John Paul II and Divine Mercy, the devotion that guided his pontificate
Pope John Paul II canonized St. Maria Faustina in 2000 and instituted the Feast of the Divine Mercy to be observed on the first Sunday after Easter. It is no coincidence that John Paul the Great’s beautification celebration falls on the Divine Mercy Sunday, May 1st, 2011.
Given to the Church through St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, the Divine Mercy Novena, begins on Good Friday, April 22, 2011. It’s all going to be quite amazing this year as the rundown of events fall together with a overwhelming feeling of Divine Providence. As it says at Marytv.tv, “Just nine days of praying the chaplet of Divine Mercy, plus celebrating the Feast of Divine Mercy with Holy Mass, confession, and prayer for the Pope. And yet, through this Novena and Feast, we are promised that all temporal consequences of sin will be wiped away, and anything we ask of God (that is in harmony with His will) will be granted!”
Read more from this article “Divine Mercy Novena” posted at Marytv.tv
Go “live” at 3:00 pm EST every day from April 22 to April 30, and pray the Divine Mercy Novena with Cathy and Denis at Marytv.tv. We believe it will bring about a part of Our Lady’s plan. Learn more at www.marytv.tv!
John Paul the Great at The Hill of Crosses, Lithuania
The Hill of Crosses is a site of pilgrimage. The precise origin of the practice of leaving crosses on the hill is uncertain, but it is believed that the first crosses were placed on the former Jurgaiciai or Domantai hill fort after the 1831 Uprising. Over the centuries, not only crosses, but giant crucifixes, carvings of Lithuanian patriots, statues of the Virgin Mary and thousands of tiny effigies and rosaries have been brought here by Catholic pilgrims. The number of crosses is unknown, but estimates put it at about 55,000 in 1990 and 100,000 in 2006.
What is Holy Week?
“It is the great Christian mystery of the divinity that is within humanity….a seat of hope in the future after death…There is a second dimension of the Holy Week and it is the liturgical dimension. So these ceremonies have great wealth from the point of view of culture because its the sedimentation of the Great Quest.” ~Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi (President, Pontifical Council for Culture)
Pope turns 84
Happy Birthday Pope Benedict XVI. We are so lucky to have you you!
A priest talks about Bob Dylan, Keith Richards, and the New Evangelization
Think about it: Jesus himself didn’t only associate with the religious, in fact it was some of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day who were the first to condemn Him.
Father Barron’s take on this makes me think of when Jesus was questioned as to why he dines with sinners:
“When the scribes of the Pharisee party saw him eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ When Jesus heard this he said to them, ‘It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. I came to call not the upright, but sinners.'” Mark 2:16-17
The point is that it’s easier to reach those who otherwise might never consider Scripture or Christianity by referencing sources that a wider audience can identify with.
This doesn’t mean we are to exemplify rock stars in the same light as saints, but the saints themselves had open minds and weren’t quick to condemn other ways of perceiving God and the universe. We are all in this together, and we can all learn from each other.
As a huge Bob Dylan fan myself, there’s also something to be said for Bob’s wide range of Christian songs being testimonials for the faith in and of themselves. (Side note: Contrary to popular belief, Bob didn’t given up his faith, in fact he continues to sing and write songs that delve in the spiritual, even if he isn’t still in the fervent “born-again” phase of years’ past).
There’s also something to be said for not passing judgement and assuming every rock star is some kind of raging evil-doer. Heck, we all sin. So to paraphrase Jesus, let the person without any sin cast the first stone.
Carrying your cross
“Some people feel guilty about their anxieties and regard them as a defect of faith. I don’t agree at all. They are afflictions, not sins. Like all afflictions, they are, if we can so take them, our share in the Passion of Christ”— C.S. Lewis (Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer)
What matters most is that you develop your personal relationship with God
Evening Prayer
Someone has said that if Christians really understood the full extent of the power we have available through prayer, we might be speechless. Did you know that during WWII there was an adviser to Churchill who organized a group of people who dropped what they were doing every day at a prescribed hour for one minute to collectively pray for the safety of England, its people and peace? There is now a group of people organizing the same thing here in America.
If you would like to participate: Every evening at 9:00pm Eastern Time (8:00pm Central) (7:00 pm Mountain) (6:00pm Pacific), stop whatever you are doing and spend one minute praying for the safety of the United States, our troops, our citizens, and for a return to a Godly nation. If you know anyone else who would like to participate, please pass this along. Our prayers are the most powerful asset we have.
Tale of two horses
There is a place in the countryside with a field that has two horses. From a distance, each horse looks like any other horse. But if you stop your car, or are walking by, you will notice something quite amazing….Looking into the eyes of one horse will disclose that he is blind. His owner has chosen not to have him put down, but has made a good home for him.
This alone is amazing. If you stand nearby and listen, you will hear the sound of a bell. Looking around for the source of the sound, you will see that it comes from the smaller horse in the field. Attached to the horse’s halter is a small bell. It lets the blind friend know where the other horse is, so he can follow. As you stand and watch these two friends, You’ll see that the horse with the bell is always checking on the blind horse, And that the blind horse will listen for the bell and then slowly walk to where the other horse is, Trusting that he will not be led astray.
When the horse with the bell returns to the shelter of the barn each evening, It stops occasionally and looks back, making sure that the blind friend isn’t too far behind to hear the bell.
Like the owners of these two horses,
God does not throw us away just because we are not perfect
Or because we have problems or challenges.
He watches over us and even brings others into our lives
To help us when we are in need..
Sometimes we are the blind horse being guided by the little ringing bell of those who God places in our lives. Other times we are the guide horse, helping others to find their way…. Good friends are like that… You may not always see them, but you know they are always there.
And remember…
Be kinder than necessary-
Everyone you meet is fighting
Some kind of battle.
Live simply,
Love generously,
Care deeply,
Speak kindly……
Leave the rest to God