BarbTherese Posted March 21, 2023 Author Posted March 21, 2023 From Divine Office (General Calendar) Friday 24th March 2023 - 4TH Week LENT Morning Prayer - Lauds - MORNING PRAYER Evening Prayer - Vespers - EVENING PRAYER Night Prayer - NIGHT PRAYER (Compline) Second Reading Office of Readings Friday 24th March 2023 The Paschal sacrament brings together in unity of faith those who are far away Brethren, how fine a thing it is to move from festival to festival, from prayer to prayer, from holy day to holy day. The time is now at hand when we enter on a new beginning: the proclamation of the blessed Passover, in which the Lord was sacrificed. We feed as on the food of life, we constantly refresh our souls with his precious blood, as from a fountain. Yet we are always thirsting, burning to be satisfied. But he himself is present for those who thirst and in his goodness invites them to the feast day. Our Saviour repeats his words: If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He quenched the thirst not only of those who came to him then. Whenever anyone seeks him he is freely admitted to the presence of the Saviour. The grace of the feast is not restricted to one occasion. Its rays of glory never set. It is always at hand to enlighten the mind of those who desire it. Its power is always there for those whose minds have been enlightened and who meditate day and night on the holy Scriptures, like the one who is called blessed in the holy psalm: Blessed is the man who has not followed the counsel of the wicked, or stood where sinners stand, or sat in the seat of the scornful, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. Moreover, my friends, the God who first established this feast for us allows us to celebrate it each year. He who gave up his Son to death for our salvation, from the same motive gives us this feast, which is commemorated every year. This feast guides us through the trials that meet us in this world. God now gives us the joy of salvation that shines out from this feast, as he brings us together to form one assembly, uniting us all in spirit in every place, allowing us to pray together and to offer common thanksgiving, as is our duty on the feast. Such is the wonder of his love: he gathers to this feast those who are far apart, and brings together in unity of faith those who may be physically separated from each other. Eucharistic Adoration Live Online: HERE
BarbTherese Posted March 22, 2023 Author Posted March 22, 2023 From Divine Office (General Calendar) Saturday 25th March 2023 - 4TH Week LENT SOLEMNITY OF THE ANNUNCIATION TO MARY Morning Prayer - Lauds - MORNING PRAYER Evening Prayer - Vespers - EVENING PRAYER Night Prayer - NIGHT PRAYER (COMPLINE) Second Reading Office of Readings Saturday 25th March 2023 From a letter of Saint Leo the Great, pope The mystery of man's reconciliation with God Lowliness is assumed by majesty, weakness by power, mortality by eternity. To pay the debt of our sinful state, a nature that was incapable of suffering was joined to one that could suffer. Thus, in keeping with the healing that we needed, one and the same mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, was able to die in one nature, and unable to die in the other. He who is true God was therefore born in the complete and perfect nature of a true man, whole in his own nature, whole in ours. By our nature we mean what the Creator had fashioned in us from the beginning, and took to himself in order to restore it. For in the Saviour there was no trace of what the deceiver introduced and man, being misled, allowed to enter. It does not follow that because he submitted to sharing in our human weakness he therefore shared in our sins. He took the nature of a servant without stain of sin, enlarging our humanity without diminishing his divinity. He emptied himself; though invisible he made himself visible, though Creator and Lord of all things he chose to be one of us mortal men. Yet this was the condescension of compassion, not the loss of omnipotence. So he who in the nature of God had created man, became in the nature of a servant, man himself. Thus the Son of God enters this lowly world. He comes down from the throne of heaven, yet does not separate himself from the Father’s glory. He is born in a new condition, by a new birth. He was born in a new condition, for, invisible in his own nature, he became visible in ours. Beyond our grasp, he chose to come within our grasp. Existing before time began, he began to exist