ever carried out was that made by the prophet Nathan before the adulterous king David (2 Samuel 12) and it was achieved not by saying it just as it is but by the use of a parable. People would be less averse to the word of God if preachers could devise more palatable ways of communicating the gospel truth which is sometimes bitter.

How the word is communicated is important, but the Parable focuses more on how it is received. In the parable the crucial difference between those who hear the word fruitfully and those who don’t lies in the understanding of what they hear:

When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. …But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit … (Matthew 13:19,23)

What is it that makes one person understand and another person not understand the gospel? Jesus tried to address this problem, especially in the Gospel of John. In John 8:43 we read, “Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot accept my word.”

We often assume that people will accept the Good News if only they could understand, but the reverse is also true that people cannot really understand God’s word until they first accept God in their lives. This we see in the story of Eric who begins to relish and understand God’s word only after he submits to God and enters into a personal relationship with Him. A firm resolve to do God’s will in our lives is the best disposition for hearing and understanding God’s word, because “If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine” (John 7:17).

Lyrics:

"The day is dawning"

Give me a chance, I want to change my way
Cause I can't live here and look the same
Let me look up, let me look to Your face
And set me in my place, oh Lord
Set me in my place

The day is dawning and I am just rising
I pray my (strength, hope, love) won't fail
I pray my (strength, hope, love) won't fail
The day is dawning and I am just rising
I pray my (strength, hope, love) won't fail
My (strength, hope, love)

My (strength, hope, love) won't fail
My (strength, hope, love) won't fail
The day is dawning and I am just rising
I pray my (strength, hope, love) won't fail
My (strength, hope, love)

Give me a chance, I want to rise above
And grow in the knowledge of Your love
Help me to be someone who follows You
And make my heart like new

The day is dawning and I am just rising
I pray my (strength, hope, love) won't fail
I pray my (strength, hope, love) won't fail
The day is dawning and I am just rising
I pray my (strength, hope, love) won't fail
My (strength, hope, love)

My (strength, hope, love) won't fail
My (strength, hope, love) won't fail
The day is dawning and I am just rising
I pray my (strength, hope, love) won't fail
My (strength, hope, love)

Give me a chance, I want to change my ways
Cause I can't live here and look the same

Language is a very important tool in our daily lives. Not only for our physical needs but God also created words tobe used as a method of bringing the soul to Himself. His living,breathing Word: Christ, is the pinnacle of this language of the soul.But words can also be easily twisted and crafted into very ugly and harmful things. With words taken and used in the wrong way, gossipbegins which can spread like wildfire throughout a community. With one misunderstanding or embellishment very tragic circumstances may arisecausing situations that could have been avoided if simply a few wordshad been thought about before being spoken. Words carry much moreweight than what is often thought. Consider what words can do: the salvation of all humanity beginning with the words of Mary's fiat atthe Annunciation, or the fall of humanity with the words of Adam and Eve in their desiring to be "like gods".

We must think carefully before we speak and guard what information we allow ourselves to hear about others.

We often think that we are too small to make an impact in the world. This video clip demonstrates how small acts of kindness can change how others respond. Like a pebble tossed into the water one can see a ripple effect. One small act of kindness can lead to big changes. Don’t underestimate the power of treating others the way you want to be treated.

Our lives are full of advice from others and all too often it is negative. People tell us what we can’t do, or how we will fail, or how we aren’t good enough. When we hear this from others we can begin to internalize the negative words and believe that it is true. This belief can paralyze us and stop us from accomplishing what God has planned for us. (Finally to become saints) All the little negative voices in our head are from the evil one (and from the ones that let the evil one confuse them). The clip offers great advice… take the bad advice and throw it out the window. If we do this, the sky is the limit for what we can accomplish.

 

Reflection 1:

When teens have a house for themselves and their parents are gone; this is usually an opportunity for a big party. In our video, though, a young boy makes a completely different decision, and he turns a house to a wonderful place for his parents to return to. This shows how young people can make such a good decisions by themselves. It shows hope for our young generations.

Reflection 2:

Honor means High Respect--- This is what each one of us (children and adults alike) need to show our parents at ALL times. Whether they are our "Spiritual" parents, our "Religious" parents or our "earthly" parents. We should always put them above ourselves and be willing to help them in any way we can

... and of course this will help to think a little bit more about working more against the abortion!

Watch this:

http://www.dsj.org/uploads/slideshows/WalkForLife/WalkForLife2008.html

Before you listen to the song don’t forget what you are for your children and what you always are for them. Sometimes it's hard to believe but we always want to be like our fathers. Don’t forget today's Gospel remind us to have compassion but at the same time authority with the ones under our charge!

I don't want to be a party popper (and I don't really know if this expression is correct) but this reflection is interesting...


Is there some value to Father's Day other than the Hallmark greeting card that it is present? Is there something more for this day than just buying another tie, wallet or another golf shirt for dad?

Right now, the manner that we treat this day is emblematic of the extent to which our culture values fatherhood in general. It's all about buying stuff, isn't it? In a society where dads are primarily valued by the size of their wallet, this makes perfect sense, doesn't it?

It doesn't have to be this way.

There's great benefit in having dads be more involved with their families, for the kids, the dads, the moms and everyone else in between.

So, how can Father's Day be better redefined in this way? If I could wave my magic wand, the day would go beyond gift-buying and celebrations (although nothing wrong with these) and be more about introspection, reflection... finally silence. It would be more of a day of reflection where a father would take the time to ask himself how present and involved he was for his kids and family over the past year. Perhaps he'd ask his wife and kids (assuming they were old enough) about his performance. Maybe he'd talk to his own parents about this. Perhaps he'd reflect on whether he was able to create the best possible family/work balance over the year. He could also reflect upon his parenting choices as well.
The intention of this meditation is not to make you feel bad. My intention is that you can become a better father a holy father, because we have enough good fathers. We need holy fathers in our church.

These are things I'll be thinking about this Father's Day. I think if Father's Day (and Mother's Day, too, for that matter) were treated as more of a day of reflection than just of gift-buying it would give more clarity to our priorities for the rest of the year.


Lyrics:

Go to sleep my Son
This manger for your bed
You have a long road before You
Rest Your little head

Can You feel the weight of Your glory?
Do You understand the price?
Or does the Father guard Your heart for now
So You can sleep tonight?

Go to sleep my Son
Go and chase Your dreams
This world can wait for one more moment
Go and sleep in peace

I believe the glory of Heaven
Is lying in my arms tonight
But Lord, I ask that He for just this moment
Simply be my child

Go to sleep my Son
Baby, close Your eyes
Soon enough You'll save the day
But for now, dear Child of mine
Oh my Jesus, Sleep tight

How can we choose love when we have experienced so little of it? We choose love by taking small steps of love every time there is an opportunity. A smile, a handshake, a word of encouragement, a phone call, a card, an embrace, a kind greeting, a gesture of support, a moment of attention, a helping hand, a present, a financial contribution, a visit ... all these are little steps toward love.

Each step is like a candle burning in the night. It does not take the darkness away, but it guides us through the darkness. When we look back after many small steps of love, we will discover that we have made a long and beautiful journey.

She has her own ways to interact with you if you let Her...

Finally, we got to Machu Pichu! But getting there was an adventure itself. Getting to Machu Pichu is not as easy at it sounds. It is located about 80km (50 miles) northwest of Cuzco in the middle of the Andes Mountains at an altitude of 2,350 metres (7,710 feet). Currently there are just three ways to go there. You can hike the Inca Trail. You can take the train. Or you can take a helicopter. The first option was out, since even though I would've liked to hike, it takes 3 days to do it and we didn't have the time. So the second option was to get to Ollantaytambo by bus, and then take the train to Machu Pichu (actually the town is known as Aguas Calientes). Besides it takes from 4 to 5 hours each way, staring at 5am!!.

Retreat:

http://www.findinggod.org/retreat_flash.asp?max=max&bgcolor=&retreat_id=5572&imageid=156_retreat.jpg&title=Living+a+Moral+Life

Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" And they answered him, "John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah." And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him. Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things." (Mark 8:27-33)
Introductory Prayer: Lord, reveal to me the awesome mystery of your person. In you is hidden my beginning; in you is hidden the mission for my life; in you is hidden my future happiness. Let me not measure the future by what I think I can do for you, but rather by what your power can do with my generosity. May this prayer convince me of the necessity of receiving you daily through prayer, contemplation, and a sacramental life of grace and conversion.

Petition: Lord, grant me an experience of you strong enough to overcome all spiritual laziness and tepidity so that I faithfully fulfill all of my spiritual commitments.

1. Who Has Christ Been for You? Our prayer must lead us to respond to Christ’s question, “Who do you say that I am?” This is the only test, the only examination question we need to pass in life. We must reflect and respond to the question from this perspective: “Who has Christ been for you?” This question does not so much define Christ, but the one who answers it. What experiences have we had of him? What have we been learning about Christ personally, through experiences that we cannot have known by solemn definitions, by routine external piety, or by what others say? Christ’s history and our personal history must intertwine to become a single chapter which we both share.

2. Who Have You Been for Christ? If I have little to say as far as my firsthand knowledge of Jesus, if my interior experiences have been eclipsed by a mundane and materialistic spirit, I must take Christ’s question to the next level: “Who have I been for Christ?” Who I have been for Christ will be determined largely by who I have been for him in prayer. The “inner Christ” is known only by those to whom it is revealed. It will not happen by a merely flesh-and-blood approach, nor by just going with the flow of human events. Peter’s interior life was fertile ground for the Father: His testimony was not luck, but was a divine intervention in his soul from which his faith drew its strength. “For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven” (Matthew 16:17). May I seek in a special way the grace of greater sensitivity to let my interior life of prayer define me and shape my character.

3. Can Christ Count on Me? Poor Peter! In one moment he is revealing the thoughts of the Father, in the next, Satan’s. Peter’s living experience of Christ is the target of Satan’s attempts to break his faith. Christ’s suffering will be the pledge that the faith of the apostle will not fail: “I have prayed for you…” (Luke 22:32). Ultimately Christ’s prayer would prevail: Peter is reborn on Pentecost, fearlessly accepting and launching the mission of the Church. A strong interior foundation in Christ ultimately leads to one last reality check of the spiritual life: Can Christ build on me because I am built on him? Christ’s fidelity will uphold me if I stay in the battle, if I hold firm and not let the reality of my falls keep me from advancing. Satan cannot break my faith if I keep fighting, and for this I always have to have new goals, to begin fresher, better, and more generously than before.

Dialogue with Christ: Adapting the words of St. Paul from Ephesians 3:16-20, I make his prayer my own: . I pray that, according to the riches of your glory, you may grant that I may be strengthened in my inner being with power through your Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith, as I am being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that I may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that I may be filled with all the fullness of You. Now to you who by the power at work within me is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all I can ask or imagine, be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Resolution: I will spend some time before our Lord in the Eucharist today, asking that he deepen my experience of him.

Lyrics:

Standing here, waiting
Father make us one
We wait for Your outpouring
Lord here, right here
We can’t go out till You fill us
Empty what can we do
God of heaven we confess our need of You
I see the fire falling
I feel in me a start
As we begin to worship
With heavens language in our hearts
I hear the strong wind blowing
As You begin to rearrange
Something tells me things are about to change

Standing here, waiting
Father make us one
We wait for Your outpouring
Lord here, right here
We can’t go out till You fill us
Empty what can we do
God of heaven we confess our need of You
I see the fire falling
I feel in me a start
As we begin to worship
With heavens language in our hearts
I hear the strong wind blowing
As You begin to rearrange
Something tells me things are about to change
Something tells me things are about to change

Mothers and Preachers

The great preacher, Dr. G. Campbell Morgan had four sons all of whom grew up to become preachers. One day, a visitor arrived and found the whole family sitting around a table in the sitting room. The visitor decided to tease one of the boys named Howard. "Howard," he asked, "who is the greatest preacher in your family?" Howard who had a great admiration for his father took a look at his father across the table and without a moment's hesitation answered, "Mother."

Mothers may not know it but they are often responsible for the faith development of their children more than many preachers put together. Take the case of Madam Jones, a mother of eight who wanted to become a preacher. She consulted the pastor to help her discern whether indeed God wanted her to be a preacher. After listening to her story the pastor said to her, "Madam Jones, God indeed wants you to be a preacher. You see He has already given you the congregation" (meaning her large family). So on this Mother's Day, I will like us to reflect on mothers and preaching. We shall focus on 1 Peter 3:15-16.

Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you (vs. 15b).

Who are these people who demand from us an account of the hope that is in us? The answer, of course, is anyone. But more especially people with whom we live and interact on a daily basis. For mothers this will mean their husbands and children. People challenge our faith in the workplace and in social gatherings, but the challenge that comes from family is more demanding and more insistent.

The challenges that come from family and children can be both explicit and implicit. Sometimes children ask you explicitly and directly, "Mom, why do we do this?" or "Why do we say that?" Their questions can be very hard to answer. Like the seven year old boy who asked his mother, "Mom, if God is everywhere why do we have to go to church to pray?" But, hard as the questions they ask may be, that is actually the easy part. The hard part is being attentive enough to hear the questions they are asking, not in so many words but by their changing attitudes and comportment, by their body language. Mothers who are able to hear and respond to the unspoken questions of their children are not just great mothers but great preachers as well. Children today are growing up in an increasingly confused world. They need answers. Are we ready to provide them?

St Peter advises us to "always be ready". But how can we be ready to defend the truth of our faith, you may ask? The simple answer is: we must be grounded in the faith ourselves and only then shall we be able to share it with those around us. Nemo dat quod non habet: You can't give what you don't have. We must make effort to know our faith more deeply by studying the basic documents of our faith, the Bible, the teachings of the church, and the lives of men and women of faith, the Saints. It was St Jerome who said that: "Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ."

