Connect with us on Facebook! Receive the Saint of the Day daily reflection and prayers. View the livestream, Sunday homilies, shout-outs, and notices of happenings at Our Lady of Mercy.
The OLM PADS/Hesed House Board is now on display in the Atrium (Door B Entrance). The board contains a “wish-list” of items used to prepare meals for 250 guests at the Hesed House homeless shelter, on the first Tuesday of each month. Monetary donations can be made via the OLM Online Giving Portal (please specify donation is for Hesed House), or make checks payable to Our Lady of Mercy Church, and write on the memo “Hesed House-PADS”.
Kindly DROP-OFF for all donated items BEFORE ALL WEEKEND MASSES on June 1st and 2nd, 2024. Since our ministry volunteers are only available to secure/put away items during this designated time, we ask that you please refrain from dropping-off items unattended, outside this time-frame. Thank you for supporting our mission of mercy.
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𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 @ 𝗢𝗟𝗠!
𝘋𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 6 𝘰𝘯 𝘗𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘺 last Friday where we were able to talk about our physical intimacy and to recognize where changes could be made for the sake of each other and the wholeness of our relationship. The talk also focused on 5 secrets for keeping the SPARK alive; 𝗦peaking 𝗣rioritizing 𝗔nticipating 𝗥esponding 𝗞indness.
𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑟𝑎𝑦𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑠 taking part in these dates night. Your prayers affirm their vocations and strengthen their marriage. bStrong marriages protect families, fortify society, and serve as a powerful witness that can change the world and draw others closer to Christ. Through friendship, witness, and discipleship, even our imperfect marriages have an immeasurable impact on others.
Stay tuned for more offerings from Manna for Marriage Ministry, designed for both engaged and married couples.
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The May Crowning ceremony, to honor our Blessed Mother, was held at the 4PM Mass last Saturday. May Crowning is the time honored tradition where the statue of Mary is crowned with a wreath of flowers, to pay homage to her as the Queen of Heaven and the Mother of God. Fr. Michael Kearney presided at this beautiful ceremony, where two candidates who recently received their First Communion, brought up in procession a wreath of flowers and reverently crowned the statue of our Blessed Mother, that stood within the resplendent arch in the Narthex.
A crown of flowers and floral tributes also adorned the other statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the church, to honor and symbolize her queenship. The celebration was held in conjunction with the Mother’s Day weekend because Our Lady is both Queen and Mother to all the faithful.
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𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗡𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗔 𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝟴 — 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗬𝗢𝗨, 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗠 𝗕𝗢𝗧𝗛
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐻𝑜𝑙𝑦 𝑆𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑡 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑢𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝐻𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛.
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In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
𝑽𝑬𝑵𝑰 𝑪𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑻𝑶𝑹 𝑺𝑷𝑰𝑹𝑰𝑻𝑼𝑺 𝑯𝒀𝑴𝑵
Per te sciamus da Patrem,
noscamus atque Filium,
te utriusque Spiritum
credamus omni tempore.
Through You may we the Father know,
and through You know the Son as well,
and may we always cling in faith
to You, the Spirit of them both.
𝑾𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝑶𝑭 𝑮𝑶𝑫
From the Nicene Creed
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
"At that very moment he rejoiced [in] the holy Spirit and said, “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will." (Luke 10:21)
𝑴𝑬𝑫𝑰𝑻𝑨𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵
The Holy Spirit, in the history of salvation, is not only sent by the Son, but is also sent to the Son; the Son is not only the one who gives the Spirit but also the one who receives the Spirit. Here is a lovely passage that draws together all of the interventions of the Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus and the Trinitarian relationship:
Through love, the Holy Spirit orients the whole life of Jesus towards the Father in the fulfillment of His will. The Father sends His Son (Galatians 4:4) when Mary conceives Him through the operation of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35). The Holy Spirit makes Jesus manifest as Son of the Father by resting upon Him at baptism (Luke 3:21-22; John 1:33). He drives Jesus into the wilderness (Mark 1:12). Jesus returns "full of the Holy Spirit" (Luke 4:1). Then He begins His ministry "in the power of the Spirit" (Luke 4:14). He is filled with joy in the Spirit, blessing the Father for His gracious will (Luke 10:21). He chooses His apostles "through the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:2). He casts out demons by the Spirit of God (Matthew 12:28). He offers Himself to the Father "through the eternal Spirit" (Hebrew 9:14). On the Cross, He "commits His spirit" into the Father's hands (Luke 23:46). "In the Spirit" He descended to the dead (1 Peter 3:19), and by the Spirit, He was raised from the dead (Romans 8:11) and "designated Son of God in power" (Romans 1:4).
