May 2026

Jubilee Year of Saint Francis on the 800th Anniversary of His Death 

May is the month dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary

Praise the Lord from the heavens. 

OUR LADY, QUEEN AND MOTHER,

OUR LADY, STAR OF THE SEA,

MOTHER ADMIRABLE,

MOTHER OF HOPE,

SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI,

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,

PRAY FOR US.

Welcome to May, the month dedicated to Our Lady. Still in the Easter Season, here's to hoping you are still singing your favorite Easter hymn, or mine, "Jesus Christ is Risen Today, Alleluia ..." 🎵 

It's a big month, dear faithful readers. What can be better than kicking off the festivities with today, May 1, when we commemorate Saint Joseph the Worker. Saint Joseph, model of workers, man of strength, man of courage, pray for us! Thank you. We celebrate Mother's Day on May 10 so let us rejoice. Thank a mother today for all she is and for all she does. Give God the praise for mothers! Our Lady, Queen of mothers, pray for us! Thank you. 

Depending on where you are in the world, we celebrate The Ascension of the Lord, either on Thursday, May 14, or Sunday, May 17. Next up is Pentecost Sunday set for May 24. And if that isn't enough, the next day, Monday, May 25, is the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. It was Pope Saint Paul VI, who solemnly confirmed the title, Mother of the Church, in an address to the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council on November 21, 1964. The Pontiff decreed that the whole Christian people should, by the use of this beautiful title, give still greater honor to the Mother of God. And a beautiful title for Our Lady it is. Speaking of titles for Our Lady, why not take a look at the Litany to Mary and select a few of your favorite titles. Then, address Mary using the titles. As I say, go to Mary, she knows what to do. One of my favorite titles is Star of the Sea. Indeed, Our Lady is a star that will guide us, especially when we go astray. For never was it known that she left anyone unaided. 

In this glorious month of May when we turn our minds and hearts to blessed Mary, Our Lady, she, who said to the angel Gabriel, "Let it be done to me according to your word" (Lk 1:38), and she, who "kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart" (Lk 2:19), we might also reflect on our particular vocations*  our call from the Lord, to love Him and serve Him. No matter our state in life, be it married, single, widow, religious or priest, we remember words from our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV, given in his March 16, 2026, Message for the 63rd World Day of Prayer, celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Easter, April 26, 2026:

A vocation is not a fixed point, but a dynamic process of maturation sustained by intimacy with our Lord. To grow in one's vocation means being with Jesus, allowing the Holy Spirit to act in our hearts and in the circumstances of life, and reinterpreting everything in light of this gift ...

a vocation, therefore, is not an immediate possession-something 'given' once and for all. Instead, it is a path that unfolds much like life itself. The gift we receive must not only be protected but also nourished by a daily relationship with God in order to grow and bear fruit. 'This is helpful, since it situates our whole life in relation to the God who loves us. It makes us realize that nothing is the result of pure chance but that everything in our lives can become a way of responding to the Lord, who has a wonderful plan for us.

One last thought, on May 30, we commemorate the great Saint Joan of Arc (d. 1431). With her in mind when you are looking for a parking place, turn to the Maid of Orleans and pray, "Saint Joan of Arc, show me a place to park." Joan knows what to do. And if for some reason or another, Joan is busy helping someone else, which is highly unlikely since she can manage quite a few things at once, you can turn to Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917) and pray, "Mother Cabrini, help me park the macchini." Keep going with inspiration from the following voices ...

Belief is certainty that God has shown Himself and has opened for us the view of truth itself.

(Pope Benedict XVI, 1927-2022)

Jesus says to each one of us, no matter where we are, "The path I have for you is simple enough for a child to follow. When we know we are loved as His very own, the Lord's way is wholly uncomplicated.

(Sister Faustina Maria Pia, S.V., member of the Sisters of Life)

Here we join Saint Faustina Kowalska in her words ...

I feel tremendous pain when I see the sufferings of my neighbors. All my neighbors' sufferings reverberate in my own heart; I carry their anguish in my heart is such a way that it even physically destroys me. I would like all their sorrows to fall upon me, on order to relieve my neighbor.

(Saint Faustina Kowalska, 1905-1938)

And then invoke Our Lady ...

Mother of Mercy,

pray for us.

We must contain ourselves in patience, remembering each morning that our main job is to love God and to serve Him and if we don't get things done due to interruptions, well, it cannot be helped, and God will take care of what we leave undone. Saint Teresa says that God cannot rest in an unquiet heart. I have to remember that many times during the day.

(Servant of God Dorothy Day, 1897-1980)

Humility is not self-contempt but the truth about ourselves couples with a reverence for others; it is self-surrender to the highest goal.

(Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, 1895-1975)

Think ... of how we first came into being, of what we were at the first moment of our existence. Think of the dark tomb out of which our Creator brought us into His world where He had His gifts prepared for us even before we were born. All this we owe to Him and for everything we must give Him thanks. To Him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

(From a letter to the Corinthians by Saint Clement, pope, late 1st century)

We ought to be like the sunflower which follows all the 

movements of the sun and ever turns toward it.

(Saint Julie Billiart, 1751-1816)

Let us endure with courage the painful little experiences that Divine Providence allows to befall us. They are a necessary part of every life, and force us to place all our trust in God, for He alone can support and guide us.

(Saint Julie Billiart, 1751-1816)

The whole purpose of our lives is to be for others what Mary was for her Son on Calvary.

(Venerable Mary Potter, 1847-1913)

I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen-not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.

