Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 05-12-10, Opt. Mem. Sts. Nereus & Achilleus, St. Pancras

USCCB.org/New American Bible ^ | 05-12-10 | New American Bible

[Salvation]

May 12, 2010

Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

Reading 1
Responsorial Psalm
Gospel

Reading 1

Acts 17:15, 22—18:1

After Paul’s escorts had taken him to Athens, they came away with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible. 

Then Paul stood up at the Areopagus and said: “You Athenians, I see that in every respect you are very religious.  For as I walked around looking carefully at your shrines, I even discovered an altar inscribed, ‘To an Unknown God.’  What therefore you unknowingly worship, I proclaim to you.  The God who made the world and all that is in it, the Lord of heaven and earth,

does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands because he needs anything.  Rather it is he who gives to everyone life and breath and everything.  He made from one the whole human race to dwell on the entire surface of the earth, and he fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions,  so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though indeed he is not far from any one of us.  For ‘In him we live and move and  have our being,  as even some of your poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’  Since therefore we are the offspring of God,  we ought not to think that the divinity is like an image fashioned from gold, silver, or stone by human art and imagination.

God has overlooked the times of ignorance, but now he demands that all people everywhere repent because he has established a day on which he will ‘judge the world with justice’ through a man he has appointed, and he has provided confirmation for all by raising him from the dead.” 

When they heard about resurrection of the dead, some began to scoff, but others said, “We should like to hear you on this some other time.”  And so Paul left them.   But some did join him, and became believers.  Among them were Dionysius, a member of the Court of the Areopagus, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.  After this he left Athens and went to Corinth.

---

 Ps 148:1-2, 11-12, 13, 14

Responsorial Psalm

R.          Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

or: R.          Alleluia.

Praise the LORD from the heavens;

praise him in the heights.

Praise him, all you his angels;

praise him, all you his hosts.

R.          Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

or: R.          Alleluia.

Let the kings of the earth and all peoples,

the princes and all the judges of the earth,

Young men too, and maidens,

old men and boys.

R.          Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

or: R.          Alleluia.

Praise the name of the LORD,

for his name alone is exalted;

His majesty is above earth and heaven.

R.          Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

or: R.          Alleluia.

He has lifted up the horn of his people;

Be this his praise from all his faithful ones,

from the children of Israel, the people close to him.

Alleluia.

R.          Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

or: R.          Alleluia.

---

Jn 16:12-15

Gospel

Jesus said to his disciples: “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.  But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.  He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears,  and will declare to you the things that are coming.  He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.  Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.”

 

[Salvation]

I’m a night owl. The time in the morning varies. LOL!

[Salvation]

Office of Readings and Invitatory Psalm

Office of Readings

If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.

Introduction

O God, come to my aid.

  O Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen. Alleluia.

---

Hymn

O thou, the heavens’ eternal King,

Creator, unto thee we sing,

With God the Father ever One,

Coequal, coeternal Son.

Thy hand, when first the world began,

Made in thine own pure image man,

And yoked to fleshly form of earth

A living form of heavenly birth.

And when the envy of the foe

Had marred thy noblest work below,

Clothed in our flesh, thou didst restore

The image thou hadst made before.

Once wast thou born of Mary’s womb;

And now, newborn from out the tomb,

O Christ, thou bid’st us rise with thee

From death to immortality.

Redeemer, thou for us didst deign

To hang upon the Cross of pain,

And give to us the lavish price

Of thine own Blood in sacrifice.

Grant, Lord, in thee each faithful mind

Unceasing Paschal joy may find;

And from the death of sin set free

Souls newly born to life by thee.

To thee, once dead, who now dost live,

All glory, Lord, thy people give,

Whom, with the Father, we adore,

And Holy Spirit forevermore.

---

Psalm 38 (39)
A prayer in sickness

We groan inwardly as we wait for our bodies to be set free.

I said, “I will watch my ways,

  I will try not to sin in my speech.

I will set a guard on my mouth,

  for as long as my enemies are standing against me.”

I stayed quiet and dumb, spoke neither evil nor good,

  but my pain was renewed.

My heart grew hot within me,

  and fire blazed in my thoughts.

Then I spoke out loud:

  “Lord, make me know my end.

Let me know the number of my days,

  so that I know how short my life is to be.”

All the length of my days is a handsbreadth or two,

  the expanse of my life is as nothing before you.

For in your sight all men are nothingness:

  man passes away, like a shadow.

Nothingness, although he is busy:

  he builds up treasure, but who will collect it?

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen.

We groan inwardly as we wait for our bodies to be set free.

---

Psalm 38 (39)

Listen, Lord, to my prayer: see my tears.

What, now, can I look forward to, Lord?

  My hope is in you.

Rescue me from all my sins,

  do not make me a thing for fools to laugh at.

I have sworn to be dumb, I will not open my mouth:

  for it is at your hands that I am suffering.

Aim your blows away from me,

  for I am crushed by the weight of your hand.

You rebuke and chastise us for our sins.

Like the moth you consume all we desire

 – for all men are nothingness.

Listen, Lord, to my prayer:

  turn your ear to my cries.

Do not be deaf to my weeping,

  for I come as a stranger before you,

  a wanderer like my fathers before me.

Turn away from me, give me respite,

  before I leave this world,

  before I am no more.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen.

Listen, Lord, to my prayer: see my tears.

---

Psalm 51 (52)
Against calumny

But I hope in the kindness of God forever. Alleluia.

Why do you take pride in your malice,

  you expert in evil-doing?

All day long you plan your traps,

  your tongue is sharp as a razor –

  you master of deceit!

You have chosen malice over kindness;

  you speak lies rather than the truth;

  your tongue is in love with every deceit.

For all this, in the end God will destroy you.

  He will tear you out and expel you from your dwelling,

  uproot you from the land of the living.

The upright will see and be struck with awe:

  they will deride the evil-doer.

“Here is the man who did not make God his refuge,

  but put his hope in the abundance of his riches

  and in the power of his stratagems.”

But I flourish like an olive in the palace of God.

  I hope in the kindness of God,

  for ever, and through all ages.

I shall praise you for all time for what you have done.

  I shall put my hope in your name and in its goodness

  in the sight of your chosen ones.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen.

But I hope in the kindness of God forever. Alleluia.

---

God raised Christ from the dead, alleluia,

–  so that our faith and hope would be in God, alleluia.

---

Reading	1 John 2:18-29 ©

Children, these are the last days;

you were told that an Antichrist must come,

and now several antichrists have already appeared;

we know from this that these are the last days.

Those rivals of Christ came out of our own number, but they had never really belonged;

if they had belonged, they would have stayed with us;

but they left us, to prove that not one of them

ever belonged to us.

