Pentecost Sunday

May is the Month of Mary, Dedicated to the Devotion of the Blessed Mother

In other years: Blessed Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury (1473-1541); Blessed Bartholomew Bagnesi, OP (1514-1577)

Memorial Day: Monday, May 29

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 7:10-18 Humility

Mass:  Acts 2:1-11; Resp Ps 104; 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13; Squence Veni, Sancte Spiritus; Jn 20:19-23

Lord, send forth your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

MARY, MOTHER OF DIVINE GRACE,

MARY, QUEEN OF HEAVEN,

BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH,

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,

PRAY FOR US.

HOLY SPIRIT, 

ENGRAVE YOUR LAW IN OUR HEARTS.

Peace be with you ...

Receive the Holy Spirit.

(Jn 20:19, 22)

Welcome to Pentecost Sunday, the fiftieth day. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life. I believe, help my unbelief! There sure are plenty of things to today. One would be to pray with the Sequence Veni, Sancte Spiritus, which can be prayed after the second reading from the First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians and before the Gospel Acclamation. You just may find a phrase or two that fits whatever comes your way this week. Come, Holy Spirit, come! ... O most blessed Light divine, Shine within these hearts of yours, And our inmost being fill! Or you can pray with the Litany to the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, fire ever burning, have mercy on us.

One of my favorite readings used at Mass comes from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, the third reading proclaimed at the Vigil Mass of Pentecost. It will surely bring a smile to your face and give you hope at the same time. Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God to these bones: See! I will bring spirit into you, make flesh grow over you, cover you with skin, and put spirit in you so that you may come to life and know that I am the Lord ... From the four winds come, O spirit, and breathe into these slain that they may come to life ... and the spirit came into them; they came alive and stood upright, a vast army (Ezk 37:4-6, 9-10). Google the YouTube of the Cathedral Quartet singing "Dry Bones." It is awesome. "Ezekiel in the valley of dry bones ... now hear the Word of the Lord ... Your thigh bone connected to your hip bone ... These bones, these bones, got up and walked around!”

Another favorite comes from the epistle also proclaimed at the Vigil Mass. It is not uncommon to hear people say that they don't know how to pray. And it is true - we don't! So Saint Paul reassures us: The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. And furthermore, the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because He intercedes for the holy ones according to God's will (Rm 8:26-27). It seems, then, that we are good to go. From our own will, deliver us, O Holy Spirit. 

And our voices for the week ... United in faith and prayer, we go forth. And we honor all the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. Rest in peace. Love and life of saintly souls, have mercy on us.

Come, Holy Spirit, come, O God, love;

fill my heart, which, alas, is empty of all that is good.

Set me on fire to love you.

Enlighten me to recognize you.

Draw me [to you] to delight in you.

Affect me [to achieve] thorough fruition of you.

(Saint Gertrude the Great of Helfta, Spiritual Exercises, II, 32-37)

When the Spirit has been sent, the face of the earth is created and renewed: this means that our earthly will becomes heavenly, ready at a nod to obey more quickly than a nod. Blessed are people like this, for not only do they perceive evil, but they abide in a certain marvelous expansion of the heart.

(Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, 1090-1153)

Uncage your heart, free your heart, let it be wild.

(Anonymous, on the tag of a Yogi teabag ☺)

May everyone be warmed and enlightened by the flame that burns in your heart and the light of your inner fire. 

(Saint Luigi Orione, 1872-1940)

Do not quench the Spirit.

(1 Th 5:19)

The first task of Christians is to keep alive the flame that Jesus brought to the earth, which is the love of God: the Holy Spirit. Without the fire of the Spirit, prophecies are extinguished, sorrow supplants joy, and routine substitutes love.

(Pope Francis, Twitter, May 26, 2023)

Pray for the gifts of the Holy Spirit:

Wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.

So as to bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit:

Charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity.

COME, HOLY SPIRIT! FILL THE HEARTS OF YOUR FAITHFUL,

AND ENKINDLE IN THEM THE FIRE OF YOUR LOVE.

Grant, O merciful Father, that Your Divine Spirit may enlighten, inflame, and purify us, that He may penetrate us with His heavenly dew and make us fruitful in good works, through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, in unity with the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.

