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Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 05-16-18
USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 05-16-18 | Revised New American Bible

Posted on 05/15/2018 9:42:45 PM PDT by Salvation

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To: All
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.


21 posted on 05/15/2018 10:25:54 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation
John
  English: Douay-Rheims Latin: Vulgata Clementina Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
  John 17
11 And now I am not in the world, and these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy name whom thou has given me; that they may be one, as we also are. Et jam non sum in mundo, et hi in mundo sunt, et ego ad te venio. Pater sancte, serva eos in nomine tuo, quos dedisti mihi : ut sint unum, sicut et nos. και ουκετι ειμι εν τω κοσμω και ουτοι εν τω κοσμω εισιν και εγω προς σε ερχομαι πατερ αγιε τηρησον αυτους εν τω ονοματι σου ω δεδωκας μοι ινα ωσιν εν καθως ημεις
12 While I was with them, I kept them in thy name. Those whom thou gavest me have I kept; and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition, that the scripture may be fulfilled. Cum essem cum eis, ego servabam eos in nomine tuo. Quos dedisti mihi, custodivi : et nemo ex eis periit, nisi filius perditionis, ut Scriptura impleatur. οτε ημην μετ αυτων εν τω κοσμω εγω ετηρουν αυτους εν τω ονοματι σου ους δεδωκας μοι εφυλαξα και ουδεις εξ αυτων απωλετο ει μη ο υιος της απωλειας ινα η γραφη πληρωθη
13 And now I come to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy filled in themselves. Nunc autem ad te venio : et hæc loquor in mundo, ut habeant gaudium meum impletum in semetipsis. νυν δε προς σε ερχομαι και ταυτα λαλω εν τω κοσμω ινα εχωσιν την χαραν την εμην πεπληρωμενην εν αυτοις
14 I have given them thy word, and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world; as I also am not of the world. Ego dedi eis sermonem tuum, et mundus eos odio habuit, quia non sunt de mundo, sicut et ego non sum de mundo. εγω δεδωκα αυτοις τον λογον σου και ο κοσμος εμισησεν αυτους οτι ουκ εισιν εκ του κοσμου καθως εγω ουκ ειμι εκ του κοσμου
15 I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from evil. Non rogo ut tollas eos de mundo, sed ut serves eos a malo. ουκ ερωτω ινα αρης αυτους εκ του κοσμου αλλ ινα τηρησης αυτους εκ του πονηρου
16 They are not of the world, as I also am not of the world. De mundo non sunt, sicut et ego non sum de mundo. εκ του κοσμου ουκ εισιν καθως εγω εκ του κοσμου ουκ ειμι
17 Sanctify them in truth. Thy word is truth. Sanctifica eos in veritate. Sermo tuus veritas est. αγιασον αυτους εν τη αληθεια σου ο λογος ο σος αληθεια εστιν
18 As thou hast sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. Sicut tu me misisti in mundum, et ego misi eos in mundum : καθως εμε απεστειλας εις τον κοσμον καγω απεστειλα αυτους εις τον κοσμον
19 And for them do I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. et pro eis ego sanctificabo meipsum : ut sint et ipsi sanctificati in veritate. και υπερ αυτων εγω αγιαζω εμαυτον ινα και αυτοι ωσιν ηγιασμενοι εν αληθεια

22 posted on 05/16/2018 4:26:27 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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To: annalex
11. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to you. Holy Father, keep through your own name those whom you have given me, that they may be one, as we are.
12. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name: those that you gave me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
13. And now come I to you; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

CHRYS. And now I am no more in the world: i.e. though I no longer appear in the flesh, I am glorified by those who die for Me, as for the Father, and preach Me as the Father.

AUG. At the time at which He was speaking, both were still in the world. Yet we must not understand, I am no more in the world, metaphorically of the heart and life; for could there ever have been a time when hen He loved the things of the world? It remains then that He means that He was not in the world, as He had been before; i.e. that He was soon going away. Do we not say every day, when any one is going to leave us, or going to die, such an one is gone? This is shown to be the sense by what follows; for He adds, And now I come to You. And then He commends to His Father those whom He was about to leave: Holy Father, keep through Your own name those whom you have given Me. As man He prays God for His disciples, whom He received from God. But mark what follows: That they may be one, as We are: He does not say, That they may be one with us, We are one: but, that they may be one: that they may b one in their nature, as We are one in Ours. For, in that He was God and man in one person as man He prayed, as God He was one with Him to Whom He prayed.