(C.S. Lewis, 1898-1963)

Let us be inspired by the beauty of love; let us become witnesses to the love that Jesus has given us and taught us! Let us show every day that it is beautiful to love-that the greatest joys, in every situation, come from knowing how to give and from giving of ourselves, especially when we reach out to those most in need. The light of charity, nurtured in our homes and lived out in faith can truly transform the world.

(Pope Leo XIV, April 22, 2026, address to young people and families, Bata, Equatorial Guinea)

God has established as a law that His graces should flow to us through channels of prayer and the Sacraments; and they are so united that the performance of one is a preparation for the other. Prayer is a plant, the seed of which is sown in the heart of every Christian, but its growth depends entirely on the care we take to nourish and cultivate it; if neglected, it will die; if nourished by constant practice, it will blossom and produce fruit in abundance ...

(Venerable Catherine McAuley, R.S.M., 1778-1841)

I want creation to penetrate you with so admiration that everywhere, wherever you may be, the least plant may bring you to the clear remembrance of the Creator.

(Saint Basil the Great, 330-379)

Here are the last words of Blessed Maria Guggiari Echeverria (1925-1959), spoken at 4:10 am, April 28, 1959, as "she was dying, propped up on cushions, and surrounded by her siblings and parents, she sat up and spoke" them. They are fitting words to end each and every day ...

Jesus, I love you! What a sweet encounter! O Virgin Mary!

SAINT JOSEPH THE WORKER,

SERVANT OF GOD TAKASHI NAGAI,

SAINT ATHANASIUS, BISHOP, DOCTOR,

SAINT PHILIP AND JAMES, APOSTLES,

THE ENGLISH MARTYRS,

BLESSED MARIE-LEONIE PARADIS,

SAINT CONLETH,

THE BEATIFIED MARTYRS OF ENGLAND AND WALES,

SAINT JOSE MARIA RUBIO,

BLESSED ANGEL PRAT HOSTENCH AND COMPANIONS,

BLESSED EMILY BICCHIERI, OP,

SAINT ASAPH,

SAINT HILARY OF ARLES,

BLESSED EDMUND RICE,

SAINT RICHARD REYNOLDS,

SAINT IGNATIUS OF LACONI,

SAINT ROSE VENERINI,

SAINT ANGELUS,

SAINT FRANCOIS DE LAVAL,

SAINT JOHN OF BEVERLEY,

SAINT EPIPHANIUS OF SALAMIS,

BLESSED ALBERT OF BERGAMO, OP,

BLESSED CATHERINE OF SAINT AUGUSTINE,

SAINT PETER OF TARANTAISE,

THE ALGERIAN MARTYRS,

SAINT PACHOMIUS,

BLESSED FRANZ JAGERSTATTER, 

SAINT ANDREW BOBOLA,

BLESSED JOHN SULLIVAN,

BLESSED ALOYSIUS RABATA,

SAINT GEORGE PRECA,

SAINT DAMIEN OF MOLOKAI,

SAINT JOHN OF AVILA,

SAINT COMGALL,

SAINT ANTONIUS OF FLORENCE, OP,

THE CARTHUSIAN MARTYRS,

SAINT NEREUS AND ACHILLEUS, MARTYRS,

SAINT PANCRAS, MARTYR,

SAINT JOHN HOUGHTON AND COMPANIONS,

BLESSED JANE OF PORTUGAL, OP,

BLESSED JOAN, PRINCESS OF PORTUGAL,

OUR LADY OF FATIMA,

SAINT ERCONWALD,

BLESSED IMELDA LAMBERTINI, OP,

SAINT MATTHIAS, APOSTLE,

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, MARTYR,

SAINT ERIK OF SWEDEN,

SAINT DUNSTAN,

POPE SAINT CELESTINE V,

SAINT MILBURGA,

SAINT IVO OR YVES,

SAINT RAPHAEL LOUIS RAFIRINGA,

SAINT FRANCIS COLL GUITART, OP,

SAINT BERNARDINE OF SIENA, PRIEST,

BLESSED COLUMBA OF RIETI, OP,

SAINT CHRISTOPHER MAGALLANES AND HIS COMPANIONS,

SAINT EUGENE DE MAZENOD,

SAINT RITA OF CASCIA,

POPE SAINT GREGORY VII,

SAINT JANE ANTIDE THOURET,

SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST DE ROSSI,

SAINT VINCENT OF LERINS,

SAINT JOACHINE DE VEDRUNA DE MAS,

OUR LADY, HELP OF CHRISTIANS,

BLESSED LOUIS-ZEPHIRIN MOREAU,

SAINT ALDHELM,

SAINT DOMINIC,

MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH,

POPE SAINT GREGORY VII,

VENERABLE EMIL KAPAUN, 

SAINT MARY MAGDALAN OF PAZZI,

SAINT BEDE THE VENERABLE,

SAINT PHILIP NERI, PRIEST,

SAINT AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY, BISHOP,

BLESSED ANDREW FRANCHI, OP,

BLESSED MARGARET POLE, COUNTESS OF SALISBURY,

BLESSED MARY BARTHOLOMEW BAGNESI, OP,

BLESSED ANTONI JULIAN NOWOWIEJSKI,

POPE SAINT PAUL VI,

SAINT MAXIMINUS,

BLESSED JOSEPH GERARD,

SAINT URSULA LEDOCHOWSKA,

BLESSED ELIA OF SAINT CLEMENT,

BLESSED WILLIAM ARNAUD, OP, AND HIS COMPANIONS, MARTYRS,

SAINT ZDZISALAWA OF LEMBERK, OP,

SAINT LUKE KIRBY,

THE YORKSHIRE MARTRYS,

SAINT JOAN OF ARC,

SAINT WALSTAN,

PRAY FOR US.

