Universalis: Office of Readings

Universalis: Office of Readings:
sermon by St Gregory Nazianzen
Two bodies, but a single spirit (about St. Basil)

"We seemed to be two bodies with a single spirit. Though we cannot believe those who claim that everything is contained in everything, yet you must believe that in our case each of us was in the other and with the other.

Our single object and ambition was virtue, and a life of hope in the blessings that are to come; we wanted to withdraw from this world before we departed from it. With this end in view we ordered our lives and all our actions. We followed the guidance of God’s law and spurred each other on to virtue. If it is not too boastful to say, we found in each other a standard and rule for discerning right from wrong.

Different men have different names, which they owe to their parents or to themselves, that is, to their own pursuits and achievements. But our great pursuit, the great name we wanted, was to be Christians, to be called Christians."

Oh Lord, send like minded people into lives so that we can be strengthened in our faith.

USCCB - (NAB) - January 2, 2008

USCCB - (NAB) - January 2, 2008: "Reading 1
1 Jn 2:22-28

Beloved:
Who is the liar?
Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ.
Whoever denies the Father and the Son, this is the antichrist.
Anyone who denies the Son does not have the Father,
but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well."

Prayer for Today: Lord give us the faith and strength needed to never deny You...neither in word, nor deed. May our lives be about Truth!

poverty of spirit

Intercessors Of The Lamb:

"Humility is very important, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” We have four vows: poverty, chastity, obedience and zeal for the salvation of souls, which is victim love. For a long time I used to think that the vow and the spirit of obedience was number one. We have grown to see that it is the spirit of poverty that is first. Our Lady is Lady Poverty. When I am empty and divested of me, myself and I, that little unholy trinity – when I am poor – I am automatically detached from my own will. Obedience is never going to be a problem when we are detached, when we are poor in spirit as Mary was. Then, we will always do whatever, whatever, whatever. There is no attachment."

Universalis: Morning Prayer (Lauds)

Universalis: Morning Prayer (Lauds):

"God, it was by means of blessed Mary, virgin and mother, that you gave the human race the gift of eternal salvation.
Grant that we may feel the effects of her intercession for us,
for it is through her that we have received your Son, the source of life."

USCCB - (NAB) - January 1, 2008

USCCB - (NAB) - January 1, 2008:
"Nm 6:22-27

The LORD said to Moses:
“Speak to Aaron and his sons and tell them:
This is how you shall bless the Israelites.
Say to them:
The LORD bless you and keep you!
The LORD let his face shine upon
you, and be gracious to you!
The LORD look upon you kindly and
give you peace!
So shall they invoke my name upon the Israelites,
and I will bless them.”"

Prayer for Today: Lord bless all who gather here that each in turn may be a blessing to others.

Days of Elijah (video)

Be ready!

Intercessors Of The Lamb:

"There was a very powerful prophetic word given from the Papal altar at St. Peter’s. I never forgot it. It seems that now is the time for this prophetic word to be realized, I want to share a little bit of it. This is what God said. “I will pour out on you all the gifts of My Spirit. I will prepare you for spiritual combat. Be ready My people; I want to prepare you. I speak to you of the dawn of a new age for My Church. I speak to you of a new day that has not been seen before. Prepare yourselves for the action that I begin now because things that you see around you will change. The combat that you must enter now is different. It is new. You need wisdom from Me that you do not yet have.” This is why we are going to go to the desert - to get this wisdom. “You need the power of My Holy Spirit in a way that you have not yet possessed it. You need an understanding of My will and of the ways that I work that you do not yet have. Open your eyes. Open your hearts to prepare yourselves for Me and for the day that I have now begun. Prepare! For, I proclaim a new day, a day of victory and of triumph for your God. Behold, it has begun.” What a beautiful word. Doesn’t it sound like it is for us? Doesn’t it sound like this is His time?"

Excerpt from Mother Nadine’s, “Introduction,” Prepare the Way of the Lord Conference, Omaha, NE 2005

Universalis: Office of Readings

Universalis: Office of Readings:

"You who love the Lord, hate evil!
The Lord protects the lives of his consecrated ones:
he will free them from the hands of sinners.
A light has arisen for the just,
and gladness for the upright in heart.
Rejoice, you just, in the Lord
and proclaim his holiness."

Dear Lord, open our eyes so that we can see evil for what it is..SIN! Not what our anti christian society has told us it is, but what the Lord has decreed.

