Weekly Meditation
Please join us and the spiritual community throughout the world as we ponder the same words and share in the same prayers each week.
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May 2009
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Weekly Meditation May 27, 2009
Posted: 5/27/2009
We can benefit again from the words in the Acts of the Apostles we heard on the Solemnity of the Ascension:
When they had gathered together they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" He answered them, "It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.
May we cherish the Glorious Ascension of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Let us always rejoice and revel in his glory and let us pray with gratitude:
Father in heaven, our minds were prepared for the coming of your kingdom when you took Christ beyond our sight so that we might seek him in his glory. May we follow where he has led and find our hope in his glory, for he is Lord forever.
On this Memorial Day we remember with deep gratitude the many generous and courageous men and women who have given their lives in the service of our freedom to enjoy our God given rights of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." -
Weekly Meditation May 20, 2009
Posted: 5/20/2009
The month of May highlights for us Catholics our love and devotion of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God. Pope Benedict XVI's first encyclical, "God is Love" (Dec. 25, 2005), in the last paragraph speaks of Mary's unique role of nearness to all believers.
"The words addressed by the crucified Lord to his disciple--to John and through him to all disciples of Jesus: "Behold, your mother!" are fulfilled anew in every generation. Mary has truly become Mother of all believers...They constantly experience the gift of her goodness and the unfailing love which she pours out from the depths of her heart."
The Holy Father gives us a beautiful prayer at the very end of the encyclical. Pope Benedict XVI says: "To her (Mary) we entrust the Church and her mission in the service of love." We would do well in our prayer life to say this prayer frequently with sincerity and joyful gratitude:
"Holy Mary, Mother of God, you have given the world its true light, Jesus, your Son--the Son of God. You abandoned yourself completely to God's call and thus became a wellspring of the goodness which flows forth from him. Show us Jesus. Lead us to him. Teach us to know and love him, so that we too can become capable of true love and be fountains of living water in the midst of a thirsting world."
-Deus Caritas Est # 42 -
Weekly Meditation May 11, 2009
Posted: 5/11/2009
In Easter time the Church encourages us to grow spiritually as we contemplate the resurrection victory of Jesus after his sacrifice on the cross. Here are a few words of St. Peter Chrysologus (406-450), Bishop of Ravenna and a Doctor of the Church. These words are from one of his sermons used in the Liturgy of the Hours during Easter season.
"Each of us is called to be a sacrifice to God and his priest. Do not forfeit what divine authority confers on you. Put on the garment of holiness, gird yourself with the belt of chastity. Let Christ be your helmet. Let the cross on your forehead be your unfailing protection. Your breastplate should be the knowledge of God that he himself has given you.
Keep burning continually the sweet-smelling incense of prayer. Take up the sword of the Spirit. Let your heart be an altar. Then, with full confidence in God, present your body for sacrifice. God desires not death, but faith; God thirsts not for blood, but for self-surrender; God is appeased not by slaughter, but by the offering of your free will."
Jesus, you are our Risen Savior! We renew our desire "to follow" you, for we really do believe that you are "the Way, the Truth and the Life." -
Weekly Meditation May 4, 2009
Posted: 5/4/2009
As we live through these Eastertime days, the Church reminds us again and again to "rejoice and be glad" because of Jesus our Risen Savior. After his resurrection, Jesus commissioned his apostles, and today calls us, to be witnesses of his life, teachings, death and resurrection by fully living and freely sharing our faith in him. "Go and make disciples of all nations."
Our love for Jesus is not meant to be private and secret, kept tucked away personally in our hearts. We must not only live our faith but also share it, proclaim it. So much of that is done by our example, our lifestyle as we relate to our families, friends, colleagues and other people we meet through the day.
St. Francis Assisi told us: "Preach always, if necessary use words." The National Plan for Catholic Evangelization in the United States puts this clearly in its first goal: "To bring about in all Catholics such an enthusiasm for their faith that, in living their faith in Jesus, they freely share it with others."
We are committed to the Gospel -- the Good News - of Jesus Christ. Good News is meant to be shared!
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