Ascension Sunday, May 8, 2016
Zachariah, Chapter 9, verse 5-6
5Ashkelon will see it and be afraid;
Gaza too will be in great anguish; Ekron also, for its hope will wither. The
king will disappear from Gaza, Ashkelon will not be inhabited, 6
and the illegitimate will rule in
Ashdod.
Ashkelon
was a coastal city of the Philistines usually at war with Israel. What God is
saying to the Israel’s is that He has got their backs and is in the process of
restoring Israel. God’s mercy is so great that not only does he restore Israel
but, God the Father, eventually will restore all those who have Holy Fear. “The
Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have
eternal life.” (John 3:14-15)
“The
fact that Jesus suffered for us means that our suffering now has somewhere to
go. Our pain, our battle with sin, our struggle to truly believe in him, all of
this can be laid within the wounds of Christ and healed. When we carry
our scars alone, they blind us. They paralyze us. They prevent us from
experiencing joy. But when we unite our own wounds to those of Christ, when we
allow ourselves to encounter the wounded but glorified Christ, we are able to
move beyond our own.[1]
Let
us this day say the prayer of Everyman[2]
Into thy hands, Lord, my
soul I commend; receive it, Lord, that it be not lost; and save me from the
fiend’s boast, that I may appear with the blessed host that shall be saved at
the day of doom. Into thy hands-of might’s most forever-I commend my spirit.
Here
we see God’s mercy is always greater than His justice. Be daring for we are
favored and great is His mercy to us.
Christ
shows us the Father in His forgiveness. Christ would not relent for as you read
the gospels it is clear Christ teaches forgiveness and tells us to ask for the
strength to forgive other people. Christ in his first sermon made it abundantly
clear we need forgiveness and in His death His last words were about
forgiveness. God shows us in this verse to not keep score. How often we
tabulate all the wrongs others have done to us. We hold grudges; we plot and
wait for vengeance. Christ shows us the depth of His love by forgiving even his
executioners.[3]
The
late Stephen Covey created a metaphor called the Emotional Bank Account. In the
same way we use a bank account to save up money and withdraw it when we need it
our emotional bank account works similarly but instead of money we deposit
TRUST.
Covey
identifies six ways to make deposits (or reduce withdrawals):
1)
Understanding
the Individual. This means listening intently to what the other person is
saying and empathizing with how they may feel. It’s important to care for
others and act with kindness toward them.
2)
Keeping
Commitments. How do you feel when someone arrives right on time when you have a
meeting? How about when people simply do what they say they will do? You build
up an emotional reserve by keeping your commitments.
3)
Clarifying
Expectations. We are not mind readers, and yet we consistently expect others to
know what we expect of them. Communicating our expectations can help create a
higher level of trust. When we ask for what we want, and we get it, we can then
trust a little more.
4)
Attending
to the Little Things. Don’t you find that the little things tend to become the
BIG things when they do not receive our attention? Doing the little things is
how we honor and show respect for others. Small kindnesses, a smile, a little
extra effort, a hug, doing something you didn’t “have” to: these are the things
that build trust.
5)
Showing
Personal Integrity. Integrity is the moral floor upon which trusting
relationships are built. When we operate with sound moral character, it makes
it so easy for others to trust us.
6)
Apologizing
When We Make a Withdrawal. We will make mistakes; it’s part of life. But when
you see you have violated a trust, sincerely apologizing is how we make a
deposit to counteract the damage we have done. When your trust
level is high, because you’ve made lots of deposits, communication is almost
effortless. You can be yourself, and others understand and appreciate you.
Then, when you make mistakes or offend someone unexpectedly, you draw on that
reserve and the relationship still maintains a solid level of trust.
Conversely,
when you are discourteous, disrespect others, interrupt others, speak
sarcastically or ignore others, your emotional bank account becomes overdrawn
because you have jeopardized the trust level.[4]
Novena to the Holy Spirit[5]
Thou, of all
consolers best, visiting the troubled breast, Dost refreshing peace bestow.
