Regina Coeli

Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia. / For He whom you did merit to bear, alleluia.

Has risen, as he said, alleluia. / Pray for us to God, alleluia.

Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia. / For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

Let us pray. O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

John
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	John 14
27.	Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, do I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid.	Pacem relinquo vobis, pacem meam do vobis : non quomodo mundus dat, ego do vobis. Non turbetur cor vestrum, neque formidet.	ειρηνην αφιημι υμιν ειρηνην την εμην διδωμι υμιν ου καθως ο κοσμος διδωσιν εγω διδωμι υμιν μη ταρασσεσθω υμων η καρδια μηδε δειλιατω
28.	You have heard that I said to you: I go away, and I come unto you. If you loved me, you would indeed be glad, because I go to the Father: for the Father is greater than I.	Audistis quia ego dixi vobis : Vado, et venio ad vos. Si diligeretis me, gauderetis utique, quia vado ad Patrem : quia Pater major me est.	ηκουσατε οτι εγω ειπον υμιν υπαγω και ερχομαι προς υμας ει ηγαπατε με εχαρητε αν οτι ειπον πορευομαι προς τον πατερα οτι ο πατηρ μου μειζων μου εστιν
29.	And now I have told you before it comes to pass: that when it shall come to pass, you may believe.	Et nunc dixi vobis priusquam fiat : ut cum factum fuerit, credatis.	και νυν ειρηκα υμιν πριν γενεσθαι ινα οταν γενηται πιστευσητε
30.	I will not now speak many things with you. For the prince of this world cometh, and in me he hath not any thing.	Jam non multa loquar vobiscum : venit enim princeps mundi hujus, et in me non habet quidquam.	ουκετι πολλα λαλησω μεθ υμων ερχεται γαρ ο του κοσμου αρχων και εν εμοι ουκ εχει ουδεν
31.	But that the world may know, that I love the Father: and as the Father hath given me commandment, so do I: Arise, let us go hence.	Sed ut cognoscat mundus quia diligo Patrem, et sicut mandatum dedit mihi Pater, sic facio. Surgite, eamus hinc.	αλλ ινα γνω ο κοσμος οτι αγαπω τον πατερα και καθως ενετειλατο μοι ο πατηρ ουτως ποιω εγειρεσθε αγωμεν εντευθεν

27. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you: not as the world gives, give I to you.

CHRYS. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you: He says this to console His disciples, who were now troubled at the prospect of the hatred and opposition which awaited them after His departure.

AUG. He left no peace in this world; in which we conquer the enemy, and have love one to another: He will give us peace in the world to come, when we shall reign without an enemy, and where we shall be able to avoid disagreement. This peace is Himself, both when we believe that He is, and when we shall see Him as He is. But why does He say, Peace I leave with you, without the My, whereas He puts in My in, My peace 1 give to you? Are we to understand My in the former; or is it not rather left out with a meaning?

His peace is such peace as He has Himself; the peace which He left us in this world is rather our peace than His. He has nothing to fight against in Himself, because He has no sin: but ours is a peace in which we still say, Forgive us our debts (Matt 6:12). And in like manner we have peace between ourselves, because we mutually trust one another, that we mutually love one another. But neither is that a perfect peace; for we do not see into each other's minds. I could not deny however that these words of our Lord's may be understood as a simple repetition.

He adds, Not as the world gives, give I unto you: i.e. not as those men, who love the world, give. They give themselves peace, i.e. free, uninterrupted enjoyment of the world. And even when they allow the righteous peace, so far as not to persecute them, yet there cannot be true peace, where there is no true agreement, no union of heart.

CHRYS. External peace is often even hurtful, rather than profitable to those who enjoy it.

AUG. But there is a peace which is serenity of thought, tranquillity of mind, simplicity of heart, the bond of love, the fellowship of charity. None will be able to come to the inheritance of the Lord who do not observe this testament of peace; none be friends with Christ, who are at enmity with the Christians.

27. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
28. You have heard how I said to you, I go away, and come again to you. If you loved me, you would rejoice, because I said, I go to the Father: for my Father is greater than I.
29. And now I have told you before it comes to pass, that, when it is come to pass, you might believe.
30. Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world comes, and has nothing in me.
31. But that the world may know that I love the Father: and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.

CHRYS. After saying, Peace I leave with you, which was like taking farewell, He consoles them: Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid: the two feelings of love and fear were now the uppermost in them.

AUG. Though He was only going for a time, their hearts would be troubled and afraid for what might happen before He returned; lest in the absence of the Shepherd the wolf might attack the flock: you have heard how I said to you, I go away, and come again to you. In that He was man, He went; in that He was God, He stayed.

Why then be troubled and afraid, when He left the eye only, not the heart? To make them understand that it was as man that He said, I go away, and come again to you; He adds, If you loved Me you would rejoice, because I said, I go to My Father; for My Father is greater than I. In that the Son then is unequal with the Father, through that inequality He went to the Father, from Him to come again to judge the quick and dead: in that He is equal to the Father, He never goes from the Father, but is everywhere altogether with Him in that Godhead, which is not confined to place.

Nay, the Son Himself, because that being equal to the Father in the form of God, He emptied Himself, not losing the form of God, but taking that of a servant, is greater even than Himself: the form of God which is not lost, is greater than the form of a servant which was put on. In this form of a servant, the Son of God is inferior not to the Father only, but to the Holy Ghost; in this the Child Christ was inferior even to His parents; to whom we read, He was subject. Let us acknowledge then the twofold substance of Christ, the divine, which is equal to the Father, and the human, which is inferior.

But Christ is both together, not two, but one Christ else the Godhead is a quaternity, not a Trinity. Wherefore He says, If you loved Me, you would rejoice, because I said, I go to the Father; for human nature should exult at being thus taken up by the Only Begotten Word, and made immortal in heaven; at earth being raised to heaven, and dust sitting incorruptible at the right hand of the Father. Who, that loves Christ, will not rejoice at this, seeing, as he does, his own nature immortal in Christ, and hoping that He Himself will be so by Christ.

HILARY. Or thus: If the Father is greater by virtue of giving, is the Son less by confessing the gift? The giver is the greater, but He to whom unity with that giver is given, is not the less.

CHRYS. Or thus: The Apostles did not yet know what the resurrection was of which He spoke when He said, I go, and come again to you: or what they ought to think of it. They only knew the great power of the Father. So He tells them: Though you fear I shall not be able to save Myself, and do not trust to My appearing again after My crucifixion; yet when you hear that I go to My Father, you should rejoice, because I go to one greater, one able to dissolve and change all things. All this is said in accommodation to their weakness: as we see from the next words:

And now I have told you before it comes to pass; that when it does come to pass, you may believe.

AUG. But is not the time for belief before a thing takes place? Is it not the praise of faith, that it believes what it does not see? according to w hat is said below to Thomas: Because you have seen, you has believed. He saw one thing, believed another: what he saw was man, what he believed was God. And if belief can be talked of with reference to things seen, as when we say that we believe our eyes; yet it is not mature faith, but is merely preparatory to our believing what we do not see.

When it has come to pass, then He says, because after His death they would see Him alive again, and ascending to His Father; which sight would convince them that He was the Christ, the Son of God; able as He was to do so great a thing, and to foretell it. Which faith however would not be a new, but only an enlarged faith; or a faith which had failed at His death, and been renewed by His resurrection.

HILARY. He next alludes to the approach of the time when He would resume His glory. Hereafter 1 will not talk much with you.

BEDE. He says this because the time was now approaching for His being taken, and given up to death: For the Prince of this world comes.

