The Solemnity of Pentecost, Birthday of Mother Church.

O HOLY SPIRIT, POUR YOUR DEW ON OUR DRY HEARTS. WASH THE STAINS OF OUR GUILT AWAY. BEND OUR STUBBORN HEART AND WILL. MELT THE FROZEN, WARM THE CHILL; GUIDE THE STEPS THAT GO ASTRAY. AMEN.

“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." (John 20: 19  - 23).

Sunday June 5th 2022 is the Solemnity of Pentecost.

Brethren, this is Pentecost! This is the Birthday of our Mother, the Church. She is Mother and Teacher. Very old and ever young and beautiful. Virgin and Mother of many children. Queen of Peace and Seat of Wisdom. Happy Birthday Mother Church!

The Holy Spirit descended on the disciples in the Cenacle "like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were." (Acts 2: 2). The Novena, the waiting and praying are over. The Father has delivered the Big Gift He promised. "I promised. I will do it." Thank You Abba Father.

"Come, Holy Spirit, come!
And from your celestial home
Shed a ray of light divine!
Come, Father of the poor!
Come, source of all our store!
Come, within our bosoms shine.
You, of comforters the best;
You, the soul’s most welcome guest;
Sweet refreshment here below;
In our labor, rest most sweet;
Grateful coolness in the heat;
Solace in the midst of woe.... " (The Pentecost Sequence).

"The Spirit prepares men and goes out to them with his grace, in order to draw them to Christ. The Spirit manifests the risen Lord to them, recalls his word to them and opens their minds to the understanding of his Death and Resurrection." (CCC 737).

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in us the fire of your love.

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

The testimony of this disciple is true.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE SOURCE OF GRACE. THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY IS THE MEDIATRIX OF ALL GRACES. ON THE EVE OF PENTECOST, LET US ASK THE HUMBLE VIRGIN OF NAZARETH WHO IS FULL OF GRACE TO INTERCEDE FOR US FERVENTLY TO BE FILLED WITH THE FIRE, GIFTS AND FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

"It is this disciple who testifies to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true.  There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written." (John 21: 24 - 25)

Saturday 4th June 2022 of the 7th Week of Easter. We honor the Blessed Virgin Mary on this First Saturday in June.

A summary of the key Scripture for today might be: The word of God, Sacred Tradition and Apostolic Magisterium.

#1. The word of God: John the Evangelist whom we believe is the author of the Gospel according to St John testifies to the veracity of the word of God he committed to writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

#2. Sacred Tradition: John warns that it is an error to limit God's word to what is written. There is so much more. The Holy Spirit is promised to lead the Church into the fullness of truth.

#3. Apostolic Magisterium: Anyone who doubts that full teaching authority is given to the Apostles headed by St Peter and his successors should read the New Testament prayerfully. This authority was foreshadowed in the Old Testament by the authority given to Moses and the Prophets to teach and interpret Scripture. God is not the author of confusion.

On the eve of Pentecost, let us pray to God to restore unity of heart and mind in the Church.

6. 4.  "What is meant by Devotion to the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in what it consists. THE particular object of this devotion is the immense love of the Son of God, which has induced Him to die for us, and to give Himself wholly to us in the Adorable Sacrament of the Altar, and this, although He foresaw all the ingratitude and outrages which He was to meet with in this state of a victim immolated till the end of ages; preferring rather to expose himself daily to the insults and contempt of mankind, than to fail in showing us, by the greatest of all wonders, to what an excess He loves us."  (DEVOTION TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS - Fr. John Croiset, SJ).

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The Feast of St Charles Lwanga and Companion Martyrs.

FEED MY SHEEP.
AN AFRICAN MAXIM STATES THAT LOVE ENTERS THROUGH THE STOMACH. FOOD & FEEDING ARE IMPORTANT CONCEPTS IN THE SCRIPTURES.
IN THE EUCHARIST, THE LORD JESUS FEEDS US THROUGH THE PRIESTS WITH THE BREAD OF LIFE & NOURISHES US WITH THE WORD OF GOD. FEED MY SHEEP.

