FR SHOWRI DAILY REFLECTIONS
Scripture for today...
Pentecost Sunday June 08 Daily Reflection John 20:19-23
They Were All Filled with the Holy Spirit!
Pentecost literally means 50th. It is a feast celebrated on the 50th day after the Passover feast by the Jews and a feast celebrated on the 50th day after the feast of the Resurrection of Jesusby Christians.
No no The Jewish Pentecostwas originallya post-harvestthanksgiving feast. Later, the Jews included in it the remembrance of God’s Covenants with Noah after the Deluge and with Moses at Mt. Sinai
The event: On the day of Pentecost: 1) The Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary as tongues of fire.
2) The frightened apostles were transformed into fiery preachers and evangelizers and were given the gift of tongues by a special anointing of the Holy Spirit.
3) The listeners experienced a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit through the apostles’ gift of tongues: they heard Peter speaking in their native languages.
4) The early Christians became powerful witnesses and brave martyrs for their Faith in Jesus.
The role of the Holy Spirit in Christian life: 1) As an indwelling God, the Holy Spirit makes us His Living Temples (I Cor 3:16).
2) As a strengthening God, He strengthens us in our fight against temptations and in our mission of bearing witness to Christ by our transparent Christian lives.
3) As a sanctifying God, He makes us holy through the Sacraments:
a) Through Baptism He makes us children of God and heirs of Heaven.
b) Through Confirmation, He makes us temples of God, warriors, and defenders of the Faith.
c) Through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, He enables us to be reconciled with God by pardoning our sins.
d) Through the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, He gives us spiritual nourishment by changing bread and wine into Jesus’ Body, Blood Soul, and Divinity, through Epiclesis.
e) Through the Sacraments of the priesthood (Ordination) and matrimony (Marriage), He makes the Church community holy.
4) As a teaching and guiding God, He clarifies and constantly reminds us of Christ’s teachings and guides the Magisterium of the Church in presenting Christ’s teachings correctly.
5) As a listening and speaking God, He listens to our prayers, enables us to pray, and speaks to us, mainly through the Bible.
6) As a Giver of gifts, He gives us His gifts, fruits, and charisms, thus enriching the Church.
Life messages: We need to permit the Holy Spirit to take control of our lives:
1) by constantly remembering His holy presence and behaving well;
2) by praying for His daily anointing so that we may fight against our temptations and control our evil tendencies, evil habits and addictions;
3) by asking His daily assistance to pray, listening to God through meditative Bible reading, and talking to Him by personal, family and liturgical prayers; and
4) by asking the help of the Holy Spirit to do good for others and to be reconciled with God and others every day.
Prayer
“May the power of your love, Lord Christ, fiery and sweet as honey, so absorb our hearts as to withdraw them from all that is under heaven. Grant that we may be ready to die for love of your love, as you died for love of our love.” (Prayer of Francis of Assisi, 1182-1226)” Amen
Story for the Reflection
More than a century ago, a great sailing ship was stranded off the coast of South America. Day after day the ship lay there in the still waters with not a hint of a breeze.
The captain was desperate; the crew was dying of thirst. And then, on the far horizon, a steamship appeared, headed directly toward them. As it drew near, the captain called out, “We need water! Give us water!”
The steamship replied, “Lower your buckets where you are.” The captain was furious at this cavalier response but called out again, “Please, give us water.” But the steamer gave the same reply, “Lower your buckets where you are!” And with that they steamed away!
The captain was beside himself with anger and despair, and he went below. But a little later, when no one was looking, a yeoman lowered a bucket into the sea and then tasted what he brought up: It was perfectly sweet, fresh water! For you see, the ship was just out of sight of the mouth of the Amazon.
And for all those days they had been sitting right on top of all the fresh water they needed! — What we are really seeking is already inside us, waiting to be discovered, waiting to be embraced: the Holy Spirit of God Who has been living within us from the moment of our Baptism.
The Holy Spirit is saying to us at this very moment from deep in our heart, “Lower your buckets where you are. Taste and see!” Come, Holy Spirit! Fill our hearts and set us on fire! Amen.
