SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER
SAINTS OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: MAY 13, 2024
FEAST OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA AND FEAST OF OUR LADY OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT
MEMORIAL OF SAINT JOHN THE SILENT, BISHOP; SAINT ANDREW HUBERT FOURNET, PRIEST AND SAINT JULIANA OF NORWICH, RELIGIOUS
NOVENA TO THE HOLY SPIRIT ~ DAY FOUR: Prayed in preparation for Pentecost. Beginning, Friday, May 10-18, 2024 (link below)
Greetings beloved family! Happy Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter!
Watch “Holy Mass in Honor of Our Lady of Fatima on the Anniversary of Her Apparition 2024 | EWTN | 05/13/2024 |
Watch “Holy Rosary and Candlelight Procession from the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima | Glorious Mysteries | 05/12/2024 |
Watch “Holy Mass from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | May 13, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from Lourdes, France” | May 13, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | May 13, 2024 |
Pray “The Chaplet of Divine Mercy | from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy” | May 13, 2024 |
Pray “Holy Rosary ALL 20 Mysteriels VIRTUAL🌹JOYFUL🌹LUMINOUS🌹SORROWFUL🌹GLORIOUS” on YouTube |
Memorare Chaplet | Prayer in Difficult Times (Powerful Prayer) |
Today’s Bible Readings: Monday, May 13, 2024
Reading 1, Acts 19:1-8
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 68:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
Gospel, John 16:29-33
NOVENA TO THE HOLY SPIRIT: Prayed in preparation for Pentecost. Beginning, Friday, May 10, 2024 (link below): Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Seven Gifts | EWTN | The novena – May 10-18, 2024 | https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/novena-to-the-holy-spirit-for-the-seven-gifts-309
[This Novena begins on the day after the Solemnity of the Ascension, Friday of the 6th Week of Easter, even if the Solemnity of the Ascension is transferred to the 7th Sunday.]
NOVENA TO THE HOLY SPIRIT
Prayed in preparation for Pentecost
DAY FOUR: May 13, 2024, Monday, 7th Week of Easter
Thou in toil art comfort sweet, Pleasant coolness in the heat, solace in the midst of woe.
THE GIFT OF FORTITUDE: The Gift of Fortitude. By the gift of Fortitude the soul is strengthened against natural fear, and supported to the end in the performance of duty. Fortitude imparts to the will an impulse and energy which move it to under take without hesitancy the most arduous tasks, to face dangers, to trample under foot human respect, and to endure without complaint the slow martyrdom of even lifelong tribulation. ‘He that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved.’
PRAYER: Come, O Blessed Spirit of Fortitude, uphold my soul in time of trouble and adversity, sustain my efforts after holiness, strengthen my weakness, give me courage against all the assaults of my enemies, that I may never be overcome and separated from Thee, my God and greatest Good. Amen🙏
Our Father and Hail Mary ONCE; Glory be to the Father SEVEN TIMES
ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE HOLY SPIRIT: On my knees before the great multitude of heavenly witnesses, I offer myself, soul and body to You, Eternal Spirit of God. I adore the brightness of Your purity, the unerring keenness of Your justice, and the might of Your love. You are the Strength and Light of my soul. In You I live and move and am. I desire never to grieve You by unfaithfulness to grace and I pray with all my heart to be kept from the smallest sin against You. Mercifully guard my every thought and grant that I may always watch for Your light, and listen to Your voice, and follow Your gracious inspirations. I cling to You and give myself to You and ask You, by Your compassion to watch over me in my weakness. Holding the pierced Feet of Jesus and looking at His Five Wounds, and trusting in His Precious Blood and adoring His opened Side and stricken Heart, I implore You, Adorable Spirit, Helper of my infirmity, to keep me in Your grace that I may never sin against You. Give me grace, O Holy Spirit, Spirit of the Father and the Son to say to You always and everywhere, ‘Speak Lord for Your servant heareth.’ Amen🙏