Yet do it with gentleness and reverence (vs. 16a)

This advice is very pertinent to mothers who tend to be so impatient with their children because they have such a great love for them. A tender and gentle approach is often more effective with children than a harsh and abusive attitude.

Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame (vs. 16b)

Peter finally reminds us of the sublime truth that when it comes to sharing our faith with others, example speaks louder than words. In fact, it is said that the greatest legacy that a mother can leave her children in this world is the testimony of a deep and exemplary life of faith. And so I will like to end this homily with the words of Dorothy Law Nolte:

Children Learn What They Live (adapted)

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to be shy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with tolerance, they learn to be patient.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with praise, they learn to appreciate.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with acceptance and friendship, they learn to find love in the world.

God bless you mothers as you go about your difficult task of imparting the faith to our children.

Genesis 11:1-9

The whole world spoke the same language, using the same words.
While the people were migrating in the east,
they came upon a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there.
They said to one another,
“Come, let us mold bricks and harden them with fire.”
They used bricks for stone, and bitumen for mortar.
Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city
and a tower with its top in the sky,
and so make a name for ourselves;
otherwise we shall be scattered all over the earth.”

The LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the people had built.
Then the LORD said: “If now, while they are one people,
all speaking the same language,
they have started to do this,
nothing will later stop them from doing whatever they presume to do.
Let us then go down there and confuse their language,
so that one will not understand what another says.”
Thus the LORD scattered them from there all over the earth,
and they stopped building the city.
That is why it was called Babel,
because there the LORD confused the speech of all the world.
It was from that place that he scattered them all over the earth.

Meditation:

Today we come to the high point of our Easter celebration, the Feast of Pentecost. Pentecost, meaning "fifty days" after the Passover -- was the feast day in which the Jewish people celebrated the Giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. On Mt Sinai the different tribes of Israel entered into covenant with God and with one another and so became the people of God. God gave them the Ten Commandments as a guide to show them how to be a people, because being people of God means relating to God and to one another in a way that God Himself has mapped out, not in the way that we think is right. Proverbs 14:12 says "There is a way that seems right to a people, but in the end it leads to death." The beginning of wisdom, the beginning of true religion, therefore, is when we realize that as humans we are limited and shortsighted, and so we ask God to show us how to be the people of God that He has created us to be.

Whenever human beings forget how limited we are and try to take the initiative in our dealings with God, what inevitably follows is disaster. An example is the story of the Tower of Babel that we are told in Gen 11 where human beings decided to build a tower that would reach to heaven. In this way they would have access to God whenever they wanted, in this way they could manipulate God. But in the process of building the human bridge to heaven God came and confused their languages. They began to speak different languages, there was no more communication, no more understanding among them, and they could no longer work together. The result was the proliferation of languages and human misunderstanding.

Does the story of Babel remind you of the story we read today from the Acts of the Apostles, the disciples of Jesus speaking in other languages? Actually the two stories are related. But Pentecost is not a repeat of Babel, Pentecost is a reversal of Babel, and this for three reasons:

1. At Babel human beings decided to build a tower to God by their own effort; at Pentecost it is now God who decides to build a bridge to humans by sending the Holy Spirit. Babel was a human initiative, a human effort, Pentecost is a divine initiative, a divine activity through the Holy Spirit.

Imagine this: Jesus ascends to heaven and mandates the disciples to spread the Good News from Jerusalem to all Judea, to Samaria and to the ends of the earth. But the task is too much for them. How could these twelve, uneducated, rural fishermen from Galilee go out and address the learned world of Greek philosophers and Roman poets. Moreover even their fellow Jews are hostile to them. So what do they do? They go in and pray, and wait and pray, and wait -- for God's initiative. And as soon as God gives the sign of the Holy Spirit, there they go, all out on the streets boldly and fearlessly proclaiming the Good News.

What God asks of us as believers always seems impossible. And it is indeed impossible if we rely on our own initiatives and will power alone. But if, like the disciples, we realize that godliness is above us, and so commit ourselves to waiting daily on God in prayer, God will not be found wanting. At the opportune time God will send the flame of the Holy Spirit to invigorate us, and change us from lukewarm to zealous, fervent, enthusiastic believers.

2. Babel was a requiem of misunderstanding, Pentecost is a chorus of mutual understanding. The miracle of Pentecost is very different from the miracle of Babel. At Babel, the people came together with one language, understanding themselves. After God's intervention they dispersed no longer understanding each other. At Pentecost, on the other hand, people of different ethnic backgrounds (Persians, Asians, Romans, Egyptians, Libyans, Arabs, etc) came together unable to communicate, but after the miracle of Pentecost, they said, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? How is it that we hear them, each of us in our own language?" (Acts 2:7-8).

In order words, as Peter, for example, spoke everyone from all the different language groups gathered there would hear Peter speaking in their own language. The miracle of Pentecost was a miracle of mutual understanding, a restoration of that precious gift that humanity lost at Babel. Now, someone might ask, is there such a language that one could speak and everybody would understand in their own mother tongue? The answer is yes. Ant the name of that language is LOVE. Love is the language that all women and men understand irrespective of ethnic background. Everybody understands when you smile. Love is the language of the children of God, the only language we shall speak in heaven.

Acts 2:1-11

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled,
they were all in one place together.
And suddenly there came from the sky
a noise like a strong driving wind,
and it filled the entire house in which they were.
Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,
which parted and came to rest on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and began to speak in different tongues,
as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem.
At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd,
but they were confused
because each one heard them speaking in his own language.
They were astounded, and in amazement they asked,
“Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans?
Then how does each of us hear them in his native language?
We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites,
inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,
Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,
Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene,
as well as travelers from Rome,
both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs,
yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues
of the mighty acts of God.”

3. Finally, Pentecost differs from Babel in its result. Babel resulted in the disintegration of the human family into different races and nationalities. Pentecost, on the other hand, brings all peoples together and reunifies them under one universal family. This universal family embracing all races and nationalities is called church. "Catholic" means "universal". On Pentecost we celebrate the birthday of the Church. Today is, therefore, an opportunity to rededicate ourselves to be active and faithful members of this family of God we call Church.

Fulton J. Sheen once said about the church that even though we are God's chosen people, we often behave more like God's frozen people. God's frozen people indeed: frozen in our prayer life, frozen in the way we relate with one another, frozen in the way we celebrate our faith. We don't seem to be happy to be in God's house; we are always in a hurry to get it over and done with as soon as possible. Today is a great day to ask the Holy Spirit to rekindle in us the spirit of new life and enthusiasm, the fire of God's love

Lyrics:

Don’t let my love grow cold
I’m calling out
Light the fire again
Don’t let my vision die
I’m calling out
Light the fire again

You know my heart, my deeds
I’m calling out
Light the fire again
I need your discipline
I’m calling out
Light the fire again

I am here to buy gold
Refined in the fire
Naked and poor
Wretched and blind I come
Clothe me in white
So I won’t be ashamed
Lord, light the fire again

Retreat:

http://www.findinggod.org/retreat_flash.asp?max=max&bgcolor=&retreat_id=119609&imageid=103_retreat.jpg&title=Paul%27s+New+Direction

 

You broke the night like the sun
And healed my heart with Your great love
Any trouble I couldn't bear
You lifted me upon Your shoulders

Love that's stronger
Love that covers sin
And takes the weight of the world

I love You
All of my hope is in You
Jesus Christ take my life
Take all of me

You stand on mountain tops with me
With You I walk through the valleys
Your grace is all I rely on

I love You so, and I give up my heart to say
I need You so, my everything

Jesus said to his disciples:

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept,
because it neither sees nor knows him.
But you know him, because he remains with you,
and will be in you.

I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
In a little while the world will no longer see me,
but you will see me, because I live and you will live.
On that day you will realize that I am in my Father
and you are in me and I in you.

Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.

And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” (Jn 14:15-21)

1-What is the difference between “keep My commandments” and the Old Testament?

-Different causes produce different effects. Example if my finger is a cause and I touch something it causes an effect. If a book is the cause and it touches something it causes a different effect. Most of the time we try to fix the effect and not the cause.

-Jesus said if you love Me…we are supposed to have a different cause.
-I will know if you are following the commandments by how you love Me. The answer to this is in Jesus. First you have to love Jesus then you will keep His commandments. We can’t love someone if we don’t know them.
-One way to know Jesus is through personal encounters with Him—that is not just going to Mass on Sunday. You can’t build a relationship on a once a week meeting. Personal encounters need intimacy. You must give all of yourself. Example, married man is not a good husband if he is just with his wife on the weekend.

2-Jesus said He would send the advocate to be with us. An advocate is a protector, defender, coach. Why did Jesus say there would be another advocate? Jesus was the 1st defender. When the disciples were with Jesus it was difficult for them to sin. Judas did sin when he accepted the money, but he wasn’t with Jesus. It would have been impossible for him to sin if he was with Jesus.

-Jesus said I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you. But the disciples didn’t understand because He said He was going to His Father. Jesus told them the other defender will come and be with you always. The 3rd person of the Trinity is the other defender. He will do the same as Jesus and defend us against sin. He will always be with us.

-Cause and effect (a new cause new efect)

-New cause is like changing a tire. Example of the different tools used to change a tire today and 20 years ago.
-The difference between “keep My commandments” and the Old Testament is that tool wasn’t in the Old Testament. The tool is Jesus, the sacraments -- the Eucharist and confession.

-What are we ready to do in order to love Him? The devil knows Him more than us. It is not enough to just have an answer…we must act to be a saint. We need to put in action all things we know are correct through and with the Holy Spirit. To know Him, love Him, and serve Him.

-Why are there decreased numbers of people at Mass, why is our Church not as strong, why are there less at confession and receiving the Eucharist? People have turned from the mission-- to use the way (Jesus) through frequent Mass, Eucharist, and Confession.
-Pray to keep this in your heart all week.
-The temptation is to say we are all a mess and quit—no don’t do that

"Being a saint is being who you were meant to be: a frail human being keeping the Commandments. It's loving when yu are not loved in return. It's being patient when yu want to hit somebody on the head. It's loving your family as they are, not as you want them to be. It's not letting the disappointments in your life crush you. The challenge of Christianity is to have fortitude in suffering: to stand for the truth, even if you stand alone; to be undeterred by obstacles; to know that there is a big world out there and you are a weak, little person. BUT God is looking for weakness ao His power can me manifest. He needs YOU!"

Lyrics:

This is my desire, to honour You
Lord with all my heart I worship You
all I have within me
I give You praise
all that I adore is in You

Chorus:

Lord I give You my heart
I give You my soul
I live for You alone
Every breath that I take
Every moment I'm awake
Lord have Your way in me

This is my desire, to honour You
Lord with all my heart I worship You
all I have within me
I give You praise
all that I adore is in You

Chorus

Many words have been used to translate this word into English. They include: Advocate, Comforter, Counsellor, Helper. The Greek Paracletos literally means someone who is called to stand beside a client. In legal terms that would be your attorney. But a Paraclete is much more than an attorney. Probably the English word that we use today that most nearly captures the meaning of Paraclete is the word “coach.” The Paraclete is our coach, always by our side, to instruct and correct us when we make mistakes, to encourage and motivate us when we feel down, to challenge and inspire us to be the best we could, to defend us and fight for our rights when the judges are unfair to us. In short, the Paraclete means for us all that Jesus meant for the disciples.

Why do we need a Paraclete? For the same reason that athletes and sports people need coaches. No matter how good they are, sports people always need coaches. Even Tiger Woods has a coach. Left on our own, we are prone to mistakes and errors. Without God we can do nothing. In the 5th century ad there was a British thinker called Pelagius who taught that human beings have the natural ability to fulfil God’s commands if they so choose. The church condemned his teaching as a heresy, insisting that human beings always need God’s grace in order to please God. Pelagianism is the belief that we can fulfill our human destiny just by being ourselves, and that we do not need the grace of God that comes through faith, prayer or the sacraments. Many people today are Pelagians without even knowing it. Jesus tells us in today’s gospel that we all stand in constant need of divine help. We all need the divine Helper, the Holy Spirit who stands always by our side, the Paraclete.

How then do we receive this all-important Spirit Helper? It is by striving to live according to the law of Christ which is love of God and love of our neighbour. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Paraclete to be with you forever” (John 14:15-16).

Lord Jesus, I come before you at the beginning of this prayer asking for an increase in faith. You know that I believe in you, yet you also know how my faith can be weak and inconstant. Help my faith to mature so that it will be my light, my strength and my joy.

Help me, Lord, to love you by fulfilling your will

Lord Jesus, I want to know you on a profoundly personal level. I realize that to do so I must fulfill your will for my life with all the generosity I can muster. I will need your help in this endeavor, Lord.

Retreat:

http://www.findinggod.org/retreat_flash.asp?max=max&bgcolor=1D4A1A&retreat_id=4942&imageid=26_retreat.jpg&title=We+Worship+God

Remain in the Church

If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love.

John 15: 9-11
Jesus said to his disciples: "As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father´s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete."

Introductory Prayer: Lord, thank you for taking the time to be with me. There are things in life, Lord, that attract me, but you attract me more. I hope in you, and I love you. Maybe I don’t really understand what it means to love, and maybe I don’t love the way I should, but I do love you.

Petition: Lord, make my joy complete.

