“See that you do not look down on one of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.” Matthew 18: 10
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Tag Archives: Scripture
The movie “Left Behind”–Catholic View
The movie “Left Behind” opens today. And while, in a secular culture dismissive of any consequences for unbelief, we can rejoice in any salutary reminders, it is unfortunate that the reminder is riddled with questionable theology and dubious biblical interpreation.
In certain (but not all) Protestant circles, and especially among the Evangelicals, there is a strong and often vivid preoccupation with signs of the Second Coming of Christ. Many of the notions that get expressed are either erroneous or extreme. Some of these erroneous notions are rooted in a misunderstanding of the various scriptural genres. Some are rooted in reading certain Scriptures in isolation from the wider context of the whole of Scripture. And some are rooted in reading one text and disregarding others that balance it.
The Catholic approach to the end times (eschatology) is perhaps less thrilling and provocative. It does not generate “Left Behind” movie series or cause people to sell their houses and gather on hillsides waiting for the announced end. It is more methodical and seeks to balance a lot of notions that often hold certain truths in tension.
I thought it perhaps a worthy goal to set forth certain principles of eschatology from a Catholic point of view, since the movie “Left Behind” is bound to generate questions among fellow Catholics. Most of the teachings offered in this post are drawn straight from the Catechism and the Scriptures. What I offer here I do not propose to call a complete eschatology, only a sketch of basic principles rooted right in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,read more. via Archdiocese of Washington
Scriptural Rosary Podcast
- Joyful Scriptural Mysteries – Podcast
- Luminous Scriptural Mysteries – Podcast
- Sorrowful Scriptural Mysteries Pt.1 Podcast
- Sorrowful Scriptural Mysteries Pt.2 Podcast
- Glorious Scriptural Mysteries –
Scriptural Rosary Podcast
- Joyful Scriptural Mysteries – Podcast
- Luminous Scriptural Mysteries – Podcast
- Sorrowful Scriptural Mysteries Pt.1 Podcast
- Sorrowful Scriptural Mysteries Pt.2 Podcast
- Glorious Scriptural Mysteries –
Dr. Ralph Martin: "God’s Word Reveals the Big Picture"
#Albuquerque is Stilling Willing to Take Innocent Life
First Reading for this day – 2 MC 7:1, 20-31
What has God said to both Jews and Christians in Maccabees about life? (Some Protestants do not have Maccabees in their Bibles, but they should note that the Feast of Dedication, or Hanukkah, was enjoined upon the Jews to be celebrated only in Maccabees. John 7 tells of Jesus going up to Jerusalem to celebrate this feast. So Jesus concurred with the Jews and honored the injunction of Maccabees as given by His Father and recorded in holy writ.)
2 MC 7
“Most admirable and worthy of everlasting remembrance was the mother,
who saw her seven sons perish in a single day,
yet bore it courageously because of her hope in the Lord.
Filled with a noble spirit that stirred her womanly heart with manly courage,
she exhorted each of them
in the language of their ancestors with these words:
“I do not know how you came into existence in my womb;
it was not I who gave you the breath of life,
nor was it I who set in order
the elements of which each of you is composed.
Therefore, since it is the Creator of the universe
who shapes each man’s beginning,
as he brings about the origin of everything,
he, in his mercy,
will give you back both breath and life,
because you now disregard yourselves for the sake of his law.”The response of this heroic woman’s son before his life was ended in accordance with an unjust law is also worth noting:
She had scarcely finished speaking when the youth said:
“What are you waiting for?
I will not obey the king’s command.
I obey the command of the law given to our fathers through Moses.
But you, who have contrived every kind of affliction for the Hebrews,
will not escape the hands of God.”Our laws do not excuse us before God this day or on our particular judgment day, so our choices matter for our eternity. What we choose to do with our freedom matters in life and in death. Therefore it is incumbent upon us to choose wisely and form our consciences as though our eternity depends on it.
Thought for the Day – Resolve!
