Sunday, April 7, 2024
DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples
were, for FEAR of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said
to them, “Peace be with you.”
Life
begins at the end of our comfort zone.
Do
you live in fear of failure or are you locking the doors of your heart to new
opportunities?
When
you let in the spirit of Christ you open yourself to empowerment.
The Law
of Empowerment[1]
The
job of leadership is to lead with the intent to work yourself out of a job. Imagine what would happen if our politicos
did this! This is what Jesus did. After Christ gave His Peace to the apostles,
he breathed on them to receive the power of the Holy Spirit and thus empowered
them to live the supernatural life. We in turn by the power of the successors
of the apostles are heirs to this. Christ wants us to be change agents to bring
about the Kingdom. How can we begin? What steps can we take to mentor and
empower others?
1.
Pray
for conviction and vision.
2.
Select
a person or group from your sphere of influence to mentor.
3.
Meet
and discuss expectations and goals.
4.
Cast
a vision to them for spiritual reproduction.
5.
Ask
for commitment.
6.
Determine
what tools or resources you will use together.
7.
Prepare
yourself and set goals for each meeting.
8.
Meet
regularly for a set time.
9.
Discuss
and apply the truths you learn together.
10. Invest yourself in the person, the
process, and the purpose.
11. Help them find a potential person
to mentor.
12. Evaluate and launch them to try the process themselves.
ON KEEPING
THE LORD'S DAY HOLY[2]
DIES ECCLESIAE
The Eucharistic Assembly:
Heart of Sunday
The presence of the Risen Lord
31. "I am with you always, to the
end of the age" (Mt 28:20). This promise of Christ never ceases to
resound in the Church as the fertile secret of her life and the wellspring of
her hope. As the day of Resurrection, Sunday is not only the remembrance of a
past event: it is a celebration of the living presence of the Risen Lord in the
midst of his own people.
For this presence to be properly
proclaimed and lived, it is not enough that the disciples of Christ pray
individually and commemorate the death and Resurrection of Christ inwardly, in
the secrecy of their hearts. Those who have received the grace of baptism are
not saved as individuals alone, but as members of the Mystical Body, having
become part of the People of God.(38) It is important therefore that they come
together to express fully the very identity of the Church, the ekklesia,
the assembly called together by the Risen Lord who offered his life "to
reunite the scattered children of God" (Jn 11:52). They have become
"one" in Christ (cf. Gal 3:28) through the gift of the Spirit.
This unity becomes visible when Christians gather together: it is then that
they come to know vividly and to testify to the world that they are the people
redeemed, drawn "from every tribe and language and people and nation"
(Rev 5:9). The assembly of Christ's disciples embodies from age to age
the image of the first Christian community which Luke gives as an example in
the Acts of the Apostles, when he recounts that the first baptized believers
"devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the
breaking of bread and the prayers" (2:42).
Second Sunday after Easter[3]
Called Dominica in Albis, or Low Sunday.
WHY is this Sunday called Dominica in Albis, (White Sunday)?
Because,
in the earlier times, those who had been baptized on Holy Saturday on this day laid
aside the white garments which they had then received, and put on their necks
an, “Agnus Dei” made of white wax, and blessed by the Pope, to remind them
continually that they were bound to preserve that innocence unstained. The
Church therefore sings, at the Introit of the Mass, as new-born babes,
alleluia, desire the rational milk without guile, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
(1 Pet. ii. 2). Rejoice to God our helper; sing aloud to the God of Jacob. Ps.
Ixxx. 1).
Prayer. Grant,
we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we who have performed the paschal
solemnities, may, by Thy grace, preserve them in our life and conduct.
EPISTLE,
i. John v. 4-10.
Dearly Beloved: Whatsoever is born of God overcometh
the world: and this is the victory which overcometh the world, our faith.
Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that
believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is he that came by
water and blood, Jesus Christ: not by water only, but by water and blood. And
it is the Spirit which testifieth, that Christ is the truth. And there are
three Who give testimony in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost.
And these three are one. And there are three that give testimony on earth: the
spirit, and the water, and the blood, and these three are one. If we receive
the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater. For this is the
testimony of God, which is greater, because He hath testified of His Son. He
that believeth in the Son of God, hath the testimony of God in himself.
Explanation.
By loving faith in Jesus as the Son of God, we can
surely overcome the world, because that faith shows us in God, our Father; in
the world to come, our true country; in Jesus, our example; teaching us to love
God above all things, to disregard the world, and worldly goods, and to strive
for the eternal. That Jesus is the Son of God, St. John shows:
1. By the threefold testimony on earth, of the water
at the baptism in Jordan, of the blood at the death on the cross, of the spirit
in the miraculous effects wrought in those that believed.