PRAYER FOR THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: O Lord Jesus Christ, Who, before ascending into heaven, did promise to send the Holy Spirit to finish Your work in the souls of Your Apostles and Disciples, deign to grant the same Holy Spirit to me that He may perfect in my soul, the work of Your grace and Your love. Grant me the Spirit of Wisdom that I may despise the perishable things of this world and aspire only after the things that are eternal, the Spirit of Understanding to enlighten my mind with the light of Your divine truth, the Spirit of Counsel that I may ever choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining heaven, the Spirit of Fortitude that I may bear my cross with You and that I may overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation, the Spirit of Knowledge that I may know God and know myself and grow perfect in the science of the Saints, the Spirit of Piety that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable, and the Spirit of Fear that I may be filled with a loving reverence towards God and may dread in any way to displease Him. Mark me, dear Lord, with the sign of Your true disciples and animate me in all things with Your Spirit. Amen🙏
PRAYER TO THE HOLY SPIRIT: Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and kindle in them the fire of Thy love. Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth. Let us pray: O God, Who did instruct the hearts of Thy faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant us in the same Spirit to be truly wise, and ever to rejoice in His consolation,through Christ, our Lord. Amen🙏
Novena to the Holy Spirit: Prayed in preparation for Pentecost (link below)
Novena to the Holy Spirit for the Seven Gifts | EWTN: https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/novena-to-the-holy-spirit-for-the-seven-gifts-309
DEVOTION OF THE MONTH OF MAY: MONTH OF OUR LADY: In addition to the myriad feast days honoring Our Lady under her many titles and virtues, the entire month of May is especially given to her praise. In the words of Pope Paul VI, May is “a month which the piety of the faithful has long dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God … For this is the month during which Christians, in their churches and their homes, offer the Virgin Mother more fervent and loving acts of homage and veneration; and it is the month in which a greater abundance of God’s merciful gifts comes down to us from our Mother’s throne.”
THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS FOR 2024: FOR THE MONTH OF MAY – FOR THE FORMATION OF RELIGIOUS AND SEMINARIANS: We pray that religious women and men, and seminarians, grow in their own vocations through their human, pastoral, spiritual and community formation, leading them to be credible witnesses to the Gospel.🙏
https://www.usccb.org/prayers/popes-monthly-intentions-2024
PRAYER FOR PEACE ~ POPE FRANCIS:
Lord God of peace, hear our prayer!
We have tried so many times and over so many years to resolve our conflicts by our own powers and by the force of our arms. How many moments of hostility and darkness have we experienced; how much blood has been shed; how many lives have been shattered; how many hopes have been buried… But our efforts have been in vain. Now, Lord, come to our aid! Grant us peace, teach us peace; guide our steps in the way of peace. Open our eyes and our hearts, and give us the courage to say: “Never again war!”; “With war everything is lost”. Instill in our hearts the courage to take concrete steps to achieve peace. Lord, God of Abraham, God of the Prophets, God of Love, you created us and you call us to live as brothers and sisters. Give us the strength daily to be instruments of peace; enable us to see everyone who crosses our path as our brother or sister. Make us sensitive to the plea of our citizens who entreat us to turn our weapons of war into implements of peace, our trepidation into confident trust, and our quarreling into forgiveness. Keep alive within us the flame of hope, so that with patience and perseverance we may opt for dialogue and reconciliation. In this way may peace triumph at last, and may the words “division”, “hatred” and “war” be banished from the heart of every man and woman. Lord, defuse the violence of our tongues and our hands. Renew our hearts and minds, so that the word which always brings us together will be “brother”, and our way of life will always be that of: Shalom, Peace, Salaam! Amen🙏
During this Easter season, please let us all continue to pray for peace all over the world, particularly in Africa, the Middle East, for an end to the current war in Israel-Palestine, and the Ukraine-Russia conflicts and for peace in our families and throughout our divided and conflicted World. Amen 🙏
On this special feast day, as we continue to celebrate our risen Lord, with special intention through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, and the Saints, we pray for the Clergy and religious as they serve in the Lord’s Vineyard. We also pray for the sick and dying. We especially pray for our loved ones who have recently died and we continue to remember our beloved, we pray for the repose of their gentle souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯
PRAYER FOR THE DEAD: In your hands, O Lord, we humbly entrust our brothers and sisters. In this life, you embraced them with your tender love; deliver them now from every evil, and bid them eternal rest. The old order has passed away: welcome them into paradise, where there will be no sorrow, no weeping or pain, but fullness of peace and joy with your Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen🙏
Prayers for Peace | https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/prayers-for-peace/
SAINTS OF THE DAY: Today, we celebrate the Feast of our Lady of Fatima and the 107th Anniversary of the first Apparition of Our Lady to three shepherd children at the Cova da Iria, a small village of Fatima in Portugal on May 13, 1917. We also celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament; Memorial of Saint John the Silent, Bishop; Saint Andrew Hubert Fournet, Priest and Saint Juliana of Norwich, Religious. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for peace in our world. We continue to pray for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our world, torn apart by war, terrorism, and countless other acts of violence against human life🙏
FEAST OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA: The feast of our Lady of Fatima was formally known as Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Fatima. The Blessed Virgin Mary is venerated under this title Our Lady of Fatima following apparitions to three shepherd children. May 13th is the anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady to the three shepherd children at the Cova da Iria in the small village of Fatima in Portugal in 1917 and today marks the 107th Anniversary of the apparition. Our Blessed Mother Mary appeared six times to Lucia, 9, and her cousins Francisco Marto, 8, and his sister Jacinta Marto, 6, between May 13, 1917 and October 13, 1917. The first apparition of Our Lady to Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco took place on May 13, 1917. The message of Fatima includes a call to conversion of heart, repentance from sin and a dedication to the Blessed Virgin Mary, especially through praying the Rosary. The Blessed Virgin Mary asked the children: “Pray the Rosary every day to ask for peace for the world”.
The story of Fatima begins in 1916, when, against the backdrop of the First World War which had introduced Europe to the most horrific and powerful forms of warfare yet seen, and a year before the Communist revolution would plunge Russia and later Eastern Europe into six decades of oppression under militant atheistic governments, a resplendent figure appeared to the three children who were in the field tending the family sheep. “I am the Angel of Peace,” said the figure, who appeared to them two more times that year exhorting them to accept the sufferings that the Lord allowed them to undergo as an act of reparation for the sins which offend Him, and to pray constantly for the conversion of sinners. Beginning in the spring of 1916, the three shepherd children, Lúcia dos Santos, Francisco and Jacinta Marto reported three apparitions of an Angel in Valinhos. Then between May 13, 1917 and October 13, 1917, in Cova da Iria, six apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary were reported. On Sunday, May 13, 1917, toward noon, a flash of lightning drew the attention of the children, and they saw a brilliant figure appearing over the trees of the Cova da Iria. The children described her as “a Lady more brilliant than the Sun”. The “Lady” asked them to pray for the conversion of sinners and an end to the war, and to come back every month, on the 13th. Further apparitions took place on June 13 and July 13. On August 13 the children were prevented by local authorities from going to the Cova da Iria, but they saw the apparition on the 19th. On September 13 the Lady requested recitation of the Rosary for an end to the war. Finally, on October 13, the “Lady” identified herself as “Our Lady of the Rosary” and again called for prayer and penitence. The children’s reported prophecy that prayer would lead to an end to the Great War, and that on October 13th that year the Lady would reveal her identity and perform a miracle “so that all may believe.” came to pass. On the last appearance to the Shepherd children on October 13th the Blessed Virgin Mary revealed that she was Our Lady of the Rosary. The Blessed Virgin Mary asked for frequent recitation of the Rosary, penance, greater devotion to her Immaculate Heart, prayers for the conversion of Russia, and a church building in her honor. On the climax of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s appearances on October 13th about 30,000 to 50,000 people witnessed a miracle of the sun sinning as if out of control, a celestial phenomenon took place, the sun seemed to tumble from the sky and crash toward earth. The children had been forewarned of it as early as May 13th, the first apparition. The large crowd that had gathered around the children saw the phenomenon and came away astounded.