AUG. He does not say, That I and they maybe one, though He might have said so in the sense, that He was the head of the Church, and the Church His body; not one thing, but one person: the head and the body being one Christ. But strewing something else, viz. that His divinity is consubstantial With the Father, He prays that His people may in like manner be one; but one in Christ, not only by the same nature, in which mortal man is made equal to the Angels, but also by the same will, agreeing most entirely in the same mind, and melted into one Spirit by the fire of love. This is the meaning of, That they may be one as We are: viz. that as the Father and the Son are one not only by equality of substance, but also in will, so they, between whom and God the Son is Mediator, may be one not only by the union of nature, but by the union of love.

CHRYS. Again He speaks as man: While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name; i.e. by your help. He speaks in condescension to the minds of His disciples, who thought they were more safe in His presence.

AUG. The Son as man kept His disciples in the Father's name, being placed among them in human form: the Father again kept them in the Son's name, in that He heard those who asked in the Son's name. But we must not take this carnally, as if the Father and Son kept us in turns, for the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost guard us at the same time: but Scripture do does not raise us, except it stoop to us. Let us understand then that when our Lord says this, He is distinguishing the persons, not dividing, the nature, so that when the Son was keeping His disciples by His bodily presence, the Father was waiting to succeed Him on His departure; but both kept them by spiritual power, and when the Son withdrew His bodily presence, he still held with the Father the spiritual keeping . For when the Son as man received them into His keeping , He did not take them from n the Father's keeping, and when the Father gave them into the Son's keeping , it was to the Son as man, who at the, same time was God. Those that you gave Me I have kept, and none of them is lost but the Son of perdition: i.e. the betrayer of Christ, predestined to perdition; that the Scripture might be fulfilled, especially the prophecy, in Psalm 108.

CHRYS. He was the only one indeed who perished then, but there were many after. None of them is lost, i.e. as far as I am concerned; as He says above more clearly; I will in no wise cast out. But when they cast themselves out, I will not draw them to Myself by dint of compulsion. It follows: And now I come to you. But some one might ask, Can you not keep them? I can. Then why say you this? That they may have my joy fulfilled in them, i.e. that they may not be alarmed in their as yet imperfect state.

AUG. Or thus: That they might have the joy spoken of above: That they may be one, We are one. This spoken i.e. bestowed by Him, He says, is to be fulfilled in them on which account He spoke thus in the world. This joy is the peace and happiness of the life to come. He says He spoke in the world, though He had just now said, I am no more in the world. For, inasmuch as He had not yet departed, He was still here; and inasmuch as He was going to depart, He was in a certain sense not here.

14. I have given them your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
15. I pray not that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil.
16. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
17. Sanctify them through your truth; your word is truth.
18. As you hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
19. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

CHRYS. Again, our Lord gives a reason why the disciples are worthy your of obtaining such favor our from the Father: I have given them your word; and the world has hated them; i.e. They are had in hatred for your sake, and on account of your word.

AUG. They had not yet experienced these sufferings which they afterwards met with; but, after His custom, He puts the future into the past tense. Then He gives the reason why the world hated them; viz. Because they are not of the world. This was conferred upon them by regeneration; for by nature they were of the world. It was given to them that they should not be of the world, even as He was not of the world; as it follows; Even as I am not of the world.

He never was of the world; for even His birth of the form of a servant He received from the Holy Ghost, from Whom they were born again. But though they were no longer of the world, it was still necessary that they should be in the world: I pray not that you should take them out of the world.

BEDE. As if to say, The time is now at hand, when I shall be taken out of the world; and therefore it is necessary that they should be still left in the world, in order to preach Me and You to the world. But that you should keep them from the evil; every evil, but especially the evil of schism.

AUG. He repeats the same thing again; They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

CHRYS. Above, when He said, Then whom you gave Me out of the world, He meant their nature; here He means their actions. They are not of the world; because they have nothing, in common with earth they are made citizens of heaven. Wherein He shows His love for them, thus praising them to the Father. The word as when used with respect to Him and the Father expresses likeness of nature; but between us and Christ there is immense distance Keep them from the evil, i.e. not from dangers only, but from falling away from the faith.

