The Gifts of Jesus

 

 

 

The Crowning of a Mother/Enric Monserday Vidal

  

"Jesus Christ,

after having given us all He could give,

that is to say, the merit of His toils,

His sufferings, and bitter death;

after having given us His adorable body

and blood to be the food of our souls,

willed also to give us

the most precious thing He had left,

which was His holy Mother."

St. John Vianney

 

 

By tradition, the Catholic Church dedicates each month of the year to a certain devotion.  The month of May is the "month which the piety of the faithful has especially dedicated to Our Blessed Lady," and it is the occasion for a "moving tribute of faith and love which Catholics in every part of the world [pay] to the Queen of Heaven. During this month Christians, both in church and in the privacy of the home, offer up to Mary from their hearts an especially fervent and loving homage of prayer and veneration. In this month, too, the benefits of God's mercy come down to us ...in greater abundance."

Paul VI: Encyclical on the Month of May, no. 1

Memorare

 Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine 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 petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.  Amen.

Bl Mother Teresa's Emergency Novena (aka Express Novena):

Ten Memorares: nine in petition, one in thanksgiving

The Gospel Feast

    "Let us not be of those who come [to the Blessed Sacrament] in a formal, mechanical way, as a mere matter of obligation, without reverence, without awe, without wonder, without love. Nor let us fall into the sin of those who complained that they have nothing to gather but the manna, wearying of God's gifts...

    But let us come in faith and hope, and let us say to ourselves: May this be the beginning in us of everlasting bliss! May these be the first fruits of that banquet which is to last forever and ever; ever new, ever transporting, inexhaustible, in the city of our God!"

Bl John Henry Cardinal Newman

The Gospel Feast

THE building block

Do this in memory of Me.

  He sent them...so that as sharers in His power they might

make all peoples His disciples, sanctifying and governing them

 

“No Christian community

can be built up unless it has

its basis and center in the

celebration of the

most Holy Eucharist.”

Decree on the Ministry and Life of the Priests, 6

Vatican II Document

St Philip and St James

Apostles, Martyrs

FEAST DAY - May 3

 

Sts Philip and James, pray for us!

Ephesians 2:19-22

You are strangers and aliens no longer. No, you are fellow citizens of the saints and members of the household of God. You form a building which rises on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the capstone. Through Him the whole structure is fitted together and takes shape as a holy temple in the Lord; in Him you are being built into this temple, to become a dwelling place for God in the Spirit.

After the great and wonderful words...

No one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely,

Jesus Christ, alleluia. – I Cor 3:11 (Today’s Communion Antiphon)

Fr David Toups ~ Florida ~ USA

"You shall see the Levites bringing loaves and a cup of wine, and placing them on the table. So long as the prayers of supplication and entreaties have not been made, there is only bread and wine. But after the great and wonderful prayers have been completed, then the bread is become the Body, and the wine the Blood, of our Lord Jesus Christ.

'And again:' Let us approach the celebration of the mysteries. This bread and this wine, so long as the prayers and supplications have not taken place, remain simply what they are. But after the great prayers and holy supplications have been sent forth, the Word comes down into the bread and wine - and thus His Body is confected."

-"Sermon to the Newly Baptized" ante 373 A.D.

St Athanasius

Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Alexandria ~ c. 297-373

 "The Father of Orthodoxy"

Battled against Arianism*  

(*heresy that denies divinity of Christ)

FEAST DAY - May 2

“Dead men cannot take effective action; their power of influence on others lasts only till the grave. Deeds and actions that energise others belong only to the living. Well, then, look at the facts in this case. The Saviour is working mightily among men, every day He is invisibly persuading numbers of people all over the world, both within and beyond the Greek-speaking world, to accept His faith and be obedient to His teaching. Can anyone, in face of this, still doubt that He has risen and lives, or rather that He is Himself the Life? Does a dead man prick the consciences of men...?” ― Athanasius of Alexandria, On the Incarnation   

Click here: Athanasius Contra Mundum: The Courage to Act Alone | Crisis Magazine

 

Click here: St. Athanasius - YouTube (2 mins)

Click here: SAINTS SPEAK: St. Athanasius (Holy Repentance)  (4 mins) 

 

St Athanasius, pray for us!

Orthodoxy, a classic by G. K. Chesterton, builds on the many themes of the Father and Doctor of Orthodoxy, St Athanasius. Go here to obtain a free ebook. (There are other excellent free, full version online books here, too.) 

Hat tip: Catholic Fire

Feast: St Joseph the Worker

We are called to bear fruit with our hands and mind,

ultimately for the building up of the Body of Christ.

Therefore, whatever you do, work at it with your whole being.

Do it for the Lord rather than for men. ~ Colossians 3:23

FEAST DAY

ST. JOSEPH the WORKER

May 1

 

On May 1, 1955, Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of St Joseph the Worker -

a day dedicated to the dignity of labor and to honoring workers.   

  

 

“St. Joseph, who by

the sweat of your brow obtained

the living Bread for your children,

pray for us.”

 

St. Peter Julian Eymard

 

 

"What is said about Joseph can be summarized like this:  accept the mission from God, let yourself be led by God, embrace the hardship and danger in order to save the Savior.  Joseph saves Mary's reputation, the lineage of Jesus, the integrity of the Child, his rootedness in the land of Israel... Joseph is also saved from an isolated life, form a life that would have been perhaps less turbulent, but that would have lacked the consolation of carrying God in his arms." - Pope Francis (as Jorge Mario Bergoglio)

 

Holy card image courtesy http://thewindowshowsitall.blogspot.com/

 

"Take courage, all you people of the land, says the Lord, and work!

For I am with you, says the Lord of hosts." - Haggai 2:4

 Prayer to St. Joseph for Employment

Dear Saint Joseph, you were yourself once faced with the responsibility of providing the necessities of life for Jesus and Mary. Look down with fatherly compassion upon me in my anxiety over my present inability to support my family. Please help me to find gainful employment very soon, so that this heavy burden of concern will be lifted from my heart and that I am soon able to provide for those whom God has entrusted to my care. Help us to guard against bitterness and discouragement, so that we may emerge from this trial spiritually enriched and with even greater blessings from God. Amen.

St Joseph the Worker, pray for us!