USCCB - (NAB) - December 31, 2007

USCCB - (NAB) - December 31, 2007:
"1 Jn 2:18-21

Children, it is the last hour;
and just as you heard that the antichrist was coming,
so now many antichrists have appeared."

Pryer for Today: Dear Lord help us to 'batten down the hatches' and prepare pretty much as we would in the case of an impeding storm. We are living in anti christian times, and among anti christian people and the attacks can seem pretty fierce at times. However the Lord has promised that the rewards in heaven would be great for those that persevere.

Marriage Prayer

Heavenly Father, through the intercession of the Holy Family, help us to treasure the gift of Marriage that reflects the love of Christ for the Church, where the self-giving love of husband and wife unites them more perfectly and cooperates in Your Plan for new life created in Your Image.

Help us support men and women in their vocation of marriage, especially in difficult times when they join their sufferings to the Cross.

Help us uphold the institution of Marriage in our society as the place where love is nurtured and family life begins.

Help us acknowledge that our future depends on this love and Your Providential care for us. Amen.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, bless our families.

Cancao da Familia (video)

Dedicated to my entire family and all my Portuguese friends that join me here, on this Feast Day of the Family which is made even more special for my family since it is the 10th anniversary of my mom's entrance into heaven. I love you all!

The Eternal Family Reunion

The Eternal Family Reunion : A Catholic Reflection:

"For your family to stay together for an eternity of Christmases, you must:

Repent of sin and decide to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Talk to your family members about your love for Jesus.

Be in right relationship with family members. Honor your parents (Sir 3:2), be submissive to your husband, lay down your life for your wife (Col 3:18-19), disciple your children.

Pray together daily as a married couple and as a family (see Mt 18:19-20).

Forgive family members seven times seventy times (see Col 3:13).

Many of you feel very discouraged about the spiritual state of your families. Be instead confident that the Lord loves each member of your family, even to death on the cross. Jesus will change the hardest heart. Be hopeful.

PRAYER: Father, may I remove the plank of sin from my own eye so as to help family members remove the specks from their eyes (Mt 7:5)."

USCCB - (NAB) - December 30, 2007

USCCB - (NAB) - December 30, 2007:

"Wives, be subordinate to your husbands,
as is proper in the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives,
and avoid any bitterness toward them.
Children, obey your parents in everything,
for this is pleasing to the Lord.
Fathers, do not provoke your children,
so they may not become discouraged."

Prayer for Today: Oh Lord, you designed the family to be a learning place for us on how to be Christians. Give us humility and a heart for each other so that we may discover the beauty hidden there.

Universalis: Office of Readings:
An address given at Nazareth by Pope Paul VI
The example of Nazareth

"Second, we learn about family life. May Nazareth serve as a model of what the family should be. May it show us the family’s holy and enduring character and exemplify its basic function in society: a community of love and sharing, beautiful for the problems it poses and the rewards it brings, in sum, the perfect setting for rearing children – and for this there is no substitute."

Prayer Request

Dear friends in Jesus,
My nephew Steven Graves, 14 years old is in dire need of prayers. He is once again in the hospital. This boy has suffered since he was 2 with Autism, chronic pancreatitis, migraines, sleep disorder, esophageal reflux, foreign mass build up in his stomach called a bezoar, cysts on his brain, malnourishment due to inability to eat because of stomach problems plus the Autism he suffers from limits the things he will eat since he has extreme sensory issues. This little angel weighed only 60 lbs. last Christmas, we almost lost him. The good Lord has helped him to reach 100 pounds over the past year and we are very greatful for this great favor. Still he has been out of school and housebound, practically bedridden for 2 years. He needs a miracle. His family suffers extreme sleep deprevation due to Stevens sleep disorder, and trying to care for an autistic child who is very limited in speech to express how he feels is very difficult. Please, I beg you to pray for this sweet little boy. Thank you for listening and caring.

Patti Crawford

Found in Bulletin this week...

