Fifth Sunday of Easter

April is the month dedicated to the Holy Eucharist and the Holy Spirit

May is the month dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary

Readings for the Rule of Saint Benedict for the Week:  Ch 70 Mutual Obedience - Prologue 20

They who seek the Lord shall praise Him.

JESUS, DWELLING IN THE TABERNACLES OF THE WORLD,

SPIRIT OF BENIGNITY AND GOODNESS,

HAVE MERCY ON US.

MARY, QUEEN OF ALL THINGS,

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,

PRAY FOR US.

God is greater than our hearts and knows everything.

(1 John 3:20)

Welcome, dear faithful readers, to the Fifth Sunday of Easter, still in the month of April dedicated to the Holy Eucharist and the Holy Spirit. I am sorry that today's offering is late. However, it is still Sunday and time to start thinking about the great Doctor of the Church who we commemorate tomorrow; she is Saint Catherine of Siena, another one of my favorites. For now, though, let's be about bearing much fruit this week. Attached to Jesus the vine, we are the branches. Without the vine, we are nothing. As Jesus tells us, "Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit." So we might think about one fruit of the Holy Spirit that we especially want to cultivate this week. What will it be ... charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity. Those who keep His commandments remain in Him, and He in them, and the way we know that He remains in us is from the Spirit He gave us (1 John 3:24). 

And once again, the moment we've been waiting for, that is, to hear from a voice here, there, and everywhere. Blessed as we are to enter the holy month of May this week, the glorious month dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, we hear first from now Venerable Servant of God Fulton J. Sheen, whose cause for canonization as a saint was officially opened under the leadership of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, in 2002 (see The Catholic University of America, "Cause for Canonization"). Not surprisingly, there have been a few bumps along the path for the Archbishop of happy memory. God is in charge, however. So, we will see. Secondly, we hear from Saint Louis Mary Grignion de Montfort, who was especially devoted to Mary, Virgin and Mother. You may be familiar with his True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

God, who made the sun, also made the moon. The moon does not take away from the brilliance of the sun. The moon would be only a burnt-out cinder floating in the immensity of space were it not for the sun. All its light is reflected from the sun. The Blessed Mother reflects her Divine Son; without Him, she is nothing. With Him, she is the Mother of Men.

(Fulton Sheen, 1895-1979, The World's First Love)

All the gifts, virtues and graces of the Holy Ghost are distributed by Mary, to whom she wishes, when she wishes, the way she wishes and as much as she wishes. It is by her that He applies His merits to His members, and that He communicates His virtues, and distributes His graces. She is His Mysterious canal; she is His aqueduct, through which He makes His mercies flow gently and abundantly ...

If then we are establishing sound devotion to Our Blessed Lady, it is only in order to establish devotion to Our Lord more perfectly, by providing a smooth but certain way of reaching Jesus Christ.

(Saint Louis Mary Grignion de Montfort, 1673-1716)

Following Jesus means nothing other than reproducing His virtues in ourselves, in order to do all things well. It is trying to assume His imprint on our bodies and our souls that we might be entirely transformed into Him.

(Blessed Concepcion Cabrera de Armida, 1862-1937)

If we have lost confidence, God reopens us to faith; if we are discouraged, God awakens hope in us; if our heart is hardened, God softens it with His love.

(Pope Francis, Wednesday General Audience, April 24, 2024)

What is it that today makes true followers of Christ cast luxuries aside, leave pleasures behind, and endure difficulties and pain? It is living faith that expresses itself through love. It is this that makes us put aside the goods of the present in the hope of future goods. It is because of faith that we exchange the present for the future.

(From a eulogy for Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen, priest and martyr, in Office of Readings, April 24)

The essence of prayer is that I raise my mind to God. I turn my attention from every other thing. I empty my mind of every other thought. I give my whole mind wholly to God to be filled only by God, so that nothing, literally nothing, stands for the moment between my soul and Him.

