“To be a saint, go to Christ. To get wet, go where its 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
Posted on 05/15/2018 9:42:45 PM PDT by Salvation
Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia. / For He whom you did merit to bear, alleluia. |
John | |||
English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
John 17 |
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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 |
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/3558136/posts
Saint of the Day — Saint Margaret of Cortona!
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
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
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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.
» Enjoy our Liturgical Seasons series of e-books!
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:
7th Week of Easter
Your word is truth. (John 17:17)
Are todays readings hinting at a secret password to Gods kingdom? First, Paul mentions a word that can give you the inheritance, but he doesnt divulge what that word is (Acts 20:32). Then we find that this word resounds throughout the universe and bestows strength on Gods 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, its 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 Gods 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 Gods 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, Gods love and grace are available. What do you need it for? Maybe you need the Lords 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 youll ever need.
Jesus, eternal Word of God, I praise you for bringing me into Gods kingdom!
Acts 20:28-38
Psalm 68:29-30, 33-36
Daily Marriage Tip for May 16, 2018:
(Readers Tip) Pray together daily, listen to each other and wait to respond until the other is finished speaking.
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 Gods 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 doesnt 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. Dont 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.
“To be a saint, go to Christ. To get wet, go where its 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
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