Reveling in God’s Love
Image via Wikipedia
H/T Simple Catholic / Simple Catholic Living
Reminders:
1. “O Lord, your love reaches to heaven; your faithfulness, to the clouds.” Psalm 36:6
2. “With age-old love I have loved you; so I have kept my mercy toward you.” Jeremiah 31:3
3. “The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; He will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in His love, he will sing joyfully because of you.” Zephaniah 3:17
4. “As the Father loves me, so I love you. Remain in my love John 15:9
5. “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for his friends.” John 15:13
6. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal live.” John 3:16 (My personal, all-time favorite verse from Scripture!)
7. “What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake we are being slain all the day; we are looked upon as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Romans 8:35-37
8. “For I am convinced that either death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38
9. “I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the holy ones, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!” Ephesians 3:16-21
10. “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet we are.” 1 John: 31
Scriptural Rosary Podcast – Luminous Mysteries
Scriptural Rosary Podcast
Joyful Scriptural Mysteries - Podcast
Luminous Scriptural Mysteries - Podcast
Sorrowful Scriptural Mysteries Pt.1
Sorrowful Scriptural Mysteries Pt. 2
Glorious Scriptural Mysteries - Podcast
by Joann Nelander
Revelation
Luke 24:27
Beginning with Moses, and going through all the prophets, Jesus showed them the meaning of those passages of Scripture which had been written concerning himself.
Luke 24:25
Then He said to them, “What little sense you have! How slow you are to believe all the prophets have announced!
From a short discourse by St.Bonaventure, bishop:
He who knows Jesus Christ can understand all sacred Scripture
The source of sacred Scripture was not human research but divine revelation. This revelation comes from the Father of Light from whom the whole concept of fatherhood in heaven and on earth derives. From him, through Jesus Christ his Son, the Holy Spirit enters into us. Then, through the Holy Spirit who allots and apportions his gifts to each person as he wishes, we receive the gift of faith, and through faith Christ lives in our hearts. So we come to know Christ and this knowledge becomes the main source of a firm understanding of the truth of all sacred Scripture. It is impossible, therefore, for anyone to achieve this understanding unless he first receives the gift of faith in Christ. This faith is the foundation of the whole Bible, a lamp and a key to its understanding. As long as our earthly state keeps us from seeing the Lord, this same faith is the firm basis of all supernatural enlightenment, the light guiding us to it, and the doorway through which we enter upon it. What is more, the extent of our fath is the measure of the wisdom which God has given us. Thus, no one should overestimate his wisdom; instead, he should soberly make his assessment according to the extent of the faith which God has given him.
The outcome or the fruit of reading holy Scripture is by no means negligible: it is the fullness of eternal happiness. For these are the books which tell us of eternal life, which were written not only that we might believe but also that we might have everlasting life. When we do live that life we shall understand fully, we shall love completely, and our desires will be totally satisfied. Then, with all our needs fulfilled, we shall truly know the love that surpasses understanding and so be filled with the fullness of God. The purpose of the Scriptures, which come to us from God, is to lead us to this fullness according to the truths contained in those sayings of the apostles to which I have referred. In order to achieve this, we must study holy Scripture carefully, and teach it and listen to it in the same way.
If we are to attain the ultimate goal of eternal happiness by the path of virtue described in the Scriptures, we have to begin at the very beginning. We must come with a pure faith to the Father of Light and acknowledge him in our hearts. We must ask him to give us, through his Son and in the Holy Spirit, a true knowledge of Jesus Christ, and along with that knowledge a love of him. Knowing and loving him in this way, confirmed in our faith and grounded in our love, we can know the length and breadth and height and depth of his sacred Scripture. Through that knowledge we can come at last to know perfectly and love completely the most blessed Trinity, whom the saints desire to know and love and in whom all that is good and true finds its meaning and fulfillment.
Sent from my iPod
Advent Reflection
The prophet Zephaniah shows us a picture of God that reveals the delight He takes in His creation, a rejoicing, dancing God, waiting to sweep you off your feet.
Zephaniah 3:17
God will dance for you with songs of joy.
God rejoices in you.