AUG. Sanctify them through your truth: for thus were they to be kept from the evil. But it may be asked, how it was that they were not of the world, when they were not yet sanctified in the truth? Because the sanctified have still to grow in sanctity, and this by the help of God's grace. The heirs of the New Testament are sanctified in that truth, the shadows of which were the sanctification of the Old Testament; they are sanctified in Christ, Who said above, I am the way, the truth, and the life. It follows, your discourse is truth. The Greek is i.e. word. The Father then sanctified them in the truth, i.e. in His Word the Only-Begotten, them, i.e. the heirs of God, and joint-heirs With Christ.

CHRYS. Or thus: Sanctify them in your truth; i.e. Make them holy, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, and sound doctrines: for sound doctrines give knowledge of God, and sanctify the soul. And as He is speaking of doctrines, He adds, your word is truth, i.e. there is in it no lie, nor anything typical, or bodily. Again, Sanctify them in your truth, may mean, Separate them for the ministry of the word, and preaching.

GLOSS. As you have sent Me into the world, even so have 1 also sent them into the world. For what Christ was sent into the world, for the same end were they as said Paul, God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself; and has given to us the word of reconciliation. As does not express perfect likeness between our Lord and His Apostles, but only as much as was possible in men. Have sent them, He says, according to His custom of putting the past for the future.

AUG. It is manifest by this, that He is still speaking of the Apostles; for the very word Apostle means in the Greek, sent. But since they are His members, in that He is the Head of the Church, He says, And for their sakes I sanctity Myself; i.e. I in Myself sanctify them, since they are Myself. And to make it more clear that this was His meaning, He adds, That they also might be sanctified through the truth, i.e. in Me; inasmuch as the Word is truth, in which the Son of man was sanctified from the time that the Word was as made flesh. For then He sanctified Himself in Himself, i.e. Himself as man, in Himself as the Word: the Word and man being one Christ.

But of His members it is that He said, And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, i.e. them in Me, since in Me both they and I are. That they also might be sanctified in truth: they also, i.e. even as Myself; and in the truth, i.e. Myself.

CHRYS. Or thus: for their sakes I sanctify Myself, i.e. I offer Myself as a sacrifice to You; for all sacrifices, and things that are offered to God, see called holy. And whereas this sanctification was of old in figure, (a sheep being the sacrifice,) but now in truth, He adds, That they also might be sanctified through the truth: i.e. For I make them too an oblation to You, either meaning that He who was offered up was their head, or that they would be offered up too: as the Apostle says, Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy.

Catena Aurea John 17
23 posted on 05/16/2018 4:27:12 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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To: annalex


Communion of Saints (Revelation 5:8)

Limbourg brothers

Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry
between 1411 and 1416

24 posted on 05/16/2018 4:28:07 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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To: All

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/3558136/posts

Saint of the Day — Saint Margaret of Cortona!


25 posted on 05/16/2018 12:04:19 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Information: St. Simon Stock

Feast Day: May 16

Born: 1165 in Aylesford, County Kent, England

Died: 16 May 1265 in the Carmelite monastery at Bordeaux, France

Major Shrine: Aylesford, England Patron of: Bordeaux, France

26 posted on 05/16/2018 12:09:21 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Information: St. Margaret of Cortona

Feast Day: May 16

Born: 1247, Tuscany, Italy

Died: February 22, 1297, Cortona, Italy

Canonized: May 16, 1728 by Pope Benedict XIII

Patron of: gainst temptations; falsely accused people; hoboes; homeless people; insanity; loss of parents; mental illness; mentally ill people; midwives; penitent women; people ridiculed for their piety; reformed prostitutes; sexual temptation; single laywomen; third children; tramps

27 posted on 05/16/2018 12:12:06 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All

St. Ubald

Feast Day: May 16
Born: 1160 :: Died: 1192

St. Ubald was born at Gubbio near Ancona, Umbria, in Italy. When both his parents died, he was raised by his uncle who was a bishop and received a good education. Ubald finished his schooling and decided not to get married as he wanted very much to become a priest.

He became Dean of the cathedral in his home town and many years later, the pope made him bishop of Gubbio, the city of his birth. St. Ubald became well known for his mild and patient nature.