* Vocation comes from the Latin vocare, "to call".

This month's photo: A major Ohhhh Ahhh. 😊

Praise Him in the heights. 

© Gertrude Feick 2026

Holy Week

Jubilee Holy Year 2025: Pilgrims of Hope

April is the month dedicated to the Divine Mercy

By His wounds we are healed. 

DIVINE MERCY, INSPIRING HOPE AGAINST ALL HOPE,

I TRUST IN YOU.

OUR LADY OF SORROWS,

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,

PRAY FOR US.

And to strengthen Him an angel from heaven appeared to Him.

(Luke 22:43)

Welcome to Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord and our entrance into Holy Week 2025. 

You ask, "Why, why, why?" and rightly so. Look at the cross, venerate it, embrace it in your prayer. Jesus had to go through darkness, pain, and death so as to give meaning to our darkness, our pain, and our death. But more than this: suffering and death become friends because through them we have received new life which will be ours now and after death, and for always.

(Cardinal Basil Hume, The Mystery of the Cross)

For our reflection this Holy Week, here are the Communion Antiphons for each day. When was the last time you prayed with a Communion Antiphon? 

Father, if this chalice cannot pass without my drinking it, your will be done.

(Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord)

Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress. 

Turn your ear towards me; on the day I call, speedily answer me.

(Monday of Holy Week)

God did not spare his own Son, but handed him over for us all.

(Tuesday of Holy Week)

The Son did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

(Wednesday of Holy Week)

I will sing for ever of your mercies, O Lord, through all ages my mouth will proclaim your fidelity.

(Chrism Mass)

This is the Body that will be given up for you; this is the Chalice of the new covenant in my Blood, says the Lord, do this, whenever you receive it, in memory of me.

(Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper)

And for Friday, the Celebration of the Passion of the Lord, the verse before the Gospel.

Christ became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Because us this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every other name.

We continue to "look forward to holy Easter with joy and spiritual longing" (RB 49:7) and pray:

O God, who in this season

give your Church the grace

to imitate devoutly the Blessed Virgin Mary

in contemplating the Passion of Christ,

grant, we pray, through her intercession,

that we cling more firmly each day

to Your only Begotten Son

and come at last to the fullness of grace. 

Dear Jesus, grant us the grace to resolutely follow you all the days of our lives. Venerable Fulton Sheen gives us something else to ponder ...

So when God pulls down the curtain on the drama of the world's redemption, He will not ask what part we played, but only how well we the played the role assigned to us.

(The Wisdom of Fulton Sheen, Blue Sparrow, 2021, entry for April 13, p. 39)

POPE SAINT MARTIN I,

SAINT MARGARET OF CASTELLO, OP,

BLESSED LUCIAN BOTOVASOA,

BLESSED PETER GOONZALEZ, OP,

SAINT BERNADETTE SOUBIROUS,

SAINT DONAN,

BLESSED BAPTIST SPAGNOLI OF MANTUA,

BLESSED CLARA GAMBACORTA, OP,

BLESSED MARIA MANCINI, OP,

SAINT LASERIAN OR MOLAISE,

BLESSED MARIE-ANNE BLONDIN,

BLESSED MARY OF THE INCARNATION,

SAINT ALPHEGE,

BLESSED ISNARD OF CHIAMPO, OP,

BLESSED SIBYLLINA BISCOSSI, OP,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: Passionflower. From the archives, July 11, 2018.

© Gertrude Feick 2025

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

Jubilee Holy Year 2025: Pilgrims of Hope

February is the month dedicated to the Holy Family

Reading from the Rule of Saint Benedict for February: Chapter 7:35 through Chapter 23 Excommunication for Faults

Who is this king of glory?

JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH,

    MARY, MOTHER OF MERCY

MARY, HEALTH OF THE INFIRM,

MARY, CONSOLER OF THE AFFLICTED, 

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,

PRAY FOR US.

Welcome to February, the month dedicated to the Holy Family. Today is the day we officially end the holy Christmas Season with the Presentation of the Lord, also called Candlemas. Behold, our Lord will come with power, to enlighten the eyes of His servants, alleluia. At the same time, we mark the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life.

And if that’s not enough, we celebrate the World Day of the Sick on February 11. We pray for all the sick this month, and those who suffer in any way be it physical, mental, or spiritual. Remember that Our Lord, the Divine Physician, came for the sick; those who are well do not need a physician. Jesus did not come to call the righteous but sinners (See Mark 2:17). Watch out. There is some moving and shoving going on to get to the head of the line.☺ Jesus, heal us according to Your divine will. May Our Lady of Lourdes cover us in her protective veil. May she sustain our faith and hope and help us care for one another in fraternal love.* As Saint Benedict says: "Care of the sick must rank above and before all else, so that they truly be served as Christ" (RB 36:1).

About the Presentation of the Lord then. When I pray the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary and it's time for the Fourth Mystery, the Presentation of Jesus, I reflect on how I present Jesus in me to others. And how I welcome the Jesus presented to me in others. Hmmm. What will it be at any given moment or anytime of the day. Saint Teresa of Calcutta offers this: "We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do." Some years ago, I saw this little saying on the counter of a restaurant: "Kindness is free. Sprinkle that stuff everywhere." And I remember what Saint Benedict says about guests: "All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ" (RB 53:1). So what is the Jesus in me and the Jesus in you about this month. 

