Jubilee Year of Saint Francis on the 800th Anniversary of His Death
June is the month dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High.
OUR LADY, QUEEN OF ALL HEARTS,
SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI,
SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,
PRAY FOR US.
HEART OF JESUS, HOLY TEMPLE OF GOD,
HAVE MERCY ON US.
HEART OF JESUS, WELL-SPRING OF ALL VIRTUE,
HAVE MERCY ON US.
We confess you, we praise you, and we bless you, God the Father, the unbegotten, God the Son, the Only Begotten, and God the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, all holy and undivided Trinity.
(Traditional Antiphon)
Welcome to June dear faithful readers. Oh what a glorious month it is, one dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Go to the HEART of JESUS; there you will find the fullness of God. Heart of Jesus, king and center of all hearts, have mercy on us. And what is it that Jesus to said to one of Gertrude of Helfta's (1256-1301/2) sisters? You will find me in the heart of Gertrude. Heart of Jesus, delight of all the saints, have mercy on us! Saint Gertrude the Great of Helfta, pray for us.
There is so much to celebrate this month, including, June 7 with The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ Corpus Christi.
Full and clear ring out your chanting,
Joy nor sweetest grace be wanting,
From you heart let praises burst:
For today the feast is holden,
When the institution olden
Of that supper was rehearsed.
(The Sequence Laud, O Zion, Lauda Sion)
Then on June 12, we are gifted with The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus; for June 13, The Immaculate Heart of Mary; for June 24, The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, and wrapping up the month with the June 29 celebration of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles. Celebriamo tutti!
So, what might be about this month ... hmmm. In addition to continual invocation of the Blessed Virgin Mary using one of your favorite titles for her, or two or three of your favorites, like Mary, cause of our joy, or Mary, Health of the sick, it may be good for us to remember that Jesus is in the heart of each and every one of us. Sadly, we sometimes forget that gift, or maybe just imprison Him in our hearts when His love for us, and His love for all those we encounter is begging us to let His LOVE shine forth. Let LOVE and JOY abound dear faithful readers; spread LOVE and JOY throughout the earth ... let LOVE and JOY shine on those near and far ... let HIM shine, let HIM shine, let HIM shine.
With encouragement from not a few voices, we go forth!
To serve God is to reign.
(Saint Antonius of Florence OP, 1389-1459)
I have always something to repent of after having talked,
but have never been sorry for having been silent.
(Saint Arsenius the Great, d. 450)
In moments when fever, agony, and pain make it hard to pray, the suggestion of prayer that comes from merely holding the rosary-or better still, from caressing the Crucifix at the end of it-it is tremendous!
(Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, 1895-1979)
Let us live hour by hour, day by day, and leave the future to God.
(Blessed Hendrina Stenmanns, 1852-1903)
He who trusts himself is lost. He who trusts in God can do all things.
(Saint Alphonsus Liguori, 1696-1787)
Those who want to find the right way to eternal well-being should not walk with the majority of people who are usually timid about making sacrifices ... Authentic spirituality comes about not by talking about God, but living according to God's command. Without this obedience, even wonderful acts mean nothing.
(Blessed Franz Jagerstatter, 1907-1943)
The Interior Master is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus ...
Loyalty to the Interior Master requires a life that is habitually recollected enough to enable us to hear and obey Him, a life of habitual and voluntary docility to the good as we see it, so that we shall not resister the voice of the Master once we recognize it.
(Father Leonce de Grandmaison, S.J., 1868-1927)
Do your little bit of good where you are;
it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.
(Archbishop Desmond Tutu, 1931-2021)
Mr. James Ponder to Theo:
People like you renew my hope in humanity.
Theo's reply:
Yes, we can be such a terrible race at times, but, at the same time, terribly wonderful. All capable of saintliness. You, too, James. You too.
(in Allen Levi, Theo of Golden)
Love is a vital sap; if it fails or if it is not sufficiently abundant,
everything grows weak, especially faith.