Once when a worker was repairing the city wall, he badly damaged the bishop's vineyard. The saint gently pointed it out to him. The workman who must have been very tired probably did not even recognize the bishop. He shoved Bishop Ubald so hard that he fell into a pile of wet cement and was soon covered with it. Ubald silently got up, cleaned himself off and went into the house.

Some people saw the whole thing and demanded that the worker be brought to court. Bishop Ubald appeared in the courtroom and set the man free. The holy bishop loved peace and he had the courage it takes to keep it.

When the Bishop was walking down the street one day, he saw that the people of Gubbio were fighting in the streets. He threw himself between the two angry crowds, unafraid of the swords clashing and the rocks flying. Suddenly he fell to the ground. The people were shocked. They thought the bishop had been killed. But when he got up unhurt, the people thanked God, stopped fighting and went home.

Another time, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa was on his way to attack Gubbio. St. Ubald did not wait for him and his army to come to the city. He went out on the road to talk to him. No one knows what he said. All they know is that he convinced the emperor to leave Gubbio alone.

The saint suffered much pain and he was sick quite often as he got older. Yet he never complained. On the morning of Easter Sunday, he said Mass giving a beautiful sermon and blessed the people. Then he was forced to go back to bed, not able to get up ever again.

He died on May 16, 1160. All the people came to pay their respects. They cried and prayed to St. Ubald to take care of them from heaven.

Reflection: It is sometimes hard to forgive those who hurt us. We are given the grace to do this when we turn to Jesus more and ask him to help us be as meek and forgiving as he was.


28 posted on 05/16/2018 12:37:37 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation
CATHOLIC ALMANAC

Wednesday, May 16

Liturgical Color: White

St. Simon Stock died on this
day in 1265. At the age of 82
he was elected the general of
the Carmelite order. Under his
direction the order spread
across Europe opening new
houses in England, France and
Spain.

29 posted on 05/16/2018 2:46:17 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Catholic Culture

Easter: May 16th

Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter

MASS READINGS

May 16, 2018 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

Graciously grant to your Church, O merciful God, that, gathered by the Holy Spirit, she may be devoted to you with all her heart and united in purity of intent. 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. Ubaldus, bishop and confessor; St. Simon Stock, religious (Hist); St. Brendan (Hist)

According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Ubaldus, Bishop of Gubbio. He is remembered in central Italy as a Bishop who was entirely devoted to the duties of his office. He led a life of exceptional austerity. He belonged to the Order of Canons Regular of St. Augustine. He died on May 16, 1160.

Historically today is the feast of St. Simon Stock, a hermit who became a member of the Carmelite order. He received a vision of the Blessed Mother promising salvation to all those who wore the brown scapular which she showed him — a vision that led to the widespread devotion to Mary over the next centuries of wearing this scapular in her honor. It is also the feast of St. Brendan called "the Navigator", "the Voyager", or "the Bold". He is one of the early Irish monastic saints and chiefly renowned for his legendary quest to the "Isle of the Blessed," also called Saint Brendan's Island. He was one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland.


St. Ubaldus
The saint was born in Gubbio, Italy, was ordained a priest, and made a canon. Against his own wishes but upon the request of Pope Honorius II, he became the bishop of his native city in 1128. In this capacity he was a model of apostolic simplicity, pastoral zeal, and personal holiness. His aid is popularly invoked against evil spirits. To this day his body remains incorrupt.

The power St. Ubaldus possessed against evil spirits was evident. The Church moves in a spirit world--good angels are all about, while constant vigilance is exercised against Satan and his devils. The liturgy contains a considerable number of exorcisms and adjurations. Then there are a series of sacramentals directed against the power of evil spirits; for example, holy water, palms, candles. Hold these sacramentals in highest esteem.

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


St. Simon Stock
Little is known of his early life. Legend says that at age twelve he began to live as a hermit in a hollow oak tree. The name Stock is believed to be derived from the old English for tree trunk. He was an itinerant preacher and a pilgrim to the Holy Lands, but he left when invading Muslims chased out Christians. He joined the Carmelite Order soon after its arrival in England.

He lived and studied for several years in Rome and Mount Carmel. He was elected sixth general of the Carmelites in 1247 around age 82. He helped the Order spread through England, southern and western Europe. He founded houses in Cambridge, England in 1248, Oxford in 1253, Paris in 1260, and Bologna in 1260. He revised the Rule of the Order to make them mendicant friars instead of hermits.