Our voices are a little of this and a little of that, all though encourage us and add a few more words of wisdom to pray with. 

We sometimes feel more troubled and preoccupied by the suffering of a friend or a child than by our own suffering. In itself, this may be fine and good, but it must never become an occasion for despair ... our distress is legitimate, but we must remain peaceful.

(Father Jaques Philippe, b. 1947, Searching for and Maintaining Peace: 

A Small Treatise on Peace of the Heart)

Like action, suffering is part of our human existence ... Certainly we must do whatever we can to reduce suffering: to avoid as far as possible the suffering of the innocent; to soothe pain; to give assistance in overcoming mental suffering. These are obligations both in justice and in love, and they are included among the fundamental requirements of the Christian life and every truly human life.

(Pope Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi On Christian Hope, 36)

It is not by sidestepping or fleeing from suffering that we are healed, but rather by our capacity for accepting it, maturing through it and finding meaning through union with Christ, who suffered with infinite love.

(Pope Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi On Christian Hope, 37)

The glory of the living God is made manifest to the eyes of faith and hope in the frail flesh of a child, In baptism we have been made the temple of the living God. Let us welcome the Lord of glory in whatever guise He comes to us in, receiving Him in joyful prayer, in purity of heart, and in charity toward all.

(Magnificat, February 2, 2025, commentary of Psalm 24, p. 37)

Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do ... but how much love we put in that action.

(Venerable Fulton Sheen, 1895-1979)

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

(Fruits of the Holy Spirit)

God loves a cheerful giver.

(Rule of Saint Benedict, 5:16/2 Cor 9:7)

We conclude with a doozy we've heard before. Shout it out, Sister. Let your light shine for all to see. 

Every day we are called to be salt for the world, bringing the flavor of [Jesus' love] to a culture bland from disillusionment. Spending my daily life on plans that are focused merely on myself is putting a bushel basket over what Jesus wants others to see and witness: 

His love radiating uniquely through you.

(Sister Faustina Maria Pia, S.V., the Sisters of Life)

SAINT ANSGAR, BISHOP,

SAINT BLAISE, BISHOP, MARTYR,

SAINT AGATHA, VIRGIN, MARYTR,

SAINTS PAUL MIKI AND HIS COMPANIONS, MARTRYS,

SAINT JEROME EMILIANI,

SAINT JOSEPHINE BAKHITI, VIRGIN,

SAINT SCHOLASTICA, VIRGIN,

SAINT TEILO,

OUR LADY OF LOURDES,

SAINT GOBNAIT,

SAINT JULIAN THE HOSPITALLER,

BLESSED REGINALD OF ORLEANS,

SAINT HUMBELINE OF JULLY,

SAINT CYRIL, MONK,

SAINT METHODIUS, BISHOP,

THE SEVEN HOLY FOUNDERS OF THE SERVITE ORDER,

SAINT PETER,

SAINT GREGORY OF NAREK, ABBOT, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH,

PRAY FOR US.

*Pope Francis, Prayer for Those Who are Sick.

Today's photo: From the Joyful Mystery of the Birth of Jesus to the Joyful Mystery of the Presentation of Jesus. May we bear the fruits of Love of God and Sacrifice. A light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel. 

© Gertrude Feick 2025

Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord and Holy Week

March is the month dedicated to Saint Joseph

Readings for the Rule of Saint Benedict for the Week: Ch 44 Satisfaction by the Excommunicated - Ch 48 The Daily Manual Labor 

They have pierced my hands and my feet,

JOSEPH, TERROR OF DEMONS,

MARY, SORROWFUL MOTHER,

SAINT MICHAEL "WHO IS LIKE GOD" THE ARCHANGEL,

PRAY FOR US.

The Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced.

(Isaiah 50:7)

Welcome to Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord and our entry into Holy Week. We will need a little extra protection this week, trust me. The week is not an easy one. This is one reason why we invoke Saint Michael the Archangel to guide and protect us, for, as Pope Saint Gregory the Great (540-604) tells us, "'Whenever something is to be done needing great power, Michael is sent forth so that from his action and his name we may understand that no one can do what God can do.' His name means Who is like God?, attesting to the foundational nature of humility in the spiritual battle." Something else to do is pray the traditional Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel, a prayer that originated with Pope Leo XIII (1810-1903). At the holy father's request, the prayer was recited after Mass for decades. In more recent years, Pope Saint John Paul II and the current pontiff, Pope Francis, have encouraged the faithful to pray the mighty prayer.* And let me tell you, folks, Saint Michael will help you. I now have the prayer next to my bed and got to it first thing this morning. Dreading this week, I turned to Saint Michael for help and God sent him forth. He who is mighty has done great things for me. And as far as dreading this week, I am sure Jesus dreaded it too. Abba Father, all things are possible to you. Take this cup away from me, but not what I will but what you will (Mark 14:36).

Here are our voices, to help us gain perspective on the week, and be encouraged to keep going. With Jesus, we resolutely set out for Jerusalem. May we courageously pick up and carry our cross and not deny Him. 

Let us run to accompany Christ as He hastens toward His passion, and imitate those who meet Him then, not by covering His path with garments, olive branches or palms, but by doing all we can to prostrate ourselves before Him by being humble and by trying to live as He would wish. Then we shall be able to receive the Word at His coming, and God, whom no limits can contain, will be within us.

