Friday 3rd Week of Easter

 

The Way, the Truth and the Life

We have GPS’ telling us where to go;

People telling us what to believe;

And Life Coaches telling people how to live.

But none of these things or people can replace Jesus.

For Jesus is the Only Way, the Truth and the Life.

And those who rely solely on GPS for directions;

Other people’s opinions

And life Coaches,

Are sure to get lost along the way.

Thursday 4th Week of Easter

 

No on is greater. Jn. 13:16-20

Jesus said that,

“No slave is greater than His Master,

No messenger greater than the One Who sent him “

If Jesus is our Master as He is, then we are His slave;

Called to do whatever He asks.

If Jesus is the Sender,

Then we are His messengers who must go wherever He sends us.

How often do we think of ourselves as slaves and messengers of Jesus?

“Blessed are you if you do!”

Wednesday Sts. Philip and James

 

A disciple is one who learns

And an Apostle is one who is sent.

Today we celebrate the feast of the Apostles,

Philip and James,

Whom Jesus sent out to preach the Gospel.

But first they had to learn.

Philip had to learn that

“Whoever sees Jesus sees the Father.”

Jesus is the perfect reflection,

The perfect image and likeness of the Father

Who is in Heaven and who no one had ever seen.

And this is why Jesus is

The Way to the Father,

The Truth of the Father

And the Eternal Life of the Father.

And once Philip learned this,

He was able to be an Apostle,

Whom Jesus sent out into the world,

Tuesday 4th Week of Easter

 

St. Athanasius.

St. Athanasius was born in 296 A.D. in Alexandria Egypt.

He lived during a time when a monk named Arius,

Convinced many people that Jesus was not truly God.

Athanasius responded by his famous teaching where he said,

“God became human, so that we might become like God.”

Meaning when the Son of God became human,

It became possible for us to become like God.

For just as the Son of God shared our humanity,

We can now share in His Divinity.

So through the Incarnation,

There is a spark of Divinity in each one of us.

The Feast of St. Joseph the Worker

 

How many of us complain about work?

Mondays are the worst day of the week!

Some of our complaints may be valid as work can be excessive, unproductive, and physically and mentally difficult.

But without work, leisure would be laziness.

Leisure finds its joy and value only as a compliment to work.

For those who do not work, leisure time only turns into lazy time.

With no real joy.

Work therefore is an important part of our lives.

An important part as it is a source

of emotional, physical and intellectual growth.

It stretches us when we do not want to be stretched

And challenges us when we do not want to be challenged.

But it is precisely because of this that we can be productive and bear some of our greatest fruit.

For those times when work begins to become a burden.

For those times when Monday morning is dreaded,

Turn to St. Joseph the Worker.

Seek his intercession and strength.

Not just in challenging and stressful times but every Monday morning every worker should say a prayer to St. Joseph the Worker.

It does not have to be memorized or recited.

Actually it should come from the heart,

where one pours out to St. Joseph the Worker, t

he personal concerns that one will face at the beginning of the work week.

Place all of the concerns and work related issues in his hands, confident that he understands and will assist you in all of your needs.

Let St. Joseph be a Co-Worker with you!

4th Sunday of Easter

 

The Good Shepherd

Jesus is the Good Shepherd.

There is nothing you will want.

That is if you want love, peace, forgiveness and strength.

And when you are tired;

Not from running around and playing

But tired from work, stress, worry and anxiety,fear;

Jesus is the Good Shepherd Who will refresh

Beside restful and cool waters.

And when you walk through dark valleys or climb steep mountains;

Or when you take the wrong road in life and find yourself lost;

You do not have to fear.

Because Jesus is the Good Shepherd Who is always with you,

Protecting you with his shepherd’s rod and staff

And when you are hungry;

Hungry for love, acceptance; understanding; hope and forgiveness.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd who spreads a banquet before you.

A banquet not for your stomach..

But for your heart and soul.

For everyone has a hungry heart.

At one time or another.

And Jesus will fill your hungry heart with his Body and Blood at Communion.

Until Your heart will overflows!

For in that single Host at Communion

is all the Love, the Mercy, the Forgiveness; the Peace and Life

in Heaven and Earth.

Because that single Host is Jesus Himself.