Blessings from
Fr Showri R Narra
Today is a great day to ask the Holy Spirit to rekindle in us the spirit of new life and enthusiasm, the fire of God’s love.
Let us repeat Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman’s favorite little prayer, “Come Holy Spirit:”
“Come Holy Spirit
Make our ears to hear
Make our eyes to see
Make our mouths to speak
Make our hearts to seek
Make our hands to reach out
And touch the world with your love. AMEN.”
JESUS I TRUST IN YOU!
Scripture for today...
Happy Saturday🐣🦋
June 07
✍️📖Daily Reflection📖✍️
John 21:20-25
The Immensity of What Jesus Has Done for Us
Why do we often compare ourselves with others? Do we envy those who seem more fortunate than ourselves? Why did Peter question Jesus about John’s future?
Jesus had predicted that Peter was to suffer and die as a martyr for his faith. What would John’s fate be? Jesus seems to indicate that John would live a long life – in fact he
Jesus says, “Follow me and you will have life in abundance”
While Peter and John were both called as disciples of Jesus, each was given a particular task and mission to fulfill.
When Peter questions John’s role, Jesus responds, “What is that to you? Follow me!” Peter’s given task was to “shepherd the sheep of Christ,” and in the end to die as a martyr for the Lord Jesus.
John’s role was preeminently to witness to the risen Lord Jesus and to give his testimony to the Gospel account of Jesus’ identity as the divine Son of God who became a man to save us from sin, Satan, and death (John 20:31). John lived to long age and wrote the Gospel as his testimony to the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Jesus does not cease to do great works of power and love through his people today
John ends his Gospel with an astonishing remark: “Human books cannot exhaust the person and work of Jesus Christ.” His power is inexhaustible, his grace is limitless, his wisdom unfathomable, his triumphs are innumerable, and his love is unquenchable.
We can never say enough of the power, majesty and glory which belongs to Jesus Christ alone. Do you witness to others the joy of the Gospel message that Jesus died for us to bring us new life, freedom, love and power to live as his disciples?
🔸🔸🙏🏻Prayer🙏🏻🔸🔸
“May the power of your love, Lord Christ, fiery and sweet as honey, so absorb our hearts as to withdraw them from all that is under heaven. Grant that we may be ready to die for love of your love, as you died for love of our love.” (Prayer of Francis of Assisi, 1182-1226)” Amen
🔸🔸🔸🔸🟡🟡🟡🟡🔸🔸🔸🔸
🟡Life Story of the Saint🟡
Blessed Franz Jägerstätter
May 20, 1907 – August 9, 1943
Called to fight for his country as a Nazi soldier, Franz eventually refused, and this husband and father of three daughters—Rosalie, Marie and Aloisia—was executed because of it.
Born in St. Radegund in Upper Austria, Franz lost his father during World War I and was adopted after Heinrich Jaegerstaetter married Rosalia Huber.
As a young man, he loved to ride his motorcycle and was the natural leader of a gang whose members were arrested in 1934 for brawling. For three years he worked in the mines in another city and then returned to St. Radegund, where he became a farmer, married Franziska and lived his faith with quiet but intense conviction.
In 1938, he publicly opposed the German Anschluss–annexation–of Austria. The next year he was drafted into the Austrian army, trained for seven months and then received a deferment.
In 1940, Franz was called up again but allowed to return home at the request of the town’s mayor. He was in active service between October 1940 and April 1941, but was again deferred. His pastor, other priests, and the bishop of Linz urged him not to refuse to serve if drafted.
In February 1943, Franz was called up again and reported to army officials in Enns, Austria. When he refused to take the oath of loyalty to Hitler, he was imprisoned in Linz. Later he volunteered to serve in the medical corps but was not assigned there.
During Holy Week Franz wrote to his wife: “Easter is coming and, if it should be God’s will that we can never again in this world celebrate Easter together in our intimate family circle, we can still look ahead in the happy confidence that, when the eternal Easter morning dawns, no one in our family circle shall be missing—so we can then be permitted to rejoice together forever.”