From one phase of the history of salvation to the next—from Jesus who receives the Spirit to Jesus who sends the Spirit—the moment of transition is defined by the cross.
A broad glance at all the links between Jesus and the Spirit shows the reciprocity of their relationship. First, in the incarnation, the Spirit gives us Jesus, for Jesus was conceived "through the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 1:18). Next, in the paschal mystery (and, according to John, already on the cross), Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit. This relationship finds a parallel in the Eucharist. First, in the consecration, the Holy Spirit gives us Jesus (for it is by the power of the Holy Spirit that the bread becomes the body and the wine becomes the blood of Christ); next, in communion, Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit, for "anyone who is joined to the Lord is one Spirit with Him" (1 Corinthians 6:17).
This relationship of reciprocity is a reflection in some way of the relationship that exists already in the Trinity. "This role of The Spirit in the innermost human existence of the Son of God made man, derives from an eternal Trinitarian relationship through which the Spirit, in His mystery as Gift of Love, characterizes the relation between the Father, as source of Love, and his beloved Son." The analogy of breathing helps us understand their relationship; Father and Son breathing the Spirit together, with all the shadings of intimacy, shared secrets, loving cooperation in intention and purpose. Another way to reflect on the Trinitarian relationship is St. Augustine's—the lover, the beloved, and love.
The Holy Spirit is the mutual love of the Father and the Son, the kiss, their mutual embrace full of joy and happiness in which, thanks to the Spirit, we find ourselves in some way caught up, held close by the Father and Son as well, encompassed in their Trinitarian love.
—From Come, Creator Spirit; Meditations on the Veni Creator, Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa
𝑰𝑵𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑪𝑬𝑺𝑺𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑺
Thank you, God, for never abandoning us. Jesus, thank You for revealing the Father's heart to us by the Holy Spirit.
𝑹: 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕, 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒆.
When we feel surrounded by chaos and confusion, help us to trust You are with us, hovering over us and breathing upon us to bring order and peace.
𝑹: 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕, 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒆.
When we feel far from God or burdened by our daily tasks, renew us with Your Holy Spirit, giving us the grace and strength we need.
𝑹: 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕, 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒆.
Holy Spirit we ask for the grace of [mention your intention here + our parish (especially the vision for our parish the Holy Spirit gave us), and for Father Michael and Father Frank.
𝑹: 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕, 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒆.
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
𝑳𝑬𝑻 𝑼𝑺 𝑷𝑹𝑨𝒀
Holy Spirit, direct our mind,
fill our heart, be words on lips that we open to you.
You tell the festive bells to ring
and prompt the singer of psalms to sing,
Holiest of the holy,
God of gods,
joy, light, healing draught and life:
praise be to You, with Father and Son,
Spirit life-giver so kind. Amen.
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𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗡𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗔 𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝟳 — 𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗠𝗔𝗬 𝗪𝗘 𝗞𝗡𝗢𝗪 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗢𝗡 𝗔𝗦 𝗪𝗘𝗟𝗟
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐻𝑜𝑙𝑦 𝑆𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑡 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠 𝑢𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐽𝑒𝑠𝑢𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝐿𝑜𝑟𝑑.
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In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
𝑽𝑬𝑵𝑰 𝑪𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑻𝑶𝑹 𝑺𝑷𝑰𝑹𝑰𝑻𝑼𝑺 𝑯𝒀𝑴𝑵
Per te sciamus da Patrem,
noscamus atque Filium,
te utriusque Spiritum
credamus omni tempore.
Through You may we the Father know,
and through You know the Son as well,
and may we always cling in faith
to You, the Spirit of them both.