(Monsignor Philip Hughes, 1895-1967)

Receive Holy Communion; put fire in your heart, which alone will do the work of conversion and your sanctification; warm up your cold hearts, and light them with love, and change the worldly man into a saint.

(Blessed Honoratus Kozminski, 1829-1916)

O Light of Truth, dispel these shadows from me today and drive away the fog! Feed me with the bread of life and understanding and give me the water of wisdom to drink.

(William of St. Thierry, 1075/80/85-1148)

SAINT PETER CHANEL,

SAINT LOUIS MARY GRIGNION DE MONTFORT,

BLESSED MARIA GUGGIARI ECHEVERRIA,

SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH,

POPE SAINT PIUS V,

SAINT MARIE OF THE INCARNATION,

OUR LADY, MOTHER OF AFRICA,

SAINT ATHANASIUS,

SAINTS PHILIP AND JAMES,

SAINT JOSEPH THE WORKER,

THE ENGLISH MARTYRS,

BLESSED MARIE-LEONIE PARADIS,

SAINT CONLETH,

THE BEATIFIED MARTYRS OF ENGLAND AND WALES,

SAINT JOSE MARIE RUBIO,

BLESSED ANGEL PRAT HOSTENCH AND COMPANIONS,

BLESSED EMILY BICCHIERI, OP,

SAINT FLORIAN,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: May your hearts live forever!

© Gertrude Feick 2024

Fourth Sunday of Easter

April is the month dedicated to the Holy Eucharist and the Holy Spirit

Good Shepherd Sunday

61st World Day of Prayer for Vocations

Readings for the Rule of Saint Benedict for the Week:  Ch 64 The Election of an Abbot - Ch 69 The Presumption of Defending Another in the Monastery

By the Lord has this been done.

SACRED HOST, IN WHICH THE SOUL IS FILLED WITH GRACE,

HOLY SPIRIT, INSPIRE IN US IN THE PRACTICE OF GOOD,

HAVE MERCY ON US.

VIRGIN MOST POWERFUL,

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,

PRAY FOR US.

All of you and all the people of Israel should know that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead; in His name this man stands before you healed. He is the stone which the builders rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given the human race by which we are saved.

(Acts 4:10-12)

Welcome to the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday, and the 61st World Day of Prayer for Vocations. First, then, let's hear from Pope Saint John Paul II, from his 1981 Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio, where, in this passage, he refers to the First Letter of Saint John (1 John 4:8) and Gaudium et spes the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (12):

God is love and in Himself He lives a mystery of personal loving communion. Creating the human race in His own image and continually keeping it in being, God inscribed in the humanity of man and woman the vocation, and thus the capacity and responsibility, of love and communion. Love is therefore the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being (11).

Now I turn to the passage from the Acts of the Apostles above, from the first reading for today's Mass. Among other things, I keep repeating, "there is no other way, or under any other name." We go to the Name of Jesus. The only Name by which we are saved. If we go elsewhere, we are looking to idols. As Pope Francis has said, "Memory alone enables us to discover God's presence in our midst and makes us realize that every attempt to seek salvation apart from God is an idol." Look to last week. Remember. When are three specific times when you were aware that God was in your midst? Lord, Jesus Christ, thank you.

May we, like Saint Peter, be filled with the Holy Spirit (see Acts 4:8) in this month dedicated to the Holy Spirit. Together we pray, Holy Spirit, shed Thy light in our souls. Stop, look, be attentive, and listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd, the guardian of our souls. He knows us; let us follow Him, united in faith and prayer. 

Now the moment we've all being waiting for, namely, our voices for the week (as if we haven't heard from enough already), a shout from here and there over the course of the history of the Church. 

The hands should be at work, the heart with God.

(Saint Mary Joseph Rosello, 1811-1880)

Believing in Christ means loving Him ... So don't waste time wondering how to do what Christ commands; you cannot not do it if you love Christ. Love, and you do it.

(Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, Doctor of Grace, 354-430)

The world is more beautiful when we are reconciled with God, with ourselves, and with our brothers.

(Mother Elvira Petrozzi, foundress of the Comunita Cenacolo, 1927-2023)

The greatest kindness one can render to another is leading him to the truth.

(Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, Doctor of Grace, 354-430)

If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.

(Jesus in John 8:31-32)

Faith is born from the personal encounter with the risen Christ and becomes an impulse of courage and freedom that makes one cry to the world: "Jesus is risen and alive forever."

(Pope Benedict XVI, 1927- 2022)

Do only what you can offer to God.

(Saint John Vianney, 1786-1859)

What prevents you from being a saint?

(Saint Sharbel Makhluf, 1828-1898)

And a nice addition, added by my brother, Thomas Billard, on his birthday. Auguri, fratello.

Let all nations know that Thou art God alone, and that Jesus Christ is Thy Son, and that we are Thy people and the sheep of Thy pasture.

(Saint Clement of Alexandria, 150-215)

POPE SAINTS CAIUS AND SOTER,

SAINT ANSELM OF CANTERBURY, MONK, BISHOP, DOCTOR,

SAINT MAELRUBHA,

SAINT GEORGE, MARTYR,

SAINT ADALBERT OF PRAGUE, BISHOP, MARTYR,

BLESSED MARIA OF THE CROSS,

SAINT MARK THE EVANGELIST,

BLESSED ROBERT ANDERTON AND WILLIAM MARSDEN,

SAINT ASICUS,

SAINT MAUGHOLD,

BLESSED HOSANNA OF KOTOR, OP,

BLESSED MARIA GABRIELLA SAGHEDDU,

SAINT RAFAEL ARNAIZ BARON,

SAINT ZITA OF LUCA,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: It is wonderful in our eyes.

© Gertrude Feick 2024

Third Sunday of Easter

April is the month dedicated to the Holy Eucharist and the Holy Spirit

Readings for the Rule of Saint Benedict for the Week: Ch 60 The Admission of Priests to the Monastery - 64 The Election of an Abbot

Lord, let your face shine on us.

SACRED HOST, GREATEST AID TO HOLINESS,

HOLY SPIRIT, TEACH US TO PRAY WELL,

HAVE MERCY ON US.

MARY, STAR OF THE SEA,

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,

PRAY FOR US. 

Whoever keeps His word, the love of God is truly perfected in him.

(1 John 2:5a)

Welcome to the Third Sunday of Easter in the glorious month of April dedicated to the Holy Eucharist and the Holy Spirit. In other years, we commemorate Madagascan and Blessed Lucien Botovasoa (1908-1947). If you don't know his story, you might take a look at it. Wow! Husband, father, teacher, martyr ...what a man of faith. And not to be outdone is Dominican and Blessed Peter Gonzalez (1190-1246), invoked by sailors under the name "Saint Elmo." 

Something to do this week is STOP. Listen to His word. See. Recognize. No, it is not a ghost in your midst. So do not be troubled; do not be anxious. Look at Him; touch Him. Ahhh. Peace be with you, says the risen Lord. I am with you always. Let Him embrace you and open your mind to understand the Scriptures. 

We were blessed to have another nun from our Order with us for several days who delivered conferences on Cistercian father, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. Our voice this week is Bernard of Clairvaux, then, in some texts from his sermons and letters that you might find inspiring. We turn things over to you Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Doctor of the Church, and "last of the fathers," also called Doctor Mellifluus*, a voice so pleasant to hear that we might as well hear plenty of it! 

Faith is a good shadow; it tempers the light to the eye's weakness and prepares the eye for the light; for it is written: He cleansed their hearts by faith.

(Sermon 31 on the Song of Songs)

We therefore who walk by faith live in the shadow of Christ; we are fed with His flesh as the source of our life. For Christ's flesh is real food.