As you begin your New Year, below are some recommendations for a Catholic home:
• Meals together as often as possible – with grace before and after
• Blessings of children by parents at night
• Spouse blessing one another at night
• Never going to bed angry
• Icons or pictures of Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart in a prominent place
• Crucifixes in main rooms, bedrooms
• Other holy pictures or statues in rooms
• Open Bibles in rooms
• Have a Catechism of Catholic Church
• Wearing of Cross, scapular or other blessed medals
• Holy water-perhaps in a container at door entrances, to be used entering and exiting your home
• Blessed Incense
• Blessed Oil – can be used for cooking
• Blessed Salt – can be used for cooking
• Praying Rosary daily, as a family whenever possible
• Regular celebration of Sacrament of Reconciliation
• Weekly Mass (daily Mass is encouraged) and Adoration
• Gregorian Chant or other Christian music
• Container into which family members can make donation for the poor
• Cast out all articles of occult and New Age (e.g. Ouija Boards, crystals, pornography, inappropriate books, music or videos, etc)

The Precepts of the Church

CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: "II. THE PRECEPTS OF THE CHURCH
2041 The precepts of the Church are set in the context of a moral life bound to and nourished by liturgical life. The obligatory character of these positive laws decreed by the pastoral authorities is meant to guarantee to the faithful the indispensable minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort, in the growth in love of God and neighbor:

2042 The first precept ('You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation.') requires the faithful to participate in the Eucharistic celebration when the Christian community gathers together on the day commemorating the Resurrection of the Lord.[82]

The second precept ('You shall confess your sins at least once a year.') ensures preparation for the Eucharist by the reception of the sacrament of reconciliation, which continues Baptism's work of conversion and forgiveness.[83]

The third precept ('You shall humbly receive your Creator in Holy Communion at least during the Easter season.') guarantees as a minimum the reception of the Lord's Body and Blood in connection with the Paschal feasts, the origin and center of the Christian liturgy.[84]

2043 The fourth precept ('You shall keep holy the holy days of obligation.') completes the Sunday observance by participation in the principal liturgical feasts which honor the mysteries of the Lord, the Virgin Mary, and the saints.[85]

The fifth precept ('You shall observe the prescribed days of fasting and abstinence.') ensures the times of ascesis and penance which prepare us for the liturgical feasts; they help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart.[86]
The faithful also have the duty of providing for the material needs of the Church, each according to his abilities.[87]"

Go Light Your World(video)

the fruit of obedience

Intercessors Of The Lamb

The third mark of the Church is catholic. That means that it is universal. God is saying, “I want My house to be a house of prayer for all nations, for everyone.” This is what we are called to do. Wisdom is instructing her children! This mark of the Church, this catholicity, comes out of the third pillar of contemplation, which is prayer itself. Prayer, if we are faithful to it, will always produce the fruit of obedience – always. It is out of prayer that we are able to do whatever He tells us. Why? Because it is in prayer that we are listening and receiving whatever He says. It is in prayer that we receive the strength to live it out. This is why He said, “A body You have prepared for Me. Behold, I come to do Your will.” He is saying that to us through our intercession as we prepare the way for Him throughout the Church, throughout the world. “A body you have prepared for Me,” out of our own silence, our own solitude, our own prayer, and our own penance. “A body you have prepared for Me,” so that He can continue coming and dwelling within people and living out the Father’s perfect will. That is always the victory over satan. That is always the maternal “yes” over the “no.” Everything becomes “yes” for intercessors. Everything is, “Yes Lord!” It brings grace, not only to us but also, to others. The theological gift that comes forth in this pillar of prayer, and this universal mark of the Church, is love – love. Love reaches its perfection through obedience. Jesus does not want just our word, “yes.” It is those who do the will of God that He seeks. This will bring forth tremendous love. Obedience, you might say, is like love in action. It is the proof in the pudding. It is the proof that we do love. Prayer, in turn, becomes the fruit of obedience.

Universalis: Office of Readings

Universalis: Office of Readings:
Colossians 1:1 - 14

"Epaphras, who taught you, is one of our closest fellow workers and a faithful deputy for us as Christ’s servant, and it was he who told us all about your love in the Spirit.
That will explain why, ever since the day he told us, we have never failed to pray for you, and what we ask God is that through perfect wisdom and spiritual understanding you should reach the fullest knowledge of his will. So you will be able to lead the kind of life which the Lord expects of you, a life acceptable to him in all its aspects; showing the results in all the good actions you do and increasing your knowledge of God."

Let us not fail to pray for one another, so that we all may reach the fullest knowledge of God's will.

USCCB - (NAB) - December 29, 2007

USCCB - (NAB) - December 29, 2007:

"The way we may be sure that we know Jesus
is to keep his commandments.
Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not keep his commandments
is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
But whoever keeps his word,
the love of God is truly perfected in him.
This is the way we may know that we are in union with him:
whoever claims to abide in him ought to walk just as he walked."

Prayer for Today: Dear Jesus, may we come to know You fully. First through the Church that You left behind and then through the Scriptures that came from it. May our love and desire for knowledge of Your commandments grow as our love for You grows.