He was transferred in May to a prison in Berlin. Challenged by his attorney that other Catholics were serving in the army, Franz responded, “I can only act on my own conscience. I do not judge anyone. I can only judge myself.” He continued, “I have considered my family. I have prayed and put myself and my family in God’s hands.
I know that, if I do what I think God wants me to do, he will take care of my family.” On August 8, 1943, Franz wrote to Fransizka: “Dear wife and mother, I thank you once more from my heart for everything that you have done for me in my lifetime, for all the sacrifices that you have borne for me.
I beg you to forgive me if I have hurt or offended you, just as I have forgiven everything…My heartfelt greetings for my dear children. I will surely beg the dear God, if I am permitted to enter heaven soon, that he will set aside a little place in heaven for all of you.”
Franz was beheaded and cremated the following day. In 1946, his ashes were reburied in St. Radegund near a memorial inscribed with his name and the names of almost 60 village men who died during their military service.
He was beatified in Linz on October 26, 2007. His “spiritual testament” is now in Rome’s St. Bartholomew Church as part of a shrine to 20th-century martyrs for their faith. Blessed Franz’s liturgical feast is celebrated on August 9.
🔸🔸🔸🔸🟡🟡🟡🟡🔸🔸🔸🔸
🕊️Novena to the Holy Spirit 🕊️
Day Nine
Thou, on those who evermore
Thee confess, and Thee adore,
In Thy sevenfold gifts, descend:
Give them comfort when they die;
Give them life with Thee on high;
Give them joys which never end. Amen.
The Fruits of the Holy Ghost
The gifts of the Holy Ghost perfect the supernatural virtues by enabling us to practice them with greater docility to divine inspiration.
As we grow in the knowledge and love of God under the direction of the Holy Ghost, our service becomes more sincere and generous, the practice of virtue, more perfect.
Such acts of virtue leave the heart filled with joy and consolation and are known as Fruits of the Holy Ghost. These Fruits in turn render the practice of virtue more attractive, and become a powerful incentive for still greater effort in the service of God, to serve Whom is to reign.
Prayer
Come, O Divine Spirit, fill my heart with Thy heavenly fruits: charity, joy, peace, patience, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, modesty, self-control and chastity, that I may never weary in the service of God, but by continued faithful submission to Thy inspiration, may merit to be united eternally with Thee in the love of the Father and the Son. Amen.
Our Father (prayed once)
Hail Mary (prayed once)
Glory be… (prayed 7 times)
Act of Consecration and Prayer for the Seven Gifts(prayed once)
JESUS I TRUST IN YOU!
Scripture for today...
Happy Friday June 06
Daily Reflection
John 21:15-19
Do You Love Jesus More Than These?
The Lord Jesus asked Simon Peter and he asks each one of us a very personal and profound question – do you love me more than anything else that might be very dear to you? How can the love of Jesus Christ be so attractive and so costly at the same time? Jesus on many occasions spoke to his disciples about the nature of God’s unquenchable love.
God is love (1 John 4:16) because he is the creator and source of all that is true love. His love is unconditional, unmerited, and unlimited. We can’t buy it, earn it, demand it. It is a pure gift, freely given, and freely received.
God’s love doesn’t change or waver. It endures because it is eternal and timeless. It’s the beginning and the end – the purpose for which God created us and why he wants us to be united with him in a bond of unbreakable love. And it’s the essence of what is means to be a son or daughter of God the eternal Father.
Love gives all for the good of others
The Lord Jesus shows us that love is a personal choice and a gift freely given – it is the giving of oneself to another person for their sake. Unselfish love is oriented wholly to the good of the other person for their own welfare and benefit.
John the Evangelist tells us that “God so loved the world that he gave us his only-begotten Son” (John 3:16) who took on human flesh for our sake and who died upon the cross for our salvation – to set us free from the power of sin so that we might receive abundant everlasting life and peace with God.
God’s love heals and transforms our lives and frees us from fear, selfishness, and greed. It draws us to the very heart of God and it compels us to give him the best we have and all we possess – our gifts, our time, our resources, our full allegiance, and our very lives.
Paul the Apostle tells us that God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given us (Romans 5:5). What can quench such love? Certainly fear, sin, pride, indifference, disbelief, and the loss of hope and trust in God’s promises and his mercy towards us.
