USCCB - (NAB) - December 17, 2007

USCCB - (NAB) - December 17, 2007:

"Eleazar became the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ."

Today's Prayer:
Mary's spiritual lineage comes to her through her husband Joseph. That also means that Jesus' spiritual lineage came to Him through His Foster/Adoptive father, Joseph.

Today's let's pray for all married couples that they be able to access the graces that they have received through the Sacrament of Matrimony in order to raise their families and live in God's peace.

Let's also pray for all those involved in adoptive relationships. May the Lord blessed them and show them the 'realness' of their family. So that each one of us in turn can fully grasp the beauty of being adopted into God's family.

Family Healing Prayer

"what do they have?"

Intercessors Of The Lamb:

"Can you imagine what it will be like when the Church really goes into the desert again, really becomes contemplative again and really starts receiving the enfleshment of the Word, being fed, experiencing the joy? Can you imagine the evangelization that will go forth? People are drawn to happy people. Joy is contagious. You will be able to walk down the street and say, “What do they have?” That is what drew us, in the cloister, to the Charismatic renewal in the first place. Bishop Joseph McKenny came and was so filled with joy. It was wonderful to see a Bishop at the altar who was happy. You cannot camouflage joy, can you?"

For my mom...

We will be celebrating her 10th anniversary with Jesus on December 30th.

Let us pray for all who can't quite find joy during this Season because of the loss of loved ones, or those that are struggling with terminal illnesses. Lord grant them some peace in these days and show them and their loved ones a little taste of the joy that is to come.




My First Christmas in Heaven
I see the countless
Christmas trees
around the world below
With tiny lights, like Heaven's stars,
reflecting on the snow

The sight is so spectacular,
please wipe away the tear
For I am spending Christmas with
Jesus Christ this year.

I hear the many Christmas songs
that people hold so dear
But the sounds of music can't compare
with the Christmas choir up here.

I have no words to tell you,
the joy their voices bring,
For it is beyond description,
to hear the angels sing.

I know how much you miss me,
I see the pain inside your heart.
But I am not so far away,
We really aren't apart.

So be happy for me, dear ones,
You know I hold you dear.
And be glad I'm spending Christmas
with Jesus Christ this year.

I sent you each a special gift,
from my heavenly home above.
I sent you each a memory
of my undying love.

After all, love is a gift more precious
than pure gold.
was always most important
the stories Jesus told.

Please love and keep each other,
my Father said to do.
I can't count the blessing or love
has for each of you.

So have a Merry Christmas and
Wipe away that tear
Remember, I am spending Christmas with
Jesus Christ this year

REJOICE!

Gaudete Sunday: This Child is our Victory. REJOICE! - Catholic Online:

"The Third Sunday of Advent is Gaudete Sunday, the 'pink candle' Sunday, the Sunday we light the pink candle on the Advent wreath. Gaudete is the imperative plural form of the Latin verb gaudere (to rejoice). It is a command ordering us to rejoice! In these days of penance and preparation leading up to the feast of our Savior's birth, it reminds us of the joy that is to come, and serves, amid this season of penance, as a kind of 'break' when we recall the hope we have because of the coming of Jesus."

Joy to the World

praise looks good on you

ice and snow bless the Lord

Universalis: Morning Prayer (Lauds):
"All creatures, bless the Lord
Bless the Lord, all his works, praise and exalt him for ever.

Bless the Lord, you heavens; all his angels, bless the Lord.
Bless the Lord, you waters above the heavens; all his powers, bless the Lord.
Bless the Lord, sun and moon; all stars of the sky, bless the Lord.
Bless the Lord, rain and dew; all you winds, bless the Lord.
Bless the Lord, fire and heat; cold and warmth, bless the Lord.
Bless the Lord, dew and frost; ice and cold, bless the Lord.
Bless the Lord, ice and snow; day and night, bless the Lord.
Bless the Lord, light and darkness; lightning and storm-clouds, bless the Lord.

Bless the Lord, all the earth, praise and exalt him for ever."

Let us praise God for all His deeds including the beautiful blanket of snow that we have been blessed with this morning. Let us also pray for safety for His children during this storm.