(From a sermon by Saint Andrew of Crete, bishop, 650-712/726/740, in Office of Readings, Palm Sunday) 

During this Easter walk that we are traveling together, we would like to live and experience the healing of our true, profound, interior sickness. In the crossing of the desert ... we cleanse ourselves from all that is useless, of our interests, our ambitions ... 

We were born to live. We are called to life, to be the extension of Jesus in the midst of suffering and lost humanity. We want to be the hands, the face, and the heart of Lord that the world (and especially the youth) seek. We want to be the love that is composed of small daily gestures, which day after day become our life and lead us to realize that our life is a gift for those around us.

(Mother Elvira Petrozzi, 1937-2023, foundress of Comunita Cenacolo)

May we never go without the affection and tenderness of Mary, who whispers the word of God in our ears. Then we will receive the power to turn a deaf ear to the blandishments of the Evil One, and walk away laughing.

(Pope Francis)

Try to meditate on the cross a little. You do not understand it. I am sure you do not see the connection between Jesus crucified and yourself. Ask God to enlighten you, and when you come to understand that the nails that pierced Christ's hands and feet have their like awaiting you, then you will be saved!

(Servant of God Jacques Fesch, 1930-1957) 

The most cruel torments of the martyrs could have no comparison with the Sufferings of Mary. Our Mother - let us remain with you at the foot of the cross, and at least share your sorrows.

(Mother Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, 1774-1821)

I believe that the Church dies if it is not sufficiently close to the Cross of her Lord. Though it may seem paradoxical, strength, vitality, hope, Christian fruitfulness, the fruitfulness of the Church come from her.

(Blessed Pierre-Lucien Claverie, Bishop of Orans, 1938-1996)

We are never strong enough to bear our own cross, it is the cross which carries us; nor so weak as to be unable to bear it, since the weakest become strong by its virtue ... He is a Physician who pays His patient, and gives a great recompense for the smallest pains.

(Mother Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, 1774-1821)

Teach me how you love and have to die

And I will try

Somehow to forget myself and give

Life and joy so dead things start to live

Let me show now an untrammeled joy

Gold without alloy.

(Elizabeth Jennings, 1926-2001, "Prayer for Holy Week")

SAINT CATHERINE OF SWEDEN,

SAINT DISMAS,

SAINT MARGARET OF CLITHEROW,

SAINT JOHN OF EGYPT,

SAINT RUPERT,

POPE SAINT SIXTUS III,

SAINT JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA,

SAINT JOHN CLIMACUS,

PRAY FOR US.

* See Magnificat, "Saint Who?", March 2024, p. 348.

Today's photo: Passiflora, or passionflower, perfect for the holiest week of the year. Seen here in the cloister garden, 2018. I can count all my bones.

© Gertrude Feick 2024

Fifth Sunday of Lent

March is the month dedicated to Saint Joseph

Readings for the Rule of Saint Benedict for the Week: Ch 38 The Reader for the Week - Ch 43 Tardiness at the Work of God or at Table

A clean heart create for me, O God.

SAINT JOSEPH, MINISTER OF SALVATION,

SAINT JOSEPH, TERROR OF DEMONS,

MARY, MIRROR OF JUSTICE,

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,

PRAY FOR US.

He was heard because of His reverence. Son though He was, He learned obedience from what He suffered; and when He was made perfect, He became the source of eternal life for all who obey Him.

(Hebrews 5:8-9)

Welcome to the Fifth Sunday of Lent, and in other years, the commemoration of Saint Patrick, Apostle of Ireland. Remember that on Saint Patrick's Day, everyone is Irish. So why not join my very Irish Great Aunt Mary of happy memory and send out this old Irish blessing, or perhaps it's an old Irish curse. 😉 Aunt Mary had it typewritten on a bit of paper and placed with a magnet on the front of her refrigerator. 

May those who love us, love us.

And those who don't love us, 

may God turn their hearts.

And if He doesn't turn their hearts, 

may He turn their ankles,

so we'll know them by their limping.

As we absorb the words from the Letter to the Hebrews above, how about we make this week one of obedience to God's will. Our Lord tells us quite plainly in today's Gospel that whoever serves Him must follow Him; where He is so will His servant be (John 12:26). We are here to love and serve the Lord and obey Him by carrying our crosses, the big ones, and the little ones of tiny pinpricks that rub us the wrong way, upset our nicely organized apple carts, and shake us up a bit. In a beautiful letter received the other day, a young wife and mother related what a spiritual director told her once, before even dating her now husband: "Marriage is choosing to love your spouse every day. Every single day you have to wake up and choose to love him." It is like that for all the faithful. Every day. Every day we wake up and choose to love God and our neighbor, our husband or wife, our children, our co-workers, our teenage neighbor next door, the old man in the pew behind us at Mass, the sister or brother sitting next to us at a meal, and so on. Or not. We choose to follow the Lord, or not. The choice is ours. We will encounter much joy in the daily, and much suffering too. The Lord certainly did. No matter. He kept going; He was made perfect. Thankfully, the Father honors whoever serves His Son, Jesus Christ. We reach out to the Lord who is with us, without fail. 

Our voices for the week continue with a prayer that might be used as a morning offering, especially this week. 

Jesus, you know that we love you and that we wish to imitate your virtues. Today, grant us the virtue of obedience, that we might submit our judgment and our will to God's. Grant us that forgetfulness of self that will separate us from ourselves and which will unite us more to you forever. O Holy Virgin, obtain for me the grace of never wasting the least opportunity to obey, because this is the indisputable road to holiness, to maintain interior peace, to please Jesus, and to attain heaven.