Do you love me more than these?
Why did Jesus question Peter’s loyalty and love three times in front of the other apostles? It must have caused Peter great pain and sorrow since he had publicly denied Jesus three times during the night of Jesus’ betrayal and condemnation by the religious authorities who had sought to kill him.
Now Peter, full of grief and deep remorse, unequivocally stated that he loved his master and was willing to serve and obey him whatever it might cost. When Jesus asks him “do you love me more than these?” Jesus may have pointed to the boats, fishing nets, and catch of fish from the night’s work.
He may have challenged Peter to abandon his work as a fisherman for the task of shepherding the community of God’s people. Jesus may have also pointed to the other disciples and to Peter’s previous boast: “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away” (Matthew 26:33). Peter now makes no boast or comparison but humbly responds: “You know that I love you.”
We love because he loved us first
The Lord Jesus calls each one of us, even in our own weakness, sins, and failings, to love him above all else. Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) in his Confession wrote:
“Late have I loved you, O Beauty so ancient and so new. Late have I loved you! …You shone your Self upon me to drive away my blindness.
You breathed your fragrance upon me… and in astonishment I drew my breath…now I pant for you! I tasted you, and now I hunger and thirst for you. You touched me! – and I burn to live within your peace” (Confession 10:27).
Nothing but our own sinful pride and stubborn wilfullness can keep us from the love of God. He loved us first and our love for him is a response to his exceeding graciousness and mercy towards us. Do you allow God’s love to fill your heart and transform your life?
Prayer
“Lord Jesus, inflame my heart with your love and burn away everything within it that may be unloving, unkind, ungrateful, unholy, and not in accord with your will. May I always love what you love and reject what is contrary to your love and will for my life.” Amen
Life Story of the Saint
Saint Norbert’s
c. 1080 – June 6, 1134
In the 12th century in the French region of Premontre, Saint Norbert founded a religious Order known as the Praemonstratensians or the Norbertines.
His founding of the Order was a monumental tasks: combating rampant heresies—particularly regarding the Blessed Sacrament, revitalizing many of the faithful who had grown indifferent and dissolute, plus effecting peace and reconciliation among enemies.
Norbert entertained no pretensions about his own ability to accomplish this multiple task. Even with the aid of a goodly number of men who joined his Order, he realized that nothing could be effectively done without God’s power.
Finding this help especially in devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, he and his Norbertines praised God for success in converting heretics, reconciling numerous enemies, and rebuilding faith in indifferent believers.
Many of them lived in central houses during the week and served in parishes on weekends.
Reluctantly, Norbert became archbishop of Magdeburg in central Germany, a territory half pagan and half Christian. In this position he zealously and courageously continued his work for the Church until his death on June 6, 1134.
Reflection
A different world cannot be built by indifferent people. The same is true in regard to the Church. The indifference of vast numbers of nominal faithful to ecclesiastical authority and essential doctrines of the faith weakens the Church’s witness. Unswerving loyalty to the Church and fervent devotion to the Eucharist, as practiced by Norbert, will continue immeasurably toward maintaining the people of God in accord with the heart of Christ.
🕊️Novena to the Holy Spirit 🕊️
Day Eight
Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray!
The Gift of Wisdom
Embodying all the other gifts, as charity embraces all the other virtues, Wisdom is the most perfect of the gifts.
Of Wisdom it is written, “all good things come to me with her, and innumerable riches, through her hands.” It is the gift of Wisdom that strengthens our faith, fortifies hope, perfects charity, and promotes the practice of virtue in the highest degree.
Wisdom enlightens the mind to discern and relish things divine, in the appreciation of which earthly joys lose their savor, whilst the Cross of Christ yields a divine sweetness according to the words of the Saviour: “Take up thy cross and follow me, for my yoke is sweet and my burden light.”
Prayer
Come, O Spirit of Wisdom, and reveal to my soul the mysteries of heavenly things, their exceeding greatness, power, and beauty. Teach me to love them above and beyond all the passing joys and satisfactions of earth. Help me to attain them and possess them forever. Amen.