1. The Church
When Christ says, “Keep my commandments and remain in my love,” he is talking not only about the Ten Commandments but also about the Church. What is the Church? It is Christ’s extension through time. We cannot say, “Christ, yes; the Church, no” because the Church is the mystical body of Christ. The Church, through its sacraments and its solid teachings, makes Christ present for me now in April 2008. It is through this Church that I received the gift of faith. I want to remain in Christ. I want to remain enthusiastically in his Church.

2. The Priests and Bishops
Therefore, Lord, I want to love your priests and your bishops. I know how hard their job is. I see their perseverance. The Eucharist is available all over the world because of the fidelity of priests. Thank you for bishops and priests. Thank you for our parish. I want to support the parish with joy, with my time, and with my financial sacrifices.

3. The Pope
Lord, I want to love the Holy Father. He is the rock on which you chose to build your Church. Because he has kept the straight path, the world recognizes his moral authority. Lord, I want to learn more about what he is saying. Today with the Internet, it is so easy. It just takes a little interest and a little time. This is one way I can remain in your love. Thus, my joy will be complete.

Conversation with Christ: When you came, Lord, you wanted to heal us through the sacraments, and you set up the Church to administer them. Because you are present in your Church, it has lasted two thousand years. Thank you for giving us this instrument of salvation.

Lyrics:

I can't see you
I know your there
I can feel you
I will not fear
I will trust in you and
I will not be afraid

When the battle is close at hand
Though your with me
You help me stand
I will trust in you
And i will not be afraid

i will not be afraid
i will not be afraid

I will trust in you
I will trust in you
I will trust in you

When the darkness is close at hand
And i'm running against the wind
I will trust in you
And i will not be afraid

When i'm standing upon that shore
Of the battle
Have gone before
I will trust in you
And i will not be afraid

I will not be a fraid
I will not be afraid

I will trust in you
I will trust in you
I will trust in you

I will trust in you
I will trust in you
I will trust in you

I will trust in you

I will not be afraid
I will not be afraid

I will not be afraid

I will not be afraid, ohh

I will trust in you
I will trust in you
I will trust in you

I will trust in you

I will trust in you

I will trust in you

Click this:

http://www.photoshow.com/watch/dF8gz4Fx

Lyrics:

The reason why I stand
The answer lies in you
You hung to make me strong
Though my praise was few
When I fall I bring your name down
But I have found in you
A heart that bleeds forgiveness
replacing all these thoughts of painful memories
But I know that your response will always be

I'll take you back always
Even when your fight is over now (x2)
I'll take you back always
Even when the pain is coming through (x2)
I'll take you back

You satisfy this cry
Of what I'm looking for
And I'll take all I can
And lay it down before
The throne of endless grace now that radiates what's true
I'm in the only place that
erases all these faults
That have overtaken me
But I know that your response will always be

I'll take you back always
Even when your fight is over now(x2)
I'll take you back always
Even when the pain is coming through(x2)
I'll take you back

I can only speak with a grateful heart
As I'm pierced by this gift of your love
I will always bring an offering
I can never thank you enough

You take me back always
Even when my fight is over now (x2)
You take me back always
Even when my pain is coming through(x2)
You take me back (repeat these 5 lines twice)

Retreat:

http://www.findinggod.org/retreat_flash.asp?max=max&bgcolor=&retreat_id=45461&imageid=243_retreat.jpg&title=The+Holy+Spirit+Guides+Us

Conversation with God:

Lord, thank you for taking the time to be with me. There are things in life, Lord, that attract me, but you attract me more. I hope in you, and I love you. Maybe I don’t really understand what it means to love, and maybe I don’t love the way I should, but I do love you.

Lord, help me to be patient and to accept your timing.

Meanwhile, Lord, I am here, right here, and I have work to do. Some of today’s tasks don’t excite me; however, I will do them for you. In those moments of my day when I don’t feel you, I wait. I know you are coming.

Lord, often my mind and thoughts wander away from Jerusalem. Help me to trust that your cross is the only way to travel. Let me not search for an easy escape; rather help me, Lord, to live a lively faith, a profound hope and a fearless, intrepid love. Lord, I thank you for creating me and redeeming me.

Lord, give me the strength to avoid all pessimism, and help me to live with the faith of a martyr!

Jesus, my situation is so similar to that of these two disciples. I have no chance of seeing you physically in this life, but I am always connected with the power of your revealed word. I, too, am united to your body and blood at the breaking of the bread. Help me to experience that same joy you wanted the two disciples of Emmaus to have. Help me to look beyond my trials and discover your presence and love.

Lyrics:

You are the only one that brings me peace
You are the only one where hope is seen
The mercy you've given is more than I deserve
So I lay it down so I can heed your word

Hear my voice, I raise to you
With honor and praise
All glory is due
I lay it down all at your feet
With lifted hands it's you we seek

You are the only one that bring me truth
You are the only one that makes me new
The grace you've given a gift for all to see
So this is why I give you everything

And to you I lift my voice
And to you I lift my hands
And to you I give my heart

The pastor of a rich suburban parish was speaking to the Sunday school kids. He told them that as the pastor he was like a shepherd and the members of his congregation were the sheep. He then put this question to them: “What does the shepherd do for the sheep?” A little fellow in the front row raised his hands and answered, “He fleeces them.” True enough, shepherds go into the business for the purpose of fleecing, milking and feeding on the sheep. But when the Bible speaks of the leaders of God’s people as shepherds, it envisions leaders who feed, protect and feel with the people as a good shepherd does for his flock.

The title “shepherd” in the Hebrew Bible refers primarily to God who shepherds His people. This is brought out in Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd” (responsorial psalm). Here God is portrayed as a faithful and good shepherd who leads the flock into well-being and abundance (“green pastures”) and keeps them safe from every danger (“valley of darkness”) such that they want for nothing and fear no evil even as they are surrounded by their foes (wolves and lions). Kings, as God’s anointed deputies, were also referred to as shepherds. But some of them only got the title and not the qualities of a shepherd. Instead of feeding the sheep entrusted to their care they fed on them. God raised up prophets like Ezekiel to denounce such shepherds:

Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep. You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and scattered, they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep were scattered, they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with no one to search or seek for them. (Ezekiel 34:2-6)

Who says the Bible is out of touch with modern reality? Does this not sound like a description of Christ’s flock today? Don’t we still have career pastors and evangelists who are more interested in their own comfort than in the spiritual advancement of their congregations? Don’t we have white-collar ministers who would pontificate in their offices or churches and never take a step to reach out to the weak, the sick, the strayed? Don’t we still have church authorities who “rule” with force and harshness? Are the people of God not scattered over the mountains and hills in search of spiritual nourishment?

On account of the infidelity of the shepherds to their divine calling, God made this promise to his people that He Himself was going to be their shepherd, their good shepherd (Ezekiel 34:15-16). This promise was fulfilled in Jesus who declared himself to be the Good Shepherd who has come “that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). He is the Good Shepherd who lays down his own life to protect his flock. In those days, shepherds guarding their flock by night would gather their flocks into an enclosure and sleep literally by lying across the entrance so that before a wild beast would attack the sheep it would have to attack them first.

Before Jesus left the world, he commissioned Peter to feed his lambs and tend his sheep (John 21:15-16). The work of shepherding God’s flocks is an ongoing task that is entrusted to the whole church with Peter as head. As today we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday, we need to ask ourselves two important questions. (1) Am I a faithful member of God’s flock? Only those sheep who follow the guidance of the shepherd could ever hope to arrive at the green pastures or be safe from the ravenous wolves. (2) How could I participate more closely in the work of shepherding God’s flock? Bishops and pastors, as well as Sunday school teachers and ushers – all participate in various forms of shepherding God’s flock. How can I be a better shepherd in my own state, reaching out with understanding and compassion to the weak and misguided dropouts of church and society, so that through me they may hear the loving voice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd?

Retreat:

http://www.findinggod.org/retreat_flash.asp?max=max&bgcolor=&retreat_id=634&imageid=179_retreat.jpg&title=An+Act+of+Faith

Gospel:

Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, "What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?" They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, "Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?" He asked them, "What things?" They replied, "The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him." Then he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?" Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, "Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over." So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?" That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, "The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!" Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread (Luke 24: 13-35)

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe that you are present here and now as I turn to you in prayer. I trust and have confidence in your desire to give me every grace I need to receive today. Thank you for your love, thank you for your immense generosity toward me. I give you my life and my love in return.

Petition: Lord, may I always recognize your presence and your grace, no matter where or in what circumstances you may come.

1. About Seven Miles from Jerusalem
It could have been seven miles from anywhere. The disciples weren’t in a synagogue, or the Temple, or in the holy city of Jerusalem. They weren’t in prayer or preaching. They weren’t anywhere in particular; they were just between two places. They were leaving behind what seemed to be a failed dream. Yet, precisely in that unexpected moment—when they most needed it—Christ himself begins to walk with them. Christ’s appearance is never a moment too late, nor does he ever come a moment too soon.

2. Stay with Us
Christ doesn’t impose himself upon these two disciples. He gives them the impression that he is traveling on, and he waits for them to extend the invitation to stay with them that evening. So it is with our lives and our hearts. Christ goes in only where he is invited and welcomed. He will come in—he very much wants to come in––, but he will only do so if we open the door.

3. Were Not Our Hearts Burning?
Only in hindsight can we begin to understand God’s timing and begin to unravel the meaning of his action in our lives. Only in looking back can we see why he gave us particular graces in the moments he did. What would have happened if we didn’t respond and hold onto that grace he offered? Take a moment to find God’s hand in the difficult moments of your life.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, your ways are beyond me. Your timing is a mystery to me. But I know that with my mind and heart open through prayer, you will be able to give me every grace I need, right when I need it most.

Resolution: I will not let a single grace pass by today without acting on it.

Lyrics:

Will I believe you when you say
Your hand will guide my every way
Will I receive the words You say
Every moment of every day

Well I will walk by faith
Even when I cannot see
because this broken road
Prepares Your will for me

Help me to RID my endless fears
You've been so faithful for all my years
With the one breath You make me new
Your grace covers all I do

yeah, yeah , yeah, yeah, ya

well i will walk by faith
even when i cannot see
because this broken road
prepares your will for me

Well I'm broken- but I still see Your face
Well You've spoken- pouring Your words of grace

Well I will walk by faith
Even when I cannot see
Well because this broken road
Prepares Your will for me
(Repeat)

Well I will walk by faith
Even when I cannot see
Well because this broken road
Prepares Your will for me

Hallelujah, hallelu

I will walk by faith, I will walk by faith,
I will walk by faith
I will walk by faith, I will walk by faith,
I will walk by faith
I will walk by faith, I will walk by faith,
I will walk by faith
I will walk by faith
I will walk,I will walk
Faith

I will walk, I will walk by faith

Two depressed disciples leave the company of the apostles and believers in Jerusalem and head for Emmaus to get away from it all. That same day, late in the evening, they come right back to rejoin the company of apostles and believers that they had abandoned earlier in the day, full of joy and zeal. What happened to them to give rise to this dramatic turnaround? They met a stranger on the way – a stranger who did not quite look like Jesus but who turned out to be Jesus after all

“Never speak to strangers!” is one of the earliest words of wisdom that parents pass on to their children. And yet when you come to think of it, had Cleopas and his companion followed this advice, Jesus would have passed them by and they would never have had the transforming encounter with the risen Lord. Who knows how many times the risen Lord has passed you and me by and we did not recognise him or experience his transforming grace all because of our fear or strangers?

Cleopas and his friend were trying to distance themselves from the scandalous disaster that befell the apostles and followers of Jesus with the shameful death of their Master at the hands of the very Roman soldiers that they thought he had come to vanquish. But even as they tried to get away from it, they could not get their minds off it. They were talking about it all along the way. Could you imagine the sort of mood they were in as they headed for an unknown future in Emmaus? It was disappointment, sadness and deep depression all at once

Suddenly a stranger catches up with them along the way and says to them “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” (Luke 24:17). The most natural answer you would expect from them would be, “Hey man, would you please mind your business?” That is the typical response you get from people who operate on the principle of fear of strangers. But Cleopas and his friend were different. All they said was, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” (verse 18). “What things?” asked the stranger. And this led to a frank and profound dialogue that set their cold hearts aflame with insight and inspiration. All because they trusted a stranger and were disposed to inform and be informed by him!

Cleopas and his companion shared with the stranger all the way through. Not only were they ready to share their confidences with him, but they went all the way and shared their meal and shelter with him. It was in the process of this sharing that the moment of disclosure occurred and they suddenly realised that the one whom they had accepted all along as a helpless stranger was indeed Jesus, the answer to all their heart’s questions. This discovery that the one in whom they had trusted, Jesus Christ, was indeed alive and not dead, gave new meaning to their lives, their faith and their vocation. Banishing all fear and fatigue they got up and went back that same night to rejoin the company of apostles and followers of Jesus and share the good news with them that they had met the risen Lord and that they met him in the person of a stranger

The resurrection was for Jesus the dividing line between earthly life when he was limited to the form of a male, Jewish body and risen life when he is no longer limited in this way. The risen Lord now appears in all types of bodies: male and female, White and Black, young and old, rich and poor, handicapped and non-handicapped, native and immigrant, Catholic and Protestant, Christian and Moslem, liberal and conservative, and so on and so forth. Though we may see those who are different from us as strangers, today’s gospel challenges us to start seeing them simply as companions on the way. When we reach out to them in hospitality we reach out to God and attract a blessing to ourselves

Let us pray today for the grace to overcome the crippling fear of strangers, for the courage to reach out with open hearts and open hands to those who are different from us, knowing that even though the strangers on our way may not look like Jesus, they may indeed turn out to be Jesus just like the lonely stranger on the way to Emmaus.

