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

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time

June is the month of the Sacred Heart

July is the month dedicated to the Precious Blood of the Lord

In other years: Saint Luan (520-592)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 18 The Order of the Psalmody - Ch 24 Degrees of Excommunication

Mass: Jer 20:10-13; Resp Ps 69; Rm 5:12-15; Mt 10:26-33

Shame covers my face.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH,

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,

PRAY FOR US.

HEART OF JESUS, DELIGHT OF ALL THE SAINTS,

HAVE MERCY ON US.

BLOOD OF CHRIST, COURAGE OF MARTYRS,

SAVE US.

So do not be afraid.

(Mt 10:31)

Welcome to the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Blessed be our God, always.

On the subject of not being afraid, then, for how could we be afraid in any case. The Lord is with us, no matter what, be it joy, trial, persecution, murmuring, grief, and so forth. Through it all, the Prophet Jeremiah could still sing to the Lord, and praise the Lord; for He has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked (see Jer 20:13). And what about "the Shreveport Martyrs" who I learned about yesterday. Shreveport, you ask? Yes, that would be Shreveport, Louisiana, USA, in the Diocese of Shreveport. The martyrs, now Servants of God (whose cause for canonization continues per the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops who voted unanimously to continue it!), were five young French priests who immigrated to Shreveport in 1873 during an outbreak of yellow fever. Father Isidore A. Quemerais, Father Jean Pierre, Father Jean Marie Biler, Father Louis Marie Gergaud, and Father Francois LeVezouet, responded to a posting on the wall of their seminary in France. It went like this:

We offer no salary, no recompense, no holiday or pension. But, much hard work, a poor dwelling, few consolations, many disappointments, frequent sickness, a violent or lonely death, and an unknown grave.

Still, the young men went for it. God is praised. When they arrived in Louisiana and commenced their work, the disease struck. The yellow fever epidemic was no small matter, either. It was the "third-worst epidemic of Yellow Fever in United States history"; people fled the city and within three months of August 1873, Shreveport lost one-fourth of its population - over 1,200 deaths in total. The epidemic was over by mid-November 1873, leaving in its wake devastating losses for the city of Shreveport, including all five priests who died of the fever in September and October 1873. So, with gratitude for their "giving it all up for Jesus," let's pray them into sainthood and ask them to please intercede for us, giving us strength, courage, and perseverance as we pray to grow in faith, hope, and love. May we be inspired. And, cry out with Father Biler as he died, "I am going to Heaven!" Mary, queen of all martyrs, pray for us. Mary, queen of all saints, pray for us.*

This week's voices come again from George Cardinal Pell and his Prison Diary: The Cardinal Makes His Appeal, Volume 1. I continue to be inspired by the Cardinal's voice as well as by the voices he quotes.

If you have hate in your heart, you won't do any good; 

you won't be at peace until you get ride of it.

(Bishop James Patrick? O'Collins, 1892-1983, p. 216)

O Lord, 

Give us a mind that is humble, quiet, peaceable,

Patient and charitable,

And a taste of your Holy Spirit

In all our thoughts, words, and deeds.

(From a prayer by Saint Thomas More, 1478-1535, p. 214)

Life is mostly froth and bubble,

Some things stand like stone,

Friendship in another's trouble,

Courage in your own.

(Adam Lindsey Gordon, 1833-1870, the first Australian poet to be recognized, horseman, police officer, and politician, p. 281)

If you can wait and not be tired of waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise.

(From Rudyard Kipling's, 1865-1936, poem, "If", p. 147)

Here are two reminders to maintain a positive attitude and be grateful for simple pleasures, those types of things we take for granted. And also, just to "go with the flow." Freedom is found therein.

I regard the pasties which are sometimes served at Saturday lunch, with tomato sauce, as the best meal available here. An added unusual bonus today was that it was warm; not hot, but warm food is something special. Deo gratias. 

(Cardinal Pell, p. 212)

Life returned to normal this morning as the siren sounded at 7:17 am, which is as close as we ever get to precision here in the jail. Delay is built into the system as a reminder to us, as prisoners, of our status. Once you accept this basic premise, life is simple and the warders are not unpleasant. 

(Cardinal Pell, pp. 192-193)

I have found the Cardinal's prayers to be helpful, so other-centered; he always prayed for others.

God our Father, I thank you for so many good friends; keep them in our care, reward them for their kindness, do not allow them to be put to the test too often, and keep their children faithful, good, and happy.