at a moment in time. Lord of the universe, he hid his infinite glory and took the nature of a servant. Incapable of suffering as God, he did not refuse to be a man, capable of suffering. Immortal, he chose to be subject to the laws of death. He who is true God is also true man. There is no falsehood in this unity as long as the lowliness of man and the pre-eminence of God coexist in mutual relationship. As God does not change by his condescension, so man is not swallowed up by being exalted. Each nature exercises its own activity, in communion with the other. The Word does what is proper to the Word, the flesh fulfils what is proper to the flesh. One nature is resplendent with miracles, the other falls victim to injuries. As the Word does not lose equality with the Father’s glory, so the flesh does not leave behind the nature of our race. One and the same person – this must be said over and over again – is truly the Son of God and truly the son of man. He is God in virtue of the fact that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He is man in virtue of the fact that the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. Eucharistic Adoration Live Online: HERE
BarbTherese Posted March 22, 2023 Author Posted March 22, 2023 (edited) THE INCARNATION All quotes in quotation boxes below are taken from The Second Reading in the Office of Readings for the Solemnity Feast of The Annunciation, 25th March 2023. It is at the moment of Mary's "Be it done unto me according to Thy Word" that Jesus, Second Person of The Blessed and Most Sacred Trinity, became a fully human being and took of Mary's flesh and became incarnated and fully human, as Mary had been. Quote He was born in a new condition, for, invisible in his own nature, he became visible in ours. Beyond our grasp, he chose to come within our grasp. Existing before time began, he began to exist at a moment in time. Lord of the universe, he hid his infinite glory and took the nature of a servant. Incapable of suffering as God, he did not refuse to be a man, capable of suffering. Immortal, he chose to be subject to the laws of death. 16 minutes ago, BarbTherese said: As God does not change by his condescension, so man is not swallowed up by being exalted. Each nature exercises its own activity, in communion with the other. The Word does what is proper to the Word, the flesh fulfils what is proper to the flesh. Quote He took the nature of a servant without stain of sin, enlarging our humanity without diminishing his divinity. He emptied himself; though invisible he made himself visible, though Creator and Lord of all things he chose to be one of us mortal men. Yet this was the condescension of compassion, not the loss of omnipotence. So he who in the nature of God had created man, became in the nature of a servant, man himself. Edited March 22, 2023 by BarbTherese
BarbTherese Posted March 22, 2023 Author Posted March 22, 2023 I had the above framed and hanging in every office I had while in the workforce. I also had the record (it was record way back then) at home. As I played it just now on YouTube, I suddenly became aware of Jesus Present in this little cell of mine in this Aged Care Home. Laudate Dominum Deo Gratius Amen.
BarbTherese Posted March 22, 2023 Author Posted March 22, 2023 Soolaimon" can mean "hello," "welcome," "good-bye" and "peace be with you
BarbTherese Posted March 22, 2023 Author Posted March 22, 2023 Quote To read the book, the full text free onlne of: Johnathon Livingston Seagull, go to: https://archive.org/stream/JohnathanLivingstonSeagull-AStory/jls_djvu.txt Quote "I Am The Way, The Truth and The Life" (John Ch 14).............."Know The Truth and the Truth shall set you free" (John Ch 8). I am not saying that Neil Diamond or anything he wrote is the way, truth or life - what I am saying is that we cannot put The Holy Spirit in a compartment, nor restrict Him within boundaries. We need to be alert to His Presence anywhere, everywhere and at all times, for gold is wherever it is found. What is He saying to me in this situation or whatever? What He will do is break open my compartments and tear down my boundaries, drive out my fears. Set me free to find my unique identity and call to follow Jesus. A priest in my teens once asked me "What led you to Jesus?" I quoted the writings of a Roman Historian that "Jesus of Nazareth was crucified in Rome today." Father replied with a question: "So a pagan led you to Jesus?" Father was quite correct and that made me think.