AUG. i.e. the devil; the prince of sinners, not of creatures; as the Apostle said, Against the rulers of this world. Or, as He immediately adds by way of explanation, this darkness, meaning, the ungodly. And has nothing in Me. God had no sin as God, nor had His flesh contracted it by a sinful birth, being born of the Virgin. But how, it might be asked, can you die, if you have no sin: He answers,

But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence. He had been sitting at table with them all this time. Let us go, i.e. to the place, where He, Who had done nothing to deserve death, was to be delivered to death. But He had a commandment from His Father to die.

AUG. That the Son is obedient to the will and commandment of the Father, no more shows a difference in the two, than it would in a human father and son. But over and above this comes the consideration that Christ is not only God, and as such equal to the Father, but also man, and as such inferior to the Father.

CHRYS. Arise, let us go hence, is the beginning of the sentence which l, follows. The time and the place (they were in the midst of a town, and it was night time) had excited the disciples' fears to such a degree, that they could not attend to any thing that was said, but rolled their eyes about, expecting persons to enter and assault them; especially when they heard our Lord say, Yet a little while I am with you; and, The prince of this world comes. To quiet their alarm then, He takes them to another place, where they imagine themselves safe, and would be able to attend to the great doctrines which He was going to set before them.

Catena Aurea John 14

Christ Giving His Blessing

Hans Memling

1478
Oil on oak panel, 38,1 x 28,2 cm
Norton Simon Museum of Art, Pasadena

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3549924/posts?page=6

Saint of the Day — Saint Joseph the Worker!

Catholic Caucus: How St. Joseph Lived the Greatest Calling of Husband and Father
St. Joseph, Model of Sanctity in Family Life (Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)

On the feast of St. Joseph, Francis speaks to fathers: “Be close to your children”
St. Joseph: Patron saint of three Popes [Catholic Caucus]
St. Joseph and the Staircase
St. Joseph, Foster Father, Novena [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
Patron of a “Happy Death” A Special Role for St. Joseph [Catholic/Orhtodox Caucus]
Lists Every Catholic Should be Familiar With: The 7 Sorrows and 7 Joys of St. Joseph
Catholic Group Blasts Pelosi For Invoking St. Joseph on Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill
THE SEVEN SORROWS AND SEVEN JOYS OF ST. JOSEPH
Joseph, Mary and Jesus: A Model Family
Season of Announcement - Revelation to Joseph

In hard times, don't forget about the humble carpenter Joseph
Saint Joseph: Complete submission to the will of God (Pope Benedict XVI) (Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)
St. Joseph as Head of the Holy Family (Catholic/Orthodox Caucus)
St. Joseph, Patron of a Peaceful Death [Catholic Caucus]
Octave: St. Joseph, A 'Man’s Man', Calling Men to Jesus
St. Teresa de Avila's Devotion to St. Joseph (Catholic Caucus)
Catholic Men's National Day of Prayer, MARCH 15, 2008, The Solemnity of St. Joseph (Catholic Caucus)
The Role and Responsibility of Fatherhood - St. Joseph as Model
St. Joseph - Foster Father of Jesus
Some divine intervention in real estate-[Bury St. Joseph Statues in Ground]

Many Turn To Higher Power For Home Sales
St. Joseph the Worker, Memorial, May 1
Catholic Devotions: St. Joseph the Worker
Nothing Will Be Denied Him (St. Joseph)
The Heart of a Father [St. Joseph]
St. Joseph's DAY
Quemadmodum Deus - Decree Under Blessed Pius IX, Making St. Joseph Patron of the Church
Father & Child -- St. Joseph
March 19 - Feast of St. Joseph - Husband of Mary - Intercessor of civil leaders
St. Joseph's Spirit of Silence