(Venerable Louise Margaret Claret de la Touche, 1868-1915)
He who truly loves, and loves with his heart, must of necessity live in harmony with all. We do not wish to do as the ass; when you shove away the ass it will push itself towards you; and if you draw it to you, it draws itself backwards. Do not so when you see that a certain thing is needed for the good of your neighbor; see to it that you always help him.
(Saint Bernardine of Siena, 1380-1444)
I figure you have to make a bet. You can't go through this life and just be a spectator without ever laying it on the line. I'm betting on God to win, not to show.
(James Farl Powers, 1917-1999)
The gift of life is no less beautiful if it is accompanied by illness or weakness, hunger or poverty, mental of physical handicaps, loneliness or old age. Indeed, at these times, human life gains extra splendor as it requires our special care, concern and reverence. It is in and through the weakness of human vessels that the Lord continues to reveal the power of His love.
(Servant of God Terence Cooke, 1921-1983)
SAINT JUSTIN, MARTYR,
SAINTS MARCELLINUS AND PETER, MARTYRS,
SAINT POTHINUS AND BLANDINA,
SAINTS CHARLES LWANGA AND COMPANIONS,
SAINT KEVIN,
SAINT CLOTILDE,
SAINT BONIFACE, BISHOP, MARTYR,
SAINT NORBERT, BISHOP,
SAINT MARCELLIN CHAMPAGNAT,
SAINT JARLATH,
SAINT COLMAN OF DROMORE,
SAINT ROBERT OF NEWMINSTER,
BLESSED ANNED OF SAINT BARTHOLOMEW,
SAINT JAMES BERTHIEU,
SAINT WILLIAM OF YORK,
SAINT EPHREM, DEACON, DOCTOR,
SAINT COLUMBA,
SAINT JOSE DE ANCHIETA,
THE HOLY GUARDIAN ANGEL OF PORTUGAL,
SAINT BARNABAS, APOSTLE,
SAINT ONUPHRIUS,
BLESSED ALPHONSUS MAZUREK AND COMPANIONS,
BLESSED HILARY JANUSZEWSKI,
SAINT ANTHONY OF PADUA, PRIEST, DOCTOR,
BLESSED MARIA CANDIDA OF THE EUCHARIST,
SAINT DAVNET,
SAINT LIDWINA,
SAINT ELISHA,
BLESSED PETER SNOW AND RALPH CRIMSTON,
SAINT RICHARD OF CHICHESTER,
ALL SAINTS OF SCOTLAND,
SAINT BOLTOLPH,
SAINT ROMAULD, ABBOT,
SAINTS ALBAN, JULIUS AND AARON,
THE IRISH MARTYRS,
BLESSED SANCHA, BLESSED MAFALDA, VIRGINS,
BLESSED TERESA, RELIGIOUS,
SAINT ALOYIUS GONZAGA,
SAINT JOHN RIGBY,
SAINTS JOHN FISHER, BISHOP, AND THOMAS MORE, MARTYRS,
SAINT PAULINUS OF NOLA, BISHOP,
SAINT ETHELDREDA,
SAINT THOMAS GARNET,
SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST,
SAINT LUAN,
BLESSED MARY JOSEPHINE CATANEA,
SAINT CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA, BISHOP, DOCTOR,
SAINT JOHN SOUTHWORTH,
OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL SUCCOUR,
BLESSED NYKYTA BUDKA,
BLESSED VASYL VELYCHKOVSKY,
SAINT IRENAEUS,
SAINTS PETER AND PAUL, APOSTLES,
THE FIRSTS MARTYRS OF THE SEE OF ROME,
PRAY FOR US.
This month's photo: Who abide in the shadow of the Almighty. It was Lord Byron (1788-1824) who wrote, "There is a pleasure in the pathless woods." There is, however, also a pleasure in the woods with paths. From a walk in the woods at the Fetzer Institute, Kalamazoo, Michigan.
© Gertrude Feick 2026