Lyrics:

Give me a chance, I want to change my way
Cause I can't live here and look the same
Let me look up, let me look to Your face
And set me in my place, oh Lord
Set me in my place

The day is dawning and I am just rising
I pray my (strength, hope, love) won't fail
I pray my (strength, hope, love) won't fail
The day is dawning and I am just rising
I pray my (strength, hope, love) won't fail
My (strength, hope, love)

My (strength, hope, love) won't fail
My (strength, hope, love) won't fail
The day is dawning and I am just rising
I pray my (strength, hope, love) won't fail
My (strength, hope, love)

Give me a chance, I want to rise above
And grow in the knowledge of Your love
Help me to be someone who follows You
And make my heart like new

The day is dawning and I am just rising
I pray my (strength, hope, love) won't fail
I pray my (strength, hope, love) won't fail
The day is dawning and I am just rising
I pray my (strength, hope, love) won't fail
My (strength, hope, love)

My (strength, hope, love) won't fail
My (strength, hope, love) won't fail
The day is dawning and I am just rising
I pray my (strength, hope, love) won't fail
My (strength, hope, love)

Give me a chance, I want to change my ways
Cause I can't live here and look the same

Meditation:

Lord Jesus, you reveal to me what you have seen and heard in the presence of the Father. I want to enter into prayer today, so that you can reveal yourself to me once more. I place my faith in you and discover that you are indeed trustworthy. You are worthy of my love, too.
Petition: Lord, increase my faith, hope and love, so that I can more fully accept you and your words of life.

The book of the Acts of the Apostles can also be called the book of the acts of the Holy Spirit, since it narrates everything that the apostles did when the Church began, but moved and fortified by the Holy Spirit.
The fortitude, faith, and courage that the apostles had to preach the Good News is incredible, they suffered persecution, they were put in jail, murdered; but they were not scared of speaking about Jesus, because they were filled with His Spirit, as we see today in the first reading.
The high priest tells them: “We gave you strict orders did we not, to stop teaching in that name. Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching…” Then the book says, that Peter and the apostles answered: “We must obey God rather than men.”

If Christians had the same courage and really did what Peter said: Obey God rather than men, many injustices in the world would be avoided. Before the governors who promote the culture of death, abortion, etc., before the bosses in businesses, who propose indignant behavior to their workers; before parents who propose sin to their children, a true Christian should always answer like Peter: We must obey God rather than men. We are obligated to obey our government in everything, bosses, parents, etc., in everything except in sin.

All of us who are Christian, I am sure would like to have the same strength, peace, and fortitude that the apostles had; but sometimes we forget that to receive the Holy Spirit and its gifts, there is a fundamental condition: Obedience towards God, being faithful to His will. Like Peter says at the end of the reading, when he is speaking about the Resurrection of the Lord: “We are witnesses of these things, as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”

Let us then ask the Lord to send over us the Grace of the Holy Spirit, to fill us with His gifts, to give us His fortitude, peace, wisdom, intelligence; but most importantly to help us to always obey God rather than men, to help us always fulfill His will, so that we may never lack His help and company.

Jesus, so many of those around me do not accept you. They are incredulous. I know that you reveal the Father to me and give me the gift of the Holy Spirit. You are worthy of my total confidence. With your grace, I want to help others put their trust in you, so that they too can experience intimacy with you and achieve eternal life.

Resolution: I will thank God for giving me the gift of faith. Knowing that faith in Christ is the greatest gift I have received, I will attempt to help others believe through my example and witness.

Lyrics:

God so loved the world
That He gave
God so loved the world
That He gave His only Son

Worthy is The Lamb
That was slain
Worthy is The Lamb
That was slain

He's risen from the death
He is risen
He's high and lifted up
Heavens and earth adore

Gospel:

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe." Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me?

Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed." Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name. (John 20: 19-31)

Lord Jesus, you come to me today as you came into the presence of your apostles on the evening of your Resurrection. You are before me, but invisibly so. I perceive you through faith. This faith is your gift, your merciful gift to me. Your new life gives me hope, a definitive security that nothing can take away. I love you. Never more will death or fear separate us. Lord, show me mercy by giving me what I need to believe more firmly.

The Lord’s appearance in our lives has a beautiful effect. Before his appearance, fear reigned in the atmosphere of the place where the apostles were gathered. What a contrast his arrival brings about! His presence and his words bring peace. On this Divine Mercy Sunday, Jesus’ peace is the first sign of his mercy to our disquieted hearts.

In order to allow God’s peace to root itself firmly in the apostles’ hearts, Jesus says his greeting – “Peace be with you” – twice, the second time after showing them his glorified wounds. What could refrain them from partaking in that peace after seeing the glorified wounds? Realizing that they are not capable of fully believing on their own, Jesus breathes on them and gives them the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of peace. Jesus’ gift of the Spirit is the second sign of his mercy.

Thomas was absent when Jesus appeared to the other apostles. He did not believe them when they told him about his appearance. How was he to believe, not having received the Holy Spirit? He honestly did not believe. Jesus shows his personal love for Thomas by giving him what he needed in order to believe. This allowed him to make arguably the most beautiful profession of faith: “My Lord and my God!” Jesus comes to meet me and addresses my needs personally, although not visibly. Jesus’ personal love is the third sign of his mercy.

Prayer:

Merciful Jesus, I thank you for giving me your peace, for breathing your Holy Spirit upon me. I want to live guided always by the Holy Spirit. You give me all that I need to believe, strengthening my faith to the point that I can confess that you are my Lord and my God. Thank you for your infinite mercy towards me.

Lyrics:

In the quiet
In the Stillness
I know that you are God

In the secret of your presence
I know there I am restored

When you call I won't refuse
Each new day again I’ll choose

There is no one else for me
None but Jesus
Crucified to set me free
Now I live to bring

All my delight is in you lord
All my hope
All of my strength

Retreat:

http://www.findinggod.org/retreat_flash.asp?max=max&bgcolor=&retreat_id=45554&imageid=230_retreat.jpg&title=Entering+Into+New+Life

Meditation:

Have you ever wondered why we observe Sunday as a holy day rather than the Sabbath (Saturday) even though the Ten Commandment says, "Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy" (Exodus 20:8)? The gospel readings of the Sundays after Easter give us the answer.

The gospel writers were not particularly interested in telling us the precise day of the week in which many of the events they recorded took place. With one exception. In the public ministry of Jesus they often told us that many of the healing miracles of Jesus took place on the Sabbath day. And this got Jesus into a lot of trouble with the religious leaders of his day. But as soon as Jesus dies and rises from the dead we do not hear about the Sabbath any more. Instead we begin to hear about the first day of the week which is Sunday.

It all began on Easter Sunday. Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week, Sunday, and appeared on the same day to Mary Magdalene and the other women, to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and to the gathering of the apostles. He did not appear to them again until "a week after" (J0hn 20:26), that is, the following Sunday. Without exception, all the recorded appearances of the risen Lord to his followers took place on no other day of the week than Sunday. This made the group of believers set Sunday apart as the day when the risen Lord comes to be with his people gathered in worship to share with them the word of life and to break bread with them. This is how they came to recognize Sunday as the dies Dominica, "the day of the Lord" (Revelation 1:10). After the Lord's ascension into heaven, the disciples continued to gather together in worship on Sundays, in expectation that the Lord Jesus would come to be in their midst and fellowship with them as he had promised.

In today's gospel we read about the appearance of the risen Lord in the assembly of the apostles on the day of resurrection and a second appearance a week later. The second appearance focuses on Thomas who was not present with the rest of the apostles when Jesus appeared among them. Where could he have gone? We do not know exactly but as soon as he comes back the other disciples tell him that they have seen the Lord. Could it be that when they heard that Jesus had risen from the dead, that he, Thomas, went out on his own to seek him out? Perhaps he went to the houses of Jesus' friends, to the house of Lazarus, Martha and Mary in Bethany, or to the village where they ate the last supper. He was seeking Jesus alone while Jesus was with the assembly of his followers. Could that be the evangelist's way of telling the reader that encounter with the risen Lord is something that happens not so much in the privacy of the individual's religious initiative and practice as much as in fellowship with the community of believers?

So the following Sunday Thomas is there fellowshipping with the rest of the community. Jesus appears as usual and Thomas experiences the desire of his heart and exclaims, "My Lord and my God (v. 28)." Next time around he would not lightly absent himself from the community Sunday assembly.

Do we have to look far to see such Thomases in our society today, men and women who deep down in their hearts seek the risen Lord, but who seek him outside the worshipping and believing community? They try to draw near to God by engaging in all sorts of self-imposed devotional exercises. Religion, they say, is personal, and they are right. But religion is also communitarian, and this they need to learn just as Thomas did.

Jesus in today's gospel commissions the apostles to forgive sins. This is a function that can be exercised only where there is a believing community, or else each one would be absolving their own personal sins. Today's Thomases often do not appreciate nor have recourse to this avenue of reconciliation with God and with the community that is affected by our sins. May the success story of Thomas help us all to appreciate the important role of the church and the sacraments in our spiritual journey to meet the risen Lord.

Lyrics:

The reason why I stand
The answer lies in you
You hung to make me strong
Though my praise was few
When I fall and bring your name down

But I have found in you
A heart that pleads forgiveness
Replacing all these thoughts
Of painful memories
But I know
That your response will always be

[Chorus]

I'll take you back always
And even when your fight is over now
Even when your fight is over now
I'll take you back always
And even when the pain is coming through
Even when the pain is coming through
I'll take you back

You satisfy this cry
Of what I'm looking for
And I take all I can
And lay it down
Before the throne of endless grace, now
That radiates what's true

I'm in the only place
That erases all these faults
That have overtaken me
But I know
That your response will always be

[Repeat Chorus]

I can only speak
With a grateful heart
As I'm pierced by this gift
Of your love

I will always bring an offering
I can never thank you enough

[Chorus Two]

You'll take me back always
And even when my fight is over now
Even when my fight is over now
You'll take me back always
And even when my pain is coming through
Even when my pain is coming through
You'll take me back always

Even when my fight is over now
Even when my fight is over now

You'll take me back always

Even when my pain is coming through
Even when my pain is coming through

You'll take me back

Gospel:

John 20: 1-9
On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, "They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don´t know where they put him." So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead.

Jesus, you alone are the Lord of history, help me to believe in you instead of seeking signs as proof. I trust in you, Lord Jesus, because your words are true, and you died for me on the cross. I love you, Lord, because you loved me first. Lord, increase my faith.

On the First Day of the Week: On that first Easter Sunday, John keeps pace with Peter, the head of the apostles, as they go to check the empty tomb. Such is their love for Christ that they don’t wait idly for others to go and investigate the tomb. John is in such haste that he actually outruns Peter just to verify the truth of Mary Magdalene’s words. That zeal is what brings them to be the first believers in Jesus’ resurrection. It isn’t just an empty tomb that changes their lives; it is a tomb with the sign that Jesus’ body had not been removed by someone, but had somehow removed itself, leaving behind the majority of the burial cloths in their place, and placing the head cloth carefully rolled up separately. After 2000 years, with the history of all of the wonders Christ has worked since that first Easter Sunday, am I still searching for signs that might prove Jesus’ resurrection?

He Saw and Believed: Imagine the Christian faith without the reality of the Resurrection of Christ. Good Friday would herald an altogether different message. It might inspire curiosity and sincere admiration among people, but it could not bring divine light to the human soul. Without the reality of the Christ’s resurrection, the faith of countless of Christians would mean nothing and be pointless. A proof of his glorious resurrection is to see the invincible love practiced by so many thousands of men and women in bearing witness to Christ – facing countless obstacles and even heroically surrendering themselves to death. The living Christ himself has strengthened them.

The Disciples Went Home Again: “Going home again” sounds like things are returning to normal. Home is ordinary life at its best. John goes back home, but now he has an incredible new outlook on life, one he never possessed before. We can never go “home” the same after going to Mass on Sunday. The sacraments and the liturgical celebration help increase our faith, so it would be undesirable to return to the same old grind as if nothing significant had occurred. Christ is everything! Knowing him and encountering him make life meaningful and joyful.

Lord, I truly believe that you rose from the dead. Yet, you see me live as if I have never heard of you. Jesus, do not hold my lack of effort to love against me. Help me now to seek your will above everything else, in spite of what I feel.

Lyrics:

Who is there like You
And who else would give their life for me
Even suffering in my place
And who could repay You
All of creation looks to You
And You provide for all You have made

So I'm lifting up my hands
Lifting up my voice
Lifting up Your name
And in Your grace I rest
For Your love has come to me
And set me free
And I'm trusting in Your word
Trusting in Your cross
Trusting in Your blood
And all Your faithfulness
For Your power at work in me
Is changing me

A certain kindergarten teacher was telling her students the story of Jesus. In her class was a little boy who came from a non-Christian family. He was paying very close attention to the story because it was all new to him. As the teacher told how Jesus was condemned and nailed to the cross to die the boy's countenance fell and he murmured, "No! That's too bad!" The teacher then went on to tell how on the third day Jesus rose from the dead and came back to life. The boy's eyes lit up with delight and he exclaimed, "Totally awesome!" On Good Friday we heard the story of the suffering and death of Jesus. Like the little boy many of us felt like "No! That's too bad!" Today we hear the rest of the story and again with the little boy we can now exclaim "Yes! Totally awesome" Today we can again sing "Halleluiah" that we have not sung all through Lent. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad (Psalm 118:24).

Why do we rejoice today? We rejoice because our faith in Christ has been vindicated, truth has triumphed over falsity, justice over injustice and tragedy has turned into comedy. It is like watching one of the episodes of Batman. First you see an innocent and helpless victim being attacked, robbed, kidnapped, assaulted and tortured by a wicked assailant. And we feel so bad seeing the triumph of the bad guy. Then, almost at the point where the victim has given up hope and is at the point of death, down from the skies comes Batman to the rescue. He battles and defeats the bad guy and rescues the innocent victim. And we feel happy inside at the triumph of justice.