Amen.

(Blessed Concepcion Cabrera de Armida, 1862-1937, wife, mother, and widow, the first Mexican laywoman to be beatified, see Magnificat, Meditation of the Day, March 15, 2024)

The first step of humility is unhesitating obedience, 

which comes naturally to those who cherish Christ above all else.

(Rule of Saint Benedict, 5:1)

Bow down in suffering, love your enemies, avoid your friends, be patient in the midst of adversities. That is my cry now. Give me your help generously now, so that God may make my grief and my suffering bearable, so that I may wrest my way to the very pinnacle of God's will: Not as I will, but as you will ...

(Servant of God Joseph Mueller, 1894-1944)

I was like a stone lying in the deep mire;

and He that is mighty came, 

and His mercy lifted me up,

and verily raised me aloft and placed me on top of the wall.

(Saint Patrick, 5th century)

It is always tempting to take credit for the gifts of grace and to lay blame elsewhere for our faults. If we do not claim responsibility for the choices that are truly ours, neither can we ask for or accept forgiveness. Too heavy for us, our offenses-too heavy not to allow the Lord to wipe them away.

(Magnificat, Prayer for the Morning, Introduction to Psalm 65, March 9, 2024)

United in faith and prayer, we keep going.

I trust in your faithfulness.

Grant my heart joy in your help,

That I may sing of the Lord,

"How good our God has been to me!"

(Psalm 13:6)

SAINT PATRICK, APOSTLE OF IRELAND,

SAINT BRIGID OF KILDARE,

SAINT GERTRUDE OF NIVELLES,

SERVANT OF GOD CHIARA LUBICH,

SAINT CYRIL OF JERUSALEM,

SAINT EDWARD THE MARTYR,

BLESSED FRANCIS PALAU Y OUER,

SAINT HERBERT,

SAINT CUTHBERT,

SAINT BENEDICT,

SAINT DEOGRATIUS,

SAINT NICHOLAS OWEN,

SAINT LEA,

SAINT TURIBIUS OF MONGROVEJO,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: Peach tree blossom; glorify the Lord with me. A willing spirit sustain in me. Thank you, dear Beth.

© Gertrude Feick 2024

Thursday of the Twenty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Our Lady of Sorrows

Saint: Saint Mirin (565-620)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 2:33-40 Qualities of the Abbot

Mass: Heb 5:7-9; Resp Ps 31 or 1 Cor 15:1-11; Resp Ps 118; Sabat Mater Sequence; Jn 19:25-27 or Lk 2:33-35

Through Her heart, His sorrow sharing.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

MARY, COMFORT OF THE SORROWFUL,

PRAY FOR US.

Son though He was, He learned obedience from what He suffered; and when He was made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him.

(Heb 5:8-9)

We suffer in heart and body, through our own suffering, and united with others in theirs. Mary, Mother of Jesus, knew a thing or two about suffering. Go to Mary, "mournful mother weeping, close to Jesus to the last," she "beheld her tender Child." Mary will hold you. O sweet Mother! Font of love, Touch my spirit from above, Make my heart with yours accord. And we pray for all mothers, especially those who grieve the death of their child.

Truly, O blessed Mother, a sword has pierced you heart. For only by passing through your heart could the sword enter the flesh of your Son ...

He died in body through a love greater than anyone had known. She died in spirit through a love unlike any other since His.

(From a sermon by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, abbot, in Office of Readings, September 15)

In this month of September, devoted to Our Lady of Sorrows, pray with the Litany of the Sorrowful Mother. Mother of Our Savior Crucified, pray for us.

SAINT MIRIN,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's image: Mother Do Not Mourn For Me, through the hand of Sister Suzanne, ocso.

© Gertrude Feick 2022

Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

In other years: Pope Saint Pius X (1835-1914)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 64:7-24 The Election of an Abbot

Mass: Is 66:18-21; Resp Ps 117; Heb 12: 5-7, 11-13; Lk 13:22-30

Glorify Him, all you peoples!

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

HEART OF MARY, REFUGE OF SINNERS,

PRAY FOR US.

So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees. Make straight paths for your feet, that what is lame may not be disjointed but healed.

(Hebrews 12:12-13)

I read a line from a homily recently, preached by an Abbot at a monk's Solemn Profession. It's a simple line that speaks volumes: "We are transformed only by being limited." In a way, it is a commentary on Jesus' answer in today's Gospel, to a voice from the crowd who asked, "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" (Lk 13:23). Jesus replied: Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough (Lk 13:24). No one said discipleship was going to be easy. Jesus certainly didn't. We are meant to pick up our cross and carry it. Jesus certainly picked up His and helps us to carry ours. The "road to glory", as dear Father Paschal, OSB, of happy memory aptly called it, is narrow. The Gospel way limits us in ways that we would have never expected. If we just take the first and greatest commandment, which also happens to be Saint Benedict's first tool of goods, namely, to love the Lord our God with your whole heart, your whole soul and all your strength, and the second, to love your neighbor as yourself (Rule of Saint Benedict, 4:1-2/Mt 22:37-39; Mk 12:30-31; Lk 10:27), we will be limited and busy at that. We put aside our needs and wants and look to God for strength, mercy, and compassion and then extend it to our neighbor, without exception. We "try to be the first to show respect to the other, supporting with greatest patience one another's weaknesses of body or behavior, and earnestly competing in obedience to one another." Furthermore, "no one is to pursue what she judges better for herself, but instead, what she judges better for someone else" (Rule of Saint Benedict, 72:4-7). The good news is that we do this together, united in faith and prayer, and we will be transformed. The "Lord shows us the way of life" (RB Prologue 20). We look to the Lord, and "clothed then with faith and the performance of good works, let us set out on this way, with the Gospel for our guide, that we may deserve to see Him who has called us to His kingdom" (RB Prologue 20-21). We go forth "and prefer nothing whatever to Christ, and may He bring us all together to everlasting life" (RB 72:11-12).