But you have been anointed by the Holy One,

and have all received the knowledge.

It is not because you do not know the truth that I am writing to you

but rather because you know it already

and know that no lie can come from the truth.

The man who denies that Jesus is the Christ –

he is the liar,

he is Antichrist;

and he is denying the Father as well as the Son,

because no one who has the Father can deny the Son,

and to acknowledge the Son is to have the Father as well.

Keep alive in yourselves what you were taught in the beginning:

as long as what you were taught in the beginning is alive in you,

you will live in the Son

and in the Father;

and what is promised to you by his own promise

is eternal life.

This is all that I am writing to you about the people who are trying to lead you astray.

But you have not lost the anointing that he gave you,

and you do not need anyone to teach you;

the anointing he gave teaches you everything;

you are anointed with truth, not with a lie,

and as it has taught you, so you must stay in him.

Live in Christ, then, my children,

so that if he appears, we may have full confidence,

and not turn from him in shame

at his coming.

You know that God is righteous –

then you must recognise that everyone whose life is righteous

has been begotten by him.

Responsory

You have not lost the anointing God gave you: you do not need anyone else to teach you, since in the anointing he teaches you everything, alleluia.

Be glad, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you a teacher of justice: you do not need anyone else to teach you, since in the anointing he teaches you everything, alleluia.

---

Reading	A sermon of Pope St Leo the Great

The days between the resurrection and the ascension of the Lord

Dearly beloved, those days which intervened between the Lord’s Resurrection and Ascension did not pass by in uneventful leisure, but great mysteries were ratified in them and deep truths were revealed.

  In those days the fear of death was removed with all its terrors, and the immortality not only of the soul but also of the flesh was established. In those days the Holy Ghost is poured upon all the Apostles through the Lord’s breathing upon them, and to the blessed Apostle Peter, set above the rest, the keys of the kingdom are entrusted and the care of the Lord’s flock.

  It was during that time that the Lord joined the two disciples as a companion on the way, and, to sweep away all the clouds of our uncertainty, reproached them for the slowness of their timid and trembling hearts. Their enlightened hearts catch the flame of faith, and lukewarm as they have been, they are made to burn while the Lord unfolds the Scriptures. In the breaking of bread also their eyes are opened as they eat with him. How much more blessed is that opening of their eyes, to the glorification of their nature, than the time when our first parents’ eyes were opened to the disastrous consequences of their transgression.

  Dearly beloved, through all this time which elapsed between the Lord’s Resurrection and Ascension, God’s Providence had this in view, to teach his own people and impress upon their eyes and their hearts that the Lord Jesus Christ had risen, risen as truly as he had been born and had suffered and died.

  Hence the most blessed Apostles and all the disciples, who had been both bewildered at his death on the cross and backward in believing his Resurrection, were so strengthened by the clearness of the truth that when the Lord entered the heights of heaven, not only were they affected with no sadness, but were even filled with great joy.

  Truly it was great and unspeakable, that cause of their joy, when in the sight of the holy multitude the Nature of mankind went up: up above the dignity of all heavenly creatures, to pass above the angels’ ranks and to rise beyond the archangels’ heights, and to have its uplifting limited by no elevation until, received to sit with the Eternal Father, it should be associated on the throne with his glory, to whose Nature it was united in the Son.

Responsory

I am going now to prepare a place for you. I shall return to take you with me, so that where I am you may be too, alleluia.

I shall ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you for ever, the Spirit of truth. I will not leave you orphans. I shall return to take you with me, so that where I am you may be too, alleluia.

---

Lord, confirm your promise to us:

  that the more we celebrate the solemn feast of your Son’s resurrection,

  the more we shall deserve to rejoice among his saints when he comes again.

He lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

  God for ever and ever.

Amen.

[Salvation]

Saints Nereus and Achilleus, Martrys

Saints Nereus and Achilleus, Martrys
Optional Memorial
May 12th

Saint Domitilla with Saint Nereus and Achilleus
Pomarancio
c. 1598-99
Oil on canvas, 275 x 170 cm
Chiesa dei Santi Nereo e Achilleo, Rome

Collect:
Father,
we honor Saints Nereus and Achilleus for their courage
in dying to profess their faith in Christ.
May we experience the help of their prayers
at the throne of Your mercy.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.


First Reading: Revelation 19:1,5-9a
After this I, John, heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying, "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God. And from the throne came a voice crying, "Praise our God, all you His servants, you who fear Him, small and great." Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give Him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure"-- for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb."


Gospel Reading: Matthew 10:17-22
Beware of men; for they will deliver you up to councils, and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for My sake, to bear testimony before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you up, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.

[Salvation]

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for: May 12, 2010
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Father, we honor Saints Nereus and Achilleus for their courage in dying to profess their faith in Christ. May we experience the help of their prayers at the throne of your mercy. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

ACTIVITIES

• Ave Maria Dear
• Beautiful, Glorious
• Salve Regina
• Stella Matutina
• 'Tis Said of Our Dear Lady

PRAYERS

• Blessing of Sprouting Seed, Rogation Days
• Regina Coeli (Queen of Heaven)
• Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Litany of Loretto)
• Rogation Day Prayers

  12th 

Optional Memorial of Sts. Nereus and Achilleus, martyrs; Optional Memorial of St. Pancras, martyr Old Calendar: Saints Nereus, Achilleus, martyrs, Domitilla, virgin; (Historical) St. Pancras, martyr; Bl. Imelda Lambertini, virgin and relgious

Nereus and Achilleus were Roman soldiers in the household of Flavia Domitilla. They were instructed and converted by St. Peter. These two soldiers in turn inspired St. Domitilla to consecrate her virginity to God. Thereupon, Aurelianus, the fiancee of Domitilla, reported all three to the Roman authorities as being Christians. They were martyred out of hatred for Christianity. Pancras, a noble Phrygian youth, came to Rome at the age of fourteen, and was martyred in 275 because he refused to offer sacrifices to the pagan gods.

According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is also the feast of St. Domitilla. Historically today is the feast of Bl. Imelda Lambertini, daughter of Count Egano Lambertini of Bologna and Castora Galuzzi. She was a student at Dominican Convent of Valdi-Pietra in Bologna and had a great devotion to Saint Agnes of Rome, of whom she may have had visions. On 12 May 1333 she miraculously received her First Communion, and immediately after died in an ecstasy of love and joy.