The story of the suffering and death of Jesus on Good Friday is the story of the triumph of falsity over truth, of injustice over justice, of evil over goodness. Jesus was falsely charged of crimes he did not commit, and unjustly sentenced to a death he did not deserve.

His good friend betrayed him, his trusted companions deserted him and his number one man denied him. The people he loved demanded his crucifixion and chose to have the bandit Barabbas released in his place. It is a story of betrayal and lies, dishonesty and meanness, unfaithfulness and wicked violence directed against an innocent and apparently helpless victim. All this comes to a head on Good Friday when we see Jesus scourged, mocked, led on the death march, nailed to the cross where he dies after a few hours and hastily buried in a tomb. If that were the end of the story that would be a bad story, a tragedy. But glory be to God it is not.
Death is not the end of the story.

There is one more chapter. This is the most important chapter because, as the saying goes, they who laugh last laugh best. And in the last chapter of the story of Jesus we see him rise from the dead in all glory and majesty. He is vindicated. His enemies are shamed and confused. Jesus regains his eternal glory with the Father. He is the Lord who will prevail over all humankind, his enemies included. For us his embattled followers this is good news.

It is good news to know that truth is immortal. We can suppress Truth, accuse it of being a lie, condemn it, torture it, kill it, and bury it in the grave but on the third day Truth will rise again. Remember this and do not give up on Truth even when everybody seems to give up on it. Do not give up on Truth; do not give up on Justice.

Do not give up on doing what is right. True will always be true. Just will always be just. Right will always be right even when the world around us would have it otherwise. We must learn to believe in the sun even when it is not shining; knowing that by and by it will shine again. It is the end of the story that counts. That is why the church asks us today to rejoice and be glad. Even when we are going through very difficult times: through betrayal, unjust discrimination, lies, misrepresentations; even when the enemy seems to be winning the battle in our lives. Today Christ has won. And we know that in Christ we shall overcome.

Halleluiah, Praise the Lord!

Lyrics:

Holy holy are You Lord
The whole earth is filled with Your glory
Let the nations rise to give
Honour and praise to Your name
Let Your face shine on us
And the world will know You live
All the heavens shout Your praise
Beautiful is our God
The universe will sing

Hallelujah to You our King !

Gospel:

Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged. And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head, and clothed him in a purple cloak, and they came to him and said, "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they struck him repeatedly. Once more Pilate went out and said to them, "Look, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find no guilt in him." So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak. And he said to them, "Behold, the man!" When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out, "Crucify him, crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and crucify him. I find no guilt in him." The Jews answered, "We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God." Now when Pilate heard this statement, he became even more afraid, and went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus, "Where are you from?" Jesus did not answer him. So Pilate said to him, "Do you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?" Jesus answered (him), "You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above. For this reason the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin." Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out, "If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar." When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out and seated him on the judge´s bench in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha. It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon. And he said to the Jews, "Behold, your king!" They cried out, "Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your king?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar." Then he handed him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, and carrying the cross himself he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, "Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews." Now many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write ´The King of the Jews,´ but that he said, ´I am the King of the Jews.´" Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written." When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four shares, a share for each soldier. They also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top down. So they said to one another, "Let´s not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be," in order that the passage of scripture might be fulfilled (that says): "They divided my garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots." This is what the soldiers did. Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother´s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son." Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I thirst." There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, "It is finished." And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit. Now since it was preparation day, in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and they be taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may (come to) believe. For this happened so that the scripture passage might be fulfilled: "Not a bone of it will be broken." And again another passage says: "They will look upon him whom they have pierced." (John 19:1-37)

Lord Jesus, I desire to accompany you this week as you embrace your passion and death for our salvation. I only ask that I be given the faith and perseverance to arrive to the foot of the cross. Let my love be purified so that you, not I, live in me.

Lord, grant me the grace of final perseverance in the faith.

Pilate has Jesus scourged. What is Pilate thinking – is he trying to beat the Truth into submission? Can he find some way to subject the Truth to serve his own purposes? As soon as somebody abuses someone else, others quickly add to the vulgarity. The brutish soldiers understand Pilate’s degradation of a king. They promptly add their ridicule: “Hail King of the Jews.” With crude humor, Christ is decorated with a crown of thorns and a purple cloak.

Truth takes another beating. The irony is that man so often seeks compassion for having sacrificed the Truth: “Look, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” Do I ever make a martyr of myself – when it turns out that someone else pays the price for my lack of virility? Pilate feigns to be a man with his recourse to violence, while lacking the courage himself to stand up for the Truth. “Behold the man”: Pilate-the-‘man’ dares to stand as if superior to the Man, only after he has bludgeoned the latter out of recognition.

Pilate unscrupulously punishes an innocent man: he exercises godlike force when, despite the I-find-no-guilt-in-him verdict, he nonetheless proceeds to bloody him in a show of power. Unscrupulousness fears no evil, except if its pretensions to supremacy are purged. Pilate presumed to reduce that Person to an object of political utility, but cowered at hearing he had thus abused the said Son of God. Pride that had sought to control everything was threatened by its potential ignorance: so Pilate demands to know of Jesus “Where are you from?” His arrogance continues to condescend toward the One who could well prove to be his master: Jesus refuses to be ruled by his influence. Does Christ ever need to remain silent to my unjust demands? If I have virtue, I should use it for love of God and neighbor – not myself. If Pilate has power, he is meant to exercise it for the common good while respecting the dignity of individuals. Jesus replies, “You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above.”

Jesus is about to prove that “if the grain of wheat dies it will bear abundant fruit.” He makes the sacrifice of his life upon the cross. I am called to stand with John and Mary at its foot. By his word, and the water flowing from his side, I am made son of God by the Son of God. Jesus tells his mother, “Woman, behold your son,” and his disciple, “Behold your mother.” Mary is made the Mother of all Christians, while those who accept Christ-crucified are made sons and daughters of God. Jesus thirsts for souls. He came into the world to redeem his own. Once he has won our hearts to him, he can say, “It is finished.” Let me faithfully live his commandment of love, so that others may believe through my authentic testimony to him.

Sacred Heart of Jesus let me not be like the Gentiles who desire to lord it over others. Rather, let me follow your example of humility and charity. Grant me to be authentic in my surrender, even if I must suffer for the truth, so that I may be your faithful witness.

Today I will share a conviction of my Christian faith and morals with others in conversation, even if I fear that I might receive ridicule for it.

Lyrics:

Sovereign hands
Nailed to a humble cross
Scars You bear
Speak of Your redeeming love

No wonder I call You the Saviour
No wonder I’m singing

God of all the heavens
Now and ‘til forever
High above the universe
God of our redemption
God of my surrender
The glory is Yours

Sovereign God
Laying down a holy life
Heaven’s Son
Willing to be crucified

Holy
Holy
Holy Lord

Open hands
Given to a sovereign cause
All I have
God will be forever Yours

Gospel:

Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end. The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over. So, during supper, fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples´ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Master, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus answered and said to him, "What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later." Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well." Jesus said to him, "Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all." For he knew who would betray him; for this reason, he said, "Not all of you are clean." So when he had washed their feet (and) put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, "Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ´teacher´ and ´master,´ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another´s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do. (John 13: 1-15)

Lord Jesus, I desire to accompany you this week as you embrace your passion and death for our salvation. I only ask that I be given the faith and perseverance to arrive to the foot of the cross. Let my love be purified so that you, not I, live in me.

Lord, grant me the grace of final perseverance in the faith.

“Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father.” Despite the difficulties he faced, Jesus did not suffer a mid-life crisis at age 33. He knew who he was. He knew where he came from. He knew where he was going. He knew the trials that were soon to crush his mortal body. They would be a means to prove his worth: his love. “He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.” Love endures anything. Love can draw forth good even from the worst of situations. Love redeems. The very betrayal of his friendship will let him demonstrate the authenticity of his own friendship: “There is no greater love than to lay one’s life down for one’s friends.”

Jesus has not asked ‘permission’ to be humble and of service. Peter’s question, “Master, are you going to wash my feet?” does not come as a request, rather as a resistant acknowledgement of what Jesus is about to do. Do humility and love need our ‘permission’? The question is: who is humble enough to receive someone else’s love? Am I humble enough to receive Jesus’ love for me? Jesus’ humility and charity are purifying in their effect. In fact, precisely the attitude, “You will never wash my feet,” needs to be washed away. Only the poor in spirit, the pure of heart, the childlike enter the Kingdom of heaven: “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.” Let Christ bathe me, then, by his graceful example. Anything less, I will lose my part with him. Yet if he has bathed me by his word, then I must only keep my feet clean.

If I am a disciple, I must be careful to learn the lesson. Jesus asks, “Do you realize what I have done for you?” If anything, the master could demand that his servant wash his feet, not the other way around. Jesus is Lord and master, he is the Good Teacher. I am his disciple. Nonetheless, he has demonstrated his authority not by exacting obedience through exertion of force, rather by revealing the power of virtue: humility and charity – and their capacity to teach and persuade. “If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another´s feet.” He has given me a model to follow, so that I go and do likewise. Whose feet am I meant to wash?

Lord, continue to bathe me with your word so that I may be found clean, even if I must wash my feet of the contact that I inevitably have with the world. Grant me the humility and charity to imitate your virtues.

Lyrics:

You're my best friend
In spite of flaws
I can't believe You're always there
You hear my prayers

You are my rock
You harbor truth
I can see Your light shine everywhere
It's all around me

You never judge me for my faults
Your love is unconditional
Without You I don't know where I'd be

Jesus is
The sweet, sweet love of my soul
Jesus is
The only thing making me whole
He's everything to me
All I desire to be
That's what Jesus is
That's what Jesus is

Sweet comforter
You ease my mind
Always beside me constantly
You never leave me

And You know me, oh, so well
Better than I know myself
And Your word is all that I believe

Jesus is
The sweet, sweet love of my soul
Jesus is
The only thing making me whole
He's everything to me
All I desire to be
That's what Jesus is
That's what Jesus is

You're the spark of heaven's light
The stars that shine at night
Here with You it feels like home

Jesus is
Jesus is
The healer of my heart when it breaks
Jesus is
Forgiveness when I make a mistake
He's all that I believe
He's everything I need
That's what Jesus is

Jesus is
The sweet, sweet love of my soul (sweet, sweet Jesus)
Jesus is
The only thing making me whole
He's everything to me
All I desire to be
That's what Jesus is
That's what Jesus is

He's all that I believe
He's every breath I breathe
That's what Jesus is
That's what my Jesus is

Retreat:

http://www.findinggod.org/retreat_flash.asp?max=max&bgcolor=&retreat_id=80261&imageid=106_retreat.jpg&title=Jesus%27+Journey+Through+Death+to+Resurrection

Meditation of Palm Sunday:

What different story would we be telling today if the unnamed owners of the donkey had refused to give it up? Maybe we would have no story of the triumphal entry, at least not in the way Jesus wanted it. No matter how unknown a person is, he or she can still play a crucial role in the unfolding of God's plan. The Lord needs each one of us as he needed the unnamed owners of the donkey in the reading. We are not told who these owners of the donkey are but the fact that they understood that "the Lord" refers to Jesus and voluntarily gave up the donkey shows that they could be his secret disciples or admirers. Otherwise one would have expected them to answer, "But who is this Lord who needs my donkey?"

A donkey was a very big thing in those day. The donkey was the equivalent of a car, a truck and a tractor all in one. It was a car because people used it to move around and do their shopping, a truck because it was used to carry load, and a tractor because it was used in cultivating the land. Add to this the fact that the donkey had never been ridden, that means it was brand new and had a very high market value. You can see that giving up the donkey just because the Lord needed it was a very big sacrifice. It was a generous and heroic act of faith.

Now, compare the faith response of the owners of the donkey to that of many of the faithful in our churches today.

A visiting preacher was really getting the congregation moving. Near the end of his sermon he said, "This church has really got to walk," to which someone in the back yelled, "Let her walk preacher." The preacher then said, "If this church is going to go it's got to get up and run," to which someone again yelled with gusto, "Let her run preacher." Feeling the surge of the church, the preacher then said with even louder gusto, "If this church is going to go it's got to really fly," and once again with ever greater gusto, someone yelled, "Let her fly preacher, let her fly." The preacher then seized the moment and stated with even greater gusto, "If this church is really going to fly it's going to need money." There was silence. Then someone in the back seat cried, "Let her walk preacher, let her walk."

Max Lucado reminds us that each of us has got a donkey that the Lord needs. Here is his reflection on using our donkey for the service of the Lord:

Sometimes I get the impression that God wants me to give him something and sometimes I don't give it because I don't know for sure, and then I feel bad because I've missed my chance. Other times I know he wants something but I don't give it because I'm too selfish. And other times, too few times, I hear him and I obey him and feel honored that a gift of mine would be used to carry Jesus to another place. And still other times I wonder if my little deeds today will make a difference in the long haul.

Maybe you have those questions, too. All of us have a donkey. You and I each have something in our lives, which, if given back to God, could, like the donkey, move Jesus and his story further down the road. Maybe you can sing or hug or program a computer or speak Swahili or write a check.
Whichever, that's your donkey.

Whichever, your donkey belongs to him. It really does belong to him. Your gifts are his and the donkey was his. The original wording of the instructions Jesus gave to his disciples is proof: "If anyone asks you why you are taking the donkeys, you are to say, 'Its Lord is in need.'" [Max Lucado, And the Angels were Silent, p. 54]

So, what is the name of your donkey? The Lord has need of it.