Jesus is your Good Shepherd

And may you always follow Him

For if you follow Jesus

Goodness and kindness will follow you all the days of your life.

Friday 3rd week of Easter

 

From Saul to Paul Acts. 9:1-20

Saul went from breathing murderous threats against the followers of Jesus,

to Paul the greatest preacher of Christ.

Most people would not pick a murderer to be their friend let alone the promoter of their cause.

But when Jesus calls,

He transforms!

He transforms the person in to what he needs them to be be.

So do not be afraid if you feel that you do not have what it takes to follow Jesus or share His message.

If Jesus can change Saul to Paul,

He can do the same with us.

Thursday 3rd Week of Easter

 

Living Bread Jn. 6:44-51

When one goes to the grocery store there are all kinds of bread to choose from except one.

The Bread of Life!

The Bread of Life can only be found at Mass.

for at Mass the Bread from Heaven comes down to us on the altar;

So that one may eat it and not die.

This bread is the Flesh of Christ that He give for the life of the world.

The bread from the grocery store may taste good,

But those who eat of it will surely die.

While those who eat the Bread of Life,

The Flesh of Christ that He feeds us from this table,

Will live forever.

God Bless

Wednesday 3rd Week of Easter

 

Persecution Acts 8:1-8

The early Church was based in Jerusalem until there was a persecution.

Then they fled to the countryside of Judea and Samaria.

The persecution however had the opposite effect.

Instead of stamping out the Faith.

It only planted the Faith in other places.

Sometimes Peace can lull the Faithful to sleep

While Persecution can awaken it,

And spread it like seeds on the wind.

Tuesday 3rd week of Easter

 

The Feast of St. Mark

The Body of Christ

St. Paul teaches that we are the mystical Body of Christ.

But through the centuries this Body has been broken and divided many times.

Long before the Protestant Reformation there was another schism in the 5th century when the Coptic Church of Alexandria Egypt split from the Christian Churches in Rome and Constantinople.

The Coptic Church claims to have been founded by St. Mark, whose feast day we celebrate today.

And is the major Christian Church in Egypt which is severely persecuted and experiences bombings of which you may have heard occasionally on the news.

Whenever we have a broken bone, the best way to heal it is through tender loving care.

As we celebrate the feast of St. Mark today and call to mind the Coptic Church which he founded in Egypt

we are once again reminded that the best way to heal the Broken Mystical Body of Christ

is also through tender loving care for all who call themselves Christians.

Monday 3rd Week of Easter

 

Religious arguing. Acts. 6:8-15

Nothing gets people going more than a good religious or political argument.

Both sides are trying to prove the other wrong.

The Sanhedrin hauled Stephen into court and put him on trial.

Rather than respond, Stephen remained silent with the face of an angel.

Sometimes silence is the best response,

Especially when the other side has no intention of listening!

3rd Sunday of Easter

 

Proclaiming Jesus Acts 2:22-33

Since the disciples went from hiding their Faith because they were afraid of what people might say or do to them,

To proclaiming it publicly….

Anyone can!

But how?

St. Peter shows us how.

Peter was not a scholar.

He was a man of passion who always just jumped in.

Sometimes he got a little wet or put his foot in his mouth

As when he tried to walk on water or told Jesus that he would never deny him.

But eventually Peter’s Faith came shining through.

In simple, straightforward ways.

Everyone no matter how old or how schooled one is in the Faith,

Is called to proclaim Jesus.

If not by words then by actions.

When speaking about Jesus,

Speak from the heart.

From your own personal experience.

Tell them how Jesus has touched your heart and made a difference in your life.

People do this all the time.

If Carpenters share ways to do a DIY project.

If people can share recipes.

If Coaches explain how to swing a bat or throw a ball.

If a person can sell a thousand mops on QVC by telling you how great it is and how its going to change you life,

We should be able to talk about Jesus in just as simple and inviting ways.

Don’t however tell others what they should be doing or that they are going to hell.

This may have worked centuries ago but not today.

No one likes being told what to do

And no one believes in hell.

If you feel tongue tied and don’t know what to say,

Let your actions speak for themselves.

Go to Church every Sunday.

Visit a sick neighbor or friend.

Volunteer at an organization.

Turn the other cheek and love your enemy.

That will really get their attention!

Be like a farmer who sows seeds.