---

St. Nereus, Achilleus and Domitilla
It was under the persecution of Domitian, during which John the Evangelist was condemned to be burned alive in the cauldron of boiling oil, that Flavia Domitilla was honored with banishment and death for the sake of our Redeemer, whom she had chosen for her Spouse. She was of the imperial family, being a niece of Flavius Clemens, who adorned the consular dignity by martyrdom. She was one of the Christians belonging to the court of the Emperor Domitian, who show us how rapidly the religion of the poor and humble made its way to the highest classes of Roman life. A few years previous to this, St Paul sent to the Christians of Philippi the greetings of the Christians of Nero's palace. There is still extant, not far from Rome, on the Ardeatine Way, the magnificent subterranean cemetery which Flavia Domitilla ordered to be dug on her praedium, and in which were buried the two martyrs, Nereus and Achilleus, whom the Church honors today together with the noble virgin who owes her crown to them. Nereus and Achilleus were in Domitilla's service. Hearing them one day speaking of the merit of virginity, she there and then bade farewell to all worldly pleasures, and aspired to the honor of being the Spouse of Christ. She received the veil of consecrated virgins from the hands of Pope St Clement: Nereus and Achilleus had been baptized by St Peter himself.

The bodies of these three Saints reposed, for several centuries, in the Basilica, called the Fasciola, on the Appian Way; and we have a Homily which St Gregory the Great preached in this Church on their feast. The holy Pontiff dwelt on the vanity of the earth's goods; he encouraged his audience to despise them by the example of the three martyrs whose relics lay under the very altar around which they were that day assembled. "These Saints," said he, "before whose tomb we are now standing, trampled with contempt of soul on the world and its flowers. Life was then long, health was uninterrupted, riches were abundant, parents were blessed with many children; and yet, though the world was so flourishing in itself, it had long been a withered thing in their hearts."

— Excerpted from The Liturgical Year, Abbot Gueranger O.S.B.

Symbols: Two posts and lions; fire; two swords.

Things to Do:

• Even though Nereus and Achilleus died for Christ about 1800 years ago, Christians are still suffering and dying for their faith in this century. Offer a prayer for the persecuted Church and for the modern martyrs.

• These two Roman soldiers threw away their "shields, their armour, and their blood-stained javelins" and gave their lives for Christ. Examine how much you are willing to sacrifice for the love of Christ and offer up a small sacrifice today.

---

St. Pancras
Pancratius was the descendant of a noble Phrygian family. As a youth of fourteen, he came to Rome while Diocletian and Maximian were in power (about 304). He was baptized by the Pope and given instructions in the Christian religion. Arrested for his action, he steadfastly refused to sacrifice to the pagan gods and was condemned to death. With manly courage, he bared his neck for the sword and received the martyr's crown. During the night his body was removed by the pious matron Octavilla, anointed with sweet smelling balsam and interred on the Via Aurelia.

Pancratius is the patron saint of fidelity to oaths. The basilica that Pope Symmachus erected over his remains about the year 500 later became a station church (since 1798 his relics have been lost). On the first Sunday after Easter the saint exhorted the catechumens gathered at his station church to remain loyal to their baptismal vows. The saint warns us to proceed slowly and prudently before taking an oath or vow. But once our word is given we must remain true to our pledge, true unto death itself, whether it concerns baptismal vows, ordination vows, profession vows, or marriage vows.

— Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch.

Symbols: Sword and stone; armour; Saracen crown under his feet.

Patron: Against false witness; against perjury; children; cramps; headaches; fidelity to oaths; treaties.

Things to Do:

• Make sure that you have at least one crucifix in your home as a reminder of the great mystery of salvation.

• Renew your baptismal and vocational vows today, recalling their importance and grace in your life.

---

Bl. Imelda Lambertini
Bl. Imelda Lambertini is a model for all in her great love for the Blessed Sacrament. Born in Bologna, she was a pious child who begged her parents to allow her to become a Dominican when she was just nine. Her parents, though saddened at having to be separated from their only child, recognized God's will for their daughter, and Imelda joined the nuns at Val di Pietra. Her status among the nuns is unclear. She received the habit and participated in the life of the nuns to some extent. At that time, children were not allowed to make their First Holy Communion until age 14, but Imelda prayed continually that she would be able to receive Our Lord without having to wait so long. When she was 11, after Mass on the vigil of the Feast of the Ascension, the Sacred Host was seen suspended amidst a brilliant light above Imelda's head. The chaplain, who was immediately summoned, gave the Host to Imelda. Afterwords, the nuns left her alone to make her thanksgiving. The prioress soon discovered, however, that Imelda, who had been in ecstasy, had died shortly after receiving her First Holy Communion, so much in love was she with Our Lord in the Eucharist. Blessed Imelda was declared Patroness of First Communicants by Pope St. Pius X.

Patron: First Communicants

Things to Do:

• Read more about Bl. Imelda here

• You may purchase this excellent children's book on the life of Blessed Imelda available from Amazon.

[Salvation]

Lauds -- Morning Prayer

Morning Prayer (Lauds)

If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.

Introduction

O God, come to my aid.

  O Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen. Alleluia.

---

Hymn

Light’s glittering morn bedecks the sky,

Heav’n thunders forth its victor cry:

The glad earth shouts her triumph high,

And groaning hell makes wild reply.

While he, the King of sovereign might,

Treads down death’s strength in death’s despite,

And trampling hell by victor’s right,

Brings forth his sleeping saints to light.

Fast barred beneath the stone of late,

In watch and ward where soldiers wait,

Now shining in triumphant state,

He rises victor from death’s gate.

Hell’s pains are loosed and tears are fled:

Captivity is captive led:

The angel, crowned with light, hath said:

‘The Lord is risen from the dead.’

Author of all, be thou our guide

In this our joy of Eastertide;

Whene’er assaults of death impend,

Thy people strengthen and defend.

To thee who, dead, again dost live,

All glory, Lord, thy people give:

All glory, as is ever meet,

To Father and to Paraclete.

---

Psalm 76 (77)
Remembering the works of the Lord

The waters saw you, O God: you led your people through the sea. Alleluia.

I cried out loud to the Lord,

  cried out to God, and he turned to me.

In my time of trouble I sought for God,

  my hands stretched out all night long,

  tireless in supplication.

My soul will not be consoled:

  I think of God, and I sigh;

  I meditate, and my spirit fails.

You have kept me awake, my eyes open;

  in my distress, I did not speak.

I pondered on the days of old,

  thought through the immemorial years.

In the night I meditated in my heart.

  I was troubled, and I asked my soul:

Will God reject you for ever,

  will he never again take you into his favour?

Has his kindness ended for ever,

  his word come to an end for all generations?

Will God forget to show mercy,

  will he lock up his mercies in his anger?

And I said, “I am wounded indeed,

  that the Most High has changed.”

I will remember the works of the Lord.

  I will remember your wonders, from the beginning.

I will ponder on all you have done,

  think deeply through all your great deeds.

O God, your ways are holy:

  what god is as great as our God?

You are God, you work wonders,

  you made known your strength to your people.