Therefore we intend to establish a school for the Lord's service. In drawing up its regulations, we hope to set down nothing harsh, nothing burdensome. The good of all concerned, however, may prompt us to a little strictness in order to amend faults and to safeguard love. Do not be daunted immediately by fear and run away from the road that leads to salvation. It is bound to be narrow at the outset. But 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. Never swerving from His instructions then, but faithfully observing His teaching in the monastery until death, we shall through patience share in the sufferings of Christ that we may deserve also to share in His kingdom. Amen.

(Rule of Saint Benedict, Prologue 45-50)

POPE SAINT PIUS X,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: I managed to get a few good shots Friday morning in our garden of delights. This one kicks us off and inspires us to go out to all the world and tell the good news.

© Gertrude Feick 2022

Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

Saints: Saints Marcellinus and Peter, Martyrs (-304); Saints Pothinus and Blandina, Martyrs (2nd century)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 7:35-43 Humility

Mass: Acts 22:30; 23:6-11; Resp Ps 16; Jn 17:20-26 

I bless the Lord who counsels me.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

PRAY FOR US.

I pray not only for them, but also for those who believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they may also be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.

(Jn 17:20-21)

United in faith and prayer, may we, through word and deed, bring others to the faith. Jesus, Son of the living God, have mercy on us. At the same time, our faith demands suffering, as we are reminded by the martyrs we commemorate these days. To be a disciple of Jesus, one with the Father, we must pick up our cross and follow Him. Immersed as we are in Saint Benedict's Chapter 7 on humility, we are brought to the fourth step of humility that begins in this way: "The fourth step of humility is that in this obedience under difficult, unfavorable, or even unjust conditions, [the disciple's] heart quietly embraces suffering and endures it without weakening or seeking escape. For Scripture has it: Anyone who perseveres to the end will be saved (Mt 10:22), and again, Be brave of heart and rely on the Lord (Ps 26[27]:14) (RB 7:35-37). The fourth step of humility is worth reading in its entirety. You may find it relevant and helpful. By the grace of God we go forth, brave of heart. 

Now is the time for Christians to rejoice, since Scripture says that we should rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering trains us to endure faith with patience, patient endurance makes us pleasing to God. and being pleasing to God gives us ground for a hope that will not be disappointed. Only let the love of God be poured forth into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.

(From the exhortation to Martyrdom by Origen, priest, in Office of Readings, June 2)

SAINTS MARCELLINUS AND PETER,

SAINTS POTHINUS AND BLANDINA,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: The delights at your right hand forever.

© Gertrude Feick 2022

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

In other years: Saint Isidore the Farmer, Patron of Madrid (1070-1130); Saint Carthage (c.555-637); Blessed Giles of Vaozela OP (c.1184-1265); Blessed Andrew Abellon OP (1375-1450) 

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 2:30-32 Qualities of the Abbot

Mass: Acts 14:21-27; Resp Ps 145; Rev 21:1-5a; Jn 13:31-33a, 34-35

Let all your works give you thanks, O Lord.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

PRAY FOR US.

Behold, God's dwelling is with the human race.

(Rev 21:5)

As of today, we have ten newly formally canonized saints to intercede for us. We invoke them below. They cheer us on to glory. God is praised!

Almost enough for this week is to embrace Jesus' words: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another (Jn 13:34). Love is a mark of a disciple of Jesus as the He says: This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another (Jn 13:35). Jesus loved us first. Let's be about loving Him and loving one another then with all the joy and suffering love brings, including what we hear in our account from the Acts of the Apostles. There, Paul and Barnabas tell us that "it is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). So be it as Servant of God Elisabeth Leseur notes:

Suffering works mysteriously, first in ourselves by a kind of inner renewal, and also in others, perhaps far away, without ever knowing here on earth what we are accomplishing by it.

Suffering is an act. Christ on the Cross has perhaps done more for humanity than Christ speaking and acting in Galilee or Jerusalem. Suffering creates life; it transforms all it touches, all it strikes.

(E. Leseur, The Secret Diary of Elisabeth Leseur, pp. 164-165)

We join Paul and Barnabas then and exhort one another to persevere in the faith (Acts 14:22). We have so many in the communion of saints to help us. Those formally recognized along with the saints "next door" (Pope Francis, Gaudete et exsultate, 6-9), in heaven and on earth, inspire us to keep going.

SAINT TITUS BRANDSMA,

SAINT MARIE RIVIER,

SAINT CAROLINA SANTOCANALE,

SAINT CHARLES DE FOUCAULD,

SAINT DEVASAHAYAM PILLAI,

SAINT CESAR DE BUS,

SAINT LUIGI MARIA PALAZZOLA,

SAINT JUSTIN RUSSOLILLO,

SAINT ANNA MARIA RUBATTO,

SAINT MARIA DOMENICA MANTOVANI,

SAINT ISIDORE THE FARMER,

SAINT CARTHAGE,

BLESSED GILES OF VAOZELA,

BLESSED ANDREW ABELLON,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: This lush vanilla leaf makes for a peaceful scene. From faithful reader, Linda, on a walk at Redwoods. Thank you. Let your faithful ones praise you.