(Cardinal Pell, p. 147)

THE SHREVEPORT MARTYRS,

BLESSED CARLO ACUTIS,

BLESSED PIER GIORGIO FRASSITI,

SAINT LUAN,

BLESSED JOSEPHINE CATANEA,

SAINT CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA,

SAINT JOHN SOUTHWORTH,

OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL SUCCOUR,

BLESSED NYKYTA BUDKA,

BLESSED VASYL VELYCHKOVSKY,

SAINT IRENAEUS,

SAINT PETER AND PAUL, APOSTLES,

THE FIRST MARTYRS OF THE SEE OF ROME,

SAINT OLIVER PLUNKETT,

SAINT JUNIPERO SERRA, FATHER OF CALIFORNIA,

BLESSED NAZJY FALZON,

OUR LADY OF BUDSLAU,

PRAY FOR US.

* See Emily Glover, June 22, 2023, in CATHOLICVOTE, "Who are 'the Shreveport Martyrs'." Also, the official website, shreveportmartyrs.org, which includes a trailer for the documentary, "The Five Priests," a Cannes World Film Festival Winner.

Today's photo: Water lily with trellis shadow. I pray to you, O Lord.

© 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

Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings of the day: RB 7:62-70

Mass: Gn 3:9-15; Resp Ps 130; 2 Co 4:13-5:1; Mk 3:20-35

Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo

So I hid myself.

I think of Adam in the garden hiding from God; hiding because he knew he had disobeyed God. Adam had eaten the forbidden fruit when quite clearly God had ordered him not to: ‘You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and bad. From that tree you shall not eat’ (Gn 2:16). When questioned, Adam makes excuses and blames his situation on the woman, who in turn blames the serpent. My thoughts go to taking personal responsibility for my words, deeds, and actions. Instead of blaming my outer self, which in any case is wasting away, why not turn to my inner self, which is being renewed day by day. Renewed so that I conform more and more to the divine will and gain the freedom of a child of God, for I trust in the Lord; my soul trusts in his word. For with the Lord is kindness and with him is plenteous redemption!

May your healing work, O Lord, free us, we pray,

from doing evil and lead us to what is right.

(Prayer after Communion, Mass)

We understand that of ourselves we are nothing.

That’s why we admit our entire being comes from God.

(St Catherine of Siena)

WHOEVER DOES THE WILL OF GOD IS

MY BROTHER AND SISTER AND MOTHER.

Friday of the Second Week of Easter

Saint Martin I (d. 655)

Illustration in Moralia of Job, Citeaux, 13th Century

Readings of the day: RB 59 Reception of Children

Mass: Ac 5:34-42; Resp Ps 27; Jn 6:1-15

ALL DAY LONG, BOTH AT THE TEMPLE AND IN THEIR HOMES, THE APOSTLES DID NOT STOP TEACHING AND PROCLAIMING THE CHRIST JESUS.

Today let us think about our freedom. We have three examples: Gamaliel, Peter and John, and Jesus. Do I possess Christian freedom? Am I free, or am I a slave to my passions, ambitions, riches, or passing fancies? It seems like a joke, but many people are slaves to fashion! … Let us reflect on our freedom in the midst of a ‘schizophrenic’ world. It shouts ‘Freedom, Freedom, Freedom!’ but is really a slave. Let us reflect on the freedom that God gives us in Jesus.

(Pope Francis, homily, Casa Santa Marta, April 13, 2018)

Holiness is also parrhesía: it is boldness, an impulse to evangelize and to leave a mark in this world. To allow us to do this, Jesus himself comes and tells us once more, serenely yet firmly: ‘Do not be afraid’ (Mk 6:50). ‘I am with you always, to the end of the world’ (Mt 28:20). These words enable us to go forth and serve with the same courage that the Holy Spirit stirred up in the Apostles, impelling them to proclaim Jesus Christ. Boldness, enthusiasm, the freedom to speak out, apostolic fervor, all these are included in the word parrhesía. The Bible also uses this word to describe the freedom of a life open to God and to others (cf. Ac 4:29, 9:28, 28:31; 2 Co 3:12; Ep 3:12; Heb 3:6, 10:19).

(Pope Francis, Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate, 129)

Let us ask the Lord for the grace not to hesitate when the Spirit calls us to take a step forward. Let us ask for the apostolic courage to share the Gospel with others and to stop trying to make our Christian life a museum of memories. In every situation, may the Holy Spirit cause us to contemplate history in the light of the risen Jesus. In this way, the Church will not stand still, but constantly welcome the Lord’s surprises.

(Gaudete et Exsultate, 139)

THE LORD IS MY LIGHT AND MY SALVATION;

WHOM SHOULD I FEAR?

THE LORD IS MY LIFE’S REFUGE;

OF WHOM SHOULD I BE AFRAID?

(Resp Ps 27)