CHRISTIANS UNITE!
"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. Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me. I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.” (John 17: 20 - 26).
Thursday May 16th in the 7th Week in the Easter Season.
On the eve of His Passion, having celebrated the first Mass and ordained His Apostles as priests, Jesus poured out His heart to His Father and our Father.
"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."
Every Pope for a couple of centuries agonished about Church Unity.
Why are there over 50,000 Christian churches in the world? What are the obstacles to Church Unity? You may be surprised to hear the answer.
The two great obstacles to Church Unity are:
1. The Blessed Virgin Mary.
2. The position and authority of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope.
The Catholic Church cannot compromise on any of the perceived obstacles to Church Unity because the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Pope are the most precious gifts of Jesus Christ to His Church.
Fellow Christians, All things are possible for God. Let us storm Heaven with our prayers. Our God is the God of impossibilities.
The Church honors the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Month of May.
Honor Mary through the Holy Rosary, Litany, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Consecration to The Immaculate Heart of Mary, Pilgrimages, etc.
For the Litany, 15 Promises of Mary, Consecration Prayer, etc and Prayer intentions click the link below:
ST ISIDORE THE FARMER.
"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.
"When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
"But now I am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely.
“I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. 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 15th May 2024 in the 7th Week in the Easter Season is the feast of St Isidore the Farmer.
Isidore the Farmer lived between (1070 - 1130).
Isidore was a humble Spanish farmer who spent most of his day on the land and managed to attend daily Mass and spent significant time before the Blessed Sacrament.
His wife Maria is a canonized saint. His life reminds us that all creation belong to God who requires us to care for the environment that surrounds us. Isidore is the Patron of the National Rural Life Conference in the US.
Two important things to note about the life of St Isidore the Farmer.
1. As a farmer, he spent most of his time in the field. How did he manage to attend daily Mass?
2. How did Isidore find the time to spend before the Blessed Sacrament?
Our key Scripture for reflection is from John 17: 11 - 19.
"Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth."
In His High Priestly Prayer in John 17, Jesus prayed to His Heavenly Father for us:
"Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth."
He prayed that the Father set us apart for the work of His Kingdom. By virtue of our Baptism, we have been made the adopted children of God and set apart for the work of God.
St Isidore the Farmer did his day job as a farmer with the dedication that comes from God. Isidore knew that his life's work is to receive the consecration in the truth in daily Mass and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
"Blessed is he who is invited to the Supper of the Lord."
Do this and you will be blessed.
The Church honors the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Month of May.
Honor Mary through the Holy Rosary, Litany, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Consecration to The Immaculate Heart of Mary, Pilgrimages, etc.
For the Litany, 15 Promises of Mary, Consecration Prayer, etc and Prayer intentions click the link below:
ST MATHIAS, APOSTLE.
"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 might be in you and your joy might be complete.
"This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
"No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.
"I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
"It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another.” (John 15: 9 - 17).
Tuesday May 14th 2024 in the 7th Week in the Easter Season is the feast of the Apostle Matthias.
Our Scripture Verse for today is from the Last Supper Discourse. (John 15: 9 - 17).
Jesus said to the Apostles:
"It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain."
Matthias, our saint for today was not among the original Twelve Apostles.
Like St Matthias, each of us is called, chosen and anointed for a specific mission in the Kingdom.
This is true whether we are soldiers, teachers, accountants, lawyers or housewives. Your day job is the field for your ministry. We are called to be friend and companion of Jesus who will carry on His ministry through us in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Matthias who had followed Jesus since His Baptism at the Jordan became a witness to the Resurrection and saw Jesus ascend into Heaven. He was present with the disciples in the Upper Room at Pentecost. Matthias met the criteria established by the Apostles to be qualified to replace Judas Iscariot.
Matthias must have been deeply surprised by his call to join the Apostolic College. This is the way of God:
"God raises up the lowly from the dust; from the dunghill he lifts up the poor to seat them with princes, with the princes of his own people." (Psalm 113: 7 - 8).