𝑾𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝑶𝑭 𝑮𝑶𝑫
1 Corinthians 12:3
Therefore, I tell you that nobody speaking by the spirit of God says, “Jesus be accursed.” And no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
"through His Spirit. . . that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge" (Ephesians 3:16-19)
𝑴𝑬𝑫𝑰𝑻𝑨𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵
In the Sacred Scriptures, the Holy Spirit never puts Himself forward proclaiming His own name; the Spirit is always revealing, telling of, the Father or the Son. The Spirit does not teach us to call on Him, 𝘙𝘶𝘢𝘤𝘩, by His own name, but rather to cry, Abba, that is, Father, or 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘢-𝘵𝘩𝘢, that is, Come, Lord Jesus!
The Spirit is revealed by making the other two Persons known. The Spirit, the Unknown, is the one who makes everything known. In this, we see how the symbols of wind and light are particularly apt as expressions of the characteristics of the Spirit. We cannot see the wind itself, but we do see what it does: it bends the trees, whistles, through the branches, stirs up waves on the sea. Light, too: though it is by means of light that we see all that we see, we do not see light itself: that remains hidden. Again, if the lamp is at our shoulder, a little behind us, we see things very well but if the lamp is in front of our eyes, we see nothing; it dazzles us.
The Holy Spirit, if we may say so, is "𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀"; the Spirit prompts, reveals, but remains out of sight. But it is precisely by working in this way that we gain an understanding of who the Spirit is. Saint Basil, with penetrating insight, offers this explanation: 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦, 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴—𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥'𝘴 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘺—𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘥.
"𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗮𝘆, “𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱,” 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝘆 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁."
In John's Gospel, Jesus Himself tells of this work that the Paraclete will do in His regard. For us moderns, there is a need for rediscovery of the elementary biblical fact that "Jesus Christ is Lord!" Saint Paul speaks of a kind of knowledge of Christ that "nothing will outweigh"; he calls it in fact the "supreme advantage," and it consists in knowing Him and proclaiming Him as "Lord" (Phillippians 3:8).
The 𝙤𝙗𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 in the words "Jesus is Lord" comes from the fact that they make history, and in particular, the paschal mystery, present to us now. The words state with clarity the conclusion that shines out from two events: Christ died for our sins and He rose from the dead to justify us, and that is why He is Lord. "For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living" (Romans 14:9).
𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗼 "𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱" 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗴𝗺𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. With this same affirmation, Peter concluded his discourse on the day of Pentecost (see Acts 2:36).
𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀, 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘂𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗔𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲. 𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴, "𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱. 𝗜 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲."
From a certain viewpoint, this is the reason why the demons in the Gospel had no difficulty calling Jesus "Son of God" or "the Holy one of God," but 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 at all did a demon ever say, "We know who You are: You are the Lord!" In calling Him the Son or the Holy one of God they were merely recognizing a fact that did not in any way depend on them and about which they could do nothing. But if they were to call Jesus "Lord" they would have been acknowledging submission to Him, and that was something they simply could not do.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝘀 "𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱" 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝘀 "𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱" 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 "𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝘁" 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 "𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱." 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. 𝗪𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴— 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹—𝘁𝗼 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 "𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗱," 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲.
If we haven't already, we need to experience coming to know Christ if we are to know Him truly; we need really to discover that He exists, that He is alive. And this experience is exactly what the Holy Spirit is giving to many ordinary people in our day. There is a difference between the real, living Jesus and the Jesus you find in books and learned discussion about Him; it is the same as the difference between the real sky and a penciled sketch of the sky on a piece of paper.
To give our reflection a more practical bent, we must, before we finish, try to see where the Holy Spirit will give us this knowledge of Christ and what means the Spirit will use to do it.
🙏 One way, the most common one, 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲. The Holy Spirit helps us to discover for ourselves what the Fathers have always affirmed: that the whole Bible speaks to us of Christ. The Spirit teaches us to read the Bible in a spiritual way, which is in fact to read it all as in reference to Christ who is its fulfillment.