Official recognition of the “visions” which the children had at the Cova da Iria came on October 13, 1930, when the bishop of Leiria – after long inquiry – authorized the cult of Our Lady of the Rosary at the site. The two younger children had died, Francisco and Jacinta Marto died in the global flu pandemic that began in 1918 and swept the world for two years. Francisco (who saw the apparition but did not hear the words) died at home on April 4, 1919 at the age of ten, and his sister Jacinta died at the age of nine in Queen Stephanie’s Children’s Hospital in Lisbon on February 20, 1920. Their mother Olímpia Marto said that her children predicted their deaths many times to her and to curious pilgrims in the brief period after the Marian apparitions. They are now buried at the Sanctuary of Fátima. They were beatified by Pope John Paul II on May 13, 2000 and canonized by Pope Francis on May 13, 2017. Sister Lucia died on February 13, 2005, at her Carmelite convent in Coimbra, Portugal, after a long illness. Devotion to Our Lady of Fatima was authorized by Pope Pius XI in 1930, and the request for prayers for the conversion of Russia was carried by Pope Pius XII in 1952. The feast of Our Lady of Fatima was inserted into the Roman Missal authorized by Pope John Paul II in 2002.
PRAYER: God, You established the Mother of Your Son to be also our Mother. Grant that we may persevere in penance and prayer for the salvation of the world and so more effectively promote the Kingdom of Christ. Amen🙏
OUR LADY OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT: Today is the traditional commemoration of Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament. This title was given to our Blessed Mother in May 1868 by Saint Peter Julian Eymard to honor her relationship to the Holy Eucharist and to place her before us as a model in our duties and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. This title of our Blessed Mother Mary penetrates the mystery itself of the Eucharist, and when well understood, manifests to us the most important part granted to Mary in the economy of the Holy Eucharist. If we have thoroughly seized St. Pierre Eymard’s thought we understand that she is, first, the Mother of Jesus, giving to the Word her most pure blood, which was changed on the day of the Incarnation into His own Body, into His own Blood, in order to consecrate it later, on the night of the Last Supper, into His Sacrament of Love.
Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament is Mary receiving in quality of universal dispensatrix of grace, the full and absolute disposition of the Eucharist and the graces that It contains, because this Sacrament is the most efficacious means of salvation, the fruit par excellence of the Redemption of Jesus Christ. To her, consequently, it belongs to make Jesus in the Sacrament known and loved; to her it belongs to spread the Eucharist throughout the world, to multiply churches, to raise them in infidel lands, and to defend faith in the Eucharist against heretics and the impious; to her it belongs to prepare souls for Communion, to rouse them to make frequent visits to Jesus, and to assist zealously at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. She is the treasure-house of all the graces comprised in the Eucharist, both those that prepare the soul for It and those that flow from It.
PRAYER: Hail Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among 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🙏
Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament ~ Pray for us🙏
SAINT JOHN THE SILENT, BISHOP: St. John (454-558) was Bishop of Colonia in Palestine and a hermit. He was born in 454 AD in Nicopolis, Armenia. He came from a family of mainly generals and governors. His parents died when he was 18 and he built a monastery where he stayed with 10 young monks. Under St. John’s direction, they led a life of hard work and devotion. St. John built a reputation for leadership and sanctity, which led the archbishop of Sebaste to consecrate him bishop of Colonia in Armenia. He was only 28 at the time and had no desire for such a role. Nevertheless, he held the post of bishop for nine years. In 490, however, St. John went to Constantinople to secure the emperor’s intervention to quell a local persecution. Having accomplished his mission, he did not return to Colonia, but seeking to return to a life of seclusion went to Jerusalem. His biographer says that while St. John was praying one night, he saw a bright cross form in the air and heard a voice say to him, “If thou desirest to be saved, follow this light.” He saw the light move and point to the monastery of St. Sabas. At 38 years old he joined the monastery, which held 150 monks. Around 494, St. Sabas let St. John have a separate hermitage for uninterrupted contemplation. For five days a week he fasted and never left his cell but on Saturdays and Sundays he went to public Mass. After three years of this he was made the steward of the monastery. St. John had never told anyone he had been bishop, so after four years St. Sabas thought St. John was worthy to become a priest and presented him to the patriarch Elias of Jerusalem. They traveled to Calvary for the ordination but upon their arrival St. John requested a private audience with the patriarch. St. John said, “Holy Father, I have something to impart to you in private; after which, if you judge me worthy, I will receive holy orders.” They spoke in private after a promise of secrecy. “Father, I have been ordained bishop; but on account of the multitude of my sins have fled, and am come into this desert to wait the visit of the Lord.” The patriarch was startled but told St. Sabas, “I desire to be excused from ordaining this man, on account of some particulars he has revealed to me.” St. Sabas was afraid St. John had committed a crime and after he prayed God revealed the truth to him. St. Sabas complained to St. John about keeping the secret from him and St. John wanted to leave the monastery. St. Sabas convinced him to stay by promising to keep his secret. St. John stayed in his cell for four years, speaking to no one except the person who brought him necessities.