2. By the threefold testimony from heaven of the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Aspiration.
O Jesus, I believe in Thee, as the Son of the living
God! Grant that through this faith I may victoriously combat the flesh, the
world, the devil, and every inclination to evil, and obtain everlasting life.
GOSPEL.
John xx. 19-31.
At
that time: When it was late that same day, the first of the week, and the doors
were shut, where the disciples were gathered together for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them: Peace be to you. And when
He had said this, He showed them His hands, and His side. The disciples
therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord. He said therefore to them again:
Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent Me, I also send you. When He had said
this, He breathed on them; and He said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost.
Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them: and whose sins you shall
retain, they are retained. Now Thomas, one of the twelve, who is called
Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said
to him: We have seen the Lord. But he said to them: Except I shall see in His
hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails,
and put my hand into His side, I will not believe. And after eight days again
His disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Jesus cometh, the doors being
shut, and stood in the midst, and said: Peace be to you. Then He saith to
Thomas: Put in thy finger hither, and see My hands; and bring hither thy hand,
and put it into My side: and be not faithless but believing. Thomas answered,
and said to Him: My Lord and my God. Jesus saith to him: Because thou hast seen
Me, Thomas, thou hast believed: Blessed are they that have not seen, and have
believed. Many other signs also did Jesus in the sight of His disciples, which
are not written in this book. But these are written that you may believe that
Jesus is the Christ the Son of God: and that believing, you may have life in
His name.
Why does
Jesus so often say, Peace be to you?
To signify that He had
restored peace between God and man; to show how men might know His disciples;
and how necessary to salvation the preservation of peace is.
Why did
God permit Thomas to disbelieve the appearance of Christ to the other
disciples?
That we might thereby be
strengthened in faith, for as Christ took away all doubt from Thomas, by
appearing again, the resurrection of Christ by that means becomes, as St.
Gregory says, so much the more credible and certain.
What is
it to believe in God?
To receive as immovably
certain what God has revealed to us, although we cannot understand it.
What must
we, therefore, believe?
All that God has revealed.
Why must
we believe all this?
Because God, the infallible
truth, has revealed it. This belief is as necessary to salvation as it is
reasonable in itself.
How can
we certainly know what God has or has not revealed, and which this one true
faith is?
Through His Church, which is
guided by the Holy Ghost to all truth, and in which Jesus Christ dwells till
the end of time.
How can
we know the Church of Christ?
By this, that, like the
truth, she is one, holy, apostolic, and catholic.
Which is
this true Church of Christ?
The Roman Catholic, since
she alone possesses the abovementioned marks of the true Church. She alone has
preserved unity in faith and in the holy sacraments, and is subordinate to one
visible head, the Pope. She alone can trace her derivation from the apostles to
the present day, and can demonstrate this origin as well by her doctrine, as by
the succession of her popes and bishops. She alone has all the means of
salvation, and she alone has produced saints. Finally, she alone embraces all
ages, and shines, as St. Augustine says, from one end of the world to the
other, in the splendor of one and the same faith, inviting all to her bosom, to
bring them to Jesus.
What
answer should a Catholic make to objections against the Mass, purgatory, and
such like?
He should say, I believe
these and the like matters of faith, because God, Who is Truth, has revealed
them: I believe that He has thus revealed them, because the Roman Catholic
Church, which teaches them to me, has all the marks of the true Church of Christ,
guided by God, and cannot therefore deceive me.
Is it sufficient for salvation to have the true faith, and to belong to
the true Church?
No; we
must live according to that faith, that is, we must observe what it commands,
avoid what it forbids, and often, particularly in temptation, make an act of
faith.
Divine
Mercy Sunday[4]
During the
Passover observance in 30 A.D., the last Supper would have been observed on
Thursday, April 6 [Nisan 13], and Jesus would have been crucified on Friday,
April 7 [Nisan 14].)
Reflect what it took to
make Christ the gentle shepherd of our souls: For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone
who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.
Come to the Feast of Divine Mercy! Calling all Catholics, come to the
Feast of Mercy on the Sunday after Easter. Did you know that the Lord said that
this feast would one day be the “last hope of salvation”? Have you considered
what would happen to you if you suddenly died in the state of mortal sin? Did
you know that in the 1930’s Our Lord Jesus, Himself requested through St.
