Hello my friends! Well I must say that our Good Friday services was so meaningful with our new priest who really was into it, even a time of being choked up, he must have experienced something great! How inspiring he is to us. May we keep Father David a long, long time! Thank you for your posts!
If you think success and really believe it will happen, you will perform in a manner
that leads to success. Lord, may I always avoid negative thoughts and visualize
myself in the manner that You intended for me.
S C R I P T U R E F O R T H E D A Y
"Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I
will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am
gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my
yoke is easy, and my burden is light." ~Matthew 11:28-30
M E D I T A T I O N F O R T H E D A Y
The way sometimes seems long and wary. So many people today are weary. The
weariness of others can often be shared by me. The weary and the
heavy-laden, when they come to me, can be helped to find the rest that I
have found. There is only one sure cure for world-weariness and that is
turning to spiritual things. In order to help bring about the turning of
the weary world to God, I can dare to suffer, dare to conquer selfishness in
myself, and dare to be filled with spiritual peace in the face of all the
weariness of the world.
P R A Y E R F O R T H E D A Y
I pray that I may be a help to discouraged people. I pray that I may have
the courage to help bring about what the weary world needs but does not know
how to get.
Divine Mercy Chaplet Novena begins today
How to Say The Novena
Sister Faustina prayed this Chaplet almost constantly,
especially for the dying, and the Lord urged her to
encourage others to say it too, promising extraordinary
graces to those who would recite this special prayer.
The Chaplet can be said anytime but the Lord
specifically asked that it be recited as a novena
especially on the nine days before the Feast of Mercy.
And He promised. "By this Novena (of Chaplets) I will
grant every possible grace to souls
The Chaplet of Mercy is recited using ordinary
rosary beads of five decades.
"First say one Our Father, Hail Mary, and The Creed.
Then on each large bead say the following..
Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood,
Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son
Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our
sins and those of the whole world.
Then on each small bead you are to say the
following words:
For the sake of His sorrowful Passion have
mercy on us and on the whole world.
(End Chaplet with..) In conclusion you are to say these words three times:
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy immortal One,
have mercy on us and on the whole world.
Jesus said later to Sister Faustina "Say unceasingly
this chaplet that I have taught you. Anyone who says it
will receive great Mercy a the hour of death.
Priests will recommend it to sinners as the last hope.
Even the most hardened sinner, if he recites this
Chaplet even once will receive grace from my infinite
Mercy. I want the whole world to know My infinite
Mercy. I want to give unimaginable graces to
those who trust in My Mercy."
. Jesus cried,
“MY GOD, MY GOD WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”
A cry from the heart is always answered by our loving Father, but sometimes we fail to recognize him in the guises of those who come to our aid.
How frequently we cry “WHERE ARE YOU?” when he is there all along.
How often we struggle with our own agonies before we realise that he who “descended into Hell” is there and even at our lowest depths he does not forsake us.
How often we refuse to act in love and by such lack of action stop God using us to present him to others.
- Jesus cried,
“I THIRST”
I should thirst for God: instead I thirst for recognition.
I should thirst to do his will, as Jesus did, but all too often I make him take second place.
I should thirst to be one with Jesus, but I ask that it be under my conditions.
I should thirst to rely on God but refuse to let go of my own independence.
I thirst for truth, but refuse to be challenged by it, or act on the truth I find.
I thirst to receive, yet fail to allow others to give to me.
I thirst to give, but refuse to share with others the precious gift of myself.
- Jesus looked at his mother
and the disciple he loved and said,
“THIS IS YOUR SON,……THIS IS YOUR MOTHER”
Do we believe Jesus?
Do we take him at his word?
Do we love as Jesus commands?
Or are we selective in choosing whom to love?
Do we close our eyes, refusing to see that every child of God is special?
Do we pray one thing and do another?
- Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
“FATHER, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT”
How often do we fail to act as God’s Spirit leads us?
Do we trust God to know what is best…….