Sow the seeds of Faith through Words, Actions and most of all Prayer.

And do not expect to see its fruit immediately.

Fruit takes time.

Remember you may plant the seed,

But it is God who waters it and makes it bear fruit

In His time.

Friday Second Week of Easter

 

Rejoice in Suffering Acts. 5:34-42

The disciples in the book of Acts were beaten, imprisoned and

Rejected.

And They rejoiced that they had been found worthy to suffer for the Lord.

Isn’t that odd?

They found joy in suffering for the Lord!

Not in money or popularly or power but in suffering.

In the eyes of the world,

The cross represents suffering and death,

But for Christians it is joy and life.

Thursday second week of Easter

 

Obedience. Acts. 5:27:33

The Sanhedrin hauled Peter in court and questioned him as to what he believed.

Peter told the Sanhedrin that they had to obey God rather than men.

This is easier said than done!

The world tells us many things.

And if we do not do as we are told there will be serious consequences.

We will lose our job.

We will lose our place on the team.

We will be canceled.

The world is going to haul us into court and question us

As to what we believe.

Are we willing to pay the price

And obey God rather than the world?

Wednesday second Week of Easter

God so Loved the World Jn. 3:16-20

God so loved the world that He sent us His only Son.

His only Son who died for us.

His only Son who opened His heart to us from the cross.

There can be no doubt therefore that God loves us.

God has clearly shown His love for us.

But Do we love God?

We may say we do,

But do our actions show our love for God?

Tuesday Second Week of Easter

 

The early Christian community was of one heart and mind.

No one claimed anything of their own.

And if someone was in need, another would go and sell his property in order to help that person.

Have we progressed or regressed in our Faith since the early days of the Church?

Are we too of one heart and mind?

Not always.

What keeps us from being so?

How can the Church of St. Patrick’s Be Of one heart and mind?

How can We be of one heart and mind with the Church in Wenona, or Toluca or Lostant?

Through Love.

Love others as the Lord has loved us.

Through forgiveness

Forgive one another as the Lord has forgiven us.

Through prayer

Prayer that we all might be one One Body, One Spirit in Christ.

Just as Jesus has loved us, so we must love one another.

Monday Second Week of Easter

 

Born of Water and The Spirit Jn. 3:1-8

Everyone is born of flesh and blood.

But not everyone is reborn of Water and the Holy Spirit.

Those born of flesh and blood are of this world.

Those reborn of Water and the Holy Spirit are of heaven.

Jesus reminds us that what is born of the flesh is flesh and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.

He therefore, places a choice before us.

Flesh or Spirit.

This world or the Kingdom of Heaven.

If we want the Kingdom of Heaven, then we must be born again of Water and the Holy Spirit in Baptism.

Through Baptism the flesh becomes filled and led by the Holy Spirit.

And the Holy Spirit blows where He wills.

In other words, those born again leave aside their fleshly desires and allow them selves to be "blown" by the Holy Spirit wherever He wills.

Divine Mercy

 

Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven

Why do you lock the door to your house?

Because you don’t want strangers just walking in while your eating dinner or watching TV.

Because you don’t want thieves coming in and stealing your things.

Because you don’t want murderers coming in and harming those you love.

Is it any different with Our Heavenly Father’s House.

If you lock your doors shouldn’t God lock the doors to His House for the same reason.

And those you know and love, usually have keys to your house;

And should it be any different with God.

Those who know and love God have keys too.

So how does one get a key to the Kingdom of Heaven?

First by Faith.

As Jesus said if you believe in Him you will have Eternal Life.

But what if you don’t?

What if you lost your key of Faith?

People lose their keys all the time.

What if suffering or the problems or disasters of life stole it from you?

What if you misplaced it because you were preoccupied with other things?

What if the actions of other Christians caused you to lose your key of Faith.

What then?

Well there is another key.

It is the key of Mercy.

Jesus said if you feed the hungry.

If you give water to the thirsty.

If you welcome the stranger.

If you clothe the naked

If you visit the sick

And those in prison.

These are the corporal works of Mercy.

And Jesus said if you do these things

You are welcome in His Heavenly Father’s house.

But if you don’t!

The door will remain locked.

Keys are available everywhere though.

The hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick and those in prison all have one.

Just go up to them and ask them for one.