"Do not let your hearts be troubled." ...

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Jesus said to his disciples: Do not let your hearts be troubled. 
You have faith in  God, have faith also in me." - John 14: 1  (Today's gospel)

“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

___________________

Blessed Mother’s Day to all!

"A partnership with God is motherhood.

What beauty, what love, what self control

must belong to her who helps God

fashion an immortal soul!" (Author Unknown)

Some have had kings in their lineage,

Some to whom honor was paid.

Not blest of my ancestors - but,

I have a mother who prays.

I have a mother who prays for me

And pleads with the Lord every day for me.

Oh what a difference it makes for me - 

I have a mother who prays.

Some have worldly success

And trust in riches they've made - 

This is my surest asset,

I have a mother who prays.

My mother's prayers cannot save me,

Only mine can avail;

But mother introduced me to Someone - 

Someone who never could fail.

Oh yes..I have a mother who prays for me

And pleads with the Lord every day for me.

O what a difference it makes for me - 

I have a mother who prays.

Author Unknown

Dearest mothers, thank you, 

...thank you for what you are in your family 
and for what you give to the Church and the world.

And to you, beloved Church, thank you, thank you for being mother. 

And to you, Mary, Mother of God, thank you for letting us see Jesus. 

And thank you for all the mamas.  Let us salute them! - Pope Francis

A Grandmother's gaze...

Between his breviary pages, Pope Francis keeps his Grandmother Rosa's letters and her last words to her grandchildren before she died. She said that in times of sadness, trouble or loss, to look to the tabernacle, "where the greatest and noblest martyr is kept," and to Mary at the foot of the cross so that they may "let fall a drop of salve on the deepest and most painful wounds."

Excerpt from... Pope Francis: Conversations with Jorge Bergoglio

by Sergio Rubin and Francesca Ambrogetti,

originally published 2010 under title "El Jesuita" ("The Jesuit")

Blessed Mother’s Day to all!

"A partnership with God is motherhood.

What beauty, what love, what self control

must belong to her who helps God

fashion an immortal soul!" (Author Unknown)

Some have had kings in their lineage,

Some to whom honor was paid.

Not blest of my ancestors - but,

I have a mother who prays.

I have a mother who prays for me

And pleads with the Lord every day for me.

Oh what a difference it makes for me - 

I have a mother who prays.

Some have worldly success

And trust in riches they've made - 

This is my surest asset,

I have a mother who prays.

My mother's prayers cannot save me,

Only mine can avail;

But mother introduced me to Someone - 

Someone who never could fail.

Oh yes..I have a mother who prays for me

And pleads with the Lord every day for me.

O what a difference it makes for me - 

I have a mother who prays.

Author Unknown

Dearest mothers, thank you, 

...thank you for what you are in your family 
and for what you give to the Church and the world.

And to you, beloved Church, thank you, thank you for being mother. 

And to you, Mary, Mother of God, thank you for letting us see Jesus. 

And thank you for all the mamas.  Let us salute them! - Pope Francis

Hail, Holy Mother, who gave birth to the King

Octave of Christmas

Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God

and World Day of Peace

January 1

 

Hail, Holy Mother, who gave birth to the King,

who rules heaven and earth for ever.

(Entrance Antiphon, Today's Liturgy)

 

 

 

"Let us invite the Blessed Virgin to preside maternally over the Eucharistic life of the entire Church.  May she, the spouse of the Holy Spirit, implore from Him the attainment of that Life which Christ offers to all through the Sacrament of His Body and Blood, celebrated and received in the power of the Spirit of Life and Love."

Pope Blessed John Paul II

We have received this heavenly Sacrament with joy, O Lord:

grant, we pray, that it may lead us to eternal life,

for we rejoice to proclaim the Blessed ever-Virgin Mary

Mother of your Son and Mother of the Church, 

Through Christ our Lord.

(Prayer after Communion, Today's Liturgy)

 

Virgin Immaculate, you are the perfect model of adorers of the Blessed Sacrament. You adored Jesus in the little white Host with the same faith, reverence and wonder with which you adored Him on the first Christmas night and during all the years you lived with Him. Teach us not to forget that the small white Host is truly our God, infinite, eternal and omnipotent. Help us to conduct ourselves at all times in His presence with the modesty and reverence we owe to our God...

Virgin Immaculate, perfect lover of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, we ask you to obtain for us the graces we need to become true adorers of our Eucharistic God. Grant us, we beg of you, to know Him better, to love Him more, and to center our lives around the Eucharist, that is, to make our whole life a constant prayer of adoration, thanksgiving, reparation, and petition to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Amen.

V. Pray for us, O Virgin Immaculate, Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

R. That the Eucharistic Kingdom of Jesus Christ may come among us!

~ From "Treasury of Prayer: Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament"

“We serve a Mother who seems to grow more beautiful

as new generations call her blessed."  - GK Chesterton

 

Click here: Holy Mary Mother of God - YouTube (4 mins)

"Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much.

You can never love her more than Jesus did." - St Maximilian Kolbe

 

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us!

Good Shepherd - nourishes, guards, guides

GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY

Fourth Sunday of Easter

 

We, your people, the flock of your pasture,

will give you thanks for ever and ever; we will tell your praise

from age to age, alleluia! - Psalm 79:13 

"We adore You, Jesus,

eternal Shepherd of the human race. 

You are present in the Eucharist

to dwell continually

in the midst of Your people. 

You nourish us,

You guard us,

You guide us to the heavenly fold."

Ven. James Alberione

  

51st WORLD DAY of PRAYER for VOCATIONS

“Every vocation, even within the variety of paths, always requires an exodus from oneself in order to centre one’s life on Christ and on his Gospel. Both in married life and in the forms of religious consecration, as well as in priestly life, we must surmount the ways of thinking and acting that do not conform to the will of God. It is an ‘exodus that leads us on a journey of adoration of the Lord and of service to Him in our brothers and sisters’ (Address to the International Union of Superiors General, 8 May 2013). Therefore, we are all called to adore Christ.”

Pope Francis, Message for 51st World Day of Prayer for Vocations  

Let us pray that men and women hear and respond generously to the Lord’s call to the priesthood, diaconate, religious life, societies of apostolic life or secular institutes. Check out these many resources to promote a culture of vocations on the USCCB Web site (www.usccb.org/vocations)

Click here: World Day of Prayer for Vocations

 

Blessed Mother’s Day to all!

   

  

Some have had kings in their lineage,

Some to whom honor was paid.

Not blest of my ancestors - but,

I have a mother who prays.

I have a mother who prays for me

And pleads with the Lord every day for me.

Oh what a difference it makes for me - 

I have a mother who prays.

Some have worldly success

And trust in riches they've made - 

This is my surest asset,

I have a mother who prays.

My mother's prayers cannot save me,

Only mine can avail;

But mother introduced me to Someone - 

Someone who never could fail.

Oh yes..I have a mother who prays for me

And pleads with the Lord every day for me.

O what a difference it makes for me - 

I have a mother who prays.

Author Unknown

...but, indeed, we know what to do ...

 

"A partnership with God is motherhood.

What beauty, what love, what self control

Must belong to her who helps God

fashion an immortal soul!" (Author Unknown)