BarbTherese Posted March 22, 2023 Author Posted March 22, 2023 As a teenager, I had plenty of questions, lots of doubts. I used to wonder how we knew that The Gospels were true. Then, when I read what Josephus, a Roman Historian, had written, I knew that Jesus had existed; that The Gospels were true. It was like a briefest touch of only a second or two that told me so much. That marked the time in my journey when my understanding was touched by The Holy Spirit with something a step beyond belief, it was knowledge which left no room for questions nor doubts. It was Gift planted, and I never questioned again. Perhaps I can term it an opening flowering of the Gifts of understanding and knowledge, two Gifts of the seven we receive at Confirmation. Such like experiences walk hand in hand with my bipolar illness. How is that possible? - dunno! It is what it is. In fact, when I was lost completely to any sort of 'sanity' and logic, reasoning, in the early stages of bipolar, it was the music of Bob Dylan and Neil Diamond primarily that led/pointed me back to 'sanity' etc., understanding beyond belief. Gold is wherever it is found. I pray for them both, with myself and The Church, the whole world. Amen. I just wish I was better at this penance thing, although I do suspect that if I was better, I would be full of spiritual pride, which is death to the spirit of Jesus and His Gospel. Weakness can help keep one humble. St Teresa of Avila wrote that to have sinned too keeps one humble. St Albert wrote in the Ancient Rule for Carmel that humility is the foundation of ALL virtue. These are the positives one can draw out of the negatives of faults, failings, and sinfulness. Please grant me humility, Lord, humility in Truth for nothing false can be found anywhere in You..........and I have no basis, no just reason, for pride. Plenty of falsehood in me. Bob Dylan - lyrics: "I and I" https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/bobdylan/iandi.html
BarbTherese Posted March 22, 2023 Author Posted March 22, 2023 For a very good friend of mine in his journey through sadness:
BarbTherese Posted March 22, 2023 Author Posted March 22, 2023 The Shell Poem by James Stephens The Shell AND then I pressed the shell Close to my ear And listened well, And straightway like a bell Came low and clear The slow, sad murmur of the distant seas, Whipped by an icy breeze Upon a shore Wind-swept and desolate. It was a sunless strand that never bore The footprint of a man, Nor felt the weight Since time began Of any human quality or stir Save what the dreary winds and waves incur. And in the hush of waters was the sound Of pebbles rolling round, For ever rolling with a hollow sound. And bubbling sea-weeds as the waters go Swish to and fro Their long, cold tentacles of slimy grey. There was no day, Nor ever came a night Setting the stars alight To wonder at the moon: Was twilight only and the frightened croon, Smitten to whimpers, of the dreary wind And waves that journeyed blind- And then I loosed my ear ... O, it was sweet To hear a cart go jolting down the street. James Stephens
BarbTherese Posted March 23, 2023 Author Posted March 23, 2023 From Divine Office (General Calendar) Sunday 26th March 2023 - 5th Week LENT Morning Prayer - Lauds - MORNING PRAYER Evening Prayer - Vespers - EVENING PRAYER Night Prayer - NIGHT PRAYER (Compline) Second Reading Office of Readings SUNDAY 26th March 2023 From a sermon of Saint Leo the Great, pope In praise of charity In John’s gospel the Lord says: By this love you have for one another, everyone will know you are my disciples. In a letter by John we read: My dear people, let us love one another since love comes from God and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Anyone who fails to love can never have known God, because God is love. So the faithful should look into themselves and carefully examine their minds and the impulses of their hearts. If they find some of the fruits of love stored in their hearts then they must not doubt God’s presence within them, but to make themselves more and more able to receive so great a guest they should do more and more works of durable mercy and kindness. After all, if God is love, charity should know no limit, for God himself cannot be confined within limits. What is the appropriate time for performing works of charity? My beloved children, any time is the right time, but these days of Lent provide a special encouragement. Those who want to be present at the Lord’s Passover in holiness of mind and body should seek above all to win this grace. Charity contains all other virtues and covers a multitude of sins. As we prepare to celebrate that greatest of all mysteries, by which the blood of Jesus Christ destroyed our sins, let us first of all make ready the sacrificial offerings — that is, our works of mercy. What God in his goodness has already given to us, let us give to those who have sinned against us. And to the poor also, and to those who are afflicted in various ways, let us show a more open-handed generosity so that God may be thanked through many voices and the needy may be fed as a result of our fasting. No act of devotion on the part of the faithful gives God more pleasure than the support that is lavished on his poor. Where God finds charity with its loving concern, there he recognises the reflection of his own fatherly care. Do not be put off giving by a lack of resources. A generous spirit is itself great wealth, and there can be no shortage of material for generosity where it is Christ who feeds and Christ who is fed. His hand is present in all this activity: his hand, which multiplies the bread by breaking it and increases it by giving it away. When you give alms, do not be anxious but full of happiness. The greatest treasure will go to the one who has kept the least for himself. The holy apostle Paul tells us: He who provides seed for the sower will give bread for food, provide you with more seed, and increase the harvest of your goodness, in Christ Jesus our Lord, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen. EUCHARISTIC ADORATION LIVE ONLINE: HERE