Regardless of these successes, the Order was oppressed on all sides, including by the clergy and other orders. The friars took their woes to their patroness, the Virgin Mary. Tradition says that in answer, she appeared to Simon bringing him the brown scapular of the Carmelites. "This shall be the privilege for you and for all the Carmelites," she told him, "that anyone dying in this habit shall be saved." On 13 January 1252 the Order received a letter of protection from Pope Innocent IV, protecting them from harassment.

— Excerpted from SQPN.com

Patron: Bordeaux, France

Symbols: Carmelite friar holding a scapular; Carmelite friar receiving the scapular from the Blessed Virgin; Carmelite friar surrounded by and praying for souls in purgatory; elderly man in a Carmelite habit in prayer

Things to Do:


St. Brendan

Brendan was born in Tralee in what would one day be known as Country Kerry, Ireland, about the year 484 (just ten years after the death of St. Patrick). What we know about his life comes to us through a tract known as Navigate Sancti Brendani Abbatis, (The Voyages of St. Brendan the Abbot), written about three centuries after his death. This recounts how Brendan founded the monastery of Clonfert near the center of Ireland. There he served for many years as abbot of a community of over 3000 monks (a number which historians tell us was common for sixth century Ireland). Fervent in zeal, Brendan was filled with desire to bring to other lands the faith which had only recently transformed his own homeland.

One day an itinerant monk named Barrind visited Clonfert and shared with Brendan and his brothers how he and a hermit named Mernoc had undertaken a voyage to the Promised Land of the Saints. Barrind described sailing to a land in the west, where they walked about for fifteen days without needing to eat or drink. Reaching a river, they met a man who told them many things about this strange Land, which, he said, had been there since the creation of the world. He instructed the two travelers to return home, and escorted them back to their boat, whereupon they set sail and returned to Mernoc's monastery.

Enthralled with Berrind's tale, Brendan selected fourteen monks from his own community and confided to them his desire to visit the Promised Land of the Saints. After praying and fasting, Brendan and his companions set out for Inishmore of the Aran Islands to seek the blessing of St. Edna. Near a small creek under a mountain now called Brendan's Seat, they pitched camp and built a small wood-framed boat, covered in oxhides tanned with oak bark, and smeared the joints with animal fat to seal them. In the boat they placed supplies for forty days and other equipment. As they prepared to set sail, three strange monks approached them, asking to be taken along. Brendan agreed, but warned that two of them would endure a hideous end, and that the third would not return from the voyage.

Brendan and his companions sailed westward for fifteen days until they lost their bearings and drifted to an island which looked like a huge rock tower with streams cascading down its cliffs. Finding a small harbor, they landed, and were greeted by a dog which led them to a hall where they found food set out for them. They stayed for several days, and the whole time they were on the island they saw no one, yet always found meals set out for them. After three days, as they boarded the boat to leave, one of the three monks who had joined them went into a fit. A demon leaped from his breast, and he died. It was then discovered that he had tried to steal a silver platter from the hall.

Their journey next took them to a large island called the Island of Sheep because of the numerous flocks which roamed its hills. They stayed there from Holy Thursday through Holy Saturday. While there, a man known as the Steward provided for them, and gave them fresh meat to take with them. He instructed them to travel to another island to celebrate Easter. Soon after leaving the Island of Sheep, they found a small barren island and landed there. But when they lit the fire to roast some of the meat they had been given, the island began to shake and move, and the monks scrambled back into their boat. They watched as the island moved away, their fire still burning. Brendan informed his monks that the "island" was in fact Jasconius, the largest whale in the ocean. Across a channel from the Island of Sheep the travelers found the Paradise of Birds, with a river leading inland. A mile upstream they discovered a huge tree covered with white birds. At vespers and at other times the birds burst into hymns and verses. One of the flock flew down to the boat and began speaking to Brendan, informing him that he and his companions would search seven years before reaching the Promised Land of the Saints. Throughout their stay on the Paradise of Birds, the Steward brought them food and water and provided for all their needs. When the Feast of Pentecost came, the Steward instructed them to set sail once again.