By your own action you redeemed your people,

  the children of Jacob and of Joseph.

The waters saw you, O God,

  the waters saw you and writhed,

  stirred up even to their depths.

The clouds poured down water,

  the clouds sounded their voice,

  your arrows shot forth.

Your voice thundered in the whirlwind,

  your lightnings lit up the world,

  the earth trembled and shook.

Your way led through the sea,

  your paths through the great waters,

  your steps left no trace behind them.

You led your people like a flock,

  by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen.

The waters saw you, O God: you led your people through the sea. Alleluia.

---

Canticle	1 Samuel 2

The song of Hannah, mother of Samuel

The Lord brings death and brings life. Alleluia.

My heart rejoices in the Lord,

  my strength is raised up in the name of my God.

I cry out in triumph over my enemies

  as I rejoice in your deliverance.

No-one is like the Lord, for he is holy;

  no-one is like our God, for he is strong.

Do not pile boasting upon boasting:

  keep proud words far from your mouth,

for the Lord is the God of all knowledge

  and the judge of all actions.

The bow of the mighty is broken,

  and the weak are clothed in strength.

Those who fed well must hire themselves out, for bread;

  but the hungry are hungry no longer.

The barren woman has given birth to many;

  but she who had many sons is left desolate.

The Lord brings death and brings life;

  he leads down to the underworld and rescues from it.

The Lord makes poor and makes rich;

  he lays low and raises up.

He lifts the needy from the dust and the poor from the dunghill

  to sit among princes

  to sit on the throne of glory.

To the Lord belong the poles of the earth;

  from them he has suspended the world.

He will keep safe the feet of his chosen,

  but the impious will be silent in the darkness

 – for it is not by his own strength that a man becomes strong.

The Lord grinds down his enemies:

  he will thunder on them from the heavens.

The Lord will judge the ends of the earth,

  give dominion to his king,

  and raise up the standard of his anointed one.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen.

The Lord brings death and brings life. Alleluia.

---

Psalm 96 (97)
The glory of God in his judgements

A light has arisen for the just, and gladness for the upright in heart. Alleluia.

The Lord reigns! Let the earth rejoice,

  let the many islands be glad.

Clouds and dark mist surround him,

  his throne is founded on law and justice.

Fire precedes him,

  burning up his enemies all around.

His lightnings light up the globe;

  the earth sees and trembles.

The mountains flow like wax at the sight of the Lord,

  at the sight of the Lord the earth dissolves.

The heavens proclaim his justice

  and all peoples see his glory.

Let them be dismayed, who worship carved things,

  who take pride in the images they make.

All his angels, worship him.

Zion heard and was glad,

  the daughters of Judah rejoiced

  because of your judgements, O Lord.

For you are the Lord, the Most High over all the earth,

  far above all other gods.

You who love the Lord, hate evil!

The Lord protects the lives of his consecrated ones:

  he will free them from the hands of sinners.

A light has arisen for the just,

  and gladness for the upright in heart.

Rejoice, you just, in the Lord

  and proclaim his holiness.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen.

A light has arisen for the just, and gladness for the upright in heart. Alleluia.

---

Short reading	Romans 6:8-11 ©

We believe that having died with Christ we shall return to life with him: Christ, as we know, having been raised from the dead will never die again. Death has no power over him any more. When he died, he died, once for all, to sin, so his life now is life with God; and in that way, you too must consider yourselves to be dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus.

---

Short Responsory

The Lord has risen from the tomb, alleluia, alleluia.

– The Lord has risen from the tomb, alleluia, alleluia.

He who hung on the tree for our sake, alleluia, alleluia.

– The Lord has risen from the tomb, alleluia, alleluia.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

– The Lord has risen from the tomb, alleluia, alleluia.

---

Canticle	Benedictus

The Messiah and his forerunner

I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the complete truth.Alleluia.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

  for he has come to his people and brought about their redemption.

He has raised up the sign of salvation

  in the house of his servant David,

as he promised through the mouth of the holy ones,

  his prophets through the ages:

to rescue us from our enemies

  and all who hate us,

to take pity on our fathers,

  to remember his holy covenant

and the oath he swore to Abraham our father,

  that he would give himself to us,

that we could serve him without fear

 – freed from the hands of our enemies –

in uprightness and holiness before him,

  for all of our days.

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High:

  for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his path,

to let his people know their salvation,

  so that their sins may be forgiven.

Through the bottomless mercy of our God,

  one born on high will visit us

to give light to those who walk in darkness,

  who live in the shadow of death;

  to lead our feet in the path of peace.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen.

I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the complete truth.Alleluia.

---

Prayers and Intercessions

It was by God’s gift that the risen Christ appeared to the Apostles. Therefore let us address our prayers to God:

– Lord, make us shine with the glory of Christ.

O God, Father of all light, we praise you today with thankful hearts, for you have called us into your glory and light

  to receive your loving kindness.

– Lord, make us shine with the glory of Christ.

As the whole family of man strives for a more worthwhile life,

  strengthen and purify their efforts by the power of your Spirit.

– Lord, make us shine with the glory of Christ.

Dedicate us to the service of mankind,

  so that the human race becomes an acceptable offering to you.

– Lord, make us shine with the glory of Christ.

As this day begins, fill us with your loving kindness,

  so that we spend the whole day praising you in triumph and delight.

– Lord, make us shine with the glory of Christ.

---

Our Father, who art in Heaven,

  hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come,

  thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

  and forgive us our trespasses

  as we forgive those who trespass against us,

and lead us not into temptation,

  but deliver us from evil.

---

Lord, confirm your promise to us:

  that the more we celebrate the solemn feast of your Son’s resurrection,

  the more we shall deserve to rejoice among his saints when he comes again.

He lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

  God for ever and ever.

Amen.

---

May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life.

AMEN

[Salvation]

St. Pancras, Martyr

St Pancras, Martyr
Optional Memorial
May 12th

Guercino
Virgin on throne between Saint Pancras and Saint Monaca (1615)
oil on canvas, cm.258x172

Collect:
God of mercy,
give your Church joy and confidence
through the prayers of Saint Pancras.
Keep us faithful to You
and steadfast in Your service.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.

First Reading:Revelation 19:1,5-9
After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying, "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for His judgments are true and just; He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants." Once more they cried, "Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever." And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who is seated on the throne, saying, "Amen. Hallelujah!" And from the throne came a voice crying, "Praise our God, all you His servants, you who fear Him, small and great." Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give Him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure"-- for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And he said to me, "These are true words of God."

Gospel Reading: Matthew 11:25-30
At that time Jesus declared, "I thank Thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was Thy gracious will. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."