Our Father (prayed once)
Hail Mary (prayed once)
Glory be… (prayed 7 times)
Act of Consecration and Prayer for the Seven Gifts(prayed once)
JESUS I TRUST IN YOU!
Scripture for today...
Happy Thursday June 05
Daily Reflection
John 17:20-26
May They Become Perfectly One
When you pray what do you ask for – God’s help, blessing, guidance, and wisdom? One of the greatest privileges and responsibilities we have been given by God is to pray not only for ourselves, but for others as well. The Lord Jesus lived a life full of prayer, blessing, and gratitude to his Father in heaven.
He prayed for his disciples, especially when they were in great need or danger. Mark tells us in his Gospel account (see chapter 6:46-51) that when Jesus was praying alone on the mountain he saw that his disciples were in great distress due to a life-threatening storm that was beating against their boat.
Jesus immediately came to their rescue – walking on the waves of the rough waters before he calmed their fears and calmed the raging waters as well! Luke records in his Gospel account the words of Jesus to Simon Peter shortly before Jesus’ arrest and Peter’s denial of the Lord three times.
“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32). Jesus’ prayers were personal, direct, and focused on the welfare and well-being of others – especially that they might find peace and unity with God and with one another.
Jesus prays for all Christians to be united as one
The longest recorded prayer of Jesus is found in the Gospel of John, the “high priestly” prayer which Jesus prayed aloud at his last supper meal with his disciples (John 17).
This prayer most clearly reveals the heart and mind of Jesus – who and what he loved most – love for his Father in heaven and love for all who believe in him. His prayer focuses on the love and unity he desires for all who would believe in him and follow him, not only in the present, but in the future as well.
Jesus’ prayer concludes with a petition for the unity among all Christians who profess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus prays for all men and women who will come after him and follow him as his disciples (John 17:20). In a special way Jesus prays here for each one of us that as members of his body the church we would be one as he and his Father are one.
The unity of Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, with the eternal Father is a unity of mutual love, service, and honor, and a oneness of mind, heart, and spirit. The Lord Jesus calls each and every one of his followers into this unity of mutual love, respect, service, honor, and friendship with all who belong to Christ.
To make him known and loved by all
Jesus’ prayer on the eve of his sacrifice shows the great love and trust he had for his beloved disciples. He knew they would abandon him in his hour of trial, yet he entrusted to them the great task of spreading his name throughout the world and to the end of the ages.
The Lord Jesus entrusts us today with the same mission – to make him known and loved by all. Jesus died and rose again that all might be one as he and the Father are one. Do you love all who belong to Christ and do you recognize and accept all baptized Christians as your brothers and sisters in Christ?
The Lord Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, draws each one of us into the unity which he and the Father have together and into the unity he desires for all who belong to him – we are all brothers and sisters in Christ and sons and daughters of our beloved Father in heaven.
The Lord intercedes for us right now
The Lord Jesus Christ included each one of us in his high priestly prayer at the last supper meal with his disciples on the eve of his sacrifice on the cross (John 17:20).
And today the Lord Jesus continues his high priestly office as our intercessor before the throne of God in heaven. Paul the Apostle tells us that it is “Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us” (Romans 8:34; see also Hebrews 7: 25).
Do you join in Jesus’ high priestly prayer that all who profess Jesus as Lord may grow in love and unity together as brothers and sisters who have been redeemed through the precious blood that was shed for us on the cross?
🙏🏻Prayer🙏🏻
“Heavenly Father, have mercy on all your people who have been redeemed by the precious blood of your Son who offered up his life for us on the cross. Pardon our sins and heal our divisions that we may grow in love, unity, and holiness together as your sons and daughters.
May all Christian people throughout the world attain the unity for which Jesus prayed on the eve of his sacrifice. Renew in us the power of the Holy Spirit that we may be a sign of that unity and a means of its growth. Increase in us a fervent love, respect, and care for all of our brothers and sisters who believe in Jesus Christ.” Amen
Life Story of the Saint
Saint Boniface
c. 675 – June 5, 754
Boniface, known as the apostle of the Germans, was an English Benedictine monk who gave up being elected abbot to devote his life to the conversion of the Germanic tribes. Two characteristics stand out: his Christian orthodoxy and his fidelity to the pope of Rome.