🙏 𝗜𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 the Holy Spirit not only leads us to know Jesus, but also puts the Spirit's own praying into us, sharing His own states of mind, His own intentions, and His own sentiments with us. The Spirit "transforms" us in Christ, for the Spirit is the Spirit of the Son praying in us. The best way to start a time of prayer is by asking the Holy Spirit to unite us with the prayer of Jesus. Jesus as we see Him in the Gospels used to pray at all times of the day: early in the morning, in the evening, at night. When we turn to prayer at one or other of these times, we can simply put ourselves at Jesus' side as He prays and let the Spirit carry on praising and blessing the Father in us. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲. 𝗜𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿, we find that "all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
🙏 However, of all times when the Spirit does this work in us, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘂𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁. It is the Holy Spirit who makes the body and blood of Christ present on the altar, and it is the Spirit who makes them present to our spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who enables us to comprehend, without any need of words, that this blood is shed "𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗲"; it is the Spirit who enables us to "discern" the body of the Lord, to penetrate the inexhaustible mystery of redemption that enters into us at every Eucharist. Saint Irenaeus says that the Holy Spirit is "our communion with Christ."
Let us end this reflection with the prayer of a medieval author, Rupert of Deutz. We will see the last few words of his prayer echo the words of the Veni Creator hymn. He asks the Holy Spirit to helps us to grasp the whole mystery of Christ, the mystery that the Spirit inspired and brought about in history.
—From Come, Creator Spirit; Meditations on the Veni Creator, Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa
𝑰𝑵𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑪𝑬𝑺𝑺𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑺
Holy Spirit, renew in us and enkindle in us a deeper desire in our Scriptural life, our prayer life, and Eucharistic life so as to know who we are in Jesus and who He is in us.
𝑹: 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏, 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓.
Holy Spirit, awaken those who are in a spiritual slumber, awakening the longing for the divine that cannot be satisfied by anyone or anything short of God, for we are created to be seekers for the absolute love, which is God.
𝑹: 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏, 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓.
Holy Spirit, help us to keep our focus, that regardless of how bleak the world looks, the truth of Jesus is Lord means nobody else is, no matter how things may appear right now.
𝑹: 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏, 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓.
Holy Spirit we ask for the grace of [mention your intention here + our parish (especially the vision for our parish the Holy Spirit gave us), and for Father Michael and Father Frank.
𝑹: 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏, 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓.
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
𝑳𝑬𝑻 𝑼𝑺 𝑷𝑹𝑨𝒀
Holy Spirit, my Lord and God,
let Your saving plan be fulfilled in us all.
You drew God down from heaven and into the Virgin's womb;
You are the love that made God to become one with our own flesh.
You built for God's Son a home in His mother: built it on seven pillars, Your seven gifts.
From the root of Jesse a shoot has sprung: on it You would one day come to rest.
God, we have heard with our very own ears; our fathers have told us the work that You did, when You came in flame-tongues from Your throne in the Godhead to make earth a heaven and all of us gods.
From that moment on, as children adopted, scattered throughout all the earth,
through You we keep crying Abba, our Father! to God.
How great are Your mercies, oh Spirit, oh Lord!
They revive me in hope; through them I entreat You,
faith's seal, of believers the counselor-helper,
light, fire, and wellspring of light,
oh, listen to us who call You, and come!
If You will but guide us
our Fathers face we'll see, and also the face of His Son,
and know You too, who flow from them both,
life's fountain and river of peace.
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𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 - 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲. 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 @ 𝗢𝗟𝗠. 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 & 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗽𝘂𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻.
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𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦; 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳, 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯. 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘭𝘺. 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘭𝘺? 𝘞𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 “𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴” 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴. 𝘐𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘷𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩. 𝘖𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦, 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘎𝘰𝘥’𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭.
𝘈𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘉𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 “𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩” 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺. 𝘛𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 4 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯. 𝘛𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘋𝘢𝘥'𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥, 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥!
𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴: 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘢 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘳𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 (𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦) 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 (𝘚𝘵. 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘢'𝘴 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳), 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘢 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘴 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳. (𝘔𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳) 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘮 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦.
𝘈𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘉𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘋𝘢𝘺, 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩. 𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 “𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩” 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦. 𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘉𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘶𝘴, 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘶𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴' 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦.
𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭
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We hope to see you at any of the daily Masses, the weekend Masses 4pm Saturday, 8am, 10am, 12pm, 5:30pm on Sunday, and at any of the encounter Jesus gatherings here @ OLM!
View the rest of the Parish Update here app.flocknote.com/note/26437497
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Last Saturday’s "Evening with Mother Mary" started with food and fellowship courtesy of the Babbette & Servers of Christ Hospitality Team. Delicious food led to faith sharing as Justin Reyes told of his family's adventures on pilgrimage to Mexico, Rome, and most recently, Fatima.
What an amazing way to grow our relationship with Christ, Mother Mary, and to experience the Church as vibrantly alive with your children. Laura Reyes gave examples of taking her children on local pilgrimages to Marian churches and shrines, plus offered prayerful and playful ways families can take Mother Mary into our hearts and homes. Each thoughtful example was a way to lead us to the powerful love of our spiritual Mother, and therefore, to Jesus!
Fr. Michael blessed the Marian icons the young and young at heart created that are now set in our homes to honor Mary and ask her motherly intercession to guide us to imitate her forever YES to God! Stay tuned for details of plans to meet at The National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in New Franken, Wisconsin this summer.
God bless,
Mary Jo, Director of Family Faith Formation
Thank you to our many generous volunteers and staff members who helped make this such a special memory of Mother Mary for 100+ parishioners and guests!
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Who is Saint Isidore?
He was born in Madrid to a poor family who named him after the great scholar-saint Isidore of Seville. They were not able to provide education for their son, but they raised him with a firm faith and a strong devotion to prayer. As soon as he was old enough to work, Isidore was hired to a wealthy man from Madrid and he worked the rest of his life on the man’s estate outside of the city. He married a poor girl, Maria, and they bore one son.
Isidore’s devotion stretched into adulthood—he rose early every day to attend Mass, and he would commune with God in prayer during his labors throughout the day. He was generous to other poor people, often giving them what food he had and settling for their scraps.
Miracles were attributed to his prayer—on one occasion, he showed up late to a gathering with a small crowd of beggars. The hosts had saved enough food for him, but could not feed the others. Isidore was confident that there would be enough, and when all were seated and served, there was plenty.
Isidore is also known for a love of animals. During one winter, he was carrying a sack of corn to the mill to be ground to flour. Noticing all the hungry birds around him, he opened the sack and poured half of it on the ground for them. He was ridiculed for the waste, but when he reached the mill, the sack produced double the normal amount of flour.
Isidore died on this date in 1130, and a number of other miracles (438 are documented) were ascribed to his help—he assisted the king of Spain through a vision in a battle, for example, and his relics were associated with the healing of a later monarch.
St. Isidore the Farmer, you and your wife led a simple life of great faith that produced wonders—pray for us!
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Who is Saint Dymphna?
Dymphna was born in Ireland sometime in the seventh century to a pagan father and devout Christian mother. When she was fourteen, she consecrated herself to Christ and took a vow of chastity. Soon afterward, her mother died and her father - who had loved his wife deeply - began to suffer a rapid deterioration of his mental stability.
So unhinged was Dymphna's father, Damon, that the King's counselors suggested he remarry. Though he was still grieving for his wife, he agreed to remarry if a woman as beautiful as she could be found.
Damon sent messengers throughout his town and other lands to find woman of noble birth who resembled his wife and would be willing to marry him, but when none could be found, his evil advisors whispered sinful suggestions to marry his own daughter. So twisted were Damon's thoughts that he recognized only his wife when he looked upon Dymphna, and so he consented to the arrangement.
When she heard of her father's misguided plot, Dymphna fled her castle with her confessor, a priest named Fr. Gerebran, two trusted servants, and the king's jester. The group sailed toward what is now called Belgium, and hid in the town of Geel.
When Damon found his daughter was in Geel, he traveled there and captured them. He had the priest beheaded and attempted to convince Dymphna to return to Ireland and marry him.
When Dymphna refused, Damon became enraged and drew his sword. He struck Dymphna's head from her shoulders and left her there. After her father left Geel, the residents collected both Dymphna and Fr. Gerebran's remains and laid them to rest in a cave.
Many miracles have been proven to take place at her shrine in the church erected in her honor. Some of her remains can also be found at the Shrine to Saint Dymphna in the United States. Saint Dymphna is the patroness of those suffering nervous and mental afflictions as well as victims of incest.
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𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗡𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗔 𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝟲 — 𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗠𝗔𝗬 𝗪𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗞𝗡𝗢𝗪
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐻𝑜𝑙𝑦 𝑆𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑡 𝑒𝑛𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑢𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑢𝑡, 𝐴𝑏𝑏𝑎, 𝐹𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟!
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In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
𝑽𝑬𝑵𝑰 𝑪𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑻𝑶𝑹 𝑺𝑷𝑰𝑹𝑰𝑻𝑼𝑺 𝑯𝒀𝑴𝑵
Per te sciamus da Patrem,
noscamus atque Filium,
te utriusque Spiritum
credamus omni tempore.
Through You may we the Father know,
and through You know the Son as well,
and may we always cling in faith
to You, the Spirit of them both.
𝑾𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝑶𝑭 𝑮𝑶𝑫
Galatians 4:6
As proof that you are children, God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”
For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, “Abba, Father!” (Romans 8:15-16)
𝑴𝑬𝑫𝑰𝑻𝑨𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵
Saint Irenaeus writes, "The Holy Spirit gets us ready to receive the Son of God, and the Son then takes us to the Father." While Jesus was on earth Philip asked Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied" (John 14:8). We today, need to be asking the Holy Spirit to do the same for us.
"Blessed are they who know the Father," exclaimed Tertulian when he was commenting on the opening words of the Our Father. Such knowledge does in fact make one blessed and happy, feel secure and invincible. It makes a radical change to the way one feels about oneself; it gives one a whole new identity as a daughter or son of God.
The first thing that the Holy Spirit does upon coming into us is to make us see God in a different way. The Spirit shows us the true face of God. The Spirit leads us to discover that God is on our side, a friend, one who for our sake, "did not withhold His own Son" (Romans 8:32), in fact, a loving Father.
However, in our day, a new and difficult field has opened up, a need that cries out for this inward work of the Holy Spirit of making us see God in a different way. That 'underhand resentment' against God has spread like a contagion among us on a global scale. No longer because of the law that God imposes, but because of the suffering God allows. There are many who say that after Auschwitz we no longer have any reason for calling God "Father." Nothing short of the Holy Spirit working in a powerful way will enable us in this modern age to get over this kind of obstacle that no theological reasoning seems able to move. This is the greatest of the healings that we should expect from the Holy Spirit through the wind of Pentecost blowing again in our day. Our minds are not merely, "inadequate" to grasp the realities of God, but the very mindset of our age is hostile, in rebellion against God.
We already have an indication of how the Holy Spirit is answering this need: by revealing to believers that God is suffering too. As the Bible reveals to us a God who in the very depths of His being is love, it reveals at the same time "that God suffers the pain of love" (1). God suffers because of the very nature of love, for to love is to be vulnerable. "There is no living in love without some sorrow." (2)
This is a new chapter that theology is only beginning to explore, one that cannot be seen except in conjunction with the work of the Paraclete. It is the way the Holy Spirit is working in our day at His task of leading us into the "whole truth" concerning the Father. It is significant that the first mention of the theme of "God's suffering" in the documents of the magisterium is found in an encyclical on the Holy Spirit, and that its revelation is explicitly attributed to the action of the Paraclete who "convinces the world of sin."(3)
The Holy Spirit is not confined merely to correcting our knowledge of the Father where it has become distorted by sin and the way we are inclined to look on the suffering of the innocent. The Spirit does more, by giving us access to the intimate mystery of God, drawing us in, in a way, into the intimate circle of relationships of Father, Son, and Spirit. By him, "your life is hidden with Christ in God" (see Colossians 3:3). The mystics assures us that it is so.
What is it that we ask of the Spirit when we pray or sing in the Veni Creator Spiritus hymn, "Through You may we the Father know"?
This, above all, is what we ask for: "Make us know 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙁𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧'𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚" This is the Paraclete's most special and important task: to pour the love of God into our hearts: to give us not just an abstract knowledge of that love but to make us feel it and really live it. Of all the prayers that we could pray to the Spirit, this is the most important, the most essential: "Let us know how much the Father loves us, and we will need nothing more!"
When we ask the Spirit to make us know the Father, we are also asking the Spirit to "make us know the Father's will!" For it is in fact through the Holy Spirit that God's will is made known to us (Ephesians 1:9).
The Spirit is the one who prays all the petitions. Saint Paul tells us that it is only by the Holy Spirit coming into us that we can say, Abba, Father! And what is that, if it is not the opening cry of the Our Father? It is then, the Holy Spirit who starts the Our Father in us every time we say that prayer. He is the only one who can lead us into the mystery of this prayer, taking us beyond the mere mouthing of words. In the beginning days of the novena, we were looking at the Holy Spirit as the mystery both "tremendous and fascinating," of power and of tenderness. Through the Our Father, the Spirit opens us to know God the Father as the mystery of utter transcendence and also of intimate closeness. The opening words of the Our Father show us, God, as our dad who loves us most tenderly, one to Whom we can turn to with all the uninhibited confidence of little children. But the next phrase, reminding us that the Father is "in heaven," makes us aware that God is all-powerful, great, holy, as far above us as the heavens are above the earth (see Isaiah 55:9), in whose care we may know that we're absolutely protected, utterly safe. Father, but omnipotent; omnipotent, but Father: this shows us the true, complete Christian concept of God. A God who is as "fatherly" as can be, but quite opposite of a softy or a sweetie-pie.
That is what the Holy Spirit led Jesus Himself to experience when He was prompted to cry out, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth" (Luke 10:21). "Father," but also "Lord of heaven and earth!" The Our Father is simply the ever-widening ripple of the prayer of Jesus Christ Himself spreading through the ages, spreading over the sea of humankind, from the head to every member of the Body. In the Veni Creator, we ask the Holy Spirit to give us knowledge of the Father: all of that knowledge is summed up in the Our Father.
Saint Ignatius of Antioch, on his way to Rome, where he knew he was to suffer martyrdom, wrote, "I feel within myself a living water, murmuring and saying, 'Come to the Father!" That is the way the Hoy Spirit goes to work, bringing about the "return of all creatures to God," drawing them to the Father, giving rise in them to a longing for Him, putting into the hearts of the redeemed a burning desire to see His face. The Holy Spirit is "the ladder of our ascent to God."
Let us end this reflection with this magnificent cry of praise to the Holy Spirit from the medieval author, William of Saint Thierry, where he emphasizes especially the role of the Holy Spirit in bringing us to the knowledge of God.
—From Come, Creator Spirit; Meditations on the Veni Creator, Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa
(1) Origen, Homilies on Ezekiel, 6.6 (GCS 1925, p. 384)
(2) The Imitation of Christ, III.5.7
(3) See John Paul II, Encyclical Dominum et Vivificatem, 39
𝑰𝑵𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑪𝑬𝑺𝑺𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑺
Holy Spirit, comfort us in our afflictions, help us, our families, our parish, our community, know the Father's love.
𝑹: 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓.
Holy Spirit, help us to daily make a commitment to surrender our lives to Jesus who always leads us to the Father.
𝑹: 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓.
Holy Spirit, help us see how the Father sees each of us; chosen, loved, with purpose and meaning in our lives.
𝑹: 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓.
Holy Spirit we ask for the grace of [mention your intention here + our parish (especially the vision for our parish the Holy Spirit gave us), and for Father Michael and Father Frank.
𝑹: 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝑺𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓.
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
𝑳𝑬𝑻 𝑼𝑺 𝑷𝑹𝑨𝒀
Hurry, then, to have a share in the Holy Spirit,
He is present when you call on Him,
and if you call on Him it is because He is present in you.
He is the rushing river that brings joy to the city of God.
He will show you what God the Father keeps hidden
from the learned and the wise of this world.
God is Spirit and those who adore Him must adore in spirit and in truth,
so too it is fitting that those who long to understand Him to know Him
must seek in the Holy Spirit alone
the insight of faith and the meaning of Truth pure and simple.
In the darkness and ignorance of this life, to the poor in spirit
He is light that enlightens,
He is love that enraptures,
He is gentleness most moving,
He is our access to God, He is the love of the One who loves,
He is dedication, He is devotion.
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𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗻𝗶𝗰- 𝟱/𝟭𝟴
Family Faith Formation is hosting a family picnic THIS Saturday, May 18th following the 4pm Mass.
ALL Friends & Families of OLM are invited to celebrate another year of growing in our faith. Join us behind the Church and bring picnic blankets, outdoor chairs, & favorite games to share. See you then!
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