BarbTherese Posted March 25, 2023 Author Posted March 25, 2023 From Divine Office (General Calendar) Monday 27th March 2023 - 5th Week LENT Morning Prayer - Lauds MORNING PRAYER Evening Prayer - EVENING PRAYER Night Prayer - NIGHT PRAYER (Compline) Second Reading Office of Readings Monday 27th March 2023 Second Reading From the commentary on the penitential psalms (1555) by St John Fisher, bishop and martyr If anyone should sin, we have an advocate before the Father Christ Jesu is our bishop, his most precious body is our sacrifice, which he offered upon a cross for the redemption of all the world. The blood shed for our redemption was not the blood of goats or calves as in the old law, it was the very blood most innocent of our saviour Jesus Christ. The temple wherein our bishop did sacrifice was not made by man’s hand but only by the power of God, he shed his precious blood for our redemption in the face of all the world, which is the temple made only by the hand of God. This temple has two divers parts, one is the earth whereon we inhabit, the other is not yet known to us mortal creatures. First he did sacrifice in the earth when he suffered his passion. After, in a new clothing or garment, the vesture of immortality, and with his own precious blood he entered into sanctum sanctorum [the Holy of Holies] that is to say into heaven when he shewed his said most precious blood before the throne of his father which he shed for all sinners 7 times. By this holy sacrifice almighty God must needs have pity and execute his mercy to all true penitents and this sacrifice shall continue not only year by year as the manner was of Jews, but also it is daily offered for our comfort, and every hour and moment for our most strong succour, wherefore saint Paul says Having obtained eternal redemption. By it we are redeemed for ever. Every contrite and true penitent person not willing to fall again but with a full purpose to continue in virtuous living is partaker of this holy sacrifice. As saint John shews in his first epistle: My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin; but if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And he is the expiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. EUCHARISTIC ADORATION - LIVE ONLINE
BarbTherese Posted March 25, 2023 Author Posted March 25, 2023 (edited) I do find cappie's homilies HERE in Open Mic excellent for forming a resolution for the coming week. I always look forward to reading his homilies. cappie is a Catholic priest and, in my book, a sort of spiritual formator for the Community of Phatmass..............then all of a sudden, it seems, cappie is talking to me specifically in a homily posted - a special charism/gift of The Holy Spirit I think to our priesthood in The Sacrament of Holy Orders. As I said in a previous post, The Holy Spirit can crop up very unexpectedly, unanticipated (at times in unexpected, unanticipated places as well) with something to say to me (or anyone for that matter) quite personally and specifically. Sort of a little epiphany or pentecost (communication of The Holy Spirit) in the life of any person at all. But in my experience, rather often through a Catholic priest. As I start to read one of cappie's homilies, I am not aware it will have something to say to me quite personally (until it leaps at me off the page), and cappie would be unaware in writing a homily of it too! The Holy Spirit can also be a hidden and humble worker. The two greatest figures in The Bible after Jesus are Mary and Joseph. Mary is the Mother of Jesus who is God, while St Joseph cared for and protected them through two particularly dangerous stages in their journeys when Jesus is just a baby (escaping the murder of the innocents and then the flight into Egypt). They were and are hidden workers in my book, filled as they were with The Holy Spirit. Mary and Joseph tend to continue in that vein............or rather, they have been in my journey to date. o0o "No one comes to The Father except through Me" .............(and come to Jesus through the Power of The Holy Spirit). Thank you, Father, for the gratuitous Gift of Faith. My brother died at 29 years of age in 'vehicle accident'. These selections from Catholic African music was one of his favourite recordings. After he had died, we found it with his record collection. It did not intrinsically mean much to my other brothers, I don't think, but it meant the world to me. About a week or two before Bob died, he asked me to his home for dinner. I had no inkling Bob would leave this earth in a week or two (as did Bob) . In Bob I see another hidden and humble worker, confirmed by my Carmelite prioress. She in fact pointed this out to me - i.e. that he had had a special mission here. His wife had left him at this point. When I arrived there was another couple there, man and wife. They didn't say much really in the course of the evening, which was mainly sort of small talk. Then Bob suddenly turned to me and quite out of context said: The subject of religion had not come up, not even in a general sense: "Sis, what IS God, who is He?" "Bob, have you ever loved someone?" "Yeah, I have" "Well, God IS THAT LOVE" I went on, or was about to: "No, Sis. Don't say any more, that is enough". What does the word Soolaimon mean? "Soolaimon" (African) can mean "hello," "welcome," "good-bye" and "peace be with you." Edited March 25, 2023 by BarbTherese
BarbTherese Posted March 25, 2023 Author Posted March 25, 2023 ..............and mea maxima culpa: ____________________________________o0o____________________________________ __________________________________o0o_____________________________________ Fun Facts: Can You Match These Saints To Their Weird Patronages?