(Sermon 31 on the Song of Songs)

It is the Word who enters without a sound; who acts without speaking, who touches the affection without striking the ears.

(Sermon on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary)

In the midst of His temple is His mercy, not in a corner or some out of the way spot, because God shows no partiality. It stands there open, it is offered to all, and no one is beyond reach save whose who reject it ... So let us then embrace the mercy we have received in the midst of the temple and let us, with blessed Anna, never leave the temple.

(Sermon on the Feast of the Purification)

The soul must grow and expand that it may be roomy enough for God. Its width is its love, as the apostle says, "widen yourselves in love" ... The size of a person's soul is judged by the amount of love they possess.

(Sermon 27 on the Song of Songs)

Heartfelt compassion benefits many, for a generous soul will blush to grieve someone who they see has genuine concern for them.

(Sermon 44 on the Song of Songs)

So when an offence is committed against you ... do not immediately rush, as a worldly person would do, to retaliate dishonorably against your brother; nor, under the guise of administering correction, dare to pierce with sharp and searing words one for whom Christ was pleased to be crucified; nor make grunting, resentful noises at him, nor mutter or murmur complaints, nor adopt a sneering air, nor indulge the loud laugh of contempt, not knit the brow in menacing anger. Let your disturbance die within, where it was born; do not allow this carrier of death an exit or it will wreak destruction. Then you can say with the Prophet: "I was troubled and I spoke not."

(Sermon 29 on the Song of Songs)

Lord, I am content to see my own darkness in your light ... When the darkness has been put to flight, then in your light alone we see light.

(Letter 85/87 to William of St. Thierry)

It is the nature of this universal vanity which is in us to wish for praise when we deserve blame, and to be loath to praise others when we know them to be praiseworthy. And this also is a vain thing: in our ignorance we often commend what does not exist and are silent about what does.

(Letter 18/19 to William of St. Thierry)

And as we go forth this week, united in faith and prayer, may we "learn not be tardy or sluggish in offering thanks. Learn to offer thanks for each and every gift" (Sermon 51 on the Song of Songs).

SAINT BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX,

BLESSED LUCIEN BOTOVASOA,

BLESSED PETER GONZALEZ, OP, “SAINT ELMO”,

SAINT BERNADETTE SOUBIROUS,

SAINT DONAN,

BLESSED BAPTIST SPAGNOLLI OF MANTUA,

BLESSED CLARA GAMBACORTA, OP,

BLESSED MARIA MANCINI, OP,

SAINT LASERIAN OR MOLAISE,

SAINT ATHANASIA OF AEGINA,

BLESSED MARIE-ANNE BLONDIN,

BLESSED MARY OF THE INCARNATION,

SAINT ALPHEGE,

BLESSED JAMES ALDO,

BLESSED ISNARD OF CHIAMPO, OP,

BLESSED SIBYLLINA BISCOSSI, OP,

SAINTS MARCELLINUS, VINCENT AND DOMNINUS,

SAINT BEUNO,

SAINT AGNES OF MONTEPULICIANO, OP,

PRAY FOR US.

*From the May 24, 1953, encyclical from Pope Pius XII, Doctor Mellifluus, on Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, "the last of the fathers, but certainly not inferior to the earlier ones" (1).

Today's photo: One with "my" riding mower, I stood on it for this one. You put gladness into my heart.

© Gertrude Feick 2024

Second Sunday of Easter

April is the month dedicated to the Holy Eucharist and the Holy Spirit

Divine Mercy Sunday

Readings for the Rule of Saint Benedict for the Week: Ch 55 The Clothing and Footwear of the Brothers - Ch 59 The Offering of Sons by Nobles or by the Poor

This is the day the Lord has made.

SACRED HOST, ADORED BY COUNTLESS ANGELS,

SPIRIT OF PEACE AND MEEKNESS,

HAVE MERCY ON US.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,

PRAY FOR US.