St. Joseph's Humility (By St. Francis de Sales)
St. Joseph [Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary], Solemnity, March 19
St Joseph’s Paternal Love
The Heart of St. Joseph
MORE THAN PATRON OF HOMES, IT'S TIME FOR ST. JOSEPH TO GAIN HIGHEST OF RECOGNITION [Fatherhood]
The Importance of Devotion to St. Joseph
St. Francis de Sales on St. Joseph (Some Excerpts for St. Joseph's Day 2004)
St. Joseph: REDEMPTORIS CUSTOS (Guardian Of The Redeemer)
(Saint) Joseph the Patriarch: A Reflection on the Solemnity of St. Joseph
How I Rediscovered a "Neglected" Saint: Work of Art Inspires Young Man to Rediscover St. Joseph

Information: St. Joseph the Worker

Feast Day: May 1

Died: 1st century

Patron of: against doubt, against hesitation, Americas, bursars, cabinetmakers, Canada, carpenters, Catholic Church , confectioners, craftsmen, Croatian people , dying people, emigrants, engineers, expectant mothers, families, fathers, holy death, house hunters, immigrants, interior souls, laborers, married people, Oblates of Saint Joseph, people in doubt, people who fight Communism, pioneers, protection of the Church, social justice, travellers, unborn children, Universal Church , Vatican II, wheelwrights, workers, many more...

Holy Spirit Interactive Kids: A Saint a Day

St. Joseph the Worker

Feast Day: May 01

St. Joseph is a very important saint. He is the husband of the Virgin Mary and the foster-father of Jesus. This is the second feast of St. Joseph the Church celebrates, the first falling on March 19.

The bible says very little about St. Joseph and does not contain even one word spoken by this carpenter of Nazareth. But even without words, he shows how deep his faith was, in this we see his greatness. > Saint Joseph is a man of great spirit. He is great in faith, not because he speaks his own words, but because he listens, in silence, to the words of the Living God.

Today we celebrate his witness of hard work. He was a carpenter who worked many hours a day and the little boy Jesus would help his dad in the small shop. St. Joseph teaches us that any work we do is important. Through it we do our part to serve our family and society.

But even more than that, as Christians we understand that our work is like a mirror of ourselves. It shows what kind of people we are, that is why we want our work to be done with care.

Many countries have one day every year to show their respect for workers. This helps people to see how good it is to work to make this world a better place. In 1955, the Church has given us a wonderful model of work, St. Joseph the worker.

CATHOLIC ALMANAC

Tuesday, May 1

Liturgical Color: White

On this day in 418 A.D., the Council
of Carthage declared Pelagianism as
heretical. This heresy denied the
existence of original sin and
Christian grace, contrary to the
teachings of the Church.

Catholic Culture

Easter: May 1st

Optional Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker

MASS READINGS

May 01, 2018 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

O God, Creator of all things, who laid down for the human race the law of work, graciously grant that by the example of Saint Joseph and under his patronage we may complete the works you set us to do and attain the rewards you promise. 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: St. Joseph the Worker; St. Peregrine, priest & religious (Hist)

The feast of St. Joseph the Worker was established by Pope Pius XII in 1955 in order to Christianize the concept of labor and give to all workmen a model and a protector. By the daily labor in his shop, offered to God with patience and joy, St. Joseph provided for the necessities of his holy spouse and of the Incarnate Son of God, and thus became an example to all laborers. "Workmen and all those laboring in conditions of poverty will have reasons to rejoice rather than grieve, since they have in common with the Holy Family daily preoccupations and cares"(Leo XIII).

St. Joseph the Worker
"May Day" has long been dedicated to labor and the working man. It falls on the first day of the month that is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pope Pius XII expressed the hope that this feast would accentuate the dignity of labor and would bring a spiritual dimension to labor unions. It is eminently fitting that St. Joseph, a working man who became the foster-father of Christ and patron of the universal Church, should be honored on this day.