How absolutely necessary this orthodoxy and fidelity were is borne out by the conditions Boniface found on his first missionary journey in 719 at the request of Pope Gregory II.
Paganism was a way of life. What Christianity he did find had either lapsed into paganism or was mixed with error. The clergy were mainly responsible for these latter conditions since they were in many instances uneducated, lax and questionably obedient to their bishops. In particular instances their very ordinations were questionable.
These are the conditions that Boniface was to report in 722 on his first return visit to Rome. The Holy Father instructed him to reform the German Church. The pope sent letters of recommendation to religious and civil leaders.
Boniface later admitted that his work would have been unsuccessful, from a human viewpoint, without a letter of safe-conduct from Charles Martel, the powerful Frankish ruler, grandfather of Charlemagne. Boniface was finally made a regional bishop and authorized to organize the whole German Church. He was eminently successful.
In the Frankish kingdom, he met great problems because of lay interference in bishops’ elections, the worldliness of the clergy and lack of papal control.
During a final mission to the Frisians, Boniface and 53 companions were massacred while he was preparing converts for confirmation.
In order to restore the Germanic Church to its fidelity to Rome and to convert the pagans, Boniface had been guided by two principles. The first was to restore the obedience of the clergy to their bishops in union with the pope of Rome.
The second was the establishment of many houses of prayer which took the form of Benedictine monasteries. A great number of Anglo-Saxon monks and nuns followed him to the continent, where he introduced the Benedictine nuns to the active apostolate of education.
Reflection
Boniface bears out the Christian rule: To follow Christ is to follow the way of the cross. For Boniface, it was not only physical suffering or death, but the painful, thankless, bewildering task of Church reform. Missionary glory is often thought of in terms of bringing new persons to Christ. It seems—but is not—less glorious to heal the household of the faith.
Saint Boniface is the Patron Saint of:
Germany
🕊️Novena to the Holy Spirit 🕊️
Day Seven
Heal our wounds ~ our strength renew;
On our dryness pour Thy dew!
Wash the stains of guilt away!
The Gift of Counsel
The gift of Counsel endows the soul with supernatural prudence, enabling it to judge promptly and rightly what must be done, especially in difficult circumstances.
Counsel applies the principles furnished by Knowledge and Understanding to the innumerable concrete cases that confront us in the course of our daily duty as parents, teachers, public servants, and Christian citizens.
Counsel is supernatural common sense, a priceless treasure in the quest of salvation. “Above all these things, pray to the Most High, that He may direct thy way in truth.”
Prayer
Come, O Spirit of Counsel, help and guide me in all my ways, that I may always do Thy holy will. Incline my heart to that which is good; turn it away from all that is evil, and direct me by the straight path of Thy commandments to that goal of eternal life for which I long. Amen.
Our Father (prayed once)
Hail Mary (prayed once)
Glory be… (prayed 7 times)
Act of Consecration and Prayer for the Seven Gifts(prayed once)
JESUS I TRUST IN YOU!
Scripture for today...
Happy Wednesday
June 04
Daily Reflection
John 17:11-19
Consecrated in God’s Truth
Do you know why God created you – what purpose and mission he has entrusted to you? Jesus’ aim and mission was to glorify his heavenly Father. All he said and did gave glory to his Father.
On the eve of his sacrifice on the cross and in the presence of his disciples, Jesus made his high priestly prayer: “Holy Father, keep them in your name that they may be one as we are one”.
Jesus prayed for the unity of his disciples and for all who would believe in him. Jesus’ prayer for his people is that we be united with God the Father in his Son and through his Holy Spirit and be joined together, in unity with all who are members of Christ’s body.
A mission of love to make us one
What motivated Jesus to lay down his life on the cross as the atoning sacrifice for the sin of the world? It was love – love for his Father in heaven and love for each and everyone of us who are made in the image and likeness of God.