Faustina that a very special Feast of Divine Mercy be established in His Church
and solemnly celebrated on the First Sunday after Easter every year?
In
the Jubilee Year 2000, after many years of study, Saint Pope John Paul II
fulfilled the will of Christ by establishing this special Feast of Divine Mercy
in the Catholic Church and gave it the name of Divine Mercy Sunday! By God’s
Providence, Saint John Paul II died on this feast in 2005. What is so special
about this new Feast of Divine Mercy you might be asking yourself?
It
is the promise of the total forgiveness of all sins and punishment for any soul
that would go to Confession and then receive Jesus in Holy Communion on that
very special Feast of Divine Mercy! Why would Jesus offer us something so great
at this time?
Jesus
told St. Faustina that she was to prepare the world for His Second Coming and
that He would be pouring out His Mercy in very great abundance before He comes
again as the Just Judge and as the very last hope of salvation. If you have
been away from the practice of your Catholic faith, and if you would like to
come back into the, one, true Catholic Church, then this is the most perfect
opportunity for you, if you are prepared to repent and turn from sin. Many
former fallen-away Catholics have taken advantage of this great Feast of Mercy
to get a brand-new start in life and to be totally prepared to stand before the
Lord.
If you have been away from the
Catholic faith and
if you have any questions about coming back home, then come in and talk to a
priest at any Catholic Church. The beauty of the Catholic Church is that its
teachings and practices are the same at all the parishes. You may have
concerns, such as: marriage outside of the Church; un-confessed abortions; or
other issues that could be preventing you from receiving Holy Communion or you
may have questions about the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Don’t remain in
doubt. Call your local parish office to find out the necessary steps to come
back to the Catholic faith. Don’t consider yourself as without hope. Our Lord
Jesus wants to pardon completely even the worst sinners possible. Remember,
Jesus has come for sinners, not the righteous. Jesus said that even if our sins
were as numerous as the grains of sand, they would be lost in His Ocean of
Mercy. If you are truly repentant of your sins and are well prepared to confess
your sins in the Sacrament of Confession, you’ll experience a tremendous peace.
You’ll experience a great weight lifted from you and get a brand-new start in
life! Once you have confessed your sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation,
then you must continue to practice your faith as a good Catholic. This involves
attending Mass every Sunday and on Holy Days of Obligation, supporting your
local parish, and confessing your serious sins at least once a year. In
Confession, you must be truly sorry for your sins and you must intend to
continue to practice your faith.
Jesus
is in the Confessional
One
of the most reassuring things Our Lord Jesus revealed to us through Saint
Faustina includes the several times when He indicated to her that He is really
there in the Confessional when we are making our individual Confessions to the
priests. Jesus said that every time we enter the Confessional, that He Himself
is there waiting for us, and that He is only hidden by the priest. Jesus said
never to analyze what sort of a priest that He is making use of, but for us to
reveal our souls to Him and that He will fill us with His peace and light. Some
have wondered why Jesus would want us to confess our sins to a priest, but the
answer is in the very first instruction that Jesus gave to His Apostles
directly after His Resurrection from the dead. On the evening of the
Resurrection, Jesus walked through the door of the Upper Room where the
Apostles were hiding and said to them “Receive the Holy Spirit, what sins you
forgive are forgiven them, what sins you retain are retained”. This was the
start of Confessions. For sure, that command was not only for the Apostles to
be able to forgive sins, and then to be forgotten, but for that power to be
passed on to all the ordained priests of today in the Catholic Church. Jesus
said that the greater the sinner, the greater the right they have to His mercy!
Don’t continue to carry your sins, Jesus forgives!
To properly celebrate the Feast of
Divine Mercy and
to receive the forgiveness of all sins and punishment, you must go to
Confession to a Catholic priest within 20 days before or after Divine Mercy
Sunday. Or if you are in the state of very serious or mortal sin, you must
always confess them before receiving Jesus in Holy Communion, or you will also
commit a sacrilege, which is also a very serious sin. If you haven’t been going
to Sunday Mass without any good reason, you may be in a state of serious sin
and you must confess before receiving Jesus in Holy Communion. For more
information about the Feast of Divine Mercy and a Confession Guide, go to: http://www.DivineMercySunday.com or call 772-873-4581.
Jesus to Sr. Faustina[5]
On
one occasion, I heard these words: "My daughter, tell the whole world
about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and
shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very
depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon
those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to
Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins
and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which graces flow
are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as
scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be
able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come
forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation
to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of
Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be
solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have
peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.