"After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten breakfast with them, he said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He then said to Simon Peter a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep." (John 21: 15.....19).

Friday 3rd June 2022, in the 7th Week of Easter is the feast of St Charles Lwanga and 22 companion martyrs. (+1886 - 1887). Ugandans. On the feast of Ascension 1886, the powerful but corrupt King Mwanga of Uganda mercilessly killed Charles Lwanga and 14 teenage companions who resisted resolutely his homosexual advances. Eight of the companions were killed later.
The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christianity, said the African theologian, Tertulian. Martyrdom is the greatest testimony/witness to the faith.  The Greek word martyr actually means witness. The testimony of the absolute love of Jesus for us is that He gave His life to prove it. What is most impressive about the martyrs of Uganda is that most of them were teenagers and  some were catechumens. Yet they all chose to die for the faith they had come to love.

Our key Scripture for today recalls the triple denials of Peter.  After the Resurrection, Jesus met the Apostles on the shores of Lake Tiberius. Jesus offered Peter the opportunity for complete reconciliation. Peter confirmed three times that he loves Jesus dearly. Jesus confirmed Peter's leadership of the Church. "Feed my lamb."

What if Jesus asks us: Do you love me more than your family? Do you love me more than your country? Consider carefully how you respond to the Lord. Peter was very presumptuous before the Passion of Christ to claim that he loved Jesus more than anything in the world.

Our love for Jesus may not be perfect. But this love can grow through our openness to receive the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. The highest proof of love is for a man to lay down his life for his friends. This is what our saints of the day did. St Charles Lwanga and his companion martyrs died for the Catholic faith. As Tertulian prophesied: "The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christianity." The Church is flourishing today in Africa, a continent of over a billion souls.  

6. 3. "Lord Jesus, I present myself before Thy Eucharistic Face today, placing myself in spirit close to that tabernacle in the world, where Thou art most forsaken, most ignored, and most forgotten. Since Thou hast asked me for it, I offer Thee my heart, the heart of a priest, to keep company with Thy priestly and Eucharistic Sacred Heart. I adore Thee in a spirit of reparation for all the priests of the Church, but especially for those who never, or hardly ever, stop in Thy presence, there to put down their burdens, and to receive from Thee new strength, new lights, new capacities to love, to pardon, and to bless. I do not want to leave this tabernacle today."  (IN SINU JESU).

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

Honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus this Friday by attending Holy Mass and receiving Holy Communion.

June 3rd, First Friday in June 2022.

The 12 Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus:  Jesus promised 12 special favors to all those who will honor His Sacred Heart especially on the First Friday of every month by attending Holy Mass and receiving Holy Communion.  In the 6th month of the year 2022, we look at Promise #6.

#6.  "Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy."

I am a sinner. You are a sinner. We all need the mercy of Jesus. Ask for mercy. Be merciful to others. Completely and confidently trust Jesus for mercy.

June is the Month the Church honors the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

"O Sacred Heart of Jesus, living and life-giving fountain of eternal life, infinite treasure of the Divinity, and glowing furnace of love, You are my sanctuary.  O adorable and glorious Savior, consume my heart with that burning fire that ever inflames Your Heart.
Pour down on my soul those graces which flow from Your Love.  Let my heart be one with, and in all things conformed to, Yours. May Your Will be the rule of both my desires and my actions. Amen."  (St Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church).

Honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus this Friday by attending Holy Mass and receiving Holy Communion.

For the 12 Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Sacred Heart devotional prayers and prayer intentions click the link below:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2020/08/12-promises-of-sacred-heart-of-jesus.html?m=1

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

Feast of Saints Marcellinus and Peter, Martyrs.

"TO BELIEVE IN CHRIST MEANS TO DESIRE UNITY; TO DESIRE UNITY MEANS TO DESIRE THE CHURCH; TO DESIRE THE CHURCH MEANS TO DESIRE THE COMMUNION OF GRACE THAT CORRESPONDS TO THE FATHER’S PLAN FROM ALL ETERNITY." (POPE ST JOHN PAUL II).

"Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying: “I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me. Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world." (John 17: 20.... 26).

Thursday 2nd June 2022, of the 7th Week of Easter is the feast of two early martyrs of the Church:  St. Marcellinus, Priest and Peter, Exorcist (+ 304). In prison, they converted many of their fellow prisoners including the jailer. Both were martyred under Emperor Diocletian.

In our key Scripture for today, Jesus prayed for Church Unity. He wants Christians to be of one heart and one mind so that the world would look at Christians and see Jesus in us.  The standard for this unity is: "Just as you [Father] are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me."

Today there may be more than 40,000 denominations in the world.  You may wonder: What type of answer is this to the Prayer of Jesus for unity of His disciples?
Why did God permit Christian disunity? This is surely a mystery of Divine Providence.

One of the greatest obstacles to Unity is that a sizable number of Christian denominations do not believe in the type of Unity that Jesus prayed for His Church. Number one obstacle to unity without doubt is Sin. Sin exists in all churches. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit deals  with sins in the churches. Can we still hope to see visible unity in our lifetime?

6.2. "Let the soul who is desirous of advancing in perfection hasten to My Sacred Heart." (St Gertrude the Great).

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

The Feast of St Justin Martyr.

THE CHURCH DEDICATES THE MONTH OF JUNE TO HONORING THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS. WE WILL PROVIDE A SNIPPET OF TEACHING ON THE SACRED HEART FROM TRUSTED SOURCES EVERY DAY IN JUNE. 

"Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying: “Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one....

"I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the Evil One. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.” (John 17: 11.... 19).

Wednesday 1st June 2022, of the 7th Week of Easter is the feast of St Justin Martyr (+ 165). Born in Samaria in Palestine, he is an eminent philosopher and the first apologist in the Church. He defended the Christian faith in his writings in Rome where he established a school of public debate. St Justin was beheaded under Emperor Marcus Aurelius.
Justin is the patron saint of apologists, philosophers, teachers and speakers.

In the high priestly prayer on the night before His Passion, Jesus prayed to His Father that His disciples should be consecrated in the truth. God's word is truth. Jesus, the Word of God is truth. To consecrate means to set apart, to sanctify, to purify for holy purposes.

Have you ever seen a new Altar or Chalice consecrated by the Bishop? It is a worthwhile experience. It will help to appreciate the prayer of Jesus in our key Scripture. What will you do if you walk into your church and find gansters partying around the Altar and drinking beer with the Chalice? Calling the police will not make the Altar and Chalice pure, holy and consecrated again. The sacred objects have been desecrated. They have been made unholy through sacrilegious action. The Bishop may  order both objects to be destroyed or he may decide to reconsecrate the expensive Altar and have the Chalice destroyed and buried.

You are consecrated by Baptism for Mission and Witness. When one fails through a serious sin, the person has become desecrated. Our Supreme High Priest, Jesus the Christ who delights in mercy has made provision for our re-consecration through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

When you live as one consecrated to the truth, you will avoid conforming yourself to the ways and habits of this world. Rather through daily renewal of your mind by the word of God the Holy Spirit will transform your mind. When being fed by the Scriptures becomes your habitual manner of living, discerning what is the will of God for you becomes a habit. The will of God is our peace and prosperity.

6.1. "Jesus knew and loved us each and all during his life, his agony and his Passion, and gave himself up for each one of us: "The Son of God. . . loved me and gave himself for me."  He has loved us all with a human heart. For this reason, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pierced by our sins and for our salvation,  "is quite rightly considered the chief sign and symbol of that. . . love with which the divine Redeemer continually loves the eternal Father and all human beings" without exception." (CCC 478).

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Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

IF "THE FERVENT PRAYER OF A RIGHTEOUS PERSON IS VERY POWERFUL," HOW MUCH MORE THE PRAYER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, THE MOTHER OF GOD? "SON, THEY HAVE NO WINE.... DO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU." (CF JAMES 5: 16, JOHN 2: 5).