He will renew you in His Love.
He will dance for you with songs of joy.
Scriptural Rosary Podcast – the Joyful Mysteries
A simple podcast presentation of the Joyful Mysteries with a Scripture reading before each Hail Mary:
The Rosary – The Joyful Mysteries with Holy Scripture
The Annunciation
The Visitation
The Nativity
The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple
The Finding of Jesus in the Temple
Pentecost -Come Holy Spirit!
“John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the holy Spirit.” Acts 1:5
- 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 own 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.” They were all astounded and bewildered, and said to one another, “What does this mean?” But others said, scoffing, “They have had too much new wine.” Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem. Let this be known to you, and listen to my words. These people are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: ‘It will come to pass in the last days,’ God says, ‘that I will pour out a portion of my spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. Indeed, upon my servants and my handmaids I will pour out a portion of my spirit in those days, and they shall prophesy.
- And I will work wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below: blood, fire, and a cloud of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and splendid day of the Lord,and it shall be that everyone shall be saved who calls on the name of the Lord.’ Acts 2:1-21
God my creator
Breathe on me again
Renew me-Refresh me
Extend my abilities-Give me your gifts
Body and Blood of Jesus Christ
Flow through every fiber of my being
Keep me well
Oh Holy Spirit use me.
Our Father; Hail Mary; Glory be to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit…
Novena to the Holy Spirit – Day 9
Day 9
For those beginning this novena late, fear not! St. Teresa of Avila gives us this prayer for Lost Time:
O my God! Source of all mercy. I acknowledge Your sovereign power. While recalling the wasted years that are past, I believe that You, Lord, can in an instant turn this loss to gain. Miserable as I am, yet I firmly believe that You can do all things. Please restore to me the time lost, giving me Your grace, both now and in the future, that I may appear before You in “wedding garments.” Amen
“And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which, He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:4,5).
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
“These all continued with one accord in prayer and suupplication, with the women, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brethern.” (Acts 1:14).
God my creator
Breathe on me again
Renew me-Refresh me
Extend my abilities-Give me your gifts
Body and Blood of Jesus Christ
Flow through every fiber of my being
Keep me well
Oh Holy Spirit use me.
Our Father; Hail Mary; Glory be to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit…
Novena to the Holy Spirit – Day 8
Day 8
For those beginning this novena late, fear not! St. Teresa of Avila gives us this prayer for Lost Time:
O my God! Source of all mercy. I acknowledge Your sovereign power. While recalling the wasted years that are past, I believe that You, Lord, can in an instant turn this loss to gain. Miserable as I am, yet I firmly believe that You can do all things. Please restore to me the time lost, giving me Your grace, both now and in the future, that I may appear before You in “wedding garments.” Amen
“And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism.” Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. Now the men were about twelve in all.” (Acts 19:1-7).
God my creator
Breathe on me again
Renew me-Refresh me
Extend my abilities-Give me your gifts
Body and Blood of Jesus Christ
Flow through every fiber of my being
Keep me well
Oh Holy Spirit use me.
Our Father; Hail Mary; Glory be to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit…
Novena to the Holy Spirit – Day 7
Day 7
“And is shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on my menservants and on my maidservants I will pour out my Spirit in those days” (Joel 2:28-29).
God my creator
Breathe on me again
Renew me-Refresh me
Extend my abilities-Give me your gifts
Body and Blood of Jesus Christ
Flow through every fiber of my being
Keep me well
Oh Holy Spirit use me.
Our Father; Hail Mary; Glory be to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit…
Novena to the Holy Spirit – Day 6
Day 6
For those beginning this novena late, fear not! St. Teresa of Avila gives us this prayer for Lost Time:
O my God! Source of all mercy. I acknowledge Your sovereign power. While recalling the wasted years that are past, I believe that You, Lord, can in an instant turn this loss to gain. Miserable as I am, yet I firmly believe that You can do all things. Please restore to me the time lost, giving me Your grace, both now and in the future, that I may appear before You in “wedding garments.” Amen
“John answered and said to them all, ‘As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Luke 3:16
God my creator
Breathe on me again
Renew me-Refresh me
Extend my abilities-Give me your gifts
Body and Blood of Jesus Christ
Flow through every fiber of my being
Keep me well
Oh Holy Spirit use me.