For many months they traveled westward and saw no sign of island or coast. Finally, just before Christmas, they spotted an island. When they reached the shore they found a white-haired elder who led them to the nearby Monastery of St. Ailbe. At the door of the monastery they were greeted in silence by eleven monks. The abbot washed their feet and led them to a meal of roots and bread. The abbot broke the silence to explain that no cooked food was ever eaten at the monastery, that the bread was miraculously provided, that their lamps never burned out, and that the monks never grew older. They had been on the island for eighty years, never speaking a word. After the other monks had gone to sleep, the abbot led Brendan to the chapel, where they watched as a fiery arrow sped through a window, touched the lamps at the altar to replenish their oil, and sped out again. When Epiphany came, Brendan and his companions left the Monastery of St. Ailbe and set sail again. They sailed until Lent, without sight of any land, their food and water depleted. After three days without water, they came upon an island where they found a well. But after drinking the water, the monks fell into a deep sleep, some for three days, some for two, some for one. Once they all awoke, Brendan ordered that they leave the island immediately.

Sailing toward the north, they hit a calm and their boat drifted aimlessly for twenty-five days. Finally a wind sped them eastward, returning them to the Island of Sheep on Holy Thursday. The Steward greeted them there, providing them with shelter and fresh clothing. Having observed Holy Saturday, he instructed them to sail off again to observe Easter on the back of Jasconius, the whale, then to proceed to the Paradise of Birds. They did as the Steward said. Again the Steward provided the travelers with food and water while they stayed on the Paradise of Birds. He instructed Brendan that they would repeat the cycle for several years-spending Holy Thursday on the Island of Sheep, Easter on the whale. Easter to Pentecost on the Paradise of Birds, and Christmas to Epiphany with the monks of the monastery of St. Ailbe. The times spent sailing between these islands would bring many adventures.

And so it happened. During one of these times the monks saw speeding toward their boat a huge beast spewing foam from his snout, looking as though it will devour them. The monks cried out in fear, but just as it drew next to the boat a second beast came from the west and attacked the first beast, cutting it into three pieces. Then the second beast swam back the way it had come. On another occasion a flying griffin attacked their boat, but before it could strike, a large bird dove out of the sky and killed the griffin. One day the companions came upon an island on which they found three choirs—one of boys, one of youth and one of elders. Throughout the day they sang the praises of God. A cloud of extraordinary brightness covered the island from dusk till dawn. When the travelers were ready to leave, the choirs invited one of the three monks who had joined Brendan's company to stay with them on the island. With Brendan's blessing, the monk remained. After this the wind blew them to a rocky, barren island from which came the sounds of hammer and anvil. Filled with apprehension, Brendan and his companions made a valiant effort to row away, but an islander appeared from out of a forge and threw a huge piece of slag at them. It flew over their heads, and when it fell into the sea, the water boiled and hissed. Other islanders rushed to the shore, likewise hurling slag at the boat. The water all around the Island of Smiths steamed like a furnace, and a horrible stench arose. Brendan informed his companions that they were on the edges of Hell.

Soon they were run aground at an island at the base of a huge black cliff. The third of the monks who had joined the band jumped off the boat and began walking towards the cliff, saying he was powerless to turn back. As he reached the cliff, demons carried him off and set him ablaze. Another time they saw a man chained to a pillar of rock, the wind and waves flailing against him. Brendan called out to him, and was told that he was Judas, upon whom the Lord showed mercy by freeing him from his torments in Hell to sit on this rock on Sundays and holy days.

Finally the travelers reached an island where Brendan found an ancient monk sitting at the entrance to a cave. The ancient one told Brendan he had been a companion of St. Patrick and had been a hermit on the island for ninety years since Patrick's death. The hermit instructed Brendan to return once more to the Island of Sheep and once again to the Paradise of Birds, and after that he would be led to the Promised land of the Saints. There he and his companions would stay for forty days, and then be brought safely home to Ireland. After receiving the ancient monk's blessing, the companions sailed off and came to the Island of Sheep where they were once again attended to by the Steward. This time when they prepared to leave the Steward joined them in their boat. Next they met Jasconius who brought them on his back to the Paradise of Birds. After filling their water vessels, they companions set sail with the Steward as their guide, for, he said, without him they would never find the Promised Land of the Saints.