BLESSED MARGARET POLE,

BLESSED BARTHOLOMEW BAGNESI,

POPE SAINT PAUL VI,

SAINT ELIZABETH ANN SETON,

BLESSED JOSEPH GERARD,

BLESSED ELIA OF SAINT CLEMENT,

BLESSED WILLIAM ARNAUD AND COMPANIONS,

SAINT ZDZISLAWA OF LEMBERK, OP,

SAINT LUKE KIRBY,

THE YORKSHIRE MARTYRS,

SAINT JOAN OF ARC,

SAINT WALSTAN,

BLESSED JAMES SOLOMONIO,

SAINT JUSTIN MARTYR,

SAINT MARCELLINUS AND PETER, MARTYRS,

SAINTS POTHINUS AND BLANDINA,

SAINTS CHARLES LWANGA AND HIS COMPANIONS,

SAINT KEVIN,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: How manifold are your works, O Lord. Rowena Crest, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon. Thank you, Maddy, avid hiker, photographer extraordinaire. Veni, Sancte Spiritus.

© Gertrude Feick 2023

The Ascension of the Lord

May is the Month of Mary, Dedicated to the Devotion of the Blessed Mother

In other years: Saint Christopher Magallanes and his Companions (20th century); Saint Eugene de Mazenod (1782-1861)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 4:44-62 The Tools for Good Works

Mass: Acts 1:1-11; Resp Ps 47; Eph 1:17-23; Mt 28:16-20

Sing praise to God, sing praise.

MARY, QUEEN OF HEAVEN AND EARTH,

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,

PRAY FOR US.

May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, 

that you may know what is the hope that belongs to His call.

(Eph 1:18)

Welcome to the Ascension of the Lord. With all sorts of thoughts going through my mind this busy Sunday morning, I stick with a simple message I sent to a dear niece. Even though Jesus ascended, He will send the Holy Spirit and renew the face of the earth. Thanks be to God. 

Not done yet, as there follows all sorts of this and that ☺, here is something Pope Benedict XVI said about the Ascension. "The Lord draws the gaze of the Apostles - and our gaze - toward heaven to show how to travel the road of good during earthly life." And there are many ways to travel the road of good as expressed by Saint Benedict in Chapter 4 of the Holy Rule, The Tools for Good Works. And it happens that we have the privilege of being immersed in that chapter this week. As far as hope is concerned, then, "place your hope in God alone" (Rule of Saint Benedict, 4:41). And as Mother Julian of Norwich (1343-after 1416) said, "all will be well, and all will be well, and every kind of thing will be well." And it so happens that this year marks the 650th anniversary of Mother Julian's Revelations of the Passion of Christ. Pope Francis sent a message last week to all pilgrims gathered to mark the anniversary in the English city of Norwich.

All voices for this week come from George Cardinal Pell (1941-2023) and the first volume of his Prison Journal: The Cardinal Makes His Appeal (Ignatius, 2020). With this read, I am meeting a remarkable man of faith. The title of a recent article about him states it clearly: "Cardinal Pell Showed Us What Interior Freedom Really Looks Like," (Maryella Hierholzer, National Catholic Register, May 15, 2023). The late Cardinal is certainly showing me something about interior freedom, forgiveness, and taking pleasures in small things, among other things. At the same time, I am busy asking him to help me. And he delivers. The book is full of worthwhile passages to quote; Cardinal Pell has many things to teach the faithful, and not so faithful. For example, "I believe that one of the keys to surviving in prison, and especially in a solitary regime, is to concentrate on doing what one can rather than lamenting what one cannot do" (p. 95). Very good advice, wherever one finds herself. At the end of each journal entry, Cardinal Pell has a prayer, his own, another, or one that someone has sent him. Or he might end an entry with a stanza of poem or hymn. In any case, my book is full of page markers. So it may be that we hear from him again. 

Since we commemorate Our Lady, Help of Christians, this coming Wednesday, let's begin with a hymn addressed to her, "Help of Christians, Guard This Land," one that the Cardinal wrote is especially apt for Australia today. It is apt for any country though. 

Help of Christians, guard this land

From assault or inward stain;

Let it be what Christ has planned, 

A new Eden where you reign ...

Take from us the coward heart,

Fleeting will, divided mind,

Give us sight to play our part,

Though the world around is blind.

(p. 98)

Now with some prayers for the week, all from the Cardinal.

God our Loving Father, help me to keep hatred out of my heart.