Our Father; Hail Mary; Glory be to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit…
Novena to the Holy Spirit – Day 5
Day 5
For those beginning this novena late, fear not! St. Teresa of Avila gives us this prayer for Lost Time:
O my God! Source of all mercy. I acknowledge Your sovereign power. While recalling the wasted years that are past, I believe that You, Lord, can in an instant turn this loss to gain. Miserable as I am, yet I firmly believe that You can do all things. Please restore to me the time lost, giving me Your grace, both now and in the future, that I may appear before You in “wedding garments.” Amen
“And I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, “He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.” John 1:33
God my creator
Breathe on me again
Renew me-Refresh me
Extend my abilities-Give me your gifts
Body and Blood of Jesus Christ
Flow through every fiber of my being
Keep me well
Oh Holy Spirit use me.
Our Father; Hail Mary; Glory be to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit…
Novena to the Holy Spirit – Day 4
Day 4
For those beginning this novena late, fear not! St. Teresa of Avila gives us this prayer for Lost Time:
O my God! Source of all mercy. I acknowledge Your sovereign power. While recalling the wasted years that are past, I believe that You, Lord, can in an instant turn this loss to gain. Miserable as I am, yet I firmly believe that You can do all things. Please restore to me the time lost, giving me Your grace, both now and in the future, that I may appear before You in “wedding garments.” Amen
Now in Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of the Cohort called the Italica,devout and God-fearing along with his whole household, who used to give alms generously to the Jewish people and pray to God constantly.One afternoon about three o’clock, he saw plainly in a vision an angel of God come in to him and say to him, “Cornelius.”He looked intently at him and, seized with fear, said, “What is it, sir?” He said to him, “Your prayers and almsgiving have ascended as a memorial offering before God. Now send some men to Joppa and summon one Simon who is called Peter.He is staying with another Simon, a tanner, who has a house by the sea.”When the angel who spoke to him had left, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from his staff,explained everything to them, and sent them to Joppa. The next day, while they were on their way and nearing the city, Peter went up to the roof terrace to pray at about noontime. He was hungry and wished to eat, and while they were making preparations he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something resembling a large sheet coming down, lowered to the ground by its four corners.In it were all the earth’s four-legged animals and reptiles and the birds of the sky.A voice said to him, “Get up, Peter. Slaughter and eat.”But Peter said, “Certainly not, sir. For never have I eaten anything profane and unclean.”The voice spoke to him again, a second time, “What God has made clean, you are not to call profane.”This happened three times, and then the object was taken up into the sky. While Peter was in doubt about the meaning of the vision he had seen, the men sent by Cornelius asked for Simon’s house and arrived at the entrance. They called out inquiring whether Simon, who is called Peter, was staying there. As Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said (to him), “There are three men here looking for you. So get up, go downstairs, and accompany them without hesitation, because I have sent them.” Then Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your being here?” They answered, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, respected by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear what you have to say.” So he invited them in and showed them hospitality. The next day he got up and went with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went with him. On the following day he entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and, falling at his feet, paid him homage.Peter, however, raised him up, saying, “Get up. I myself am also a human being.” While he conversed with him, he went in and found many people gathered together and said to them, “You know that it is unlawful for a Jewish man to associate with, or visit, a Gentile, but God has shown me that I should not call any person profane or unclean.And that is why I came without objection when sent for. May I ask, then, why you summoned me?” Cornelius replied, “Four days ago at this hour, three o’clock in the afternoon, I was at prayer in my house when suddenly a man in dazzling robes stood before me and said,’Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your almsgiving remembered before God. Send therefore to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter. He is a guest in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’ So I sent for you immediately, and you were kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to listen to all that you have been ommanded by the Lord.” Then Peter proceeded to speak and said, “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him. You know the word (that) he sent to the Israelites as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all,what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached,how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.We are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and (in) Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. This man God raised (on) the third day and granted that he be visible,not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.He commissioned us to preach to the people and testify that he is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead.To him all the prophets bear witness, that everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.”While Peter was still speaking these things, the holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the word. The circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter were astounded that the gift of the holy Spirit should have been poured out on the Gentiles also,for they could hear them speaking in tongues and glorifying God. Then Peter responded,”Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people, who have received the holy Spirit even as we have?”He ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Act 10
God my creator
Breathe on me again
Renew me-Refresh me
Extend my abilities-Give me your gifts
Body and Blood of Jesus Christ
Flow through every fiber of my being
Keep me well
Oh Holy Spirit use me.