USCCB - (NAB) - December 16, 2007

USCCB - (NAB) - December 16, 2007:

"Those whom the LORD has ransomed will return
and enter Zion singing,
crowned with everlasting joy;
they will meet with joy and gladness,
sorrow and mourning will flee."

Today's Prayer: May our focus today be on the Lord, all the great things that He has done for us, and all the beauty that He has placed in our midst. A heart that is full of praise and thanksgiving cannot know sorrow and depression.

called to purity

Intercessors Of The Lamb:

"We’ll change when we begin to experience God’s love for us personally. So He said, “I’ve called you. I’ve called you for this victory of justice. I want you to wear this breastplate of justice. I’ve called you for the victory over sin. I’ve called you to have a pure heart.” Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure of heart, they shall see God” (Mt 5:8). Oh to see God! Here are those mystical gifts again—to see God in others, to see God in situations, and to see God moving in different countries. The pure of heart can see the movement of God."

a pure heart

Spirit Daily - Daily spiritual news from around the world:

"The truth is clear only when the soul is pure, and so purify this Christmas and see like you have never seen! See the truth. See the full picture. Stop imagining the worst.
Ask Our Blessed Immaculate Mother to give you immaculate vision. Purify yourself by elevating yourself into a mindset of love. Go to Confession. Fast before the feast.
This will help you observe matters in a new, fuller way -- and that can be the source of what Christmas is all about: comfort and joy. Go for it!

It is the time of year when matters can be unusually lucid and you should take advantage of it: 'Lord, let me have new eyesight. Let me see what I should see, clearly. Let me see reality in more fullness.'"

I am the God that Healeth Thee (video)

Medjugorje Graces

Medjugorje Graces: Children of Medjugorje Newsletter:

"On December 2nd, one could see tears in Mirjana’s eyes. When the apparition was over, she wept for a long while before sharing with us the following message:

“Dear children! Today, while I am looking at your hearts, my heart is filled with pain and apprehension. My children, stop for a moment and look into your hearts. Is my Son, your God, truly in the first place? Are His commandments truly the measure of your life? I am
warning you again: without faith there is no God’s nearness and no God’s word which is the light of salvation and the light of common sense.”


Mirjana added, “I painfully asked Our Lady not to leave us and not to take her hands away from us. She painfully smiled at my request and left. This time Our Lady did not say, I thank you!”"

Blessed Mother please help us to search our hearts for anything that does not resemble your Son...and help us to acquire the graces to get rid of it through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, so that He alone can reside there!

St. Anthony's Parish

Cardinal Seán’s Blog » Christ Speaks in the City

Father Walter Carreiro's installation as pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Cambridge. Check out the link above for more pictures.

USCCB - (NAB) - December 15, 2007

USCCB - (NAB) - December 15, 2007:
"Mt 17:9a, 10-13

As they were coming down from the mountain,
the disciples asked Jesus,
“Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
He said in reply, “Elijah will indeed come and restore all things;
but I tell you that Elijah has already come,
and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.”
Then the disciples understood
that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist."

Today's Prayer: Open our eyes Lord so that we may see the true treasures that You have layed out before us.

Universalis: Office of Readings

Universalis: Office of Readings:
"Psalm 105 (106)

At Horeb they made a calf
and worshipped a statue.
They exchanged the glory of their people
for the likeness of a bull, that eats grass.
They forgot their God, who had saved them,
who had done great miracles for them in Egypt,
wonders in the land of Ham,
terrors at the Red Sea.
Then he said that he would destroy them,
but Moses, his chosen one, was there:
he stood in the breach before him
to turn aside his wrath,
to prevent the destruction.

To them, the Promised Land meant nothing,
they did not believe the Lord’s word.
They stayed muttering in their tents,
they were deaf to the voice of the Lord."

Seasons of the Heart

John Welch, O.Carm - Seasons of the Heart - AN ENSLAVED HEART:
"Summary

"The hungers of our heart send us into the world seeking nourishment. In many ways we ask the world, 'Have you seen the one who did this to my heart, causing it to ache?' Our heart finds itself scattered over the landscape as we ask each person and each possession and each activity to tell us more about the Mystery at the core of our lives.

