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Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem The Trees of The Bible Song of Songs 2 Apple Tree New International Version (NIV) She 2 I am a rose of Sharon,    a lily of the valleys. He 2 Like a lily among thorns    is my darling among the young women. She 3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest    is my beloved among the young men.I delight to sit in his shade,    and his fruit is sweet to my taste.4 Let him lead me to the banquet hall,    and let his banner over me be love.5 Strengthen me with raisins,    refresh me with apples,    for I am faint with love.6 His...

April 13, 2014Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion    At the Procession with Palms - Gospel Mt 21:1-11 When Jesus and the disciples drew near Jerusalemand came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass tethered,and a colt with her.Untie them and bring them here to me.And if anyone should say anything to you, reply, ‘The master has need of them.’Then he will send them at once.”This happened so that what had been spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled:Say...

Featured Term (selected at random:EPISTEMOLOGY A theory of knowledge. A branch of scholastic philosophy that studies the principles underlying the acquisition of knowledge, the methods of logical reasoning, and the critical evaluation of truth, certitude, and right thinking. (Etym. Greek epist_m_, knowledge + logia, science, knowledge.) All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem The Trees of The Bible Joel 1 A Call to Repentence New International Version (NIV) 12 The vine is dried up     and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, the palm and the apple tree—     all the trees of the field—are dried up. Surely the people’s joy     is withered away. A Call to Lamentation 13 Put on sackcloth, you priests, and mourn;     wail, you who minister before the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth,     you who minister before my God; for the grain offerings and drink offerings     are withheld from the house of your...

April 12, 2014Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent    Reading 1 Ez 37:21-28 Thus says the Lord GOD:I will take the children of Israel from among the nationsto which they have come,and gather them from all sides to bring them back to their land.I will make them one nation upon the land,in the mountains of Israel,and there shall be one prince for them all. Never again shall they be two nations,and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms. No longer shall they defile themselves with their idols,their abominations, and all their transgressions. I will deliver them...

Painting of St. Gemma Galgani, taken from St. Gemma Galgani blog "...I have...to believe that God...raised up this child of Heaven at a time of so much falling away in piety as an example and stimulus to Christians to venerate and love the most Holy Sacrament of the Altar..." ..."'Oh, what immense happiness and joy...my heart feels before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament! And if Jesus would allow me to enter sacred Tabernacle where He, Soul, Body, Blood, and Divinity is present, should I not be in Paradise?'..." "...We read in the lives of different Saints that, as sometimes they...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem The Trees of The Bible Ecclesiastes 12:5 Almond Tree New Living Translation Remember him before you become fearful of falling and worry about danger in the streets; before your hair turns white like an almond tree in bloom, and you drag along without energy like a dying grasshopper, and the caperberry no longer inspires sexual desire. Remember him before you near the grave, your everlasting home, when the mourners will weep at your funeral.

April 11, 2014Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent   Reading 1 Jer 20:10-13 I hear the whisperings of many:“Terror on every side!Denounce! let us denounce him!”All those who were my friendsare on the watch for any misstep of mine.“Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail,and take our vengeance on him.”But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion:my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.In their failure they will be put to utter shame,to lasting, unforgettable confusion.O LORD of hosts, you who test the just,who probe mind and heart,Let me witness the vengeance you take on...

Pray For Our American Heroes and Our Nation Communion on the Moon, 1969 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. Psalm 139:7,8 (NIV) ----

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem The Trees of The Bible Psalm 137 Willow Tree New International Version (NIV) 1. By the rivers of Babylon, here we sat down and wept, When we remembered Zion. 2. Upon the willows in the midst of it We hung our harps. 3. For there our captors demanded of us songs, And our tormentors mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.” 4. How can we sing the LORD’S song In a foreign land? 5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, May my right hand forget her skill. 6 May my...

April 10, 2014Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent    Reading 1 Gn 17:3-9 When Abram prostrated himself, God spoke to him:“My covenant with you is this:you are to become the father of a host of nations.No longer shall you be called Abram;your name shall be Abraham,for I am making you the father of a host of nations.I will render you exceedingly fertile;I will make nations of you;kings shall stem from you.I will maintain my covenant with youand your descendants after youthroughout the ages as an everlasting pact,to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.I...

The man dubbed President Obama’s pastor, Joshua DuBois, said Monday night he is dismayed that Americans turn to God to resolve “infinitesimally small” questions not worthy of the Almighty. “If there is one gnawing sadness I have about the contemporary state of religion in America,” DuBois said, “it is that instead of seeking God’s name for the big things, the nearly impossible things, the things that stretch faith nearly to the breaking point, that require a strong God, far too often we make God do the infinitesimally small.” God used to get called on for higher causes, but not now,...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem The Trees of The Bible Isaiah 44:3-4 Poplar tree New International Version (NIV) 3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land,     and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring,     and my blessing on your descendants. 4 They will spring up like grass in a meadow,     like poplar trees by flowing streams.

My mom is in her senior years and having surgery on her knee today. Any prayers for her would be most appreciated.

April 9, 2014Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent    Reading 1 Dn 3:14-20, 91-92, 95 King Nebuchadnezzar said:“Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,that you will not serve my god,or worship the golden statue that I set up?Be ready now to fall down and worship the statue I had made,whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet,flute, lyre, harp, psaltery, bagpipe,and all the other musical instruments;otherwise, you shall be instantly cast into the white-hot furnace;and who is the God who can deliver you out of my hands?”Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar,“There is no need for us...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem The Trees of The Bible Leviticus 23 The Feast of Booths New International Version (NIV) …39'On exactly the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the crops of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the LORD for seven days, with a rest on the first day and a rest on the eighth day. 40'Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the LORD...

Mark the man of integrity, and behold the upright; for there is a future for the man of peace. Psalm 37:37

April 8, 2014Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent    Reading 1 Nm 21:4-9 From Mount Hor the children of Israel set out on the Red Sea road,to bypass the land of Edom.But with their patience worn out by the journey,the people complained against God and Moses,“Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert,where there is no food or water?We are disgusted with this wretched food!” In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents,which bit the people so that many of them died.Then the people came to Moses and said,“We have sinned...