Our Father; Hail Mary; Glory be to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit…
Novena to the Holy Spirit – Day 3
Day 3
For those beginning this novena late, fear not! St. Teresa of Avila gives us this prayer for Lost Time:
O my God! Source of all mercy. I acknowledge Your sovereign power. While recalling the wasted years that are past, I believe that You, Lord, can in an instant turn this loss to gain. Miserable as I am, yet I firmly believe that You can do all things. Please restore to me the time lost, giving me Your grace, both now and in the future, that I may appear before You in “wedding garments.” Amen
- A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” (The woman) said to him, “Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep; where then can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?” Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” Jesus said to her, “Go call your husband and come back.”
- The woman answered and said to him, “I do not have a husband.” Jesus answered her, “You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’ For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true.”The woman said to him, “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain; but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Anointed; when he comes, he will tell us everything.”
- Jesus said to her, “I am He, the one who is speaking with you.” John 4:7-26
God my creator
Breathe on me again
Renew me-Refresh me
Extend my abilities-Give me your gifts
Body and Blood of Jesus Christ
Flow through every fiber of my being
Keep me well
Oh Holy Spirit use me.
Our Father; Hail Mary; Glory be to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit…
The Ascension of Our Lord
Acts 1:1-11
In the first book, Theophilus,
I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught
until the day he was taken up,
after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit
to the apostles whom he had chosen.
He presented himself alive to them
by many proofs after he had suffered,
appearing to them during forty days
and speaking about the kingdom of God.
While meeting with the them,
he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem,
but to wait for “the promise of the Father
about which you have heard me speak;
for John baptized with water,
but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”When they had gathered together they asked him,
“Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons
that the Father has established by his own authority.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
throughout Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth.”
When he had said this, as they were looking on,
he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.
While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going,
suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them.
They said, “Men of Galilee,
why are you standing there looking at the sky?
This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven
will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”
Into the Hands of Foreigners
Save us, Lord, collect us together from among the nations. Alleluia.
Psalm 105 (106)
They mingled themselves with the peoples,and learned to do as they did.They served the same idolsuntil it became their undoing.They sacrificed their own sonsand their daughters to demons.They poured out innocent blood.The blood of their own sons and daughterswas sacrificed to the idols of Canaan.Their blood polluted the land,and their actions defiled them.They devoted themselves to whoring.The Lord blazed out in anger against his own people,He detested his own chosen race.He gave them into the hands of foreigners.They were conquered by those who hated them.
These words from today’s Office of Readings, I find frightening in light of our society. We are blessed by the knowledge that God, who is near to us, has blessed us, giving us His Son and sending us His Holy Spirit. Sinners get to live as saints should they so desire. What does our society reveal about our desires.
What does our society testify about us as a people? Gifts, even gifts of God, can be squandered by prodigal sons and daughters. His greatest gift, life, we subject to pluralistic debate and countermand by man-made law. ‘Choice’ is elevated above conscience and morality and enshrined as a god to be fed by money-making mills. Is this license the best we can do with the gift of life in a land of freedom and liberty?
Facts about fetal pain.
More facts about fetal pain.
Facts about maternal pain.