© Gertrude Feick 2022

Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 54 Letters or Gifts for Monks

Mass: Dn 3:14-20, 91-92, 95; Resp Ps (Dn 3); Jn 8:31-42

Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

PRAY FOR US.

My deliverer from angry nations, you set me above my assailants; you saved me from the violent man, O Lord.

(Entrance Antiphon, Mass)

We have others, along with Susanna from Monday, put to the test in another one of my favorite readings that comes to us at today's Mass, namely, the account of Shedrach, Meschach, and Abednego, who were cast into the white-hot furnace because they would not serve the god, or the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And it happens that I have in front of me a favorite picture postcard from the Catacombs of Priscilla in Rome. It's of a fresco of the three young men in the furnace "unfettered and unhurt, walking in the fire" (Dn 3:92). I turn to the many verses left out from today's reading from time to time and today is a good day to join the young men in the furnace, who "walked about in the flames, singing to God and blessing the Lord (Dn 3:24). It was Azariah (Abednego), who "stood up and prayed aloud" ( Dn 3:25), Blessed are you and praiseworthy, O Lord, the God of our fathers, and glorious forever is your name ... (Dn 3:26-45). When the furnace, then, continued to be stoked by the king's men, the angel of the Lord (also in my picture postcard) went down into the furnace and drove out the fiery flames (Dn 3:49). Then all three young men "with one voice sang, glorifying and blessing God" (Dn 3:51): Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever ... Everything growing from the earth, bless the Lord; praise and exalt Him above all forever ... (Dn 3:52-90). No matter how hot the flames become today, may they be tamed with our praise of the Lord. One never knows what may happen. Hearts may turn from hearts of stone, to natural hearts of flesh (Ezk 36:26), including our own.

Yet is was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured ...

Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his mouth ...

(Is 53:4,7)

Today's photo: It's been since last spring that I've had a look at something like this in Eureka. Let the earth bless the Lord, praise and exalt Him above all forever. 

© Gertrude Feick 2022

Saturday of the Second Week of Advent

Year of Saint Joseph

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

Saint: Pope Saint Damasus I, Martyr (304-384); Saint Maria Maravillas of Jesus (1891-1974)

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 58:1-16 The Procedure for Receiving Brothers

Mass:  Sirach 48:1-4, 9-11; Resp Ps 80; Mt 17:9a, 10-13

Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

MARY, REFUGE OF SINNERS,

PRAY FOR US.

It is not that unusual of an occurrence that Saint Benedict, in our reading from the Holy Rule, speaks to us in some way about the Gospel for the day. In today's Gospel, those that came before Jesus, including Elijah and Saint John the Baptist suffered. So too will Jesus, the Son of Man suffer (Mt 17:12). We should expect the same. In his chapter on the reception of new members, Saint Benedict tells us that entrance into the monastery should never be easy. The one who wishes to enter should wait patiently. If she can bear harsh treatment and difficulty of entry, and has persisted in her request, then she may be allowed to stay in the guest quarters. After that she might be allowed to stay in the novitiate (RB 58:3-5). I am reminded of my days in the United States Peace Corps, or rather when I was ready to join, immediately. However, it took about 12 months to fill out all the forms, go through interviews, get necessary medical testing, and so on. Was I serious about it or not? There was no use in the Peace Corps wasting their time and valuable resources, and acting on the whim of another. I didn't blame them.

In any case, if the one interested in entering the monastery keeps going, the concern "must be whether the novice truly seeks God and whether he shows eagerness for the Work of God, for obedience and for trials. The novice should clearly be told all the hardships and difficulties that will lead him to God" (RB 58:7-8). With this in mind, there will be plenty of hardships and difficulties that catch one by surprise, or rather come in unexpected ways. And often they are in the form of what Cardinal Basil Hume (d. 1999) calls "the small hurts of daily life." These small hurts come to anyone who searches for God, at home with the family, at work, in community, in school, at play, or wherever one finds herself. Cardinal Hume has this to say:

I don't know about you, but in my experience there are quite a number of daily hurts that are part of life, and as far as I am personally concerned, I think about a dozen missed opportunities occur every day. It is important to see the small hurts that happen each day as a call from God to turn to Him. Sometimes He cannot get through without shouting very loud and clear, and the most effective way of shouting is to pull us up short. Suffering is one of those ways. All those small things that come our way-feeling neglected, feeling there are those who despise us, the sense of being criticized unfairly-those are the sort of things that leave a hurt, not a big hurt, but a little one.

How do we use such moments? It is astonishing how a little hurt can cause quite an explosion inside of anger and fury with the other person because they have despised or criticized us. I am sure there is only one way to turn something destructive into something positive and that is to realize it is a real self-emptying when those things happen. It is good then just to go down on your knees in prayer. I remember some time ago, when someone said something that was a real snub and made me feel extremely wild inside and very humiliated. But, uncharacteristically, I went into church and thanked God for it, and to my astonishment came our feeling better.

(The Mystery of the Cross, pp. 53-54)

With the grace of God, united in faith and prayer, we keep going.

POPE SAINT DAMASUS I,

SAINT MARIA MARAVILLAS OF JESUS,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: Meet baby Charlie, a grandnephew, at five months. Precious in the eyes of the Lord, and in the eyes of anyone who sees this beautiful child of God. Those "small hurts of daily life" slip away when you look at a sweet little child such as this. 

© Gertrude Feick 2021