So enamoured by the messengers of God, the soul mistakes them for God. We take the good things of God and ask that they be god. The heart, tired of its pilgrimage, seeks to settle down and make a home. It pours its deepest desires into relationships, possessions, plans, activities, goals, and asks that they bring fulfilment to our deepest hungers. We ask too much from them and they begin to crumble under our expectations. Over and over the Carmelite saints remind us that only God is sufficient food for the hungers of the heart."

The Nada Path

John Welch, O.Carm - Seasons of the Heart - AN ENSLAVED HEART

"When John of the Cross drew a stylised mountain to picture the journey of transformation he drew three paths up the mountain. The two outside paths, one of worldly goods, the other of spiritual goods, did not reach the top. Only the middle path of the nadas attained the summit of Carmel. He amplified his teaching in the picture with several lines of text at the bottom. The lines of the text were variations of the theme, "to possess all, possess nothing".

The text at the bottom of the picture gives insight into John's basic understanding of the spiritual journey. He agrees that we are made to possess all, know all, be all, etc. But he also understands that we will never have all if we ask any part of God's creation to be sufficient for these hungers. His counsel to possess nothing in order to possess all is a cryptic encouragement to never ask some thing (some part of God's creation) to be all. Only the one who is no-thing can be our All.

Such asceticism sounds difficult unless one understands that John is addressing men and women who have tried the other paths in life for fulfilment. Their hearts have gone out in search of the one who loved them and they have become enmeshed in life with hearts broken and scattered. John's counsels are words of life for people dying for lack of proper nourishment. He is pointing out the path of life for pilgrims who have lost their way."

FOR THESE TIMES

For These Times lyrics

In these times in which we live
Where the worst of what we live
Is laid out for all the world on the front page
And the sound of someone's heartbreak
Is a soundbite at the news break
With a close shot of the tears rollin' down their face
Blessed be the child who turns a loving eye
And stops to pray
For these times in which we live

In these most uncertain hours
Where the balance of power
Is a fight that is fought every day
And freedom is a word
Some cry out and some whisper
And some are just too quick to give away
Blessed be the one who stands by the one
On the battle line
For these times in which we live

Well give me a heart full of tender mercy
And arms I will open wide

For these times in which we live
Seems like the only answer is
Givin' up on findin' one at all
And we hide behind unsure
Pull the blinds and lock the doors
And hang a pleasant picture on the wall
Blessed is the believer who knows love is our redeemer
And the only breath of life
For these times in which we live

Well give me a heart full of tender mercy
And arms I will open wide
Yeah give me words full of loving kindness
And hands ready to hold up a light
For these times in which we live
For these times in which we live

USCCB - (NAB) - December 14, 2007

USCCB - (NAB) - December 14, 2007:
"Reading 1
Is 48:17-19

Thus says the LORD, your redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel:
I, the LORD, your God,
teach you what is for your good,
and lead you on the way you should go.
If you would hearken to my commandments,
your prosperity would be like a river,
and your vindication like the waves of the sea;
Your descendants would be like the sand,
and those born of your stock like its grains,
Their name never cut off
or blotted out from my presence."

Today's Prayer: With so many 'voices' vying for our attention and each wanting to be 'Lord of our Life'. May we look at each and firmly be able to say as St. John of the Cross did, 'nope' not this...only Jesus is truly worthy to bring us to Him. Only He can deliver on the promises that He makes.

St. John of the Cross

St John of the Cross (1542 - 1591)

He was born in Fontiveros, in Spain, in about 1542. He spent some time as a Carmelite friar before, in 1568, Saint Teresa of Ávila persuaded him to pioneer the reform of the Carmelite order. This was a difficult task and a dangerous one: he suffered imprisonment and severe punishment at the hands of the Church authorities. He died at the monastery of Ubeda in Andalusia on 14 December 1591: the monks there had initially treated him as the worst of sinners, but by the time he died they had recognised his sanctity and his funeral was the occasion of a great outburst of enthusiasm.
His works include two major mystical poems – he is considered one of the great poets of the Spanish language – and detailed commentaries on them and the spiritual truths they convey. He was canonised in 1726 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1926.