BarbTherese Posted March 25, 2023 Author Posted March 25, 2023 Neil Diamond "A Man of God" (4mins 20secs) Article on Neil's Journey - Getting Home Neil (at 77 years) announced he has Parkinson's Disease and will no longer perform on stage.
BarbTherese Posted March 26, 2023 Author Posted March 26, 2023 From Divine Office (General Calendar) Tuesday 28th March 2023 - 5th Week LENT Morning Prayer - Lauds https://universalis.com/20230328/lauds.htm Evening Prayer - EVENING PRAYER https://universalis.com/20230328/vespers.htm Night Prayer - NIGHT PRAYER (Compline) https://universalis.com/20230328/compline.htm Second Reading Office of Readings Tuesday 28th March 2023 Second Reading From a sermon of Saint Leo the Great, pope The Cross of Christ is the source of all blessings, the cause of all graces Our understanding, which is enlightened by the Spirit of truth, should receive with purity and freedom of heart the glory of the cross as it shines in heaven and on earth. It should see with inner vision the meaning of the Lord’s words when he spoke of the imminence of his passion: The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Afterwards he said: Now my soul is troubled, and what am I to say? Father, save me from this hour. But it was for this that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your Son. When the voice of the Father came from heaven, saying, I have glorified him, and will glorify him again, Jesus said in reply to those around him: It was not for me that this voice spoke, but for you. Now is the judgement of the world, now will the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself. How marvellous the power of the cross; how great beyond all telling the glory of the passion: here is the judgement-seat of the Lord, the condemnation of the world, the supremacy of Christ crucified. Lord, you drew all things to yourself so that the devotion of all peoples everywhere might celebrate, in a sacrament made perfect and visible, what was carried out in the one temple of Judaea under obscure foreshadowings. Now there is a more distinguished order of Levites, a greater dignity for the rank of elders, a more sacred anointing for the priesthood, because your cross is the source of all blessings, the cause of all graces. Through the cross the faithful receive strength from weakness, glory from dishonour, life from death. The different sacrifices of animals are no more: the one offering of your body and blood is the fulfilment of all the different sacrificial offerings, for you are the true Lamb of God: you take away the sins of the world. In yourself you bring to perfection all mysteries, so that, as there is one sacrifice in place of all other sacrificial offerings, there is also one kingdom gathered from all peoples. Dearly beloved, let us then acknowledge what Saint Paul, the teacher of the nations, acknowledged so exultantly: This is a saying worthy of trust, worthy of complete acceptance: Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners. God’s compassion for us is all the more wonderful because Christ died, not for the righteous or the holy but for the wicked and the sinful, and, though the divine nature could not be touched by the sting of death, he took to himself, through his birth as one of us, something he could offer on our behalf. The power of his death once confronted our death. In the words of Hosea the prophet: Death, I shall be your death; grave, I shall swallow you up. By dying he submitted to the laws of the underworld; by rising again he destroyed them. He did away with the everlasting character of death so as to make death a thing of time, not of eternity. As all die in Adam, so all will be brought to life in Christ. EUCHARISTIC ADORATION LIVE ONLINE
BarbTherese Posted March 28, 2023 Author Posted March 28, 2023 From Divine Office (General Calendar) Wednesday 29th March 2023 - 5th Week LENT Morning Prayer - Lauds https://universalis.com/20230329/lauds.htm Evening Prayer - https://universalis.com/20230329/vespers.htm Night Prayer - https://universalis.com/20230329/compline.htm Second Reading Office of Readings Wednesday 29th March 2023 A commentary of St Augustine on Psalm 85 Jesus Christ prays for us and in us and is the object of our prayers God could give no greater gift to men than to make his Word, through whom he created all things, their head and to join them to him as his members, so that the Word might be both Son of God and son of man, one God with the Father, and one man with all men. The result is that when we speak with God in prayer we do not separate the Son from him, and when the body of the Son prays it does not separate its head from itself: it is the one Saviour of his body, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who prays for us and in us and is himself the object of our prayers. He prays for us as our priest, he prays in us as our head, he is the object of our prayers