In 503 AD certain turbulent disciples forced St. Sabas to leave his monastery. St. John moved to a nearby wilderness where he spent six years in silence, conversing only with God and eating only wild roots and herbs. He remained in the desert six years. When St. Sabas returned to his community, he found St. John and convinced him to move back to the monastery. St. John had become used to speaking only with God and found only bitterness and emptiness in anything else. He treasured obscurity and humility so he wanted to live unknown to men but was unable to do so. He returned with St. Sabas and lived in his cell for forty years. During this time he did not turn people away who desired his instruction. One of these people was Cyril of Scythopolis who wrote about St. John’s life. The two men first met when St. John was ninety and Cyril was sixteen. Cyril had asked him what to do with his life and St. John recommended he join the Laura of St. Euthymius but Cyril did not listen. Instead, he went to a small monastery on the bank of the River Jordan. He fell ill there and deeply regretted not listening to St. John. While there, St. John appeared to him in a dream and after scolding him for not obeying said that if he returned to St. Euthymius’ monastery, he would get well and find his salvation. The next day he did so and was well again. St. John died in 558 AD at the age of 104. He lived in solitude for 76 years, interrupted only for the 9 years he was bishop.
St. John the Silent, Bishop ~ Pray for us🙏
SAINT ANDREW HUBERT FOURNET, PRIEST: St. Andrew Hubert Fournet (1752-1834) was born into a devout and wealthy family near Poitiers, France, in 1752, St. Andrew was bored by religious and life in general throughout his early years. Undisciplined and frivolous, he got into one scrape after another as a child. Later, he ran away from school and still later dallied with the idea of becoming a soldier while he was in the process of studying law! However, with he aid of a country uncle who happened to be a priest, Andrew threw off yoke of his devilment and discovered that a vocation to the priesthood lay underneath. After his ordination, the Saint returned to his native village as the local curate but still infected with a worldliness that was recognized and mocked by his parishioners an their form of address to him. Once again Divine Providence intervened through the causal criticism of a beggar to whom Andrew had refused alms. Suddenly, he came to the realization that his way of life was not at all in accord with the spirit of the Gospel. He sold all his possessions, did away with all his petty pretensions, and lived an extremely simple life—even his manner of speech became simple.
During the French Revolution, Andrew refused to swear allegiance to the revolutionary government and ministered to the people in secret. In 1792, he was prevailed upon by his Bishop to leave for Spain, but he returned five years later and tended in secret to the people’s spiritual needs. With the coming of Napoleon to power, peace was restored and strove to rekindle the people’s faith through mission, preaching, and confessions. In 1806, with the aid of St. Elizabeth Bichier the holy priest founded the Congregation of the Daughters of the Cross, whose rule he formulated. Aimed directly at the care of the sick and the education of the young, this Congregation played a large part in the renewal of religion in France after Revolution. Though retiring from his parish in 1820, St. Andrew continued to direct the sisters till his death on May 13, 1834. More than once he miraculously multiplied food for the sisters and those in their care.