The texts of the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours provide a catechetical synthesis of the significance of human labor seen in the light of faith. The Opening Prayer states that God, the creator and ruler of the universe, has called men and women in every age to develop and use their talents for the good of others. The Office of Readings, taken from the document of the Second Vatican Council on the Church in the modern world, develops this idea. In every type of labor we are obeying the command of God given in Genesis 2:15 and repeated in the responsory for the Office of Readings. The responsory for the Canticle of Zechariah says that "St. Joseph faithfully practiced the carpenter's trade. He is a shining example for all workers." Then, in the second part of the Opening Prayer, we ask that we may do the work that God has asked of us and come to the rewards he has promised. In the Prayer after Communion we ask: "May our lives manifest your love; may we rejoice for ever in your peace."

The liturgy for this feast vindicates the right to work, and this is a message that needs to be heard and heeded in our modern society. In many of the documents issued by Pope John XXIII, Pope Paul VI, the Second Vatican Council and Pope John Paul II, reference is made to the Christian spirit that should permeate one's work, after the example of St. Joseph. In addition to this, there is a special dignity and value to the work done in caring for the family. The Office of Readings contains an excerpt from the Vatican II document on the modern world: "Where men and women, in the course of gaining a livelihood for themselves and their families, offer appropriate service to society, they can be confident that their personal efforts promote the work of the Creator, confer benefits on their fellowmen, and help to realize God's plan in history" (no. 34).

— Excerpted from Saints of the Roman Calendar by Enzo Lodi

Patron: Against doubt; against hesitation; Americas; Austria; diocese of Baton Rouge, California; Belgium; diocese of Biloxi, Mississippi; Bohemia; diocese of Buffalo, New York; bursars; cabinetmakers; Canada; Carinthia; carpenters; China; Church; confectioners; craftsmen; Croatian people (in 1687 by decree of the Croatian parliament) dying people; emigrants; engineers; expectant mothers; families; fathers; Florence, Italy; happy death; holy death; house hunters; immigrants; interior souls; Korea; laborers; diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin; archdiocese of Louisville, Kentucky; diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire; married people; Mexico; diocese of Nashville, Tennessee; New France; New World; Oblates of Saint Joseph; people in doubt; people who fight Communism; Peru; pioneers; pregnant women; protection of the Church; diocese of San Jose, California; Sicily; diocese of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; social justice; Styria, Austria; travellers; Turin, Italy; Tyrol, Austria; unborn children; Universal Church; Vatican II; Vietnam; diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia; wheelwrights; workers; working people.

Symbols: Bible; branch; capenter's square; carpenter's tools; chalice; cross; hand tools; infant Jesus; ladder; lamb; lily; monstrance; old man holding a lily and a carpenter's tool such as a square; old man holding the infant Jesus; plane; rod.

Things to Do:

May 1 is celebrated in Communist countries as the Day of the International Solidarity of Workers. Today would be a good day to pray for athesistic Communism's influence to cease and a proper application of the principles explained by Leo XIII in Rerum novarum and John Paul II in Centesimus annus to be the guide used by nations.

St. Peregrine
As a young man St. Peregrine was a member of an anti-papal party until he encountered St. Philip Benizi, the head of the Servite order, who had been sent to try to reconcile the divided community. While trying to preach in Forli, Philip was heckled and even struck by Peregrine, who was overcome by momentary political fervor. But that moment also changed Peregrine. He began to channel his energies in new directions, engaged in good works and eventually joined the Servites in Siena and went on to be ordained a priest. Returning to his home town, he founded a new Servite house there and became well known for his preaching and holiness as well as his devotion to the sick and poor.

One of the special penances he imposed on himself was standing whenever it was not necessary to sit. Over time, Peregrine developed varicose veins and, in turn, cancer of the foot. The wound became painful and diseased and all medical treatment failed. The local surgeon determined amputation of the leg was called for.

Tradition has it that the night before surgery was scheduled, Peregrine spent much time in prayer before the crucified Jesus, asking God to heal him if it was God’s will to do so. Falling asleep at one point, Peregrine had a vision of the crucified Jesus leaving the cross and touching his cancerous leg. When Peregrine awoke, the wound was healed and his foot and leg, seemingly miraculously cured, were saved. He lived another 20 years.