Novena to the Holy Spirit – Day 2
Day 2
For those beginning this novena late, fear not! St. Teresa of Avila gives us this prayer for Lost Time:
O my God! Source of all mercy. I acknowledge Your sovereign power. While recalling the wasted years that are past, I believe that You, Lord, can in an instant turn this loss to gain. Miserable as I am, yet I firmly believe that You can do all things. Please restore to me the time lost, giving me Your grace, both now and in the future, that I may appear before You in “wedding garments.” Amen
- On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and exclaimed, “Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as scripture says: ‘Rivers of living water will flow from within him.'” He said this in reference to the Spirit that those who came to believe in him were to receive. There was, of course, no Spirit yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified. John 7:37-39
God my creator
Breathe on me again.
Renew me. Refresh me.
Extend my abilities. Give me your gifts.
Body and Blood of Jesus Christ
Flow through every fiber of my being.
Keep me well.
Oh Holy Spirit use me.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit…Amen
Novena to the Holy Spirit – Day 1
Day 1
“John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the holy Spirit.” Acts 1:5
- 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 own 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.” They were all astounded and bewildered, and said to one another, “What does this mean?” But others said, scoffing, “They have had too much new wine.” Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed to them, “You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem. Let this be known to you, and listen to my words. These people are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: ‘It will come to pass in the last days,’ God says, ‘that I will pour out a portion of my spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. Indeed, upon my servants and my handmaids I will pour out a portion of my spirit in those days, and they shall prophesy.
- And I will work wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below: blood, fire, and a cloud of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and splendid day of the Lord,and it shall be that everyone shall be saved who calls on the name of the Lord.’ Acts 2:1-21
God my creator
Breathe on me again
Renew me-Refresh me
Extend my abilities-Give me your gifts
Body and Blood of Jesus Christ
Flow through every fiber of my being
Keep me well
Oh Holy Spirit use me.
Our Father; Hail Mary; Glory be to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit…
Weapons of War – Hot Coals
The Anchoress got some disparaging email in response to”See How These Christians Shove One Another. She was articulating “that we Christians are being ‘way too “earthbound” and over-worldly in the way we process and engage in politics.” The response of readers prompted her to print an email that she thought made her point, He says it so much better than I. In a nutshell, the writer said, in citing the story of Joshua and the battle of Jericho, “The Israelites did not attack Jericho head-on in a conventional way but chose instead the mystical path and gave the Holy Spirit room to do His work.
I’ve been struggling along these same lines. Blogging makes me painfully aware of it. I start the day with Mass and the Divine Office and come home to enter the fray. I bounce between the spiritual and not so spiritual with my own war of words. I read Archbishop Charles J. Chaput’s “Render Unto Caesar” hoping to gain some footing. He confirmed the battle for me but didn’t give me my marching orders. I believe I need to use all the tools God has placed at hand.
The Rosary is called “a weapon” by those who know its power. Mass and the Divine Office are like heavenly dynamite empowered by the Holy Spirit. Faith turns up that power and places it in the hands of the angels to do battle in the realm the Apostle Paul tells us about. “For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evils spirits in the heavens.” Ephesian 6: 12
I know, too, I have other tools at my disposal: thoughts, words, deeds. I know I mess up and will mess up, leading me back to prayer and repentance to begin again. Like Jesus on the Way of the Cross, I have to keep getting up and get myself up the mountain of Calvary for the Battle that wins the war. I don’t feel like a warrior, I think of myself as the little donkey carrying the Christ into Jerusalem for the climactic encounter between Good and Evil. That’s were I am and I am tired.
When I complained of being tired though the battle has hardly begun, a friend wrote me saying,
“Remember the Narnia series?Remember in “The Witch, The Lion and The Wardrobe”how the children were confused, frightened, at the endof their resources……..when they heard that Aslyn was“on the move”. Of course, they still had great battlesahead but Aslyn had arrived….. Have you had any such thoughts/feelings? I hope that it is not wishful thinking on my part.”
I don’t think it is wishful thinking. I think Aslyn is on the move. It doesn’t really matter if I fall on the battlefield. I’m on the right side and Christ is more than a Conqueror. He is a Savior and in His hands our efforts and prayers strike at the hearts of enemies with the same Mercy that bought me to His side.