PRAYER: God, You taught Your Church to observe all the heavenly commandments in the love of God. Help us to practice works of charity in imitation of Your Priest, St. Andrew, and merit to be numbered among the blessed in Your Kingdom. Amen🙏
SAINT JULIANA OF NORWICH, RELIGIOUS: St. Juliana (1342–1416), also known as Juliana of Norwich, Dame Julian or Mother Julian, was an English anchoress of the Middle Ages, a Benedictine nun who lived as a recluse in Norwich, England. Little is known of her life with certainty before she became an anchoress. St. Julian was born around 1342 and lived as an anchoress near the Church of St. Julian in Norwich, England. At the age of 30 she was suddenly struck by a severe illness which almost took her life. During this illness she received a series of visions of Jesus Christ in sixteen separate revelations. When she recovered from her illness the visions stopped. Fifteen years later, Our Lord appeared to her to give her the meaning of her visions. St. Julian wrote her visions down in a book called Revelations of Divine Love, the earliest surviving book in the English language known to have been written by a woman. After these revelations she began to live a solitary life as an anchoress in a little cell built into the wall at the church of St. Julian in Norwich, not far from London.
During her life the Church was in schism, and England was caught in a long war with France. The book contains a message of optimism based on the certainty of being loved by God and of being protected by his Providence. She received visitors to her cell and gave them guidance on the spiritual life, becoming a spiritual mother to many. St. Julian is an important medieval mystic whose response to the problem of evil is cited in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. She is most known for her book, Revelations of Divine Love, which contains sixteen revelations she received while in an ecstatic trance, is still in print. She meditated on, spoke on, and wrote on the power of love of evil, Christ’s Passion, and the nature of the Trinity. In her early 60s she shut herself in complete seclusion at Conisford, Norwich, and never left again. St. Juliana died after 1416 in Norwich, England. Because she was never formally beatified or canonized, she is not included in the Roman Martyrology but popular piety sees her as a holy woman of God, and so often refer to her as Mother, Saint or Blessed Julian.
St.. Juliana of Norwich, Religious ~ Pray for us🙏
PRAYER INTENTIONS: During this season of Easter, through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and all the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for our children and children all over the world, we pray for their health, safety and well-being, we particularly pray for those who have no one to care for them and those who are terminally ill, we pray for God’s Divine healing upon them. Every life is a gift. We pray for God’s deliverance from impossible causes or situations. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the gentle soul of our beloved family members who recently passed away and the souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. For all widows and widowers. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis, the Bishops, the Clergy and all those who preach the Gospel. We pray for Vocation to the Priesthood and Religious life. We particularly pray for all Youths and all Seminarians, with special intention for those Seminarians who will be ordained into Priesthood. For the Church, for persecuted christians, for all the innocent who suffer violence due to political or religious unrest, for the conversion of sinners and Christians all over the world. Amen🙏
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS:
Bible Readings for today, Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter | USCCB | https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
Gospel Reading ~ John 16:29-33
“Take courage, I have conquered the world”
“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.”
