Easter: May 29th

Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter

MASS READINGS

May 29, 2017 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

May the power of the Holy Spirit come to us, we pray, O Lord, that we may keep your will faithfully in mind and express it in a devout way of life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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Old Calendar: Friday after Pentecost; St. Mary Magdalen de' Pazzi, virgin

According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi. At the age of ten she consecrated her virginity to Christ, she was a Carmelite famous for her visions. Her motto was "To suffer and not to die." She died in 1607. Her feast in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite is celebrated on May 25.

Meditation - Our Intercessor
Through the centuries the Church Fathers have said that Our Lord keeps for Himself half His regency, which is the Kingdom of Justice, but the other half He gives away to His Mother, and this is the Kingdom of Mercy. At the Marriage Feast of Cana, Our Lord said that the hour of His Passion was not yet at hand-the hour when justice would be fulfilled. But His Blessed Mother begged Him not to wait, but to be merciful to those who were in need, and to supply their wants by changing water into wine. Three years later, when not the water was changed into wine, but the wine into blood, He fulfilled all justice, but surrendered half His Kingdom by giving to us that which no one else could give, namely, His Mother: "Behold thy Mother." Whatever mothers do for sons, that His Mother would do, and more.

Throughout all history the Blessed Mother has been the link between two contraries: the eternal punishment of hell for sinners and the universal unlimited Redemption of Her Divine Son. These extremes cannot be reconciled except by mercy. Not that Mary pardons-for she cannot-but she intercedes as a mother does in the face of the justice of the father. Without justice, mercy would be indifference to wrong: without mercy, justice would be vindictive. Mothers obtain pardon and forgiveness for their sons without ever giving them the feeling of "being let off." Justice makes the wrongdoer see the injustice in the violation of a law; mercy makes him see it in the sufferings and misery he caused those who love him deeply.

— Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Acts 19:1-8

7th Week of Easter

We have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. (Acts 19:2)

Imagine you are at a wedding banquet. Several guests are milling around an elegantly decorated room, eating delicious and beautifully prepared appetizers. They are talking happily and enjoying the good food and good company. However, they are unaware that a door at the end of the room leads to a larger hall with music and a huge banquet. Satisfied though they are, they don’t realize what they are missing!

As Paul traveled through Greece and into Ephesus, he came upon some disciples. They were happily following God, devoted to what they had heard and understood. But they didn’t have the whole picture. They had embraced the baptism of repentance that John preached, but they had never heard the rest of the story. So Paul told them about Jesus. They had never heard of the Holy Spirit either, so he prayed with them, and the Holy Spirit descended upon them. Evidently, God had much more waiting for them!

How about you? You may feel that your relationship with God is good, but Jesus wants to make it spectacular. He wants your cup to overflow with his love, his grace, and his wisdom. Take a moment to recall the most powerful, grace-filled experience of God you’ve ever had. Now multiply that by tenfold. That’s what God wants to do for you. If you think the “appetizers” you have tasted so far are good, just wait for the main course!

Always remember that the Holy Spirit lives in you. Remember that he delights in doing “far more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20). And don’t forget about all the grace and power he offers you every single time you receive Communion.

So go ahead and ask him for more of his life. Ask him to give you a new insight into the Scriptures. Ask him to help you not only overcome sin but become a saint. Ask him to make you extra confident in your position as a child of God. Ask him to give you a joy that overflows and touches everyone you meet. Ask, ask, and ask. He loves you. He has good gifts waiting for you.

“Holy Spirit, I do want more! Help me to open my heart to receive all of your gifts.”

Psalm 68:2-7
John 16:29-33