"And Mary said:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name." (Luke 1: 39..... 56).

Tuesday 31st May 2022 of the 7th Week of Easter is the feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth.

The Church celebrates today the visit of the Blessed Virgin Mary to her elderly pregnant cousin, Elizabeth.  Why is this feast very important?
Because of two key prophecies that were uttered in the course of the exchange between the Virgin Mary and Elizabeth:

#1  “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.  And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?"  (Luke 1: 42 - 44).  Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth recognized Mary as Theotokos, "The Mother of my Lord."

#2  “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed."  (Luke 1:  46 - 48).
All generations throughout the world continue to call Mary the Theotokos, the Mother of God.

"Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen."

Billions of Hail Marys are said all over the world every day.

5. 31. "From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name."

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

The Holy Spirit is the Source of All inspiration and power.

"I HAVE SAID THESE THINGS TO YOU WHILE STILL WITH YOU; BUT THE ADVOCATE, THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHOM THE FATHER WILL SEND IN MY NAME, WILL TEACH YOU EVERYTHING AND REMIND YOU OF ALL I HAVE SAID TO YOU" (John 14: 25 – 26)

“it happened that while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul made his way overland as far as Ephesus, where he found a number of disciples. When he asked, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers? They answered, ‘No, we were never even told that there was such a thing as a Holy Spirit.’ He asked, ‘Then how were you baptized?’ They replied, ‘With John’s baptism.’ Paul said, ‘John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance; but he insisted that the people should believe in the one who was to come after him – namely Jesus.’ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, and the moment Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came down on them, and they began to speak with tongues and to prophesy.” (Acts 19: 1 – 17).

Monday 30th May 2022 of the 7th Week of Easter.

Our first Reading from Acts of the Apostles remind me of my encounter with the Most Awesome Spirit many years ago.

We might smile to learn that some early disciples of Jesus did not know that “there was such a thing as a Holy Spirit.”

Many years ago in the midst of my desert experience, I received the message from a trustworthy friend that “all that I need is the Holy Spirit.” I wondered: “What is the relevance of the Holy Spirit to my pressing problems of unemployment, money, health and a host of other issues?” Because I considered the messenger trustworthy, I did not discard the message.

I did the Novena to the Holy Spirit before Pentecost of that year and on the final day of the Novena, following the instruction in the booklet I used, I knelt down and pleaded with all my heart for the Holy Spirit. I opened wide my mouth and took a deep breath. When I got up, I accepted in faith as instructed that the Holy Spirit was in me.

I felt two emotions immediately.  One was a deep feeling of peace and joy.  The other was an urge to read the Bible immediately.  The first words I read from the holy book were:  “All wisdom comes from the Lord and with him it remains forever.”  (Sirach 1:1). 

The Holy Spirit is Wisdom. I needed no further confirmation.  The Holy Spirit truly was within me.  I am His temple.  He is the Advocate who pleads my cause with the Father.  How great!  How wonderful!  His presence is peace and tranquility.  I knew that whenever I pray to the Holy Spirit my prayer will receive a hearing. 

My joy in the Holy Spirit continued to grow throughout the years. Then one day a  couple of years ago, I discovered this amazing truth from the Roman Missal: “God is the source of all inspiration and power.” This is the truth I have been seeking.  The Holy Spirit is all that I need. It is true! He is the source of all inspiration and power. Inspiration and source of unlimited ideas and God's power to accomplish what the Holy Spirit inspires one to do. For example:  The Holy Spirit inspired me one day to start SeekFirstcommunity.com Blog. Then He inspired me to join WhatsApp and Facebook to extend my reach in evangelization. He has taught me how to prepare some very appetizing dishes. He helps me in shopping. He points out which books to read. He helps me to prepare for the Sacrament of Penance by pointing out what He wants me to take to the priest in-persona-Christi in Reconciliation. The list is simply endless.

5.30.  “Let us run to Mary, and, as her little children, cast ourselves into her arms with a perfect confidence.”  (St Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church).

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