Whit Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Courage plants a garden from a pinch of seeds...it may be a future forest, salad or a blaze of flowers

Matthew, Chapter 10, verse 26

26 “Therefore do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known.

Christ’s message here is to have courage under persecution. Yes, if they killed Christ what will they do to us. Look at what is going on in the Middle East, there is no doubt it will be here but Christ reassures us to do not be afraid.

In Acts 8:1-8 we see that there was a severe persecution of the followers of Christ in Jerusalem promulgated by Saul; who by the grace of God was converted and became the apostle to the gentiles Paul. We must not give up hope and we must pray for our persecutors; perhaps Christ will send us another Paul.

Therefore do not be afraid for everyone who believes in the Son has eternal life, and Christ has told us the He will raise us on the last day. (John 6:40)

Pope Francis asks us to pray that our brothers and sisters who are being persecuted may feel the consoling presence of the Risen Lord. Though physically distant from us, they are spiritually close. Suffering because they are Christians, they have a special place in the Heart of Jesus, and, if we are united to that Heart, they will have a special place in our hearts as well.

Pope Francis believes persecution should bring Christians of all denominations together. “The blood of Jesus,” he said, “poured out by many Christian martyrs in various parts of the world, calls us and compels us towards the goal of unity. For persecutors, we are not divided. We are one in their eyes! For persecutors we are Christians! This is the ecumenism of blood that we experience today.”

May our prayerful solidarity with persecuted Christians help them know they are not alone nor abandoned. May it help to bring us together as the One Body of Christ.[1]

The Sacrament of Confirmation[2]

The Samaritans had been converted and baptized by Philip the Deacon. Peter and John administered to them, by the imposition of hands and prayer, the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Is Confirmation a sacrament? Yes, for Jesus Christ has promised the Holy Ghost not only to the apostles, but also to all the faithful, to confirm them fully in faith and charity.

What is the outward sign of this sacrament? The imposition of the bishop s hands, the anointing with the chrism, and the words of the bishop.

What grace is conveyed through this sacrament? Through holy Confirmation, God confirms and completes in the Christian the grace of Baptism, and strengthens him for the combat with his spiritual enemies. Confirmation, like Baptism, cannot be received more than once, because the grace received in these sacraments is always efficacious if we only cooperate with it; and because in these sacraments we receive also an indelible character, which forever distinguishes the souls of those who have been baptized and confirmed from those who have not.