On the fortieth day a great fog swallowed up their boat. The Steward told them that the fog always surrounded the land for which they had been searching these seven years. An hour later a brilliant light shone forth, and the boat touched shore. The monks disembarked and found a beautiful land filled with fruit-laden trees. They explored the land for forty days, never coming to the end of it. But on the fortieth day they discovered a wide river, which Brendan said they should not cross. A young man approached and greeted each of them by name. He explained that God had delayed them in finding the Promised Land of the Saints so that they might discover many things along the way. He instructed them to gather up fruit and supplies and to set sail for, he said, Brendan's last days were near. The Promised Land, he assured them, would be made known to Brendan's successors at a time when Christians were being persecuted, so that they might find a new home in peace. Brendan and his companions gathered up fruit and, taking their leave of the Steward, sailed out into the fog. They came again to the island of the ancient hermit, and stayed there with him for three days. Then they set sail once again and returned safely to Ireland. The monastery at Clonfert greeted him with great joy, and he recounted to them everything which they had encountered on their journey. Finally he told them of his approaching death, as foretold by the young man. After making everything ready, Brendan received the sacraments, and soon thereafter died among his companions in about the year 570.

While the story of The Voyage of Brendan is filled with fanciful images, many modern scholars believe it has an historical foundation. Some claim that Brendan's voyage brought him to the shores of North America, making him and his companions the first Europeans to reach the continent—nearly a thousand years before Columbus. In 1977 a modern navigator built a replica of Brendan's boat and retraced his route across the Atlantic to Newfoundland, proving that such a journey was indeed possible.

Whether or not Brendan's voyage is historically factual, the story speaks to us throughout the centuries. We, too, are on a journey. Our God has invited us to travel with our companions, and to invite others to journey with us along the way. We are cared for by the Steward and often make the journey through the years from Epiphany to Holy Thursday to Easter. We encounter many strange and wonderful things along the way. And, in the end, we, too, are promised that we will be brought safely home.

Excerpted from St. Brendan's Catholic Church and School

Things to Do:


30 posted on 05/16/2018 2:52:43 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
The Word Among Us

Meditation: John 17:11-19

7th Week of Easter

Your word is truth. (John 17:17)

Are today’s readings hinting at a secret password to God’s kingdom? First, Paul mentions a word that can “give you the inheritance,” but he doesn’t divulge what that word is (Acts 20:32). Then we find that this word resounds throughout the universe and bestows strength on God’s people (Psalm 68:33-35). And in the Gospel, we hear that this word is able to save us from sin (John 17:12).

What is this word? Ultimately, it’s the name of Jesus himself. In the first chapter of his Gospel, St. John identifies Jesus as the Word of God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that his name “contains all: God and man and the whole economy of creation and salvation” (2666). Jesus Christ, Son of God, is the Word that gives us access to unlimited grace. You might say he is the password to the kingdom!

So far, this could sound like abstract theory. What does it mean for you, personally? Here are two ways to look at it:

Jesus reveals God’s love for you. Whenever you encounter Jesus in the Scriptures, one thing stands out: he is full of compassion. He is moved deeply with love for the hungry and the blind, for sinners and the oppressed, for the sick and the well, for everyone. He loved Judas as much as Peter. He loved the Romans as much as the Jews. He loved the Pharisees who persecuted him as a man as much as the shepherds who adored him as a baby. And he loves you.

Jesus reveals God’s grace. In the Gospels, Jesus never leaves people where they are. He feeds the hungry. He shepherds the lost. He forgives the wayward. He restores the broken-hearted and sets captives free. He even offered his enemies the chance to find the same mercy and love that had changed the hearts of everyone else around him. And that grace is available to you.

Through Jesus, God’s love and grace are available. What do you need it for? Maybe you need the Lord’s peace to squelch anxiety. Or to help you become more kind and understanding toward your children. Whatever it is, the Word of God is not going to leave you alone to struggle by yourself. In Jesus, you have all the grace and love you’ll ever need.

“Jesus, eternal Word of God, I praise you for bringing me into God’s kingdom!”

Acts 20:28-38
Psalm 68:29-30, 33-36

31 posted on 05/16/2018 3:25:49 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Marriage = One Man and One Woman Until Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for May 16, 2018:

(Reader’s Tip) Pray together daily, listen to each other and wait to respond until the other is finished speaking.

32 posted on 05/16/2018 7:49:46 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Regnum Christi

May 16, 2018 – In But Not Of the World

Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Father Paul Campbell, LC

John 17:11b-19

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying: “Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are. When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely. I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.”