[johngrace]

You had a website. I went to it. Which brought me to a another link. That link went to a site that had a 1896 movie of Pope Leo who wrote the St Michael pray. Now I just can’t find it on my History. I was going to link it for you.

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Meditation: John 16:12-15

I have much more to tell you. (John 16:12)

Don’t you sometimes wish that Jesus had just said all those things he promised that the Holy Spirit would tell us after he was gone? We have all experienced the frustration of seeking the Lord’s guidance in a situation but coming out of our prayer unsure of whether that “voice” in our mind was God or our own imagination. If only the Spirit would talk to us as clearly as Jesus spoke with his disciples! It would be so much easier if he would just use plain words that we could never second guess!

So why did Jesus think it was better that he return to the Father? Because then he could send the Holy Spirit to sanctify us as well as lead us. It’s not always about getting the right answer, after all. It’s about growing closer to the Lord and becoming more like him. We should remember that having Jesus right there with them didn’t prevent the disciples from fearing for their lives and running away when Jesus was arrested.

Clearly, being close to Jesus physically does not guarantee being close to him spiritually. So just how can we get closer to Jesus? Well, one way is to be as open as we can when we receive the Eucharist. It’s in those quiet moments just after we receive his body and blood that we can open our hearts the widest and receive the wisdom Jesus wants to give us.

Every time you go to Mass, go with expectation. Ask Jesus to send his Holy Spirit to you to teach you everything he wants you to know. Decide that you won’t go home until you have received a blessing from the Lord—whether it be a new insight, a sense of direction, or just a deeper touch of his love and presence.

Don’t let these moments of union with God slip away. You may not come out with a document dictated by the Spirit that spells out your destiny. But you will be closer to the Lord—and that’s your highest, greatest calling!

“Lord, speak living words to me this day—words that will lodge deep within me and help direct my thoughts, words, and actions. By the power of your Spirit, lead me more deeply into your truth.”

Acts 17:15,22–18:1; Psalm 148:1-2,11-14

[Salvation]

Can you check back on your computer history to find it? Might be there if you don’t delete the history daily like I do.

[johngrace]

I am looking now.

[johngrace]

It’s on Patrick Madrid’s. This is amazing footage for 1896-blog.http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com/2010/05/oldest-extant-video-of-pope.html

[johngrace]

I think thats a phonograph audio of his voice added to moving pictures. All that tech was brand spanking new for that era.

[annalex]

John
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	John 16
12.	I have yet many things to say to you: but you cannot bear them now.	Adhuc multa habeo vobis dicere, sed non potestis portare modo.	ετι πολλα εχω λεγειν υμιν αλλ ου δυνασθε βασταζειν αρτι
13.	But when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will teach you all truth. For he shall not speak of himself; but what things soever he shall hear, he shall speak; and the things that are to come, he shall shew you.	Cum autem venerit ille Spiritus veritatis, docebit vos omnem veritatem : non enim loquetur a semetipso, sed quæcumque audiet loquetur, et quæ ventura sunt annuntiabit vobis.	οταν δε ελθη εκεινος το πνευμα της αληθειας οδηγησει υμας εις πασαν την αληθειαν ου γαρ λαλησει αφ εαυτου αλλ οσα αν ακουση λαλησει και τα ερχομενα αναγγελει υμιν
14.	He shall glorify me; because he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it to you.	Ille me clarificabit, quia de meo accipiet, et annuntiabit vobis.	εκεινος εμε δοξασει οτι εκ του εμου ληψεται και αναγγελει υμιν
15.	All things whatsoever the Father hath, are mine. Therefore I said, that he shall receive of mine, and shew it to you.	Omnia quæcumque habet Pater, mea sunt. Propterea dixi : quia de meo accipiet, et annuntiabit vobis.	παντα οσα εχει ο πατηρ εμα εστιν δια τουτο ειπον οτι εκ του εμου λαμβανει και αναγγελει υμιν

[annalex]

12. I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
13. However when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he will show you things to come.
14. He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine and shall show it to you.
15. All things that the Father has are mine; therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it to you.

THEOPHYL. Our Lord having said above, It is expedient for you that I go away, He enlarges now upon it: I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

AUG. All heretics, when their fables are rejected for their extravagance by the common sense of mankind, try to defend themselves by this text; as if these were the things which the disciples could not at this time bear, or as if the Holy Spirit could teach things, which even the unclean spirit is ashamed openly to teach and preach.

But bad doctrines such as even natural shame cannot bear are one thing, good doctrines such as our poor natural understanding cannot bear are another. The one are allied to the shameless body, the other lie far beyond the body. But what are these things which they could not bear; I cannot mention them for this very reason; for who of us dare call himself able to receive what they could not? Some one will say indeed that many, now that the Holy Ghost has been sent, can do what Peter could not then, as earn the crown of martyrdom.

But do we therefore know what those things were, which He was unwilling to communicate; for it seems most absurd to suppose that the disciples were not able to bear then the great doctrines, that we find in the Apostolic Epistles, which were written afterwards, which our Lord is not said to have spoken to them. For why could they not bear then what every one now reads and bears in their writings, even though he may not understand? Men of perverse sects indeed cannot bear what is found in Holy Scripture concerning the Catholic faith, as we cannot bear their sacrilegious vanities; for not to bear means not to acquiesce in.

But what believer or even catechumen before he has been baptized and received the Holy Ghost, does not acquiesce in and listen to, even if he does not understand, all that was written after our Lord's ascension; But some one will say, Do spiritual men never hold doctrines which they do not communicate to carnal men, but do to spiritual?

There is no necessity why any doctrines should be kept secret from the babes and revealed to the grown up believers. Spiritual men ought not altogether to withhold spiritual doctrines from the carnal, seeing the Catholic faith ought to be preached to all; nor at the same time should they lower them in order to accommodate them to the understanding of persons who cannot receive them, and so make their own preaching contemptible, rather than the truth intelligible.

So then we are not to understand these words of our Lord to refer to certain secret doctrines which if the teacher revealed, the disciple would not be able to bear, but to those very things in religious doctrine which are within the apprehension of all of us. If Christ chose to communicate these to us, in the same way in which He does to the Angels, what men, yea what spiritual men, which the Apostles were not now, could bear them? For indeed every thing which can be known of the creature is inferior to the Creator; and yet who is silent about Him?

While in the body we cannot know all the truth, as the Apostle says, We know in part (1 Cor 13); but the Holy Spirit sanctifying us fits us for enjoying that fullness of which the same Apostle says, Then face to face. Our Lord's promise, But when He the Spirit of truth shall come, He shall teach you all truth, or shall lead you into all truth, does not refer to this life only, but to the life to come, for which this complete fullness is reserved. The Holy Spirit both teaches believers now all the spiritual things which they are capable of receiving, and also kindles in their hearts a desire to know more.