The victory that conquers the world is our faith.

(1 John 5:4)

Welcome to the Second Sunday of Easter on the Sunday of Divine Mercy in the month of April dedicated to the Holy Eucharist and the Holy Spirit. And if that is not enough, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord on Monday. To God our praise is due. Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His love is everlasting (Psalm 118). 

I thought during Lauds this morning that it is a good day and week to reflect on the mercy God has given me, through ups and downs, highs and lows, thick and thin. His mercy endures forever. At the same time, just how merciful am I to those closest to me? Hmmm. Are there times when I withhold mercy for one reason or another? How can this be considering the mercy that God never withholds from me? May I never lose hope in God's mercy (see Rule of Saint Benedict, 4:74) and may I extend the same mercy to those closest to me, no matter what. Love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for He Himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful (Luke 6:35-36).  

Our first shout out for the week is from beloved Saint Rafael Arnaiz Baron (1911-1938), who sets the stage for divine mercy and Our Lady. The following is taken from a letter Rafael wrote to his Uncle Leopoldo, October 11, 1937:

Surely we'd go mad if we truly loved Mary. By honoring the Virgin, we will love Jesus more. By placing ourselves under her mantle, we will understand divine mercy better. When we invoke Her name, it's as if everything becomes lighter. When we turn to Her as our intercessor, what will we not receive from Her Son, Jesus!

And now, we hear from a Cistercian father, Baldwin of Forde (1125-1190).

With a salutation

our salvation begins

and the commencement of our reconciliation

is consecrated

 by a proclamation of peace.

The herald of salvation and messenger of peace

was sent from God

and came to the Virgin.

And this lover of virginity greeted her

with a strange new greeting

which never

-from all eternity until that moment-

had been heard,

and so conferred upon her

at one and the same time

both the favor of a new greeting

and the acclaim of a new commendation.

For a woman to be greeted by an angel

is indeed new and rare!

Although Hagar and the wife of Manoah enjoyed

seeing an angel

and speaking with him,

the angel did not greet them. 

Yet now

a woman is greeted by an angel.

Now

the time draws near

when women may be greeted by the Lord himself,

and saying to them, 'All hail'.

The quality of mercy is not strain'd

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven

Upon the place beneath; it is twice blest;

It blesseth him that gives and him that takes ...

(Portia in The Merchant of Venice, Act 4, scene 1)

All grace flows from mercy, and the last hour abounds with mercy for us. Let no one doubt concerning the goodness of God, even if a person's sins were as dark as night, God's mercy is stronger than our misery. One thing alone is necessary; that the sinner sets ajar the door of his heart, be it ever so little, so let in a ray of God's merciful grace, and then God will do the rest.

(Saint Faustine Kowalska, 1905-1938)

But you, beloved, build yourselves up in the most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in the love of God and wait for the mercy of Our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. On those who waver, have mercy.

(Jude, 20-22)

Mercy is heartfelt sympathy for another's distress, impelling us to succor him if we can.

(Saint Augustine, 354-430)

United in faith and prayer, we go forth and ask ...

Do I realize it? The protecting presence, the consoling grace of my Redeemer and God. He raises me up from the dust to feel that I am near Him.

(Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, 1774-1821)

SAINT FAUSTINA KOWALSKA,

POPE SAINT JOHN PAUL II, THE MERCY POPE,

BLESSED ANTHONY NEYROT,

SAINT STANISLAW, BISHOP, MARTYR,

SAINT ZENO OF VERONA,

SAINT TERESA OF THE ANDES,

POPE SAINT MARTIN I,

SAINT JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE,

SAINT HENRY WALPOLE,

SAINT WALTRUDE,

SAINT ANTONINUS,

SAINT FULBERT,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: Easter Sunday at the Ottos, Corvallis, Oregon. Let us be glad and rejoice in it.

© Gertrude Feick 2024