Not only should I speak the truth in love, but I should think the truth in love.

(p. 30)

God our Father, I will always trust in you. Whatever, wherever I am, I know I can never be thrown away. Whether I am sick or perplexed or in sorrow, I may still serve you, and these difficulties may be necessary causes to some great end, which is quite beyond me.

You do nothing in vain, and you know what you are about. Amen.

(p. 150)

God our Father, help us always to be people of Christian hope even when, humanly speaking, the situation seems hopeless. May we always believe in the Resurrection as well as the crucifixion and be sustained by the promise of eternal life with you, Your Son, and the life-giving Spirit.

(p. 109)

God our Father, I pray for all my fellow prisoners, especially those who have written me. Help them to see their true selves; indeed, help me, too, to do this better for myself. Bring all of them some peace of mind, especially those who most certainly do not possess it.

(p. 26)

For everything I have received in a happy, full life and for all I am about to receive, 

my I be truly grateful.

(p. 322)

Loving God, you are our strength. Support us in our weakness, give us insight and wisdom, peace of heart and patience. Take us under you care, give us your love so that we will have the strength to embrace our weakness and confront our challenges.

We make this prayer through Christ Our Lord.

(p. 330)

There are plenty of saints to invoke this week too.

SAINT CHRISTOPHER MAGALLANES AND COMPANIONS,

SAINT EUGENE DE MAZENOD,

SAINT RITA OF CASCIA,

SAINT JOACHINA DE VEDRUNA DE MAS,

OUR LADY, HELP OF CHRISTIANS,

BLESSED LOUIS-ZEPHERIN MOREAU,

SAINT ALDHELM,

SAINT DOMINIC,

POPE SAINT GREGORY VII,

SAINT MARY MAGDALENE DE PAZZI,

SAINT BEDE THE VENERABLE,

SAINT PHILIP NERI,

SAINT AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY,

BLESSED ANDREW FRANCHI,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: I took this photo last Monday. When I saw the early morning sunlight on this glorious bush, I thought of the coming of the Holy Spirit. All week I looked for another photo to use; this one kept coming back. The first glance is most often the best. "The Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen Him going into heaven" (Acts 1:11). Veni Sancte Spiritus. 

© Gertrude Feick 2023

Sixth Sunday of Easter

May is the Month of Mary, Dedicated to the Devotion of the Blessed Mother

In other years: Saint Matthias, Apostle 

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 2:23-29 Qualities of the Abbot

Mass: Acts 8:5-8, 14-17; Resp Ps 66;1 Pt 3:15-18; Jn 14:15-21

Come and see the works of God.

MATER CREATORIS, MOTHER OF THE CREATOR,

MATER CHRISTI, MOTHER OF CHRIST,

MATER SALVATORIS, MOTHER OF THE SAVIOR,

PRAY FOR US.

Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts.

(1 Pt 3:15)

Welcome to the Sixth Sunday of Easter and the celebration of Mother's Day. For all Mothers and Grandmothers, living and deceased, to be Mothers and Mothers who have already sent their children back to God, Happy Mother's Day. You are God's majestic gift to the world. May Our Lady cover you and your families in Her protective veil. 

As we march through the 50 days of the Easter season, let's join Philip and proclaim Christ in word and deed (see Acts 8:5).  Remember though to do bear witness with gentleness and reverence (see 1 Pt 3:16). At the same time, keep your conscience clear, so that, when maligned, those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil (1 Pt 3:16-17). And as it is said and we believe, our help is in the name of the Lord. So whoever has His commandments and observes them is the one who loves Him. And whoever loves Him will be loved by His Father, and He will love you and reveal Himself to you (see Jn 14:21). May there be great joy in your city (see Acts 8:8).

As far as passing along a few voices for the week, I heard from one faithful reader who said she would re-read and reflect on a different quotation each day and see how it applied to her life. Another faithful reader remarked, "Your collection of voices is remarkable." With their prompting then, I include at least seven quotations, enough to get you through the week leading to the Ascension of the Lord.

A woman by her very nature is maternal - for every woman, whether married or unmarried, is called upon to be a biological, psychological, or spiritual mother - she knows intuitively that to give, to nurture, to care for others, to suffer with and for them - for maternity implies suffering - is infinitely more valuable in God's sight than to conquer nations and fly to the moon.