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe in you. I believe that you are here with me. I thank you for your loving presence in my life. I place all of my hope in you. I humbly offer you the love in my heart and my desire to continue your mission in the world.

Petition: Lord, strengthen my resolve to serve you.

1. He Always Loved Those Who Were His Own in the World: Jesus completed his mission of protecting those entrusted to his care. He fulfilled his vocation as a man; not one of his apostles was lost except the son of destruction. We have his protection still. He sits at the right hand of the Father to intercede for us. We have the help of his mother, Mary, and all the saints in heaven. We are surrounded by a great crowd of saints, who support our efforts to live as God wants us to live. They are God’s gift to protect us on our pilgrimage in life.

2. Here For the Spiritual Battle: As Jesus was leaving the world, he prayed for his disciples. He did not pray that they would be taken out of the world, but that they be kept from the evil one. Sometimes we can feel beaten up and broken, and we seek to flee the battle. Jesus needs us in the combat and entrusts us with the fight. He doesn’t keep us from the battle, instead offers us the strength of his help. He is with us, fighting at our side. He is within us, giving us the interior strength to do his will.

3. Just Passing Through: Although we are in the world, we are here as pilgrims. We are passing through on our way to heaven. We have a mission: to save the souls that God has entrusted to our care. It is easy to get distracted, to begin to look for calm, ease or a more comfortable resting place for our weary souls and bodies. The world remains attractive to our fallen nature. Alluring advertisements can leave their mark on us, and we can desire the things of earth more than the treasures of heaven. This is why we must give priority to prayer in our life and contemplate life from the perspective of eternity.

Conversation with Christ: Jesus, protect me from the evil one. He is battling me on many fronts. Keep me strong in your love. Don’t let me give in to discouragement or despair. I have the protection of your love and your intercession. Increase my hope in you. Help me to continue your work in the world.

Resolution: I will speak to someone about Christ today, sharing with them the love he lavishes upon us.

33 posted on 05/16/2018 7:53:25 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Homily of the Day
May 16, 2018

“To be a saint, go to Christ. To get wet, go where it’s raining. To get holy, go where Christ is. Where is Christ? In His body, not ‘out of the body.’ To go to Christ, go to His body, His Church.”

-Dr. Peter Kreeft, Forty Reasons I Am a Catholic


34 posted on 05/16/2018 7:56:41 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

Language: English | Espa�ol

All Issues > Volume 34, Issue 3

<< Wednesday, May 16, 2018 >> Pentecost Novena - Day 6
 
Acts 20:28-38
View Readings
Psalm 68:29-30, 33-36 John 17:11-19
Similar Reflections
 

"YOU ARE ABOUT TO DIE" (IS 38:1)

 
"They were deeply distressed to hear that they would never see his face again." �Acts 20:38
 

St. Paul knows he is about to die. He is not concerned with himself. He had long ago repented of all sin and abandoned himself into God's loving hands. Paul is concerned that his followers remain grounded in the truth. He wants them to guard themselves and others against those savage wolves who will try to lead his flock astray with false teaching after he dies (Acts 20:28-30).

Jesus is about to die. He is not concerned with Himself, having daily abandoned Himself into His Father's loving hands. Jesus is concerned that His followers remain grounded in the truth (Jn 17:17, 19). He wants His followers to guard themselves and others (Jn 17:12, 15) against those savage wolves who will try to lead His flock astray with false teaching after He dies (Jn 10:5, 8, 12).

What would be your reaction if the Lord prophesied to you: "Put your house in order, for you are about to die" (Is 38:1). What would you be concerned about? Would your mind be focused on yourself? Or would you immediately be occupied with your loved ones and those to whom you have ministered the Good News of Jesus by word and deed? Would you be concerned that they would remain in the truth and be able to stand strong in faith?

Put your life immediately in the hands of God. Repent! Ask Jesus to give you a shepherd's heart (1 Pt 5:2). Feed God's sheep (Jn 21:17) and lead them to Jesus.

 
Prayer: Father, may our hearts be occupied with what pleases Jesus rather than pleasing ourselves (Phil 2:19-21).
Promise: "He gives power and strength to His people." —Ps 68:36
Praise: Sue's faith on her death bed witnessed to her whole family.

35 posted on 05/16/2018 8:02:49 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All

36 posted on 05/16/2018 8:03:55 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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