Jesus was sent into the world by his Father for a purpose and that purpose was a mission of love to free us from slavery to sin, Satan, fear, death, and hopelessness. Jesus saw glory in the cross rather than shame. Obedience to his Father’s will was his glory.
Jesus kept his Father’s word even when tempted to forgo the cross. Jesus did not rely on his own human resources and strength to accomplish his Father’s will. He trusted in his Father to give him strength, courage, and perseverance in the face of opposition, trials, and temptation.
God created us for a purpose and a mission
We also must take up our cross and follow the Lord Jesus wherever he may call us. He will give us the strength and power of the Holy Spirit to live as his disciples. John Henry Newman (1801-1890) wrote: “God has created me to do him some definite service; he has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another.
I have my mission – I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for nothing. Therefore, I will trust him. Whatever, wherever I am. I cannot be thrown away.” Do you trust in God and in his call and purpose for your life?
Consecrated in truth and holiness
Jesus prayed that his disciples would be sanctified and consecrated in God’s truth and holiness. The scriptural word for consecration comes from the same Hebrew word which means holy or set apart for God.This word also means to be equipped with the qualities of mind and heart and character for such a task or service.
Just as Jesus was called by the Father to serve in holiness and truth, so we, too, are called and equipped for the task of serving God in the world as his ambassadors. God’s truth frees us from ignorance and the deception of sin. It reveals to us God’s goodness, love, and wisdom. And it gives us a thirst for God’s holiness.
The Holy Spirit is the source and giver of all holiness. As we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, he transforms us by his purifying fire and changes us into the likeness of Christ. Is your life consecrated to God?
🙏🏻Prayer🙏🏻
Lord Jesus, take my life and make it wholly pleasing to you. Sanctify me in your truth and guide me by your Holy Spirit that I may follow you faithfully wherever you lead.” Amen
Life Story of the Saint
Blessed Angeline of Marciano
1377 – July 14, 1435
Blessed Angeline founded the first community of Franciscan women other than Poor Clares to receive papal approval.
Angeline was born to the Duke of Marsciano near Orvieto. She was 12 when her mother died. Three years later, the young woman made a vow of perpetual chastity. That same year, however, she yielded to her father’s decision that she marry the Duke of Civitella. Her husband agreed to respect her previous vow.
When he died two years later, Angeline joined the Secular Franciscans and with several other women dedicated herself to caring for the sick, the poor, widows and orphans. When many other young women were attracted to Angeline’s community, some people accused her of condemning the married vocation.
Legend has it that when she came before the King of Naples to answer these charges, she had burning coals hidden in the folds of her cloak. When she proclaimed her innocence and showed the king that these coals had not harmed her, he dropped the case.
Angeline and her companions later went to Foligno, where her community of Third Order sisters received papal approval in 1397. She soon established 15 similar communities of women in other Italian cities.
Angeline died on July 14, 1435, and was beatified in 1825. Her liturgical feast is celebrated on July 13.
Reflection
Priests, sisters and brothers cannot be signs of God’s love for the human family if they belittle the vocation of marriage. Angeline respected marriage, but felt called to another way of living out the gospel. Her choice was life-giving in its own way.
🕊️Novena to the Holy Spirit 🕊️
Day Six
If Thou take Thy grace away,
Nothing pure in man will stay,
All his good is turned to ill.
The Gift of Understanding
Understanding, as a gift of the Holy Ghost, helps us to grasp the meaning of the truths of our holy religion. By faith we know them, but by Understanding we learn to appreciate and relish them.
It enables us to penetrate the inner meaning of revealed truths, and through them to be quickened to newness of life. Our faith ceases to be sterile and inactive but inspires a mode of life that bears eloquent testimony to the faith that is in us; we begin to “walk worthy of God, in all things pleasing, and increasing in the knowledge of God.”
Prayer
Come, O Spirit of Understanding, and enlighten our minds, that we may know and believe all the mysteries of salvation; and may merit at last to see the eternal light in Thy Light; and in the light of glory, to have a clear vision of Thee and the Father and the Son. Amen.
Our Father (prayed once)
Hail Mary (prayed once)
Glory be… (prayed 7 times)
Act of Consecration and Prayer for the Seven Gifts(prayed once)