DIDYMUS. Or He means that His hearers had not yet attained to all those things which for His name's sake they were able to bear; so, revealing lesser things, He puts off the greater for a future time, such things as they could not understand till the Cross itself of their crucified Head had been their instruction. As yet they were slaves to the types, and shadows, and images of the Law, and could not bear the truth of which the Law was the shadow. But when the Holy Ghost came, He would lead them by His teaching and discipline into all truth, transferring them from the dead letter to the quickening Spirit, in Whom alone all Scripture truth resides.

CHRYS. Having said then, you cannot bear them now, but then you shall be able, and, The Holy Spirit shall lead you into all truth; lest this should make them suppose that the Holy Spirit was the superior, He adds, For He shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak.

AUG. This is like what He said of Himself above, i.e., I can of My own Self do nothing; as I hear I judge. But that may be understood of Hi m as man; how must we understand this of the Holy Ghost, Who never became a creature by assuming a creature? As meaning that He is not from Himself: The Son is born of the Father, and the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father. In what the difference consists between proceeding and being born, it would require a long time to discuss, and would be rash to define.

But to hear is with Him to know, to know to be. As then He is not from Himself, but from Him from Whom He proceeds, from Whom His being is, from the same is His knowledge. From the same therefore His hearing. The Holy Ghost then always hears, because He always knows; and He has heard, hears, and will hear from Him from Whom He is.

DIDYMUS. He shall not speak of Himself, i.e., not without Me, and Mine and the Father's will: because He is not of Himself, but from the Father and Me. That He exists, and that He speaks, He has from the Father and Me. I speak the truth; i.e., I inspire as well as speak by Him, since He is the Spirit of Truth. To say and to speak in the Trinity must not be understood according to our usage, but according to the usage of incorporeal natures, and especially the Trinity, which implants Its will in the hearts of believers, all of those who are worthy to hear It.

For the Father then to speak, and the Son to hear, is a mode of expressing the identity of their nature, and their agreement. Again, the Holy Spirit, Who is the Spirit of truth, and the Spirit of wisdom, cannot hear from the Son what He does not know, seeing He is the very thing which is produced from the Son, i.e. truth proceeding from truth, Comforter from Comforter, God from God. Lastly, lest any one should separate Him from the will and society of the Father and the Son, it is written, Whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak.

AUG. But it does not follow from hence that the Holy Spirit is inferior; for it is only signified that He proceeds from the Father.

AUG. Nor let the use of the future tense perplex you; that hearing is eternal, because the knowledge is eternal. To that which is eternal, without beginning, and without end, a verb of any tense may be applied. For though an unchangeable nature does not admit of was and shall be, but only is, yet it is allowable to say of It, was and is and shall be: was, because It never began; shall be, because It never shall end; is, because It always is.

DIDYMUS. By the Spirit of truth too the knowledge of future events has been granted to holy men. Prophets filled with this Spirit foretold and saw things to come, as if they were present: And He will show you things to come.

BEDE. It is certain that many filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit have foreknown future events. But as many gifted saints have never had this power, the words, He will show you things to come, may be taken to mean, bring back to your minds the Joys of your heavenly country. He did however inform the Apostles of what was to come, viz. of the evils that they would have to suffer for Christ's sake, and the good things they would receive in recompense.

CHRYS. In this way then He raised their spirits; for there is nothing for which mankind so long, as the knowledge of the future. He relieves them from all anxiety on this account, by showing that dangers would not fall upon them unawares. Then to show that He could have told them all the truth into which the Holy Spirit would lead them, He adds, He shall glorify Me.

AUG. By pouring love into the hearts of believers, and making them spiritual, and so able to see that the Son Whom they had known before only according to the flesh, and thought a man like themselves, was equal to the Father. Or certainly because that love filling them with boldness, and casting out fear, they proclaimed Christ to men, and so spread His fame throughout the whole world. For what they were going to do in the power of the Holy Ghost, this the Holy Ghost says He does Himself.

CHRYS. And because He had said, You have one Master, even Christ (Matt 23:8), that they might not be prevented by this from admitting the Holy Ghost as well, He adds, For He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it to you.

DIDYMUS. To receive must be taken here in a sense agreeable to the Divine Nature. As the Son in giving is not deprived of what He gives, nor imparts to others with any loss of His own, so too the Holy Ghost does not receive what before He had not; for if He received what before He had not, the gift being transferred to another, the giver would be thereby a loser.

We must understand then that the Holy Ghost receives from the Son that which belonged to His nature, and that there are not two substances implied, one giving and the other receiving, but one substance only. In like manner the Son too is said to receive from the Father that wherein He Himself subsists. For neither is the Son any thing but what is given Him by the Father, nor the Holy Ghost any substance but that which is given Him by the Son.

AUG. But it is not true, as some heretics have thought, that because the Son receives from the Father, the Holy Ghost from the Son, as if by gradation, that therefore the Holy Ghost is inferior to the Son. He Himself solves this difficulty, and explains His own words: All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall show it to you.

DIDYMUS. As if He said, Although the Spirit of truth proceeds from the Father, yet all things that the Father has are Mine, and even the Spirit of the Father is Mine, and receives of Mine. But beware, when you hear this, that you think not it is a thing or possession which the Father and the Son have. That which the Father has according to His substance, i.e. His eternity, immutability, goodness, it is this which the Son has also.

Away with the evils of logicians who say, therefore the Father is the Son. Had He said indeed, All that God has are Mine, impiety might have taken occasion to raise its head; but when He said, All things that the Father has are Mine, by using the name of the Father, He declares Himself the Son, and being the Son, He usurps not the Paternity, though by the grace of adoption He is the Father of many saints.

HILARY. Our Lord therefore has not left it uncertain whether the Paraclete be from the Father, or from the Son; for He is sent by the Son, and proceeds from the Father; both these He receives from the Son. You ask whether to receive from the Son and to proceed from the Father be the same thing.

Certainly, to receive from the Son must be thought one and the same thing with receiving from the Father; for when He says, All things that the Father has are Mine, therefore said I, that He shall receive of Mine, He shows herein that the things are received from Him, because all things which the Father has are His, but that they are received from the Father also. This unity has no diversity; nor does it matter from whom the thing is received; since that which is given by the Father is counted also as given by the Son.