Peregrine was canonized in 1726.

Excerpted from Saint of the Day: Lives, Lessons and Feast by Leonard Foley, O.F.M.

Patron: AIDS patients; cancer patients; open sores; skin diseases; sick people

The Word Among Us

Meditation: John 14:27-31

5th Week of Easter

Do not let your hearts be troubled. (John 14:27)

The disciples had more than enough reason to be troubled. Jesus was telling them that he was about to leave and that the “ruler of this world” was on his way. But while the disciples were troubled, Jesus was happy. He knew that his departure would bring them peace. With Jesus at the Father’s right hand, he could pour his Spirit into their hearts, and the Spirit would reveal God’s love to them in new and deeper ways. Thus would their anxious hearts be put to rest.

How can we come to know God’s love in the same way that the disciples did? How can we experience the peace that Jesus promised them? The key lies in prayer. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that prayer should engage “thought, imagination, emotion, and desire” (2708). Mobilizing our God-given faculties in this way can bring the truths of our faith to life and help us feel God’s presence in new ways. Prayer works best when we ask the Holy Spirit to take our imagination and fill it with insight.

St. Ignatius of Loyola often relied on his imagination when he prayed. With a Bible before him, he would picture the setting and time of whatever story he was reading, and then imagine himself in the scene. He would pay close attention to the details in the scene and imagine himself asking Jesus questions about what was going on. He especially liked to picture himself in the Last Supper, at the Sermon on the Mount, or on Calvary as Jesus was dying on the cross.

Try it yourself. Imagine yourself at one of Ignatius’ favorite scenes, or one of your own. What is Jesus saying and doing? What is the expression on his face? What does his voice sound like? Now, imagine Jesus talking directly to you as the scene is playing out. What message do you think he has for you? And more importantly, what does his peace feel like now?

“Jesus, I want to know you more! Come relieve my anxieties with a taste of your love.”

Acts 14:19-28
Psalm 145:10-13, 21

Marriage = One Man and One Woman Until Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for May 1, 2018:

May is Mary’s month. Do you have an image of Our Lady in your home? If not, place one in a prominent place sometime this month. Let it be a good reminder to ask for her intercession throughout the day.

Regnum Christi

May 1, 2018 – Danger of Slavery

Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Father Patrick Langan, LC

John 14: 27-31a

Jesus said to his disciples: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe. I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over me, but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me.”

Introductory Prayer: Lord, thank you for granting me the opportunity to be with you. There are things in life, Lord, that attract me, but you attract me more. I hope in you, and I love you. Maybe I don’t really understand what it means to love, and maybe I don’t love the way I should, but I do love you.

Petition: Lord, help me always to remember who I am, where I come from, and where I am going.

1. Activism: In today’s culture, many people believe, almost religiously, that what they do will eventually make them someone. They believe that from doing flows being, since their activity defines them. This makes it easy for them to be exploited. In nineteenth century America, a slave was often not told his birthday, so he could never really know who he was. He was just made to work. This same temptation exists today. Many people work such long hours — some as a means of escape from difficulties or responsibilities at home; others for the satisfaction they feel seeing a job completed; still others, just to earn more money and to be able to afford a more comfortable life. However, these are all manifestations of the same slavery.

2. My True Identity: With his example, however, Christ shows us a different way of life, a way that goes against the current. First, I have to be. Then my doing will flow from my being. Christ says again and again: I am the Son of my Father. Now I will act accordingly. When Moses asked God of the burning bush who he was, he said, “I AM who AM.”
Who am I? What defines me is my relationship to God. Just imagine this: I have the privilege of being a child of God! God has loved me so much that he has adopted me as his child! This is something worthwhile. This is who I really am, and I should act accordingly, as Christ taught me.