Ancient tradition placed Matthias' ministry in Jerusalem, Cappadocia and Ethiopia. He was martyred in Jerusalem.
St Matthias is the patron saint of Alcoholics.
"I chose you from the world, to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord." (John 15: 16).
The Church honors the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Month of May.
"The greatest saints, those richest in grace and virtue will be the most assiduous in praying to the most blessed virgin, looking up to her as the perfect model to imitate and as a powerful helper to assist them."- (Saint Louis Marie de Montfort)
Honor Mary through the Holy Rosary, Litany, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Consecration to The Immaculate Heart of Mary, Pilgrimages, etc.
For the Litany, 15 Promises of Mary, Consecration Prayer, etc and Prayer intentions click the link below:
FEAST OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA.
"The disciples said to Jesus, “Now you are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech. Now we realize that you know everything and that you do not need to have anyone question you. Because of this we believe that you came from God.”
"Jesus answered them, “Do you believe now? Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone. But I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
"I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” (John 16: 29 - 33).
Monday 13th May 2024 in the 7th Week of the Easter Season.
Today is the feast of Our Lady of Fatima.
It is not a solemnity but a simple feast celebrated worldwide because of the significance of the message of Fatima.
What does Fatima mean to Christians and why does it matter? First, Fatima is in the domain of private revelation. Nobody is obligated to believe the message. But because the Church approves the apparitions of the Blessed Mother in Fatima in 1917, and very importantly because the Church gives it a place in its solemn liturgy, it makes sense to pay attention to it.
What is the message of Fatima?
"The message of Fatima includes a call to conversion of heart, repentance from sin and a dedication to the Blessed Virgin Mary, shown especially by praying the Rosary." (Roman Missal, Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, May 13).
In our key Scripture for today, Jesus says:
"I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” (Cf John 16: 29 - 33).
Do you have peace in Jesus Christ? Why is your heart troubled?
If your heart is troubled by affairs of this world: family, health, money, politics, etc, it is because you do not put your trust in Jesus Christ. If you depend on the world for your peace and serenity, you are promised lots of trouble. But it should not be so.
Listen to the promises of Jesus. Reflect on them continually and you shall have peace. Below are a few of the promises of our Lord Jesus Christ. Call them healing truths because they destroy the lies of Satan in the soul and establish the peace of Christ.
1. "I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”
2."It is I. Do not be afraid."
3. "Do not let your heart be troubled. Believe in God and believe in Me also."
4. "Fear is useless. All you need is Faith."
5. "My grace is sufficient for you. For power is made effective in weakness."
The Church honors the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Month of May.
Honor Mary through the Holy Rosary, Litany, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Consecration to The Immaculate Heart of Mary, Pilgrimages, etc.
For the Litany, 15 Promises of Mary, Consecration Prayer, etc and Prayer intentions click the link below:
THE SOLEMNITY OF THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
Forty Days After His Resurrection, Jesus speaks to His disciples about the Kingdom of God.
"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 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.” (Acts 1: 1 - 11).
Sunday of the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. May 12th 2024.
In the three public ministry of Jesus Christ: [Healing, Feeding and Teaching], everything He said and did was connected with the Kingdom of God. It is therefore not surprising that He continued with this theme Forty Days After His Resurrection. Sad to note, His disciples after the Resurrection had failed to grasp the fundamental point of Jesus' incarnation, ministry, death and Resurrection. Hence their childish question:
"When they had gathered together they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
We regard the question of the disciples about restoring the kingdom of Israel childish today, but let's face the truth, many Christians today confuse the Kingdom of God with the Kingdom of Mexico, America, Russia, France, etc.
How is your understanding of the difference between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of America for example? Do you know that the Church is the seed of the Kingdom of God on earth? (Cf CCC 249, 542).
The Church honors the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Month of May.
Honor Mary through the Holy Rosary, Litany, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Consecration to The Immaculate Heart of Mary, Pilgrimages, etc.
For the Litany, 15 Promises of Mary, Consecration Prayer, etc and Prayer intentions click the link below:
