Wednesday 30 April 2014

Month of May is dedicated to The Blessed Virgin Mary

Month dedicated to May of Mary

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  1. Liturgical Year : May (Monthly Overview) - Catholic Culture

    https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/overviews/.../05.cf...
    The Holy Father's Intentions for the Month of May 2014 ... Missionary: That Mary, Star of Evangelization, may guide theChurch in proclaiming Christ to all nations ...
May, 2014 - Overview for the Month
The month of May is dedicated to The Blessed Virgin Mary. The entire month falls within the liturgical season of Easter, which is represented by the liturgical color white — the color of light, a symbol of joy, purity and innocence (absolute or restored).
The Holy Father's Intentions for the Month of May 2014
General: That the media may be instruments in the service of truth and peace.
Missionary: That Mary, Star of Evangelization, may guide the Church in proclaiming Christ to all nations. (See also www.apostleshipofprayer.net)
Feasts for May
The feasts on the General Roman Calendar celebrated during the month of May are:
1. Joseph the WorkerOpt. Mem.
2. AthanasiusMemorial
3. Philip and JamesFeast
4. Third Sunday of EasterSunday
10. St. Damien Joseph de Veuster, priestOpt. Mem.
11. Fourth Sunday of EasterSunday
13. Our Lady of FatimaOpt. Mem.
14. MatthiasFeast
15. Isidore the Farmer (USA)Opt. Mem.
18. Fifth Sunday of EasterSunday
20. Bernardine of SienaOpt. Mem.
21. Christopher Magallanes and companions; Eugene de Mazenod (Canada)Opt. Mem.
22. Rita of CasciaOpt. Mem.
25. Sixth Sunday of EasterSunday
26. Philip NeriMemorial
27. Augustine of CanterburyOpt. Mem.
31. Visitation of the Blessed Virgin MaryFeast
Focus of the Liturgy
The Gospel readings for all the Sundays in May are taken from St. John and St. Luke and are from Year A, Cycle 2.
May 4th - 3rd Sunday of Easter
The Gospel relates the story of the disciples encountering Jesus on the road to Emmaus.
May 11th - 4th Sunday of Easter 
The Gospel is about Jesus as the Good Shepherd.
May 18th - 5th Sunday of Easter 
In this Gospel Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit.
May 25th - 6th Sunday of Easter 
Jesus says "If you love me, you will keep my commandments."
Highlights of the Month
As Spring blossoms forth and we are surrounded by new life, we spend this month full of the joy of our Easter celebration and in anticipation of the coming of the Holy Spirit, our
Cloister- Orcid
Consoler and Advocate.
The saints that we will focus on this month — those who have already shared in the rewards of the Resurrection — are St. Joseph the Worker (May 1), St. Athanasius (May 2), Sts. Philip and James (May 3), St. Damian the Leper (May 10),Our Lady of Fatima (May 13), St. Matthias (May 14), St. Isidore the Farmer (May 15), St. Bernadine of Siena (May 20), St. Christopher Magallanes (May 21), St. Rita of Cascia (May 22), St. Philip Neri (May 26), St. Augustine of Canterbury (May 27) and the Visitation (May 31).
The feasts of St. John I (May 18) and St. Bede, St. Gregory VII and St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi (May 25)are superseded by the Sunday liturgy. The Solemnity of the Ascension (May 29) is celebrated on June 1 (Sunday) in most dioceses in the United States.

2nd Thursday of Easter, "He who believes in the Son of Man"

Fr. Nivard - community barber.
Mass Introduction. Fr. Nivard
Magnificat. Adapted 
 2 Thurs 1 May 14: John 3:31-36 
"He who believes in the Son has eternal life"
   In 1955, Pius XII moved the feast of St Joseph’s patronage of the Universal Church to the 1st of May. He renamed it the Feast of Joseph “the Worker”.
   Today is also celebrated, worldwide, as Labour Day. In Bamenda, our 20 workers parade through the town with a picture of the monastery printed on their new ‘T’ shirts in the monastery truck.
   St Joseph watches over the entire Church just as he protected the original “domestic Church”, the Holy Family.
   Through the work of his hands, Joseph provided for the material needs of Mary and Jesus. He educated Jesus and patiently schooled him in the trade of carpentry. “Work was the daily expression of love in the life of the Family of Nazareth”.
  
Father, let your Holy Spirit fill us and transform our hearts that we may choose life - the abundant life you offer to those who trust in you, through Christ our Lord.


A Holy and Illuminating Pasch. Two Easter Engravings by Eric Gill

The unnamed woman at the house of Simon the Leper at Bethany (Mk 14:8) 
Dear Fr. Edward, 
Eastertide - it was joy to hear from you.
I am delighted your Easter greeting on 'A Holy and Illuminating Pasch'.
Associations of Resurrection Blog-spots.  
  

Yours ..
Donald 


Of the half-dozen texts of a woman anointing the feet of Jesus, the text which best corresponds to the Eric Gill engraving
is that of the unnamed woman at the house of Simon the Leper at Bethany (Mk 14,8), whose anonymity breathes out the highest sincerity.
How well the artist instinctively brings the fullness of Paschal reference. in Jesus',;ght hand the Eucharistic cup containing the whole,
destined to be the Memory-which-makes-present through Millions of celebrations;
the outspread {eft arm and hand embraces the Cross-vacated Calvary and the empty Tomb. In Jesus humanity is added to Divinity in closest Oneness,
and infinitely so!

A Holy and Illuminating Pasch: fr Edward O.P.

 
                                      
Fw: Programme on Cistercian Scotland
            domdonald.org.uk 
On Tuesday, 29 April 2014, 
edward > wrote:
Dear Father Donald,

Thank you for sending the material about the TV programme.

I am always uncertain how to break through the difficulties to pick up a programme like that. I     have tried, but I have failed again this time.
Nevertheless your selection makes it clear to me  about the essence of the programme. Thank you very much for that.

The double canonisation was a literal spiritually touching event. The Sister Superior from here was present, and returns on Friday, and will have met the Pope.

Blessings in Domino,

fr Edward O.P.

-- 

Monday 28 April 2014

BBC 2 TV Melrose Abbey heart in the History Document - Border CountryRory Stew

Rory Stewart

Interview at Melrose Abbey.

A monk from Nunraw Abbey was invited by historian Rory Stewart, to participate in the production.

Br. Barry was warmly welcome by the staff.
It can be difficult to open the BBC iPlayer - the pictures are from the Windows Screen.  
DURATION: ONE HOUR.
Extract: the Subtitles of conversation of Rory and Br. Barry. 
Melrose Abbey. Interview with Br. Barry
Try: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b040mkvp/sign/border-country-the-story-of-britains-lost-middleland-episode-2

Border Country The Story of Britains Lost Middleland-Episode 2
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BBC 2
Border Country The Story of Britain' Lost Middleland - Episode 2

Historian Rory Stewart explains how Hadrian's Wall left a scar across Britain. A thousand years after the Romans left, the island split once again, into England and Scotland.

Episode 2
Episode 2

Episode 2 of 2
DURATION: 1 HOUR
Hadrian's Wall cut a deep scar across Britain that would never be forgotten. A thousand years after the Romans left, the island split once again, near the line of the wall, into the Kingdoms of England and Scotland.
Historian and MP Rory Stewart tells the story of how Britain was torn in two. The border country dividing Britain's lost Middleland became a zone of anarchy, as violent as border areas in the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan.












Introduction to Episode 2
Credits
Presenter  Rory Stewart
Producer Jon Eastman
Director Jon Eastman
Series Producer Emma Whitlock
Executive Producer Chris Granlund
Broadcasts   






















Sunday 27 April 2014

Low Sunday Divine Mercy Sunday. Canonisations

Canonisations
Looking Down: Pope Francis leads the canonisation Mass
in which John Paul II and John XXIII are declared Saints

Sunday, 27 April 2014

Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday) - Year A


Feast of the Church : Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday) - Year C

Sunday, 27 April 2014

Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday) - Year C 


********** 
Divine Mercy Sunday 
Homily of His Holiness John Paul II  
Mass in St Peter's Square for the canonization  of Sr Mary Faustina Kowalska
Sunday, 30 April 2000
1. "Confitemini Domino quoniam bonus, quoniam in saeculum misericordia eius"; "Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his steadfast love endures for ever" (Ps 118: 1). So the Church sings on the Octave of Easter, as if receiving from Christ's lips these words of the Psalm; from the lips of the risen Christ, who bears the great message of divine mercy and entrusts its ministry to the Apostles in the Upper Room:  "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.... Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (Jn 20: 21-23). 
Crowds gather in God's Mercy sanctuary in Krakow, Poland, to view the ceremony of canonisation. Vatican 27 April 2014
Before speaking these words, Jesus shows his hands and his side. He points, that is, to the wounds of the Passion, especially the wound in his heart, the source from which flows the great wave of mercy poured out on humanity. From that heart Sr Faustina Kowalska, the blessed whom from now on we will call a saint, will see two rays of light shining from that heart and illuminating the world:  "The two rays", Jesus himself explained to her one day, "represent blood and water" (Diary, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, p. 132).
2. Blood and water! We immediately think of the testimony given by the Evangelist John, who, when a solider on Calvary pierced Christ's side with his spear, sees blood and water flowing from it (cf. Jn 19: 34). Moreover, if the blood recalls the sacrifice of the Cross and the gift of the Eucharist, the water, in Johannine symbolism, represents not only Baptism but also the gift of the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn 3: 5; 4: 14; 7: 37-39).
Divine Mercy reaches human beings through the heart of Christ crucified:  "My daughter, say that I am love and mercy personified", Jesus will ask Sr Faustina (Diary, p. 374). Christ pours out this mercy on humanity though the sending of the Spirit who, in the Trinity, is the Person-Love. And is not mercy love's "second name" (cf. Dives in misericordia, n. 7), understood in its deepest and most tender aspect, in its ability to take upon itself the burden of any need and, especially, in its immense capacity for forgiveness?
Today my joy is truly great in presenting the life and witness of Sr Faustina Kowalska to the whole Church as a gift of God for our time. By divine Providence, the life of this humble daughter of Poland was completely linked with the history of the 20th century, the century we have just left behind. In fact, it was between the First and Second World Wars that Christ entrusted his message of mercy to her. Those who remember, who were witnesses and participants in the events of those years and the horrible sufferings they caused for millions of people, know well how necessary was the message of mercy.  
Canonisation: A woman holds up a a picture of
Pope John Paul II
Jesus told Sr Faustina:  "Humanity will not find peace until it turns trustfully to divine mercy" (Diary, p. 132). Through the work of the Polish religious, this message has become linked for ever to the 20th century, the last of the second millennium and the bridge to the third. It is not a new message but can be considered a gift of special enlightenment that helps us to relive the Gospel of Easter more intensely, to offer it as a ray of light to the men and women of our time.
3. What will the years ahead bring us? What will man's future on earth be like? We are not given to know. However, it is certain that in addition to new progress there will unfortunately be no lack of painful experiences. But the light of divine mercy, which the Lord in a way wished to return to the world through Sr Faustina's charism, will illumine the way for the men and women of the third millennium.
However, as the Apostles once did, today too humanity must welcome into the upper room of history the risen Christ, who shows the wounds of his Crucifixion and repeats:  Peace be with you! Humanity must let itself be touched and pervaded by the Spirit given to it by the risen Christ. It is the Spirit who heals the wounds of the heart, pulls down the barriers that separate us from God and divide us from one another, and at the same time, restores the joy of the Father's love and of fraternal unity.
Pope Francis touches the statue of Virgin Mary as he arrives for the canonisation ceremony of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2614241/One-million-people-Vatican-Francis-Benedict-XVI-canonise-John-XXIII-John-Paul-II.html#ixzz305YQLAgx
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4. It is important then that we accept the whole message that comes to us from the word of God on this Second Sunday of Easter, which from now on throughout the Church will be called "Divine Mercy Sunday". In the various readings, the liturgy seems to indicate the path of mercy which, while re-establishing the relationship of each person with God, also creates new relations of fraternal solidarity among human beings. Christ has taught us that "man not only receives and experiences the mercy of God, but is also called "to practise mercy' towards others:  "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy' (Mt 5: 7)" (Dives et misericordia, n. 14). He also showed us the many paths of mercy, which not only forgives sins but reaches out to all human needs. Jesus bent over every kind of human poverty, material and spiritual.
His message of mercy continues to reach us through his hands held out to suffering man. This is how Sr Faustina saw him and proclaimed him to people on all the continents when, hidden in her convent at £agiewniki in Kraków, she made her life a hymn to mercy:  Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo.
5. Sr Faustina's canonization has a particular eloquence:  by this act I intend today to pass this message on to the new millennium. I pass it on to all people, so that they will learn to know ever better the true face of God and the true face of their brethren.
In fact, love of God and love of one's brothers and sisters are inseparable, as the First Letter of John has reminded us:  "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments" (5: 2). Here the Apostle reminds us of the truth of love, showing us its measure and criterion in the observance of the commandments.
It is not easy to love with a deep love, which lies in the authentic gift of self. This love can only be learned by penetrating the mystery of God's love. Looking at him, being one with his fatherly heart, we are able to look with new eyes at our brothers and sisters, with an attitude of unselfishness and solidarity, of generosity and forgiveness. All this is mercy!
To the extent that humanity penetrates the mystery of this merciful gaze, it will seem possible to fulfil the ideal we heard in today's first reading:  "The community of believers were of one heart and one mind. None of them ever claimed anything as his own; rather everything was held in common" (Acts 4: 32). Here mercy gave form to human relations and community life; it constituted the basis for the sharing of goods. This led to the spiritual and corporal "works of mercy". Here mercy became a concrete way of being "neighbour" to one's neediest brothers and sisters.
6. Sr Faustina Kowalska wrote in her Diary:  "I feel tremendous pain when I see the sufferings of my neighbours. All my neighbours' sufferings reverberate in my own heart; I carry their anguish in my heart in such a way that it even physically destroys me. I would like all their sorrows to fall upon me, in order to relieve my neighbour" (Diary, p. 365). This is the degree of compassion to which love leads, when it takes the love of God as its measure!
It is this love which must inspire humanity today, if it is to face the crisis of the meaning of life, the challenges of the most diverse needs and, especially, the duty to defend the dignity of every human person. Thus the message of divine mercy is also implicitly a message about the value of every human being. Each person is precious in God's eyes; Christ gave his life for each one; to everyone the Father gives his Spirit and offers intimacy.
7. This consoling message is addressed above all to those who, afflicted by a particularly harsh trial or crushed by the weight of the sins they committed, have lost all confidence in life and are tempted to give in to despair. To them the gentle face of Christ is offered; those rays from his heart touch them and shine upon them, warm them, show them the way and fill them with hope. How many souls have been consoled by the prayer "Jesus, I trust in you", which Providence intimated through Sr Faustina! This simple act of abandonment to Jesus dispels the thickest clouds and lets a ray of light penetrate every life. Jezu, ufam tobie.  
Divine Mercy Saint  Faustina.
 http://www.divinemercysunday.com/ f
8. Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo (Ps 88 [89]: 2). Let us too, the pilgrim Church, join our voice to the voice of Mary most holy, "Mother of Mercy", to the voice of this new saint who sings of mercy with all God's friends in the heavenly Jerusalem.
And you, Faustina, a gift of God to our time, a gift from the land of Poland to the whole Church, obtain for us an awareness of the depth of divine mercy; help us to have a living experience of it and to bear witness to it among our brothers and sisters. May your message of light and hope spread throughout the world, spurring sinners to conversion, calming rivalries and hatred and opening individuals and nations to the practice of brotherhood. Today, fixing our gaze with you on the face of the risen Christ, let us make our own your prayer of trusting abandonment and say with firm hope:    Christ Jesus, I trust in you! Jezu, ufam tobie!

- Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Blessed John Paul II – the Pope of Divine Mercy

Bl John Paul II, Divine Mercy Image and St FaustinaAs we celebrate the Feast of Divine Mercy and the Beatification of Pope John Paul II, let us consider how these important events in the life of the Church are so closely and beautifully linked.

Friday 25 April 2014

Friday in the Octave of Easter

DUCCIO_di_Buoninsegna_
Appearance_on_Lake_Tiberias

Fw; It is the Lord.    
            

On Thursday, 24 April 2014, 
Fr. Nivard ...> wrote:
Readings & Med. Adapted 
1 Easter Friday , Jn: 20: 1-14  
   Skeptics say the disciples only saw a vision of Jesus. The Gospels, however, give us a vivid picture of the reality of the resurrection.
 Jesus offered his disciples various proofs of his resurrection. He is real and true flesh, not just a spirit or ghost.
   Jesus prepared breakfast and ate with them. Peter's prompt, “It is the Lord!”,  stands in sharp contrast to his previous denial of his Master.
   The Lord Jesus reveals himself to each of us as we open our hearts to hear his word.
Father, Increase our faith in the power of your Son’s resurrection and in the truth that Jesus is truly alive, through Christ our Lord.