"[Let] the greatest
sinners place their trust in My mercy. They have the right before others to
trust in the abyss of My mercy. My daughter write about My mercy towards
tormented souls. Souls that make an appeal to My mercy delight Me. To such
souls I grant even more graces than they ask. I cannot punish even the greatest
sinner if he makes an appeal to My compassion, but on the contrary, I justify
him in My unfathomable and inscrutable mercy. Write: before I come as a just
Judge, I first open wide the door of My mercy. He who refuses to pass through
the door of My mercy must pass through the door of My justice.
"From all My wounds,
like from streams, mercy flows for souls, but the wound in My Heart is the
fountain of unfathomable mercy. From this fountain spring all graces for souls.
The flames of compassion burn Me. I desire greatly to pour them out upon souls.
Speak to the whole world about My mercy."
Excerpted
from Diary of Sr. M. Faustina Kowalska.
Things to
Do:
- Read
the Apostolic
Penitentiary Decree on the Indulgences attached to devotions in honor of
Divine Mercy
- Read
Dives
in misericordia, the encyclical Letter of John Paul II on Mercy.
STOP
and PRAY[6]
At
3:00 o'clock we can pray:
In His Revelations to
Blessed Faustina, Jesus asked for special, daily remembrance at three o'clock,
the very hour He died for us on the cross:
DIRECTIONS
"At three o'clock,
implore My mercy, especially for sinners; and if only for a brief moment,
immerse yourself in My Passion, particularly in My abandonment at the moment of
agony: This is the hour of great mercy for the whole world. I will allow you to
enter into My mortal sorrow. In this hour, I will refuse nothing to the soul
that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion." (Diary, 1320).
You
expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls and the ocean of
mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fountain of Life, unfathomable Divine
Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us. (Diary, 1319).
O
Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of
mercy for us, I trust in You. (Diary, 84
International
Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda History[7]
International Day of Reflection
on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda seeks to remember the lives
that were lost in the genocide. In 1994, the deaths of the Presidents of
Burundi and Rwanda sparked a several month-long retaliatory attack. More than
800,000 lives were lost over this period. Most of the victims were the Tutsi,
an ethnic group who made up close to 14% of the country. This day remembers the
victims and pledges to prevent future genocides. International Day of
Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda was established in
2003 by the UN General Assembly. It is observed annually on April 7th.
·
Our Lady of Kibeho’s Messages
Concern the Whole World
·
Where is America at on the 8 Stages
of Genocide? Will It Happen Here?
Roméo
Dallaire (Soldier of Righteousness)
As the world failed Rwanda he could not and would not abandon the people.
John McCain in his book
Character is Destiny examined the character traits exemplified by Roméo
Dallaire who in 1993, was appointed Force Commander for the United Nations
Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR), where he witnessed the country descend
into chaos and genocide, leading to the deaths of more than 800,000 Rwandans.
When the rest of the world looked away, he stayed behind in a manmade evil for
the sake of duty and justice. Dallaire was in charge of a small overwhelmed
African peacekeeping force, he could have left but he refused and witnessed the
genocide. He is ashamed he could have not done more and the reaction of the
world that stood by for 100 days doing nothing allowing the devil to reap
carnage, terror and hopelessness. Dallaire was the one candle in a darkened
room of despair created by the collective failure of mankind’s conscience along
with the apathy and deceitfulness of world governments toward Rowanda’s plight.
McCain writes of Dallaire’s dilemma:
The U.S.
government, our allies, and the United Nations went to extraordinary and
ridiculous lengths to avoid using the term, “genocide”, aware that once
genocide was acknowledged, they would have to act. Day after day, long night
after long night, for over three months, more men, women, and children were
added to the rolls of the victims by their hate-crazed persecutors. Romeo
Dallaire soldiered on, saving those he could and agonizing over those he
couldn’t, all the while begging the UN, and the world, to send more troops, to
do something, anything, to help. In his telling, his mission was to keep peace;
peace was destroyed by unimaginable violence, and many thousands died. He
failed. He tried to convince his superiors to send him more men. He failed. He tried
to get the United States and other powerful countries to listen to their
consciences and help. He failed. He tried to persuade the world to stop
genocide. He failed. And while many, many people who had a responsibility to
stop the killings looked the other way and never had a moment of doubt or a
night of troubled sleep, Romeo Dallaire took his failures very, very
seriously.
A
righteous person, no matter how blameless, will always take humanity’s failures personally.
Speaking of Men motivated by love today is.