(Alice von Hildebrand, 1923-2022)

To serve God is to reign.

(Saint Antoninus of Florence, OP, 1389-1459)

Things seen superficially can disturb us, but if we regard them with the profundity of faith, nothing can make us lose peace.

(Servant of God Luis Maria Martinez, d. 1956)

Do not be troubled or weighed down with grief. Do not fear any illness of vexation, anxiety or pain. Am I not here who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not your fountain of life? Are you not in the folds of my mantle? In the crossing of my arms? Is there anything else you need?

(Our Lady of Guadalupe to Saint Juan Diego, 16th century)

The tenderness of God's love-no one can love us as God. He has made us in His image. He made us. He is our Father.

"The Father loves me, He wants me, He needs me." That kind of attitude is our trust, our joy, our conviction. Anything may come: impatience, failures, joy, but say to yourself, "The Father loves me." God has created the whole world but He is our Father. In prayer, create that conviction, from the inside: Father and child.

(Saint Teresa of Calcutta, 1910-1997)

Take God for your spouse and friend and walk with Him continually, and you will not sin and will learn to love, and the things you must do will work our prosperously for you.

(Saint John of the Cross, 1542-1591)

If it should ever happen that you will waver and perhaps fall into sin, return as soon as possible to the right path by using such remedies as the Church ordains ... Think only of Jesus, and of your desire to gain His love, and nothing will harm you.

(Blessed Henry Suso, 1295-1366)

Sooner or later, we all discover that kindness is the only strength there is.

(Father Greg Boyle, SJ, b. 1954, founder and director of Homeboy Industries, the world's largest gang-intervention and rehabilitation program)

MOTHER SAINT ELIZABETH ANN SETON,

MOTHER SAINT FRANCES XAVIER CABRINI,

SAINT MATTHIAS,

SAINT ISIDORE THE FARMER,

SAINT CARTHAGE,

BLESSED ANDREW ABELLON, OP,

BLESSED GILES OF VAOZELA, OP,

SAINT SIMON STOCK,

SAINT BRENDAN,

SAINT JOHN STONE,

POPE SAINT JOHN I,

SAINT DUNSTAN,

SAINT BERNADINO OF SIENA,

BLESSED COLUMBA OF RIETI, OP,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: I literally stumbled over these beauties when I tripped on the hidden curve at the beginning of the path that led to them. Whoopsie daisy. ☺You will find this and plenty of other beauty at Blake Garden in Kensington, CA, a 10.6-acre, public garden 4 miles north of the UC Berkeley campus. I had the privilege of a brief visit to the garden when spending a few hours with beloved friends I had not seen in six years. A married couple, both 88-years old, they have been married for 55 years. People of faith who formed their children in the faith, they keep going. Sing praise to the glory of His name. United in faith and prayer, we keep going with them. And be grateful for the little gifts God gives us each and every day.

© Gertrude Feick 2023

Fifth Sunday of Easter

May is the Month of Mary, Dedicated to Devotion to the Blessed Mother

In other years: Saint John Beverley (-721); Blessed Albert of Bergamo, OP (1214-1279)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Prologue 39-44

Mass: Acts 6:1-7; Resp Ps 33; 1 Pt 2:4-9; Jn 14:1-12

Praise from the upright is fitting.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,

MARY, CAUSE OF OUR JOY,

MARY, GATE OF HEAVEN,

OUR LADY OF FATIMA,

PRAY FOR US.

I am the true vine and you are the branches, says the Lord.

Whoever remains in me, and I in him, bears fruit in plenty.

Alleluia.

(Communion Antiphon, Mass)

Welcome to the Fifth Sunday of Easter. It occurred to me during mediation this morning that these little reflections are really just pep talks for myself that I pass on to you. There is strength in numbers you know. ☺ For where two or three are gathered in Jesus' name, there He is in the midst of them (see Mt 18:20). 