Lyrics:

I long for freedom to live in the truth
I want to be more like You
But every time I try to bring about change
I only touch the visible me

There's only one way I'm really gonna change

Just like King David, I cry out to You
Create in me a clean heart
I've grieved You again, I need Your release
From patterns taht keep me in sin

There's only one way I can finally break free

Change me on the inside
Change me on the inside
Change me on the inside
Change me on the inside
Change me on the inside
Change me on the inside

Petition:

Grant me the grace to change from the inside of my heart and to really have a conversion in this Holy Week, Amen.

Retreat:

http://www.findinggod.org/retreat_flash.asp?max=max&bgcolor=&retreat_id=99902&imageid=207_retreat.jpg&title=Celebrating+the+Eucharist%0D%0A

John 8: 21-30

Jesus said to the Pharisees: "I am going away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come." So the Jews said, "He is not going to kill himself, is he, because he said, ´Where I am going you cannot come´?" He said to them, "You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins." So they said to him, "Who are you?" Jesus said to them, "What I told you from the beginning. I have much to say about you in condemnation. But the one who sent me is true, and what I heard from him I tell the world." They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father. So Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me. The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him." Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.

Introductory Prayer: Father, I want to belong only to you. May I never sell my heavenly birthright for the measly pleasures of this world below. I trust in you. Help my lack of trust.

Petition: Lord, that I might belong to you alone, and totally abandon myself to your holy will.

1. Belonging to God

To whom do I belong? As baptized Christians we belong to God, as a son belongs to his father. The devil is a thief, and his chief delight is to steal God’s most precious possessions—his sons and daughters. He can´t steal us by brute force, but must convince us to renounce our birthright willingly by committing sin. It would seem an impossible task to convince a prince to swap his palace for a pigsty, but the devil is up to the challenge. He is the father of lies, and we must not underestimate his power. He is an expert deceiver and knows just how to persuade us to exchange our priceless inheritance for a bowl of moldy lentils. This is sin, a gyp of colossal proportions. If only we saw this as clearly as Christ did, we would never sin again.

2. Belonging to This World

It is only because he loves them dearly that Jesus is so upset by the Pharisees. He knows that they have received so much and been offered a high place in the kingdom, and yet they choose to reject that gift. He knows that their sin of self-righteous pride will only make them miserable in this world and the next. It is their misery that upsets him, not the misery that they cause him through their attacks. Do I also feel pity for the poor souls who are trapped in their own self-centeredness? Am I committed to bringing them to the light with patience and charity? Or do I merely condemn them because of the harm they do to me?

3. Pleasing God

Jesus was able to say, “I always do what is pleasing to him.” These words ring in my heart. I too want to please God, but my desires are still so mixed. I need to be purified in the crucible of suffering, so that only the gold of my selfless desire to please God and help others remains. My selfish desire to please myself has got to go; it is like unwanted alloy, like dirt and rock that robs me of my dignity and beauty. Burn it up and purify me, Lord, so I can always please you and put the needs of others before my own, after the example of your Son.

Conversation with Christ: Jesus, teach me to see the world as you see it, with a great supernatural spirit, so that like you I will value the things above more than the things here below. The created things around me can never be my goal. They are but instruments to help me reach my eternal goal of heaven.

Resolution: Today I will seek to do only what is pleasing to God, especially by practicing great charity in my relations with others.

Lyrycs:

I will offer up my life
In spirit and truth,
Pouring out the oil of love
As my worship to You
In surrender I must give my every part;
Lord, receive the sacrifice
Of a broken heart

CHORUS:
Jesus, what can I give, what can I bring
To so faithful a friend, to so loving a King?
Savior, what can be said, what can be sung
As a praise of Your name
For the things You have done?
Oh my words could not tell, not even in part
Of the debt of love that is owed
By this thankful heart

You deserve my every breath
For You've paid the great cost;
Giving up Your life to death,
Even death on a cross
You took all my shame away,
There defeated my sin
Opened up the gates of heaven
And have beckoned me in

Retreat:

http://www.findinggod.org/retreat_flash.asp?max=max&bgcolor=&retreat_id=5614&imageid=193_retreat.jpg&title=Sin+and+Salvation

Gospel:

John 7: 1-2,10,25-30

Jesus moved about within Galilee; but he did not wish to travel in Judea, because the Jews were trying to kill him. But the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near. But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, he himself also went up, not openly but as it were in secret. So some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem said, "Is he not the one they are trying to kill? And look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him. Could the authorities have realized that he is the Christ? But we know where he is from. When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from." So Jesus cried out in the temple area as he was teaching and said, "You know me and also know where I am from. Yet I did not come on my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me." So they tried to arrest him, but no one laid a hand upon him, because his hour had not yet come.

Meditation:

1. The One They Are Trying to Kill

Jesus faced implacable opposition throughout his three years of public ministry. While his preaching stirred up many hearts and his miracles cured many bodies and souls, none of that could satisfy his most committed critics. But their threats and machinations could not stop our Lord. There is nothing frantic about our Lord’s perseverance. His soul is always at peace as he carries out the Father’s will. That peace can be had as well by any Christian determined to walk with Christ no matter the cost. In a photograph from the Cristero era in Mexico, an impromptu firing squad of five soldiers have their rifles trained on a priest, Father Francisco Vera, standing against a wall, perhaps five feet away. In his liturgical vestments, with hands folded and a countenance of complete peace, Father Vera looks prepared for the final “Mass” of his life. This time the “other Christ” would be the victim offered in sacrifice.

2. But We Know Where He Is From

The opposition faced by Catholics can be bloody, as in the case of Father Vera. It also can be the swimming against the tide of increasing secularism, with its alarming ignorance of even the basic story of Christianity. It was related that in Denver a woman entered a jewelry story and told the salesman that she wanted to buy a cross. As he scanned the offerings in the showcase, he asked her, "Do you want a plain one, or the kind with a little man on it?" It is quite a temptation to want to cut ourselves off from secularism and religious expressions that are more an accommodation of, rather than a healthy challenge to the reigning culture. But as society drifts further away from its Christian roots, it is more incumbent than ever to engage others with our faith. Let’s not let the Lord down. He never ceased proclaiming the message.

3. I Did Not Come on My Own

In order to do this, it is vitally important to have a sense of mission. Mission comes from the Latin “mission”, “to send.” Jesus had a clear sense of mission because he knew that he was sent by his Father. The Lord expects his followers to have a similar sense: We are envoys, ambassadors. Our message isn’t about ourselves. If we take the focus off our own ego and put it where it belongs, on Christ, we will have the strength to continue marching ahead no matter the obstacles.

Lyrics:

Now is the season for healing
Deeply we need to see God's mercy revealing
Where we have fallen from His way
For we know he gives hope to the humble
Gives light in the darkness
And grace when we stumble
Let us call on His name together
Knowing He will say

If my people pray
Reach for me with hearts that are broken
I will not forget what is spoken
Come and seek my face
Heaven will rain
Rivers of my grace overflowing
Night and day my ears will be open
If my people pray

Now is the day to awaken
To pray with conviction for the souls of the nations
So let us call on His name
Who's faithful
The promise still remains

If my people pray
(If my people who are called by my name)
and reach for me with hearts that are broken
(humble themselves and pray)
I will not forget what I've spoken
come and seek my face(seek me)
heaven will rain(if my people who are called by my name
rivers of my grace over flowing(turn from their wicked ways)
night and day my ears will be open
if my people pray

Let us not grow weary as we wait for the day
When the light turns the night into morning
On our knees, calling Your name
As we lift our hearts to heaven, yeah
Knowing you will say

If my people pray
Reach for me with hearts that are broken
I will not forget what is spoken
Come and seek my face
Heaven will rain
Rivers of my grace overflowing
Night and day my ears will be open
If my people pray

Retreat:

http://www.findinggod.org/retreat_flash.asp?max=max&bgcolor=58353C&retreat_id=99910&imageid=18_retreat.jpg&title=Celebrating+Reconciliation%0D%0A

Letting Go of Our Fear of God

We are afraid of emptiness. Spinoza speaks about our "horror vacui," our horrendous fear of vacancy. We like to occupy-fill up-every empty time and space. We want to be occupied. And if we are not occupied we easily become preoccupied; that is, we fill the empty spaces before we have even reached them. We fill them with our worries, saying, "But what if ..."

It is very hard to allow emptiness to exist in our lives. Emptiness requires a willingness not to be in control, a willingness to let something new and unexpected happen. It requires trust, surrender, and openness to guidance. God wants to dwell in our emptiness. But as long as we are afraid of God and God's actions in our lives, it is unlikely that we will offer our emptiness to God. Let's pray that we can let go of our fear of God and embrace God as the source of all love.

Lyrics:

Holy Fire burn away,
my desire for anything
that is not of you and is of me.
I want more of you and less of me.

Holy Fire burn away,
my desire for anything
that is not of you and is of me,
I want more of you and less of me, yeah.
Empty me,
Empty me, yeah,
Fill, won't you fill me,
with you, with you, yeah.

Holy Fire, burn away,
my desire for anything
that is not of you and is of me.
I want more of you and less of me, yeah.
Empty me,
Empty me, yeah.
Fill, won't you fill me, with you, with you, empty me now.

Well won't you empty me, well won't you empty me now. repeat x2
I want more, I want more, I want more of you, Jesus.
I want more, I want more, oh.
Thank you, Jesus.
Thank you, Jesus, oh yeah,
Thank you, Jesus, yeah.
Holy Fire, Holy Fire, Holy Fire, Holy Fire.

Retreat:

http://www.findinggod.org/retreat_flash.asp?max=max&bgcolor=&retreat_id=118417&imageid=211_retreat.jpg&title=Third+Sunday+of+Lent

Meditation:

A thirst could be physical or spiritual. Often it is both, as in the case of the unnamed woman whose meeting with Jesus by Jacob's well gave us today's gospel story. Physically she is thirsty, thirsting for water, and that brings her to the well day after day. But spiritually also she is thirsty, an inner thirst which drives her from one man to another and for which she can find no satisfaction. By the time she meets Jesus she is in her sixth marriage, and yet she is able to tell Jesus "I have no husband," indicating that she is probably already looking for the seventh.

Numbers are often significant in biblical interpretation. According to the biblical symbolism of numbers, six is a number of imperfections, of lack, of deficiency. The woman in her sixth marriage is, therefore, in a situation of lack and deficiency. Seven, on the other hand, is a number of perfection, completion, finality and sufficiency. Jesus comes to this woman as the seventh man in her life. She opens up to him and finally experiences the satisfaction of all of her soul desires, the full assuaging of her spiritual thirst. Isn't this the kind of experience we wish for ourselves and for all in this season of Lent? It might, therefore, be useful for us to look at the mechanism of this profound turnaround in life that we call conversion.

First, someone must be ready to break boundaries. Human society organizes itself by erecting boundaries - national, ethnic, religious, and gender. Jesus shows in today's gospel that in order to reach out to the other and create the necessary conditions for conversion, one must be prepared to challenge these man-made boundaries and break the dividing walls of prejudice. This is exactly what Jesus does to get to this woman.

According to the convention of the times, Jews were not supposed to interact with Samaritans. Walls of prejudice built on the foundations of ethnicity and religion kept them apart. Jesus broke these boundaries when he asked the woman for a drink, as her reaction shows:
"How is it that you, a Jewish man, ask a drink of me, a Samaritan woman?" Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans" (John 4:9).

That was not all. It was also against the moral norms of the day for a man to engage a woman in dialogue in a public place. And yet Jesus engages this woman in the longest dialogue we have in all the four Gospels, an act which even his own disciples saw as morally questionable:
Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, "What do you want?" or, "Why are you speaking with her?" (John 4:27)

If Jesus had kept within the bounds of the expected behaviour of his day, there was no way he could have gone beyond a superficial brush with the woman, which would invariably lead to superficial results. Note also that, unlike many evangelists of our time, Jesus never tries to condemn, threaten, or intimidate the woman. All he tries to do is invite (v. 7), challenge (v. 10) and affirm her (v. 17), patiently trying to enlighten her doubts in no uncertain terms (vv. 24, 26).

Why does Jesus make such a tremendous impact on the woman? Because for the first time in her life she meets a man who really understands her. In her excitement she forgets her water jar and physical thirst (and so also does Jesus) and runs back to the village inviting the villagers to come and see "a man who told me everything I have ever done" - probably the first man to know her so well without rejecting her. Before you know it the convert has become a missionary bringing others to Jesus and to the joyful experience of conversion.

Before we close our refection on the gospel story I would like us to pay attention to the words of those other Samaritan villagers that the woman brings to Jesus.

They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Saviour of the world." (4:42)

We see that there are two stages in the believing or conversion process: a. believing because of what someone told us about Jesus, and b. believing because we have come personally to know Jesus ourselves. Lent is the period when the Church invites all her children who still believe on the strength of someone else's witnessing to come to Jesus personally and believe, not because someone told us, but because we have known him and experienced his love personally in our own lives.

Lyrics:

This is my desire
To honour You
Lord, with all my heart
I worship You
All I have within me
I give You praise
All that I adore
Is in You

Lord, I give You my heart
I give You my song
I live for you alone
Every breath that I take
Every moment I'm awake
Lord, have Your ways in me

Retreat:

http://www.findinggod.org/retreat_flash.asp?max=max&bgcolor=&retreat_id=45545&imageid=181_retreat.jpg&title=The+Church+in+Renewal

Meditation:

True Intimacy

Human relationships easily become possessive. Our hearts so much desire to be loved that we are inclined to cling to the person who offers us love, affection, friendship, care, or support. Once we have seen or felt a hint of love, we want more of it. That explains why lovers so often bicker with each other. Lovers' quarrels are quarrels between people who want more of each other than they are able or willing to give.