as our God. Let us then recognise both our voice in his, and his voice in ours. When something is said, especially in prophecy, about the Lord Jesus Christ that seems to belong to a condition of lowliness unworthy of God, we must not hesitate to ascribe this condition to one who did not hesitate to unite himself with us. Every creature is his servant, for it was through him that every creature came to be. We contemplate his glory and divinity when we listen to these words: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made. Here we gaze on the divinity of the Son of God, something supremely great and surpassing all the greatness of his creatures. Yet in other parts of Scripture we hear him as one sighing, praying, giving praise and thanks. We hesitate to attribute these words to him because our minds are slow to come down to his humble level when we have just been contemplating him in his divinity. It is as though we were doing him an injustice in acknowledging in a man the words of one with whom we spoke when we prayed to God. We are usually at a loss and try to change the meaning. Yet our minds find nothing in Scripture that does not go back to him, nothing that will allow us to stray from him. Our thoughts must then be awakened to keep their vigil of faith. We must realise that the one whom we were contemplating a short time before in his nature as God took to himself the nature of a servant; he was made in the likeness of men and found to be a man like others; he humbled himself by being obedient even to accepting death; as he hung on the cross he made the psalmist’s words his own: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? We pray to him as God, he prays for us as a servant. In the first case he is the Creator, in the second a creature. Himself unchanged, he took to himself our created nature in order to change it, and made us one man with himself, head and body. We pray then to him, through him, in him, and we speak along with him and he along with us. EUCHARISTIC ADORATION LIVE ONLINE
BarbTherese Posted March 28, 2023 Author Posted March 28, 2023 ST JOSEPH, PATRON OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH Our Patron St Joseph Our Patron is St. Joseph, the Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Guardian of Jesus Christ. What better patron can a Church have? In fact on December 8, 1870, Blessed Pope Pius IX declared Joseph to be the Patron or Protector of the Universal Church. So we take him as our protector. As He protected Jesus Christ with his life so he protects us with his powerful prayers since we are the Body of Christ. After Mary, he is the holiest of Saints and he was given special graces to be the earthly father of Jesus. Imagine. This man got to be an image of the Father to Jesus. Jesus saw in Him the face of His Father. He taught Jesus to work. Imagine the beautiful moments he shared with Jesus in the workshop and in the home. He and Jesus must have found joy in their times with Mary. Joseph worked to make sure He and Mary had food on the table. He was a man who loved God above all things. He was pure of heart and his heart loved Mary and got to be the chaste spouse and guardian of the Virgin. Imagine how excited Joseph was that He in Mary would get to care for and nourish the Messiah, the longed for of Israel! Joseph truly protected Jesus and Mary taking them to Egypt when Herod sought to kill the Christ child. Not one word of Joseph is recorded in the Gospels. But he acted. He did what the Angel Gabriel commanded him. He was obedient. This prayer to Saint Joseph was composed by Pope Leo XIII in his 1889 encyclical, Quamquam pluries. He asked that it be added to the end of the Rosary. The prayer is enriched with a partial indulgence (Handbook of Indulgences, conc. 19) PRAYER To you, O blessed Joseph, do we come in our tribulation, and having implored the help of your most holy Spouse, we confidently invoke your patronage also. Through that charity which bound you to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God and through the paternal love with which you embraced the Child Jesus, we humbly beg you graciously to regard the inheritance which Jesus Christ has purchased by his Blood, and with your power and strength to aid us in our necessities. O most watchful guardian of the Holy Family, defend the chosen children of Jesus Christ; O most loving father, ward off from us every contagion of error and corrupting influence; O our most mighty protector, be kind to us and from heaven assist us in our struggle with the power of darkness. As once you rescued the Child Jesus from deadly peril, so now protect God's Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity; shield, too, each one of us by your constant protection, so that, supported by your example and your aid, we may be able to live piously, to die in holiness, and to obtain eternal happiness in heaven. Amen.