In today’s Gospel reading, our Lord Jesus revealed to His own disciples, more of the things that He would do before all of them, the truths and revelations that He had brought unto their midst. The Lord spoke to them at that time just before He was about to suffer and die, at the time of the Last Supper, when He revealed to them not just that He would be betrayed and abandoned by His own disciples, but that He would be handed over to His enemies and suffer a most painful and humiliating death. Jesus faces the truth about His own disciples. He says to them quite openly, ‘the time will come when you will be scattered, each going his own way and leaving me alone’. He knew that His disciples would fail; when His passion arrives, they would serve their own interests rather than serve Him. Everything would eventually come true as the Lord went on through His Passion, suffering and death on the Cross. That must have been a painful truth for Jesus to recognize and to articulate. Yet, what Jesus goes on to say in the Gospel reading implies that He will keep faith with them, nonetheless. He says, ‘I have told you all this so that you may find peace in me’. The first words of the risen Lord to His disciples, according to the Gospel were, ‘Peace be with you’. After failure, we can all find peace in Jesus because He loves us as the Father loves Him. Having told His disciples that they would find peace in Him, He goes on to warn them of another painful truth, ‘in the world you will have trouble’. They will know the world’s hostility. Yet, even in the midst of that hostility they will know the Lord’s peace, because, in the words of Saint Paul, nothing can come between them, between us, and the love of God made visible in Jesus. Like St. Paul we can all know the Lord’s peace in the midst of trouble. According to St. Paul, ‘I can do all things in Him who gives me strength’. We can all say the same when the Lord empowers us through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
In our first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles, St. Paul evangelised to the people of Ephesus, continuing his ministry to the people of God. As mentioned, it was there that St. Paul spoke and preached to some of the faithful there who had followed and learnt through St. John the Baptist, the one who heralded for the coming of the Messiah, the One true Lord and Saviour of all. St. Paul’s question to the faithful ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?’ With great honesty the faithful said, ‘No, we were never even told there was such a thing as a Holy Spirit’. St. Paul went on to give them further instruction, and then, laying his hands on them, they received the Holy Spirit. Their answer to St. Paul’s question speaks for many in our world today, perhaps even for many who have been baptized, ‘We were never even told there was such a thing as a Holy Spirit’. Those disciples in Ephesus needed instruction in the faith on this very important matter of the Holy Spirit. We all need instruction in the faith. We all have a journey to travel when it comes to understanding our faith and living out faith. St. Paul revealed more of the truth of God to them and made them true believers as well, calling on them to follow Christ, and then, they received the Holy Spirit, beginning to proclaim God’s truth on their own. May the Spirit of God the Father and of Jesus guide us as we travel on our journey of faith, we are called to open ourselves more fully to the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
As we reflect on the words of the Sacred Scriptures today, as we celebrate the occasion of the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, let us all therefore be inspired by the good examples of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, Our Lady of Fatima, and the faith that she had, the obedience that she had in her life, the dedication and commitment that she had towards everything that the Lord had entrusted to her. Let us all today as one whole Universal Church all entrust ourselves anew to our blessed Mother, Our Lady of Fatima and ask her for her ever generous intercession and help, and guidance so that we may be able to find our way in life, towards her Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, heeding her call for us to repent and turn away from our many sins and wickedness. Let us all hence listen to our Mother and strive to live our lives ever more worthily from now on, as Christians, that is as all those whom God had called and chosen. May our Blessed Mother Mary, Our Lady of Fatima, the Holy Mother of God, continue to pray for us all sinners, and may she continue to inspire us and lead us down the path towards salvation in her Son. May all of us continue to be encouraged and strengthened, so that in all of our actions and way of life, we will always be filled with zeal and faith, the desire to serve God and to do what is right with our lives, as according to what God Himself has revealed and taught to us. Let us do our best to commit ourselves to the Lord’s mission, and may all of us be encouraged and strengthened at all times. May God in His infinite grace and mercy, grant us His grace and bless each one of us in our every endeavours and good works and may He be with His Church, now and always. Blessed Mary, Mother of God, Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us all sinners too. Amen🙏
Let us pray:
Lord of all peace, You have called us out of the world so that Your peace will abide within us, sustaining us, giving us courage, wisdom and strength. I open my life to You, dear Lord, and pray that the many distractions and commotions imposed upon me by the world will begin to cease. May I always hear Your gentle voice and follow You to the place of silent repose found only in You. Jesus, I trust in You ~ Amen 🙏
Save Us, Savior of the World. Our Blessed Mother Mary, Our Lady of Fatima and Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament; Saint John the Silent; Saint Andrew Hubert Fournet and Saint Juliana of Norwich ~ Pray for us🙏
Thanking God for the gift of this day and praying for justice, peace, love and unity in our families and our world and for God’s Divine Mercy and Grace upon us all and for vocations to priesthood and consecrated life. Have a blessed, safe, grace-filled and fruitful Seventh Week of Easter!🙏
Blessings and Love always, Philomena💖