It is very hard for love not to become possessive because our hearts look for perfect love and no human being is capable of that. Only God can offer perfect love. Therefore, the art of loving includes the art of giving one another space. When we invade one another's space and do not allow the other to be his or her own free person, we cause great suffering in our relationships. But when we give another space to move and share our gifts, true intimacy becomes possible.

Lyrics:

Here I am
This is me
There's nowhere else on earth I'd rather be
Here I am
It's just me and you
Tonight we make our dreams come true

It's a new world
It's a new start
It's alive with the beating of young hearts
It's a new day
It's a new plan
I've been waiting for you
Here I am

Here we are
We've just begun
And after all this time
Our time has come
Yeah here we are
Still goin' strong
Right here in the place where we belong

Oh it's a new world
It's a new start
It's alive with the beating of young hearts
It's a new day
And a new plan
I've been waiting for you
Here I am

Here I am
Yeah

Here I am
This is me
There's nowhere else on earth I'd rather be
Here I am
It's just me and you
Tonight we make our dreams come true

Oh it's a new world
It's a new start
It's alive with the beating of young hearts
It's a new day
It's a new plan
I've been waiting for you

Oh it's a new world
It's a new start
It's alive with the beating of young hearts
It's a new day
It's a new plan
I've been waiting for you
(Waiting, waiting waiting)
Here I am

Here I am
Right next to you
Suddenly the world is all brand new
Here I am
Here I am
Where I'm gonna stay
Now there's nothin' standing in our way
Here I am
This is me

First idea:

The presence of God with Peter, john and James and with us also is very clear

"Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light" (Mt 17, 1...)

"May God be gracious to us and bless us; may God's face shine upon us" (Psalm 67, 2)

"Let your face shine upon your servant; teach me your laws" (Psalm 119, 135)

"Bless the LORD, my soul! LORD, my God, you are great indeed! You are clothed with majesty and glory, robed in light as with a cloak. You spread out the heavens like a tent" (Psalm 104, 1-2)

Second Idea:

Before Jesus all the Jewish people must hear Moses and the prophets

"But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them" (Luke 16, 39)

In the Transfiguration here we have Moses and the representative of the prophets: Elijah

And at the end, remember the voice: THIS IS MY BELOVED SON, LISTEN TO HIM!

This could be your prayer this lent time:

Come to rescue me

Falling on my knees in worship
giving all I am to seek your face (in my prayer)
lord all I am is yours (My life belogs to You)

My whole life I place in your hands (the most secure place)
god of mercy humble I bow down
in your presence at your throne

I called you answered (You always do that)
and you came to my rescue
and I want to be where you are (closer to You)

My whole life I place in your hands
god of mercy humbled I bow down
in your presence at your throne

I called you answered
and you came to my rescue
and I want to be where you are
(repeat)

my life
be lifted high
and our world
be lifted high
and our love
be lifted high
(repeat)

I called you answered
and you came to my rescue
and I want to be where you are
(repeat)

AMEN.

 

 

 

It is not necessary to add that in all this advice, so full of love, there should be no word that allows the soul to fall asleep in sin. No one could be well advised to go to bed with a snake around his neck. Moreover, if one is in a state of mortal sin, faced with the idea of death and eternal punishment, how can one not but shudder?

How can one not shake off an enemy who, with his arm, can at any instant drag us down to the abyss of eternal disgrace? And even if we are dealing with only venial sins, we cannot keep the soul with this dirt, which is so unpleasant to God, and whose weight leads us little by little, inexorably, toward mortal sin.

It is precisely so that we might be able to distance ourselves a little farther from sin that the holy Doctor

forbids us from losing our peace. He well knows that nothing can be done in anger or when one is agitated. The good surgeon who has to carry out an amputation is kind to his patient and does not treat him brusquely; the operation will be more successful and be completed sooner if the patient is calm. Consequently, the most important thing is to restore calm and tranquillity.

What he advised others he practiced himself with his own imperfections. A man whom the Saint advised gives this example: "One day when I was fortunate enough to speak to him on spiritual matters, I told him that venial sins, even if they were small, caused a certain disquiet and perturbation in the heart. I had hardly finished speaking when he replied: 'Forgive me, but although we should detest venial sins, they ought not to perturb us. For disquiet is caused by self-love which is irritated because of the work it has to do to practice the virtues and because each day we have to begin again. On the other hand, dissatisfaction is an effect of grace, which inspires an aversion to everything that displeases our Creator.

"This was his way of explaining the sorrow and regret we should have for our daily offenses. That is what he put into practice on similar occasions, asking our Redeemer for grace, but without getting bitter or irritated in the least. According to the Greeks, when Antheus fought Hercules, whenever he fell to the ground he immediately got up again, with renewed vigor and determination. In the same way, this magnanimous man fought with his passions. If he happened to take a false step, he got up with renewed courage and continued his job with patience and tranquillity, without getting irritated or disgusted with himself."'

Reteat:

http://www.findinggod.org/retreat_flash.asp?max=max&bgcolor=&retreat_id=116347&imageid=201_retreat.jpg&title=Ash+Wednesday

Lyric:

Sovereign hands
Nailed to a humble cross
Scars You bear
Speak of Your redeeming love

No wonder I call You the Saviour
No wonder I’m singing

God of all the heavens
Now and ‘til forever
High above the universe
God of our redemption
God of my surrender
The glory is Yours

Sovereign God
Laying down a holy life
Heaven’s Son
Willing to be crucified

Holy
Holy
Holy Lord

Open hands
Given to a sovereign cause
All I have
God will be forever Yours

Hello Vacaville and Esparto!

Retreat:

http://www.findinggod.org/retreat_flash.asp?max=max&bgcolor=2C2A31&retreat_id=4928&imageid=15_retreat.jpg&title=Jesus+Cares+for+Us

The Opposite of the Beatitudes:

Where Jesus says “Blessed are the poor in spirit” the world would say “Blessed are the rich.” Where Jesus says “Blessed are those who mourn” they would say “Blessed are those having fun.” Where Jesus says “Blessed are the meek” they would say “Blessed are the smart.” Where Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” they would say “Blessed are those who wine and dine.” Where Jesus says, “Blessed are the merciful” they would say “Blessed are the powerful.” Where Jesus says, “Blessed are the pure in heart” they would say “Blessed are the slim in body.” Where Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers” they would say “Blessed are the news makers.” And where Jesus says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake” they would say “Blessed are those who can afford the best lawyers.”

Some Ideas from today Gospel:

QUESTION:

What do we do to maintain our faith, and how can we transmit our faith to others?.. Can we make our faith attractive to others?

• I won’t talk today about How to invite others to have faith....baptism (we almost all receive that baptism by the strength of the custom)....until 11,12,13 years old questions by my friends, movies, etc. I give up priest, Church, Pope, bishops, commandments, because the world is not in God’s hands it is in other hands... the world without God can offer me more things (pleasure, money )... civil marriage... turn back to God... don’t bring the church here... “Secularity”... faith doesn’t help to have a better salary, good conversation, obtain better friends… the only interesting thing about the church are Her problems, scandals, and if Jesus really had temptations with Mary the Magdalene with all of this…
• Can we sell our product? What do we do to maintain our faith, and how can we transmit our faith to others?.. Can we make our faith attractive to others? . This is the same question.. parents that cannot conquer the hearts of their kids… prepare yourselves because others will conquered their hearts and yours (Idols of the paganism: CHINA spends more money than many countries in magicians, astrology, esoteric, scientology, casino, something like THE SPIRITUAL) We kick God from our schools, houses in order to change him with the pleasure to the full
• The Nostalgism of going to a funeral mass or one baptism once in a while… or even ONLY the Sunday mass are not enough

ANSWER

• Some advices
• The first ones to understand the message according to the first reading “all you humble of the earth, a people humble and lowly, the remnant of Israel”
• Those circumstances help us to open ourselves to God. How to convince others and ourselves to believe in these Beatitudes?
• Not with discussions. Discussions are finally fights of egos… First you need to give the Gospel the opportunity to change you, then believe of its power can change others…
• You will hear “What I learn in the Da vinci Code movie is that the church is bad, and I won’t go to the Confession because the priest is worst than me… the parishioners of Vacaville”...wait until he or she finish or vomit everything and then... For me was not easy to talk with a priest, but now I can tell you that I am receiving the grace to understand more/you calm down that person and bring them to our community. The same with the mass, with the daily prayer, patience, humility,
• Have the same sentiments as Jesus… Work for the justice, a pure heart, … Because people need Jesus in other words people need to see the Gospel in our lives
• Longinus rejects Jesus and after a while He became a believer and gave his life for Him… Like us and we are here before rejecting Jesus or the Church
• I hope that all of these ideas will help us to have a rebirth in our faith. And to transmit it. Don’t forget the importance to realize that my faith needs to be seen, that our faith will grow in you and in me only when we give it to others!

Prayer:

Lord, you are here. I do not see you, but I know you are here. Like the blind person hears sounds, I hear your steps in the things that surround me. My eyes see; my arms embrace you. I welcome your gift: this new day you have given me to be with you, to hope in you and, in your grace, to be better. Because I want to love you as you loved us, I want to love you where you told me I could find you: in my neighbor.

Lord, grant me a faith that lets you flow through me to love others. Let your love imbue my thoughts, words and deeds.

Lord, thank you for giving me the gift of faith so that I might see beyond the circumstances of my life to what is right. Help me to be faithful in my dealings with others when they contradict your teaching. Help me to bring your light to others, Amen.

Lyric:

I can't see you
I know your there
I can feel you
I will not fear
I will trust in you and
I will not be afraid
When the battle is close at hand
Though your with me
You help me stand
I will trust in you
And i will not be afraid
i will not be afraid
i will not be afraid
I will trust in you
I will trust in you
I will trust in you
When the darkness is close at hand
And i'm running against the wind
I will trust in you
And i will not be afraid

When i'm standing upon that shore
Of the battle
Have gone before
I will trust in you
And i will not be afraid
I will not be a fraid
I will not be afraid
I will trust in you
I will trust in you
I will trust in you
I will trust in you
I will trust in you
I will trust in you
I will trust in you
I will not be afraid
I will not be afraid
I will not be afraid
I will not be afraid, ohh
I will trust in you
I will trust in you
I will trust in you
I will trust in you
I will trust in you
I will trust in you

Even Mary our Mother need time to understant the plan of God for Her...

And she treasured all these things in her heart" (Lk. 2:19). The Virgin Mary is frequently seen as a model of prayer. With arms and hands folded over her heart, bowing before God's angel, or at the foot of the Cross, all these postures represent her interiority, prayer and deeper life in God. Mary can help us pray and meditate. Five words characterize meditation: Within, think about, thank Him. Go within your soul and use your intellect to think deeply about God, or Mary or another holy subject. Then thank God from your heart for all the graces you have received. Form aspirations and sentiments of love towards God and connect with Him more deeply. This is the heart of meditation: penetration and loving embrace of spiritual realities.

 

Retreat:

http://www.findinggod.org/retreat_flash.asp?max=max&bgcolor=5B1B04&retreat_id=112769&imageid=17_retreat.jpg&title=Jesus%27+Forgiveness

Lyrics:

Wise men say
Only fools rush in
But I can't help
Falling in love with you.

Shall I stay
Would it be a sin
If I can't help
Falling in love with you

Like a river flows
Surely to the sea
Darling, so it goes
Some things are meant to be

So take my hand
Take my whole life, too
For I can't help
Falling in love with you

Some things are meant to be

Take my hand
Take my whole life, too
For I can't help
Falling in love with you

For I can't help
Falling in love with you

 

"Therefore, by the authority which Christ conferred upon Peter and his Successors, in communion with the Bishops—who on various occasions have condemned abortion and who in the aforementioned consultation, albeit dispersed throughout the world, have shown unanimous agreement concerning this doctrine—I declare that direct abortion, that is, abortion willed as an end or as a means, always constitutes a grave moral disorder, since it is the deliberate killing of an innocent human being. This doctrine is based upon the natural law and upon the written Word of God, is transmitted by the Church's Tradition and taught by the ordinary and universal Magisterium.