The side of Christ is pierced that we all may enter. Today, Mercy Sunday, is a good day to think about that and the signature “Jesus I trust in you” that signs the Divine Mercy Image. I think of that signature as my name confirming Christ’s image in me.
With my weapons in hand, all I need is a battle cry. Semper Fidelis is a worthy battle cry. Cam Beck says,
What is left unsaid in the motto is also notable. The phrase is “Always faithful.” It isn’t “Sometimes Faithful.” Nor is it “Usually Faithful,” but always. It is not negotiable. It is not relative, but absolute.
For me, it’s Jesus Christ who is Always Faithful.
Good Friday
Office of Readings
First Reading: Hebrews 9 chapter 11-28
But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be, passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation,
He entered once for all into the sanctuary, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.
For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer’s ashes can sanctify those who are defiled so that their flesh is cleansed,
how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.
For this reason he is mediator of a new covenant: since a death has taken place for deliverance from transgressions under the first covenant, those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.
Now where there is a will, the death of the testator must be established.
For a will takes effect only at death; it has no force while the testator is alive.
Thus not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood.
When every commandment had been proclaimed by Moses to all the people
according to the law, he took the blood of calves (and goats), together with water and crimson wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,
saying, “This is ‘the blood of the covenant which God has enjoined upon you.'”
In the same way, he sprinkled also the tabernacle and all the vessels of worship with blood.
According to the law almost everything is purified by blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Therefore, it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified by these rites, but the heavenly things themselves by better sacrifices than these.
For Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands, a copy of the true one, but heaven itself, that he might now appear before God on our behalf.
Not that he might offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters each year into the sanctuary with blood that is not his own;
if that were so, he would have had to suffer repeatedly from the foundation of the world. But now once for all he has appeared at the end of the ages to take away sin by his sacrifice.
Just as it is appointed that human beings die once, and after this the judgment,
so also Christ, offered once to take away the sins of many,will appear a second time, not to take away sin but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.
If we wish to understand the power of Christ’s blood, we should go back to the ancient account of its prefiguration in Egypt. “Sacrifice a lamb without blemish,” commanded Moses, “and sprinkle its blood on your doors.” If we were to ask him what he meant, and how the blood of an irrational beast could possibly save men endowed with reason, his answer would be that the saving power lies not in the blood itself, but in the fact that it is a sign of the Lord’s blood. In those days, when the destroying angel saw the blood on the doors he did not dare to enter, so how much less will the devil approach now when he sees, not that figurative blood on the doors, but the true blood on the lips of believers, the doors of the temple of Christ.
If you desire further proof of the power of this blood, remember where it came from, how it ran down from the cross, flowing from the Master’s side. The gospel records that when Christ was dead, but still hung on the cross, a soldier came and pierced his side with a lance and immediately there poured out water and blood. Now the water was a symbol of baptism and the blood, of the holy eucharist. The soldier pierced the Lord’s side, he breached the wall of the sacred temple, and I have found the treasure and made it my own. So also with the lamb: the Jews sacrificed the victim and I have been saved by it.
“There flowed from his side water and blood.” Beloved, do not pass over this mystery without thought; it has yet another hidden meaning, which I will explain to you. I said that water and blood symbolised baptism and the holy eucharist. From these two sacraments the Church is born: from baptism, “the cleansing water that gives rebirth and renewal through the Holy Spirit,” and from the holy eucharist. Since the symbols of baptism and the Eucharist flowed from his side, it was from his side that Christ fashioned the Church, as he had fashioned Eve from the side of Adam Moses gives a hint of this when he tells the story of the first man and makes him exclaim: “Bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh!” As God then took a rib from Adam’s side to fashion a woman, so Christ has given us blood and water from his side to fashion the Church. God took the rib when Adam was in a deep sleep, and in the same way Christ gave us the blood and the water after his own death.