Do we let God be God?
Do we only listen to what we want to hear?…..
Do we only turn to God as a last resort?
Do we allow ourselves to be loved by God?……
Do we resist his love?
- They crucified him there, and the two criminals also, one on
the right and one on the left.
Jesus said,
“FATHER FORGIVE THEM; THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING”
For the times when we treat others with disrespect…….
“Father forgive us, we know not what we do”
For abortions and neglect of human rights…….
“Father forgive us, we know not what we do”
For starving people and refugees…….
“Father forgive us, we know not what we do”
For neglecting the homeless…….
“Father forgive us, we know not what we do”
For using physical or verbal violence immorally…….
“Father forgive us, we know not what we do”
For thinking, “Its not my problem…….”
“Father forgive us, we know not what we do”
- He said,
“IT IS FINISHED”
God’s love and care has been expressed in the sacrifice of his son.
God has paid the price we could not pay, forgiveness of sin, restored justice and shown mercy.
We can accept God’s love, live by his love and follow his will.
We can work with God, be healed by his power.
Be at one with him.
We are free.
- The good thief said, “Remember me, when you come into your Kingdom.”
Jesus said to him,
“INDEED, I PROMISE YOU, TODAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE.”
Jesus triumphed over sin and has promised that :
He will come to those who welcome him.
He will be with us until the end of time.
He will not leave us orphans.
The King of Kings, our Lord and God will lead us safely to be with him forever in Paradise.
Opening Prayer for Good Friday: Celebration of the Lord's Passion
Lord, by shedding his blood for us, your Son, Jesus Christ, established the paschal mystery. In your goodness, make us holy and watch over us always. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Lord, by the suffering of Christ your Son you have saved us all from the death we inherited from sinful Adam. By the law of nature we have borne the likeness of his manhood. May the sanctifying power of grace help us to put on the likeness of our Lord in heaven, who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.
Lenten Reflections by Bishop Robert Barron
God hates death and wants nothing to do with it. Listen to the words of Ezekiel the prophet: “I will open your graves and have you rise from them” (Ezekiel 37:12). These are spoken just after the marvelous scene of the enlivening of the dry bones.
There is an important clue here, by the way. Those dry bones were there because a battle had been fought on that spot. Death, the fear of death, the threat of death, putting to death—all of this broods over human life and grounds sin and oppression. Think for a moment: all sin flows finally from a fear of death. Every tyrant who has ever lived has succeeded through awakening in people the fear of death.
But what if death, as we know it and experience it, is not at all what God intended? What if it were something that God wanted to deal with once and for all, to get rid of? The book of Genesis tells us clearly that death came from sin. Mind you, death is not the dissolution of the body—that seems to be part of the natural process. But death as we experience it—as something fearful, horrible, terrifying—comes from having turned from God.
On this Good Friday, it's important to remember that Jesus came primarily as a warrior whose final enemy is death. I know how easy it is to domesticate Jesus, presenting him as a kindly and inspiring moral teacher, but that is not how the Gospels present him. He is a cosmic warrior who has come to do battle with all of those forces that keep us from being fully alive.
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus deals with the effects of death and a death-obsessed culture: violence, hatred, egotism, exclusion, false religion, phony community.
But the final enemy he must face down is death itself. And he does it on a cross. Verse of the Day "Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart to revere your name. I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. For great is your steadfast love toward me." Psalm 86:11-13 March 25 - Jesus Calling Let thankfulness temper all your thoughts. A thankful mind-set keeps you in touch with Me. I hate it when My children grumble, casually despising My sovereignty. Thankfulness is a safeguard against this deadly sin. Furthermore, a grateful attitude becomes a grid through which you perceive life. Gratitude enables you to see the Light of My Presence shining on all your circumstances. Cultivate a thankful heart, for this glorifies Me and fills you with Joy. And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.
—1 Corinthians 10:10 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”
—Hebrews 12:28–29 |
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