No circumstance, no purpose, no law whatsoever can ever make licit an act which is intrinsically illicit, since it is contrary to the Law of God which is written in every human heart, knowable by reason itself, and proclaimed by the Church. -

Pope John Paul II; "Evangelium Vitae", paragraph 62

Just take my hand Hold it tight
I will protect you
from all around you
I will be here …

Just take a look through my eyes
There's a better place
somewhere out there
Just take a look through my eyes
Everything changes
You'll be amazed what you'll find
If you look through my eyes
There will be times on this journey
All you'll see is darkness
Out there somewhere daylight finds you
If you keep believing
So don't run, don't hide
It will be all right
You'll see, trust me
I'll be there watching over you…

 

 

There are things in life you'll learn and
In time you'll see
Cause out there somewhere
It's all waiting
If you keep believing
So don't run, don't hide
It will be all right
You'll see, trust me
I'll be there watching over you

Just take a look through my eyes
There's a better place
somewhere out there
Just take a look through my eyes
Everything changes
You'll be amazed what you'll find
If you look through my eyes

There will be times on this journey
All you'll see is darkness
Out there somewhere daylight finds you
If you keep believing

So don't run, don't hide
It will be all right
You'll see, trust me
I'll be there watching over you

Just take a look through my eyes
There's a better place
somewhere out there
Just take a look through my eyes
Everything changes
You'll be amazed what you'll find
If you look through my eyes

All the things that you can change
There's a meaning in everything
And you will find all you need
There's so much to understand

Just take a look through my eyes
There's a better place
somewhere out there
Just take a look through my eyes
Everything changes
You'll be amazed what you'll find
If you look through my eyes

Take a look through my eyes

 Come stop your crying
It will be all right
Just take my hand Hold it tight

I will protect you
from all around you
I will be here
Don't you cry

For one so small,
you seem so strong
My arms will hold you,
keep you safe and warm
This bond between us
Can't be broken
I will be here
Don't you cry

'Cause you'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day on
Now and forever more

You'll be in my heart
No matter what they say
You'll be here in my heart, always

Why can't they understand
the way we feel
They just don't trust
what they can't explain
I know we're different but,
deep inside us
We're not that different at all

And you'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day on
Now and forever more

Don't listen to them
'Cause what do they know
We need each other,
to have, to hold
They'll see in time
I know

When destiny calls you
You must be strong
I may not be with you
But you've got to hold on
They'll see in time
I know
We'll show them together

'Cause you'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day on,
Now and forever more

Oh, you'll be in my heart
No matter what they say
You'll be in my heart, always
Always

Retreat:

http://www.findinggod.org/retreat_flash.asp?max=max&bgcolor=&retreat_id=112731&imageid=161_retreat.jpg&title=Faith+in+Jesus

Lyrics:

It used to be darkness
Without you I
I lived my life in blindness
But now I am found

And I'll sing, sing I love you so
And I'll sing
Because the world can't take away
Your love

Found me in weakness, Broken
You came to me in kindness
And now I live

I'll give my life for you Lord
For all you've done

Lyric:

I pray you'll be our eyes, and watch us where we go.
And help us to be wise in times when we don't know
Let this be our prayer, when we lose our way
Lead us to the place, guide us with your grace
To a place where we'll be safe

La luce che tu hai
I pray we'll find your light
nel cuore resterà
and hold it in our hearts.
a ricordarci che
When stars go out each night,
eterna stella sei

The light you have
I pray we'll find your light
will be in the heart
and hold it in our hearts.
to remember us that
When stars go out each night,
you are eternal star
Nella mia preghiera
Let this be our prayer
quanta fede c'è
when shadows fill our day

How much faith there's
Let this be our prayer
in my prayer
when shadows fill our day
Lead us to a place, guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe

Sognamo un mondo senza più violenza
un mondo di giustizia e di speranza
Ognuno dia la mano al suo vicino
Simbolo di pace, di fraternità

We dream a world without violence
a world of justice and faith.
Everyone gives the hand to his neighbours
Symbol of peace, of fraternity
La forza che ci dà
We ask that life be kind
è il desiderio che
and watch us from above
ognuno trovi amor
We hope each soul will find
intorno e dentro sé
another soul to love

The force his gives us
We ask that life be kind
is wish that
and watch us from above
everyone finds love
We hope each soul will find
around and inside
another soul to love
Let this be our prayer
Let this be our prayer, just like every child

Need to find a place, guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe
Need to find a place, guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe

È la fede che
hai acceso in noi,
sento che ci salverà

It's the faith
you light in us
I feel it will save us

Retreat:

http://www.findinggod.org/retreat_flash.asp?max=max&bgcolor=544431&retreat_id=99505&imageid=43_retreat.jpg&title=God+Calls+Us

Prayer:

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus".

Philippians 4, 6-7

Lyric:

Lord, You live in me
You're my best friend
You're the King of kings
The beginning and end
Now that You have my eyes
I see Your spirit inside of me

All that I am is for You
My Savior
I live by Your word
And surrender to You
Here where I stand in this moment Father
My spirit has been renewed
I surrender to You

You hold the key to my life
In Your loving hands
Always by my side
I offer all that I am
So glad I realize
You are the truth and the light
In my life

Everything I need I find in You
I believe Your promises are true
I will lift my burdens up to You
Your loving grace will see me through

I surrender to You

Blessings Rachel, Mathew, Elizabeth and family!

 

Retreat:

http://www.findinggod.org/retreat_flash.asp?max=max&bgcolor=&retreat_id=119565&imageid=221_retreat.jpg&title=Celebrating+Salvation

Meditation:

The name "January" comes from the Roman god Janus, the god with two faces, one looking to the past and the other looking to the future. This is indeed a time to look back at the year that has just ended and to look forward to the New Year ahead of us. How did I spend this one year of my life that has just passed? Did I use it to advance my goals and objectives in life? Did I use it to enhance the purpose of my existence? Could I have done better last year in the way I invested my time between the demands of work, family, friends and society, and the demands of my spiritual life? What things did I achieve last year and what did I fail to achieve? How can I consolidate the achievements of last year while reversing the failures and losses in this New Year? Through soul searching questions like these we find that a review of the past year naturally leads to setting goals and resolutions for the New Year.

There are people who tell you that there is no point making New Year resolutions. Do not believe them. We must set goals and make resolutions as a necessary conclusion to our review of the past year. And we do need to review our lives from year to year because, as Socrates says, the unexamined life is not worth living.

Today's newspapers are full of individual and collective New Year resolutions. Most of those, however, are not resolutions at all but only wishes. What is the difference between a resolution and a wish? A wish identifies a goal one wants to reach; a resolution specifies the steps one will take to reach it. A wish says this is where I want to be, a resolution says this is the road I will take, and this is what I will do to get there. The wishful person says "I want to pass my exams this year" and the resolved person says "I will devote an extra hour to my studies everyday in order to pass my exams." The wishful person says "I will have more peace and love in my family this year" and the resolved person says "I will spend more time with my family at table instead of rushing off to the TV, so that we get to know and understand ourselves better." The wishful person says "I will live a life of union with God this year" and the resolved person says "I will set aside this time everyday to pray and hear God's word." The difference between wishing and resolving is: are we prepared to do what it takes to make our dreams come true, are we prepared to pay the price?

The gospel two days ago presents Mary to us as a model of that new life in Christ that all of us wish for ourselves in the New Year. There we see that Mary was prepared to do something to realize this goal. What did she do? We read that the shepherds, when they went to adore the Child Jesus in the manger, told all that the angels had said to them. "But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2:19). Again after the boy Jesus was found in the Temple, we are told that "His mother treasured all these things in her heart" (Luke 2:51). Mary was a woman who valued the word of God, who treasured it and made time to meditate and ponder it. It is true that the holiness of Mary is attributed to the grace of God, but this should not make us forget that she needed to make an effort in order to cooperate with the grace of God. She pondered the word of God in order to discern what God was saying to her at every stage in her life as the handmaid of God.

The two examples above of Mary pondering the word of God, namely, after the visit of the shepherds and after the finding in the temple, show that Mary found the word of God both in divine revelation (the angels' words to the shepherds) and in her own experiences (her encounter with her son in the temple). Similarly God speaks to us today through divine revelation (e.g. the Bible, the teaching and preaching of the Church) as well as through our personal experiences, if only we made time to reflect on them as Mary did.

Whatever the situation in which we find ourselves - a hardship, a disappointment, a decision to make - God has a solution, an answer that is right for us. We tell God about it in prayer but we also listen to what God has to tell us about it. Prayer is a conversation with God but sometimes all we do is pick up the phone, read out the list of our problems to God and drop the phone without listening to hear what God has to say to us. Let us today resolve to listen more to the voice of God, to treasure God's word and ponder it in our hearts. Then shall we be able to realize our New Year resolution of a new life in union with God

Lyrics:

Your mercy found me,
Upon the broken road,
And lifted me beyond my failing,
Into Your glory,
My sin and shame dissolved,
And now forever Yours I’ll stand.

(Pre-Chorus)
In love never to end,
To call You more than Lord,
Glorious friend.

(Chorus)
So I throw my life upon all You are,
‘Cause I know You gave it all for me,
And when all else fades,
My soul will dance with You,
Where the love lasts forever.

Your mercy found me,
Upon the broken road,
And lifted me beyond my failing,
Into Your glory,
My sin and shame dissolved,
And now forever Yours I’ll stand.

And forever I will sing,
Lord forever I will sing,
Of how You gave Your life away,
Just to save me, Lord You saved me.

With You, where the love lasts forever.

PS:

Hello Casiel and Family....

Is this your desire?

We receive all from God, the same as Simeon received all. We need to be prepared to give Him all in response to His great love. All of our lives need to worship and serve God. We don’t suppose to use the gift that we receive only to de served, but to serve.He loves as until it's hurts... What kind of love are we are giving to Him? Is He is part of your decisions? Does He help you to choose your friends or your behavior?

God’s people had long awaited a Messiah. Mary would have also looked forward to a Savior. Yet it likely would not have occurred to her that she would ever be the mother of the Redeemer. We too might wonder: When will God send someone to save the world in our time ? In fact, he tries to do that? through each one of us. Each of us can be a saint, can help save the world, with God’s grace. Likewise, we are each called to a great and unique vocation, whether ordained, consecrated, or lay. To what great mission is God calling me? Do I realize that my life can be great, if lived with enough love?

The story of the Presentation is told in Luke 2:22-29. Mary and Joseph were faithful Jews and observed their religious customs. An important custom was for the couple to take their first-born son to the Temple. The baby was taken to the Temple forty days after his birth and was dedicated to God. In addition, if the parents were wealthy, they were to bring a lamb and a young pigeon or a turtle dove to be offered as a sacrifice at the Temple. The custom provided that if the parents were poor, they were to offer two pigeons or two turtle doves for the sacrifice.

When Jesus was forty days old, Mary and Joseph took Him to the Temple in Jerusalem. They were not wealthy, so they took two turtle doves with them to offer as a sacrifice at the Temple. As they arrived at the Temple, Mary and Joseph were met by a very old man named Simeon. He was a holy man and was noted as a very intelligent scholar. Simeon spent much time studying about the prophets of Israel. It was during his studies that he learned of the coming of the Messiah. The Jewish people were waiting for the Messiah to come and deliver Israel from their conquerors. From that time on, Simeon spent his time praying for the Messiah to come. He spent many years in prayer. Finally, while Simeon was praying he heard the voice of God. God promised Simeon that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah.

When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus into the temple, Simeon was there, and immediately he recognized the child for who he was. He took the child in his arms and offered this prayer of thanksgiving to God:
"Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
According to your word;
For my eyes have seen your salvation
Which you have prepared before the face of all peoples,
A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel."

And Joseph and Mary marveled at all that was spoken by the elderly man of God. Then Simeon turned his attention to them, and blessed them also, saying to Mary:

"Behold, this child will see the rise and fall of many and the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed."

Dear Lord, your great plan for sending your Son in the world hinged on Mary’s "yes." Let me learn from her openness, and let me say “yes” to what you ask. Open the eyes of my heart because this Christmas I want to see you more in my life, in my family, in all the little details of my day (and of course help me to help others to do the same) and finally dear Jesus, give the gift of patience so I can wait like Simeon to your coming, Amen.

 

Pray with us and accept Him as our God, dont forget: God is with us!

It used to be darkness
Without you I
I lived my life in blindness
But now I am found

And I'll sing, sing I love you so
And I'll sing
Because the world can't take away
Your love

Found me in weakness
Broken
You came to me in kindness
And now I live

I'll give my life for you Lord
For all you've done

praying for you Miah and family!

http://www.andiesisle.com/didsheknow.html

 http://home.att.net/~sheryl2/FLASH/SEASON/ScriptureTreeChristmas.html

Lyrics:

Mary, did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you’ve delivered will soon deliver you

Mary; did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little boy you’ve kissed the face of god

Mary, did you know?
The blind will see, the deaf will hear, and the dead will live again, the lame will leap, the dumb will speak, the praises of the lamb

Mary, did you know that your baby boy is lord of all creation?
Did you know that your baby boy will one day rules the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heavens perfect lamb?
This sleeping child you’re holding Is the great I am

Matthew 1: 18-24

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel" (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife,

Reflections

Oh, St. Joseph, most chaste spouse, pray for our husbands! May they be as obedient to God's will as yours. When is the last time I earnestly prayed for my husband? Do I nag him about the things I want him to change or do I take them to prayer? Do I realize that my husband is human and will not be perfect until he enters Heaven? Do I forgive him his faults, both large and small?

Do I lead my husband to Heaven? Do I nudge (not nag) him to participate in the life of the Church and our domestic church? Do I complement him for participating, even if he is not fully into the cutesy symbolic stuff we concoct for our kids? Do we pray together as a family? Do we pray together as a couple?

Do I charitably correct my husband as needed? I had the opportunity yesterday to swallow my anger and pray upon the most loving response to redirect a moment of selfishness in my husband. Thank you Holy Spirit for sending the right words, so he received them well! Do I ask the Holy Spirit for guidance in my marriage? Do I pause and reflect when conflict develops between us or do I act impulsively?

Not too long ago I read Dr. Laura Schlessinger's book, The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands. It is an excellent perspective on how, as women, we have a great responsibility in the success of our marriage and must not resign ourselves to victim status but embrace three concrete goals to satisfy our husbands. Her basic point is that men are simple and need to be fed in three key areas: stomach (food), ego, and sex. Men who feel satisfied in these appetites will walk over hot coals and through raging snowstorms to do anything their wives need. Try it. Work on those three areas and see if your husband doesn't become the man of your dreams (or even more so if he already is). It's worked for me!

Lord, like St. Joseph, we hope our husbands will be strong protectors of our families. Please guide them, inspire them, and help us, their wives, to treat them with the dignity, respect, and care they need and deserve from a loving spouse. Especially this Christmas, help us to turn to St. Joseph and ask him to lead our husbands to holiness.