Catena Aurea John 16

[annalex]

Holy Spirit wispering to Pope Gregory the Great

[Salvation]

Secret Harbor ~ Portus Secretioris

12 May 2010

Trials: An Effect of God's Mercy

In a Charterhouse in Germany, one feast day, the Prior had granted the customary recreation for the novices and had himself gone to join them. As he had that morning preached on extraordinary graces that we receive from God, he invited the religious to recount any such favours they had received. The last novice, with great simplicity, related the following story:

‘As at the beginning of my novitiate’, he said, ‘I was assailed by violent temptations, I took back my secular clothes in order to return to the world. Before leaving the cell, however, I knelt for one moment before the statue of Our Lady, which is in every Carthusian’s cell, and made a short prayer to her, protesting that it was only from sheer necessity that I was leaving, since the trials by which I was overwhelmed made it clear that I was not to remain in the cloister. Then Our Lady seemed to address me with the utmost kindness, and told me that these trials were nothing but an effect of God’s mercy, intended to increase my merit; and that I would do God’s will by staying in the holy state which I had embraced. From that moment I have never had to suffer any further temptation of that kind’.

When the Prior heard this story, he was unable to suppress a feeling of envy. ‘What’! he thought, ‘here is a novice, only six months in the Order, and he has already had a vision of the Mother of God. And I . . . I have served her to the best of my ability for so many years, and have never received any such favour’. This resentment became so bitter that some months later he made up his mind to leave the Order. He, therefore, asked the Brother Tailor for secular garments, put them on when evening came, and made his way to the door of the monastery. He could not, however, cross the threshold without going to kneel for a moment before the altar of Our Lady of Compassion, which was in the Brothers’ choir. While he was there, his heavenly Mother in her clemency appeared to him and reproached him for what he was intending to do, telling him that he had no justification whatever for his action. Her novice, indeed, had need of a vision to console him, and to fortify him against the interior trials which were beyond his strength. He, on the contrary, had had nothing but spiritual consolations from the moment he had entered religion. Why, then, should he need any extraordinary favours? The would-be fugitive humbled himself under the maternal admonition, and full of gratitude to her who, by giving it to him, had just saved his soul from so dire a peril, prostrated himself and became absorbed in a prayer of thanksgiving, which continued so far into the night that in the end he was overcome by sleep. The Procurator, and the Brothers with him, arrived in due course for Matins, and found their Prior prostrate on the ground, and dressed as a secular. They wakened him and, when he came to himself, he insisted on presiding at the Office dressed as he was. Then, leading the community to the chapter-house, he knelt down before them all and confessed his fault, and related the remarkable favour which had caused him to abandon his purpose.

Wherefore, he that thinketh himself to stand, let him take heed lest he fall ~ 1 Corinthians 10:12. Let us place our vows in Our Lady’s keeping, and beg her to obtain for us the graces that will make her motherly vigilance bear fruit.

 

Posted by Jeffrey S. J. Allan at 09:30

[Salvation]

Vultus Christi

This consecration is beautiful everyone!

Do Not Tire of Visiting Us

By

Father Mark

 on May 12, 2010 9:33 PM |

Tonight, at least, I have no words to express what I perceive to be the significance of this Act of Consecration in the context of The Year of the Priest. I have nothing but joy, and an immense gratitude to the Holy Father.

Consecration of Priests to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Immaculate Mother,
in this place of grace,
called together by the love of your Son Jesus
the Eternal High Priest, we,
sons in the Son and his priests,
consecrate ourselves to your maternal Heart,
in order to carry out faithfully the Father's Will.

We are mindful that, without Jesus,
we can do nothing good (cf. Jn 15:5)
and that only through him, with him and in him,
will we be instruments of salvation
for the world.

Bride of the Holy Spirit,
obtain for us the inestimable gift
of transformation in Christ.
Through the same power of the Spirit that
overshadowed you,
making you the Mother of the Saviour,
help us to bring Christ your Son
to birth in ourselves too.
May the Church
be thus renewed by priests who are holy,
priests transfigured by the grace of him
who makes all things new.

Mother of Mercy,
it was your Son Jesus who called us
to become like him:
light of the world and salt of the earth
(cf. Mt 5:13-14).

Help us,
through your powerful intercession,
never to fall short of this sublime vocation,
nor to give way to our selfishness,
to the allurements of the world
and to the wiles of the Evil One.

Preserve us with your purity,
guard us with your humility
and enfold us with your maternal love
that is reflected in so many souls
consecrated to you,
who have become for us
true spiritual mothers.

Mother of the Church,
we priests want to be pastors
who do not feed themselves
but rather give themselves to God for their brethren,
finding their happiness in this.
Not only with words, but with our lives,
we want to repeat humbly,
day after day,
Our "here I am".

Guided by you,
we want to be Apostles
of Divine Mercy,
glad to celebrate every day
the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar
and to offer to those who request it
the sacrament of Reconciliation.

Advocate and Mediatrix of grace,
you who are fully immersed
in the one universal mediation of Christ,
invoke upon us, from God,
a heart completely renewed
that loves God with all its strength
and serves mankind as you did.

Repeat to the Lord
your efficacious word:
"They have no wine" (Jn 2:3),
so that the Father and the Son will send upon us
a new outpouring of
the Holy Spirit.
Full of wonder and gratitude
at your continuing presence in our midst,
in the name of all priests
I too want to cry out:
"Why is this granted me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Lk 1:43).

Our Mother for all time,
do not tire of "visiting us",
consoling us, sustaining us.
Come to our aid
and deliver us from every danger
that threatens us.
With this act of entrustment and consecration,
we wish to welcome you
more deeply, more radically,
for ever and totally
into our human and priestly lives.

Let your presence cause new blooms to burst forth
in the desert of our loneliness,
let it cause the sun to shine on our darkness,
let it restore calm after the tempest,
so that all mankind shall see the salvation
of the Lord,
who has the name and the face of Jesus,
who is reflected in our hearts,
for ever united to yours!

Amen!

[Salvation]

Vespers -- Evening Prayer

Vespers (Evening Prayer)

Introduction

O God, come to my aid.

  O Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen. Alleluia.

---

Hymn

Sing we triumphant hymns of praise,

New hymns to heaven exulting raise:

Christ, by a road before untrod,

Ascendeth to the throne of God.

The holy Apostolic band

Upon the Mount of Olives stand,

And with the Virgin Mother see

Jesu’s resplendent majesty.

O grant us thitherward to tend,

And with unwearied hearts ascend

Toward thy kingdom’s throne, where thou

(As is our faith) art seated now.

All glory, Lord, to thee we pay,

Ascending o’er the stars to-day;

All glory, as is ever meet,

To Father and to Paraclete.

---

Psalm 112 (113)
Praise of the Lord's name

I left my Father to come into the world. Now I leave the world to return to my Father. Alleluia.

Praise, servants of the Lord,

  praise the name of the Lord.

Let the Lord’s name be blessed,

  now and for ever.

From the sun’s rising to its setting,

  the Lord’s name is to be praised.

The Lord is high over all peoples,

  his glory is above the heavens.

Who is like the Lord our God, who lives on high,

  who bends down to watch over heaven and earth?