Do you understand, then, how Christ has united his bride to himself and what food he gives us all to eat? By one and the same food we are both brought into being and nourished. As a woman nourishes her child with her own blood and milk, so does Christ unceasingly nourish with his own blood those to whom he himself has given life.
Holy Thursday – Pope Benedict XVI
In this day of “turning the Bible on its head“ by such influential entities as National Geographic Society and Newsweek, it is good to remember what actual scholars who care about Truth have taught us. Pope Benedict XVI reacting to a misleading 3rd century coptic text on display by the National Geographic Society in 2006, as covered by Cindy Wooden of Catholic New Service, corrected:
Judas was a greedy liar who put his desire for money ahead of his relationship with Jesus and his love for God, Pope Benedict XVI said…
But during his April 13 (2006) homily at the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Pope Benedict said Judas is the clearest example Christians have of someone who refuses God’s saving love.
For Judas, the pope said, “only power and success are real; love does not count.”
“And he is greedy: Money is more important than communion with Jesus, more important than God and his love. He also becomes a liar, a double-crosser who breaks with the truth,” Pope Benedict said.
Purposefully ignoring the truth, he said, Judas “hardens, becoming incapable of conversion … and throws away his destroyed life.”
The next day, the pope’s preacher also weighed in against the recent wave of “pseudohistorical literature” gaining popularity as well as the soon-to-be-released film, “The Da Vinci Code.”
In his April 14 [2006] homily during the Good Friday liturgy of the Lord’s Passion, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa said that millions of people today were being “crassly manipulated by the media,” which is more interested in touting the newest fad or insight rather than the truth and, as a consequence, turning a pretty penny for it.
“There is much talk about Judas’ betrayal without realizing that it is being repeated” today, he said during his homily given before the pope and hundreds of people in St. Peter’s Basilica.
“Christ is being sold again,” he said, but this time “to publishers and booksellers” for billions of dollars.
People seem to be always itching for something new, and there are those who take advantage of that by carrying out or promoting “the clever rewriting of ancient legends,” he said.
The fantasies and speculation will only “flare up with the imminent release of a certain film,” the Capuchin friar said, in reference to the movie “The Da Vinci Code,” based on the novel by Dan Brown.
The preacher of the papal household said he felt it was his duty to address the current swirl of controversy surrounding the many interpretations of the life and death of Jesus because “we cannot allow the silence of believers to be mistaken for embarrassment” nor allow the media to manipulate the truth about Christ’s life, his death on the cross and his resurrection.”
Zenit.org reports Fr. Cantalamessa’s closing remark:
The “fantasies” mentioned have an explanation, concluded the Pontifical Household preacher: “We are in the age of the media and the media are more interested in novelty than in truth.”
Words of St. Paul:
“The time is sure to come when people will not accept sound teaching, but their ears will be itching for anything new and they will collect themselves a whole series of teachers according to their own tastes; and then they will shut their ears to the truth and will turn to myths.”
Praying With The Church – Update
If you have not checked out DivineOffice.org yet, Holy Week is the perfect time to begin praying with the Church with the help of this wonderful ministry. Divine Office is produced by Dane Falkner and some very dedicated and talented people. It’s purpose is to promote “the tradition of praying always through these ancient treasures of the Church, not only to Catholics but to all Christians universally.”
Here are the wonder workers, Dane, Chriss, Denise and Greg:
DivineOffice.org provides daily free podcast of the Divine Office, definitely 5 star! plus iPhone App made available through iTunes (extremely affordable.)
Having a virtual community is great when you know they are real people reaching out to no less than the world. The music, professional presentation of the daily inspirational scriptures, readings and prayers, has enriched my experience of listening to and praying the Divine Office. As I said, Check them out!
Praying With the Church
If you have not checked out DivineOffice.org yet, Holy Week is the perfect time to begin praying with the Church with the help of this wonderful ministry. Divine Office is produced by Dane Falkner and some very dedicated and talented people. It’s purpose is to promote “the tradition of praying always through these ancient treasures of the Church, not only to Catholics but to all Christians universally.”
Into Stillness 