The Gift of Piety
The gift of Piety begets in our hearts a filial affection for God as our most
loving Father. It inspires us to love and respect for His sake persons and
things consecrated to Him, as well as those who are vested with His authority,
His Blessed Mother and the Saints, the Church and its visible Head, our parents
and superiors, our country and its rulers. He who is filled with the gift of
Piety finds the practice of his religion, not a burdensome duty, but a
delightful service. Where there is love, there is no labor.
Prayer
Come, O Blessed Spirit of Piety, possess my heart. Enkindle therein such a
love for God, that I may find satisfaction only in His service, and for His
sake lovingly submit to all legitimate authority. Amen.Our Father and Hail Mary ONCE.
Glory be to the Father SEVEN TIMES.
ACT OF CONSECRATION TO
THE HOLY SPIRIT
On my knees before the great multitude of
heavenly witnesses, I offer myself, soul and body to You, Eternal Spirit of
God. I adore the brightness of Your purity, the unerring keenness of Your
justice, and the might of Your love. You are the Strength and Light of my soul.
In You I live and move and am. I desire never to grieve You by unfaithfulness
to grace and I pray with all my heart to be kept from the smallest sin against
You. Mercifully guard my every thought and grant that I may always watch for
Your light, and listen to Your voice, and follow Your gracious inspirations. I
cling to You and give myself to You and ask You, by Your compassion to watch
over me in my weakness. Holding the pierced Feet of Jesus and looking at His
Five Wounds, and trusting in His Precious Blood and adoring His opened Side and
stricken Heart, I implore You, Adorable Spirit, Helper of my infirmity, to keep
me in Your grace that I may never sin against You. Give me grace, O Holy
Spirit, Spirit of the Father and the Son to say to You always and everywhere,
"Speak Lord for Your servant heareth." Amen.
PRAYER FOR THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
PRAYER FOR THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
O Lord Jesus Christ,
Who, before ascending into heaven, did promise to send the Holy Spirit to
finish Your work in the souls of Your Apostles and Disciples, deign to grant
the same Holy Spirit to me that He may perfect in my soul, the work of Your
grace and Your love. Grant me the Spirit of Wisdom that I may despise the
perishable things of this world and aspire only after the things that are
eternal, the Spirit of Understanding to enlighten my mind with the light of
Your divine truth, the Spirit of Counsel that I may ever choose the surest way
of pleasing God and gaining heaven, the Spirit of Fortitude that I may bear my
cross with You and that I may overcome with courage all the obstacles that
oppose my salvation, the Spirit of Knowledge that I may know God and know
myself and grow perfect in the science of the Saints, the Spirit of Piety that
I may find the service of God sweet and amiable, and the Spirit of Fear that I
may be filled with a loving reverence towards God and may dread in any way to
displease Him. Mark me, dear Lord, with the sign of Your true disciples and
animate me in all things with Your Spirit. Amen.
MOTHERS DAY
In honor of Mother’s Day, here are a few quotes from
John Paul II’s apostolic letter On the Dignity of Women (Mulieris
Dignitatem) about the unique vocation of motherhood.
John Paul II: “Motherhood involves a
special communion with the mystery of life, as it develops in the mother’s
womb. The mother is filled with wonder at this mystery of life,
and ‘understands’ with unique intuition what is happening inside her. In the
light of the ‘beginning’, the mother accepts and loves as a person the child
she is carrying in her womb. This unique contact with the new human being
developing within her gives rise to an attitude towards human beings – not only
towards her own child, but every human being – which profoundly marks the
woman’s personality.”
“Motherhood implies from the beginning a special
openness to the new person: and this is precisely the woman’s ‘part’.
In this openness, in conceiving and giving birth to a child, the woman
‘discovers herself through a sincere gift of self’.”
“Human parenthood is something shared by both the man
and the woman. Even if the woman, out of love for her husband, says: ‘I have
given you a child’, her words also mean: ‘This is our child’. Although both of
them together are parents of their child, the woman’s motherhood
constitutes a special ‘part’ in this shared parenthood, and the most
demanding part. Parenthood – even though it belongs to both – is realized much
more fully in the woman, especially in the prenatal period. It is the woman who
‘pays’ directly for this shared generation, which literally absorbs the
energies of her body and soul. It is therefore necessary that the man
be fully aware that in their shared program of parenthood he owes a special
debt to the woman.”
John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitatem (1988), no. 18
Comments
Post a Comment