3. True Peace: Christ’s great peace comes as a consequence of meditating on and living out who I really am. When I meditate, I discover that I am God’s creature. Suddenly, I find the strength to face reality. Others will be unable to exploit me, and I will stop exploiting others because I am – and they are – children of God. My dignity derives from this fundamental truth: I was created in God’s image and likeness. I came from God, and he is inviting me to return to him and be happy with him for all eternity.

Conversation with Christ: Lord, I have the bad habit of focusing on my doing. That is why I am always anxious. I want to be like you, Lord, seeing first who I am and letting my activity flow from that. This will bring me peace. However, Lord, I need your grace. Help me to live as a true son or daughter.

Resolution: Today, I will do two kind acts to someone who is troubled in order to help them experience God’s love for them.

Homily of the Day

May 1, 2018

This Gospel reading can show us our lack of trust unto the Lord. We often pray to God and ask for immediate answers and sometimes, we even ask for signs. “Please let there be a rainbow today if yes is the answer to my prayer.” And yet when we see a rainbow, we convince ourselves that the answer is not a yes and the rainbow was just a coincidence.

It is either because we try to manage our expectations or because we try to give comfort to ourselves when the sign seems unfavorable to us. We lack that sense of peace.

When will we learn to completely trust God? When will we stop asking for immediate answers every time we pray? The signs that we seek are actually what we believe what God wanted to convey with us but in reality, we really do not know what God has planned for us. We often pray the Lord’s Prayer and part of it is telling God let not our will but thy will be done. There in his promises and through his words, we will truly find peace.
Lord, teach us how to trust you completely. Forgive us for worrying too much and for not being able to lift everything up to you. Give us the strength to continue carrying our own crosses. Help us understand why things happen. Teach us how to accept your will even if it sometimes is difficult and painful for us.

May we truly seek your peace in all that we do even if at times it seems like such a mystery to us. Please continue to console us with your loving presence. Hopefully, let us realize that real peace can only be found in you. May you continue to guide us in having a forgiving heart, in having an open mind, in letting ourselves become instruments of your peace.

One Bread, One Body

Language: English | Espa�ol

All Issues > Volume 34, Issue 3

<< Tuesday, May 1, 2018 >>

St. Joseph the Worker

Acts 14:19-28
View Readings

Psalm 145:10-13, 21

Matthew 13:54-58
or John 14:27-31
Similar Reflections

CATHOLIC WORKER

"Isn't this the carpenter's Son?" �Matthew 13:55

Pope Pius XII instituted today's feast of St. Joseph the Worker to compete with the May Day celebrations in Communist countries. We have the obscure carpenter of Nazareth (see Mt 13:55) pitted against the Goliath of multi-national, atheistic Communism. For years, on this day, the Communists paraded their armies, missiles, tanks, and guns, while Joseph called us to do the manual tasks of everyday life with our whole being and "in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Col 3:17). Of course, the Communists and the capitalists largely ignored Joseph and his little workers, occasionally noticing them enough to laugh at them. Yet in the name of his foster-Son Jesus, Joseph and his workers have prevailed over Soviet Communism. They will eventually also bring Chinese Communism and unbridled capitalism to their knees, for every knee shall bend (Is 45:23).

You can be one of St. Joseph's workers and look like a fool (see 1 Cor 4:10), or you can work for yourself rather than for the Lord and actually be a fool (see Lk 12:20). "You should not be working for perishable food but for food that remains unto life eternal, food which the Son of Man will give you" (Jn 6:27). "Be slaves of Christ the Lord" (Col 3:24).

Prayer: Father, may my way of working be so radically different as to provoke questions from non-Christians.

Promise: "Your kingdom is a kingdom for all ages, and Your dominion endures through all generations." —Ps 145:13

Praise: St. Joseph "did as the angel of the Lord had directed him" (Mt 1:24).

St. Joseph the Worker

Easter: May 1st

Optional Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker

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Meditation: John 14:27-31

May 1, 2018 – Danger of Slavery

One Bread, One Body

CATHOLIC WORKER

Praying to end abortion.