BarbTherese Posted March 28, 2023 Author Posted March 28, 2023 CONFUSION I am also User Name: BarbaraTherese............. The following is where my first Post when I initially made Private Vows back in 2014 appears here: https://www.phatmass.com/phorum/topic/132845-private-vows-in-the-laityspirituality/ Hence, all my statistics on this Profile, BarbTherese, are wrong. Quite some time back now, Phatmass went down for a lengthy period. Prior to that, my Profile was BarbaraTherese. When the site came back up again, for some unknown reason, my Profile was BarbTherese. This must have caused almost endless confusion with people I know wanting to read my Profile activity. I dont seem to be able to get it fixed up - i.e. with both Profiles merged into the one Profile of BarbTherese, since this is what I am now using. ______________________________________________________________________ Goodness! Next year, I am privately vowed 10 Years !!!
BarbTherese Posted March 29, 2023 Author Posted March 29, 2023 These two actors did bear a resemblance to Popes Benedict and Francis. Above image is the pair of them watching the world cup. There is an interesting movie on Netflix "The Two Popes". I had not seen nor heard of it before- it was nominated in 2020 for an Academy Award. It is about Popes Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. It is stated as "Based on true events", and that could mean perhaps only two generally known events around which a whole movie could be made. "Based on" leaves plenty of room for artistic creativity, imagination. It needs to be remembered, therefore, as a largely fictional movie; nevertheless, "The Two Popes" does present an interesting perspective on these two Popes as priests and Popes - and as quite ordinary men. The movie is respectful of the Catholic Church at all levels. The one scene re the child abuse scandals was not lengthy, but it was very powerful.
BarbTherese Posted March 29, 2023 Author Posted March 29, 2023 From Divine Office (General Calendar) Thursday 30th March 2023 - 5th Week LENT Morning Prayer https://universalis.com/20230330/lauds.htm Evening Prayer https://universalis.com/20230330/vespers.htm Night Prayer https://universalis.com/20230330/compline.htm Second Reading Office of Readings Thursday 30th March 2023 - 5th Week Lent From "Lumen gentium", the Second Vatican Council's dogmatic constitution on the Church The Church as sacrament of unity and salvation See, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah… I will plant my law within them and inscribe it in their hearts. I will be their God and they shall be my people… All shall know me, from the least to the greatest, says the Lord. It was Christ who established this new covenant, the new testament in his blood, calling into being, from Jews and Gentiles, a people that was to form a unity, not in human fashion but in the Spirit, as the new people of God. Those who believe in Christ, reborn not of corruptible but of incorruptible seed through the word of the living God, not from the flesh but from water and the Holy Spirit, are constituted in the fullness of time as a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people God has made his own…, once no people but now the people of God. This messianic people has Christ as its head: Christ who was given up for our sins and rose again for our justification; bearing now the name that is above every name, he reigns in glory in heaven. His people enjoy the dignity and freedom of the children of God, in whose hearts the Holy Spirit dwells as in a temple. They have as their law the new commandment of loving as Christ himself has loved us. They have as their goal the kingdom of God, begun on earth by God himself and destined to grow until it is also brought to perfection by him at the end of time, when Christ, our life, will appear, and creation itself will be freed from slavery to corruption and take on the freedom of the glory of God’s children. This messianic people, then, though it does not in fact embrace all mankind and often seems to be a tiny flock, is yet the enduring source of unity, hope and salvation for the whole human race. It is established by Christ as a communion of life, of love and of truth; it is also used by him as an instrument for the redemption of all, and is sent out into the whole world as the light of the world and the salt of the earth. The Israel of old was already called the Church of God while it was on pilgrimage through the desert. So the new Israel, as it makes its way in this present age, seeking a city that is to come, a city that will remain, is also known as the Church of Christ, for he acquired it by his own blood, filled it with his Spirit, and equipped it with appropriate means to be a visible and social unity. God has called together the assembly of those who in faith look on Jesus, the author of salvation and the principle of unity and peace, and so has established the Church to be for each and all the visible sacrament of this unity which brings with it salvation. EUCHARISTIC ADORATION - LIVE ONLINE
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