With today's Communion Antiphon in mind and heart, there is certainly no reason to let your hearts be troubled. As Jesus tells us, You have faith in God; have faith in me also (Jn 14:1). Jesus is the way and the truth and the life (Jn 14:6). Follow Him, cling to Him, the true vine, just as the branches of the glorious flowering tree in today's photo cling to the stem. I mow around this beauty so am quite familiar with the strength of it. It is easy to get overwhelmed with the daily and not keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. And in so many situations in which we find ourselves, understandable, especially for those with family, work, community, and social responsibilities, or a combination of all of them. Jesus is in the Father and will lead you to Him. Believe in Jesus, do the works that He does, and yes, you will do greater ones than even He did. After all, the Lord has called us out of darkness into His wonderful light (see 1 Pt 2:9). Practically speaking, we can turn to the wisdom of loved by many Father Paschal Cheline, OSB (1926-2015), who said, "One definition of heroic virtue is just to continue doing what is asked of us in our state in life over a sustained period of time." Or perhaps more colloquially, keep going! And you just never know how many more will become obedient to the faith (see Acts 6:7). With the grace of God, we go forth. 

And lastly, as is now a weekly custom, I pass along a few voices for the week. United in faith and prayer, "what is not possible to us by nature, let us ask the Lord to supply by the help of His grace ... we must run and do now what will profit us forever ... as we progress in this way of life and in faith, we shall run on the path of God's commandments, our hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love" (Rule of Saint Benedict, Prologue 41, 44, 49).

God loves us, insignificant as we are. Indeed, the smaller and more insignificant we feel, the more He loves us. He loves each one, adapting Himself, so to speak, to each personality. In heaven, John is John and Peter is Peter, sanctified, Christ-like, and yet still each himself. Our Master wants us there with all that is good in us, all that makes us truly ourselves, unchanged; only the sinfulness, what is unchildlike, is to fall away ...

(Father Bonaventure Perquin, OP, d. 1970)

Only God knows the good that can come about by reading one good Catholic book.

(Saint John Bosco, 1815-1888)

Things were in God's plan which I had not planned at all. I am coming to the living faith and conviction that - from God's point of view - there is no chance (coincidence in life) and that the whole of my life, down to every detail, has been mapped out in God's Divine Providence and makes complete and perfect sense in God's all-seeing eyes.

(Saint Edith Stein/Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, 1891-1942)

Whether or not our prayer is heard depends not on the number of words, but on the fervor of our souls.

(Saint John Chrysostum, 347-407)

Prayer is ...

 "a holy familiarity, a sacred union of a human being with God. It is in prayer that He imparts Himself to the souls He loves, that He deals with them in secret, that He speaks with them heart to heart. It is in these times [of prayer] that He fills them with His favors, that He keeps nothing back from them, and that He takes pleasure in making them feel, by the ineffable outpourings of His trust and love, the effect and fulfillment of these words of the prophet: 'My delight is to be with the children of men' (Pr 8:31)."

(Armand-Jean le Bouthillier de Rance, 1626-1700)

Do not be troubled if you do not immediately receive from God what you ask Him; for He desires to do something even greater for you, while you cling to Him in prayer.

(Evagrius Ponticus, 345-399)

Contemplative prayer [oracion mental] in my opinion is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us.

(Saint Teresa of Avila, 1515-1582)

Contemplatives know that if they have God they will have everything that is good. Rather than focusing on anything on particular, they concentrate on God alone. Let God's grace help you do the best you can with this. Think only of God. Seek nothing other than God ...

in contemplation, there are no limits. Engage in it tirelessly for the rest of your life.

(The Cloud of Unknowing, late 14th century)

Judging others, pronouncing them good or bad, is God's business. We may evaluate behavior, but not the person.

(The Cloud of Unknowing, late 14th century)

Kindness is free. Sprinkle that stuff everywhere.

(Anonymous)

SAINT JOHN BEVERLEY,

BLESSED ALBERT OF BERGAMO,

BLESSED CHRISTIAN DE CHERGE,

BLESSED CATHERINE OF SAINT AUGUSTINE,

BLESSED JOHN SULLIVAN,

BLESSED ALOYSIUS RABATA,

BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, MEDIATRIX,

SAINT GEORGE PRECA,

SAINT JOHN OF AVILA,

SAINT DAMIAN OF MOLOKAI,

SAINT COMGALL,

SAINT ANTONIUS OF FLORENCE, OP,

THE CARTHUSIAN MARTYRS,

SAINTS NEREUS AND ACHILLEUS,

SAINT PANCRAS,

BLESSED JANE OF PORTUGAL, OP,

SAINT ERCONWALD,

BLESSED IMELDA LAMBERTINI, OP,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: All His works are certainly trustworthy. 

© Gertrude Feick 2023