He raises the weak from the ground,

  the poor from the dunghill,

raises them among the princes,

  the princes of his people.

He gives the barren woman a household,

  makes her the happy mother of children.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen.

I left my Father to come into the world. Now I leave the world to return to my Father. Alleluia.

---

Psalm 116 (117)
Praise of the merciful Lord

After he had spoken to his disciples, the Lord Jesus ascended into heaven. Now he sits at the right hand of God. Alleluia.

Praise the Lord, all nations; all peoples, praise him.

For his mercy is strong over us and his faithfulness is for ever.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen.

After he had spoken to his disciples, the Lord Jesus ascended into heaven. Now he sits at the right hand of God. Alleluia.

---

Canticle	Apocalypse 11

The Judgement

No-one has ascended into heaven except he who came down from heaven, the Son of Man who is in heaven now. Alleluia.

We thank you,

  Lord God Almighty,

who are and who were,

  that you have taken up your great power and begun to reign.

The nations were angered,

  but your anger came, the time for the dead to be judged,

the time to reward the prophets and saints, your servants,

  and those who feared your name, both great and small.

Now have come the salvation and might and kingdom of our God,

  and the power of his Anointed,

for the accuser of our brethren has been brought down,

  who accused them day and night in the sight of God.

But they vanquished him through the blood of the Lamb

  and through their own witness.

They did not cling to life,

  even in the face of death.

Therefore rejoice, heavens,

  and you who dwell in them.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen.

No-one has ascended into heaven except he who came down from heaven, the Son of Man who is in heaven now. Alleluia.

---

Short reading	Ephesians 2:4-6 ©

God loved us with so much love that he was generous with his mercy: when we were dead through our sins, he brought us to life with Christ – it is through grace that you have been saved – and raised us up with him and gave us a place with him in heaven, in Christ Jesus.

---

Short Responsory

God ascends amid shouts of joy. Alleluia, alleluia.

– God ascends amid shouts of joy. Alleluia, alleluia.

The Lord goes up to the sound of trumpets.

– God ascends amid shouts of joy. Alleluia, alleluia.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

– God ascends amid shouts of joy. Alleluia, alleluia.

---

Canticle	Magnificat

My soul rejoices in the Lord

Father, I have made your name known to the men you gave me. Now I pray for them rather than for the world, for I am coming to you. Alleluia.

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

  and my spirit rejoices in God, my salvation.

For he has shown me such favour –

  me, his lowly handmaiden.

Now all generations will call me blessed,

  because the mighty one has done great things for me.

His name is holy,

  his mercy lasts for generation after generation

  for those who revere him.

He has put forth his strength:

  he has scattered the proud and conceited,

  torn princes from their thrones;

  but lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things;

  the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel,

  he has remembered his mercy as he promised to our fathers,

  to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

  world without end.

Amen.

Father, I have made your name known to the men you gave me. Now I pray for them rather than for the world, for I am coming to you. Alleluia.

---

Prayers and Intercessions

Let us rejoice as we pray to Christ, who is seated at the right hand of the Father:

– You, Christ, are the king of glory.

King of glory, you have taken our mortal flesh in all its fragility and lifted it up to the heights:

  free it from the corruption of ancient sin and restore our nature to its created purity.

– You, Christ, are the king of glory.

Following the path of love, you came down to live among us:

  following the path of love, may we ascend to join you.

– You, Christ, are the king of glory.

You promised to draw all men to yourself:

  do not let anyone be separated from your mystical body.

– You, Christ, are the king of glory.

May our hearts and minds follow your lead

  to where you have ascended in glory.

– You, Christ, are the king of glory.

Now we await your coming as God in judgement:

  may we one day, together with the dead, behold you as Lord in all the majesty of your loving kindness.

– You, Christ, are the king of glory.

---

Our Father, who art in Heaven,

  hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come,

  thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

  and forgive us our trespasses

  as we forgive those who trespass against us,

and lead us not into temptation,

  but deliver us from evil.

---

O God, fill us with rejoicing and reverent thankfulness,

  for Christ your Son’s ascension lifts us up with him.

We, his mystical body, are called in hope

  to where he, our Head, has preceded us in glory.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

  who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

  God for ever and ever.

Amen.

---

May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life.

AMEN

[Salvation]

Regnum Christi

Nothing But the Truth

| SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

Wednesday, 6th week of Easter

Father John Doyle, LC

John 16:12-15

Jesus said to his disciples: "I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you."

Introductory Prayer: Lord, as I begin this prayer I offer you my whole self: my thoughts, desires, decisions, actions, hopes, fears, weaknesses, failures and petty successes. I open my entire being to you, aware that you know everything already. I’m certain of your mercy and of the purifying power of your penetrating, loving gaze.

Petition: Lord, allow me to be sincerely and truthfully yours.

1. My Truth Before God Jesus tells his apostles he has many more things to tell them, but it seems that they are not yet ready to accept the truth. They were not ready, for one thing, to acknowledge the fact that in a few short hours all of them would flee before the prospect of the Cross, leaving Christ quite alone. I, too, may find it hard to see, or to accept, a realistic picture of my relationship with Christ or my state of soul. I may justify myself or my indifference with any number of psychological consolations. I might convince myself that I am not quite as bad off as so-and-so. Perhaps I put up an excellent external show, living all the motions, but with little true conviction and sincerity.

2. Cheap Deceptions In our consumer-oriented world, first impressions often seem to count more than the goodness or evil of a thing. Opinion polls appear to set the standard for right and wrong, and a false idea of tolerance is a highly held ideal. Truth can be seen as bluntly offensive, and so it is repackaged in a more appealing way. However, none of these attempts by the “spirit of the world” can ever succeed in the end, just as no amount of darkness can ever stop the smallest beam of light. The Holy Spirit is at work in the world declaring the truth loud and clear in the depths of the human soul. Only the truth -- which comes from Christ -- has the power to bring true peace and joy to the human heart when all illusions are shown up as such.

3. Living in the Truth As Christians we must be on guard against the spirit of insincerity. No one who lives outside the truth can claim to be a disciple of Christ. Little falsehoods in our lives are utterly destructive to the action of the “Spirit of Truth” in our souls. Our Savior never spoke out so strongly against anything as he did against the pretended righteousness of the leaders of his time. How many things have I done recently just to be praised by others? How many good things have I done which are known to God alone? Am I capable of standing firm to my convictions in the face of misunderstanding or ridicule?

Conversation with Christ: Jesus, the example of your life and death is one of complete honesty. Empower me through the “Spirit of Truth” to be sincere in all that I do before God and others.

Resolution: I will ask forgiveness in the sacrament of reconciliation at the first available opportunity for any insincerities in my life.