1. Party time! Tonight (cinqo de Mayo), 5:30 pm, Parish Hall. Come celebrate the end-of-the year / last day of classes! Burritos, beverages, etc.
2. Thank you all for a great year! Tonight is my last event at St Stephen's unless I return this Fall. I will be in a parish for a year before priesthood ordination next May, God willing. Please pray for me!
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May is the month of Mary, the Blessed Mother. She plays a special role in the life of the Church and for each one of us. She is the Mother of Jesus and she is our heavenly mother. She said 'yes' to God her whole life, most significantly with her 'fiat' (it will be done) at age 14 in which she agreed to conceive the Savior of the world.
Many people, including Catholics, do not understand or know the Blessed Virgin Mary. First, she is not God; we do not worship her. She is the Mother of God who gave birth to and nurtured the Son of God on Earth. We honor her as a perfect vessel through whom Salvation entered the world in Christ Jesus.
Second, when we celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Conception (Dec. 8), we celebrate Mary's conception, not Jesus'. Mary was conceived without original sin in her mother, Ann's, womb. God preserved Mary from sin so that she could be the perfect vessel for His Son to become man.
Third, we do not pray 'to Mary' as if she is God. Rather, we ask her to pray for us to God. It's kind of like when we got in trouble with our Dad when we were young and asked our Mom to soften him up for us. Mary is a powerful intercessor, indeed: the common adage is that 'Jesus never refuses his Mother anything'.
Mary has appeared several times on Earth since she was assumed into Heaven 2000 years ago. Through incredibly thorough and intense investigations, the Church has approved several Marian apparitions in places like a) Guadalupe, Mexico (1500s), b) Lourdes, France (1858), and c) Fatima, Portugal (1907). In these apparitions, Mary often has appeared to simple folks with very serious messages from Heaven.
For example, at Fatima, Mary told three little children to pray the rosary every day (mainly, for the salvation of sinners). The rosary is a beautiful, Scripturally-based devotion that helps us to meditate on the lives of Jesus and Mary. Everything about the life of Mary points to Jesus. Just as Jesus came to us through Mary, so we go to Jesus through Mary.
Finally, my other favorite Marian prayer is the Memorare, which is much shorter than the (15-20 minute) rosary. It is especially powerful when we take a specific intention to our Mother in Heaven:
Remember, O most gracious virgin Mary,
that never was it known,
that anyone who fled to thy protection,
implored thy help,
or sought thy intercession,
was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence,
I fly unto thee, O virgin of virgins, my Mother.
To thee do I come,
before thee I stand,
sinful and sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate,
despise not my petition,
but in thy mercy,
hear and answer me. Amen.
1 comment:
dear brother GREG ,
I will pray for you. Thanks for the good you have done in this parish.
sometimes people have problem of communication but we are all united in the love of CHRIST.
I have decided myself to worship in a different parish every week.
in MATTHEW 4:4 JESUS replies to the devil who asks him a miracle: "
IT IS WRITTEN: ONE DOES NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, BUT BY EVERY WORD THAT COMES FORTH FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD"
In MATTHEW 4:7 to the devil who asks him to prove he is the Son of GOD, JESUS answers : " AGAIN IT IS WRITTEN, YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD , YOUR GOD ,TO THE TEST."
Sometimes we put the LORD to test and ask him a miracle to believe.I do not need miracle to believe in him.
in MATTHEW 7:15 CHRIST tells us :" BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS, WHO COME TO YOU IN SHEEP"S CLOTHING BUT UNDERNEATH ARE RAVENOUS WOLVES,
in MATTHEW 16:20 JESUS strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one he was the messiah .
in ACTS 10:25-26 when CORNELIUS falls on ST PETER 's feet the chief of apostle raise him up saying :" get up .I myself am also a human being."
in ACTS 14:15 to the people of LYSTRA who take PAUL and BARNABAS for gods, the apostle and his disciple shout : " men what are you doing this ? We are of the same nature as you , human beings."
I 'm a human being too.
We face off a difficult challenge as the HOLY FATHER BENEDICT XVI has pointed to us under the form of secularism , relativism , hedonistic attitude and others BUT WE SHALL OVERCOME !
" DO NOT STORE UP FOR YOURSELVES TREASURES ON EARTH , WHERE MOTH AND DECAY DESTROYS , AND THIEVES BREAK IN AND STEAL.BUT STORE UP TREASURES IN HEAVEN, WHERE NEITHER MOTH NOR DECAY DESTROY,NOR THIEVES BREAK IN AND STEAL.FOR WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS , THERE ALSO WILL YOUR HEART BE." MATTHEW 6:19-21
The church will prevail with all christian united because we are all disciples of CHRIST.
let our heart open to the message of love delivered by the LORD because it's truly by his love there is hope for our thirsty soul and it's by love we will be glorified.
1PETER 2:12 "maintain good conduct among the gentiles, so that if they speak of you as evildoers, they may observe your good works and glorify GOD on the day of visitation."
HOLY MOTHER OF GOD PRAY FOR US POOR SINNERS!
brother GREG maybe one day our path would cross again .I pray for your priesthood ordination ,may the LORD gives to you in any circumstances of your life his blessing.
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