Rwanda Lessons Learned[8]
·
The first and enduring lesson of the Rwandan genocide – not unlike
the Holocaust – is that they occurred not only because of the machinery of
death, but because of state-sanctioned incitement to hate and genocide. It is
this teaching of contempt, this demonizing of the other – this is where it all
begins. Indeed, as the jurisprudence of the Rwandan tribunals has demonstrated,
these acts of genocide were preceded by – and anchored in – the
state-orchestrated demonization and dehumanization of the minority Tutsi
population – using cruel, biological ascriptions of Tutsis as “inyenzi”
(cockroaches) – prologue and justification for their mass murder.
·
The second lesson is the danger of indifference and the
consequences of inaction. The genocide of Rwandan Tutsis occurred not only
because of the machinery of death and a state-sanctioned culture of hate, but
also because of crimes of indifference and conspiracies of silence. What makes
the Rwandan genocide so unspeakable is not only the horror of the genocide, but
that this genocide was preventable. Simply put, while the UN Security Council
and the international community dithered and delayed, Rwandans were dying.
·
The third lesson is the danger of a culture of
impunity. If the last century was the age of atrocity, it was also the age of
impunity. Few of the perpetrators were
brought to justice. Just as there cannot be a sanctuary for hate or a
refuge for bigotry, neither can there be a haven for the perpetrators of the
worst crimes against humanity.
·
The fourth lesson is the danger of the vulnerability of
the powerless and the powerlessness of the vulnerable – the brutalized
children, women victimized by massive sexual violence, the slaughter of the
innocents – all the first targets of mass atrocity. It is our responsibility to
empower the powerless while giving voice to the voiceless, wherever they may
be.
·
The fifth lesson is the cruelty of genocide denial —
an assault on memory and truth – a criminal conspiracy to whitewash the Rwandan
genocide. In the obscenest form of genocide denial – as in the case also of
Holocaust denial – it actually accuses the victims of falsifying this “hoax.”
Remembrance of the Rwandan genocide is itself a repudiation of such denial –
which tragically becomes more prevalent with the passage of time.
·
The sixth lesson is the importance of remembering the
heroic rescuers, those who remind us of the range of human possibility; those
who stood up to confront evil, prevailed, and transformed history.
Finally, and most important, we must remember and
pay tribute to the survivors who endured the worst of inhumanity – of crimes
against humanity – and somehow found in the resources of their own humanity the
will to go on, to contribute and to make our society a better and more
compassionate community. And so, this anniversary must be an occasion not only
to remember but to learn the lessons of the crime whose name we should even
shudder to mention – namely genocide – and most important: to act on these lessons.
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
PART THREE: LIFE IN CHRIST
SECTION TWO-THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
CHAPTER
TWO-YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF
Article 10-THE
TENTH COMMANDMENT
II. The Desires of the Spirit
2541 The economy of law and grace
turns men's hearts away from avarice and envy. It initiates them into desire
for the Sovereign Good; it instructs them in the desires of the Holy Spirit who
satisfies man's heart.
The God of the promises always warned man against seduction by what from the
beginning has seemed "good for food . . . a delight to the eyes . . . to
be desired to make one wise."
2542 The Law entrusted to Israel
never sufficed to justify those subject to it; it even became the instrument of
"lust." The gap between wanting and doing points to the conflict
between God's Law which is the "law of my mind," and another law
"making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members."
2543 "But now the
righteousness of God has been manifested apart from law, although the law and
the prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in
Jesus Christ for all who believe." Henceforth, Christ's faithful
"have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires"; they are
led by the Spirit and follow the desires of the Spirit.
PRAYERS AND TEACHINGS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
Corporal
Works of Mercy
The corporal works of
mercy are kind acts by which we help our neighbors with their material and
physical needs.
feed the hungry
give drink to the thirsty
clothe the naked
shelter the homeless
visit the sick
visit the imprisoned
bury the dead
Claire's Corner
Not coming to the church for all your spiritual needs is like eating street food vs home cooked meals from Mom.
Designing A 20 Acre Homestead Layout
Daily
Devotions
·
Today in honor of the
Holy Trinity do the Divine Office giving your day to God. To honor God REST: no
shopping after 6 pm Saturday till Monday. Don’t forget the internet.
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Holy
Bishops and Cardinals
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face
·
30
Days with St. Joseph Day 19
[1] John Maxwell, The Maxwell
Leadership Bible.
[3]Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896
[6]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/activities/view.cfm?id=1055
Orthodox Easter is May 5
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