May 13, 2017

May 13

May 13, 2017:  Saturday, 4th week, Easter / Our Lady of Fatima

Find about a dozen connections with today?
Legend below

Listen

For Psalm 98
Pope Francis at Fatima
Canonization homily:  “A sun-clothed woman appeared in heaven” about to bear a son.  Jesus tells his disciple, “Here is your mother.”  We have a Mother, “so beautiful a Lady” (Fatima seers).   The Virgin didn't come here so we could see her; she warned us about godless living that profanes God in his creatures; she reminded us that God’s light dwells in us and protects us, for, “the [woman's] child was taken to God.”  Three children were surrounded by God’s light radiated from her.  Fatima is this Light; we need to take refuge under her protection and ask her to show Jesus to us.
Clinging to Mary, we live in the hope resting on Jesus.  “Those who receive the grace and the gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.”  When Jesus ascended, he brought our humanity to the Father.  Fix your hope on that humanity, seated at the Father's right hand, and let it guide and sustain you.  We can take as examples SS. Francisco and Jacinta, whom Mary introduced into the ocean of God’s light and taught to adore him, the source of their strength.  God’s presence became constant in their lives, evident from their prayer for sinners and their desire to remain near Jesus in the tabernacle.
“Don't you see the... people crying for food?  And the Holy Father... praying before the Immaculate Heart of Mary?  And the people praying with him?” (Jacinta)   Mary's children aren't lost; from her embrace will come hope and peace.  Pray with hope that others hear us; and tell others God will help.
God made us to be a source of hope for others.  In demanding us to fulfill our duties, God mobilizes us against the indifference that chills the heart and worsens our myopia.  Life can survive only because of others' generosity.  “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth, it remains just a grain; but if it dies, it bears fruit.”  When we experience the cross, he's experienced it first.  We don't mount the cross to find Jesus; he descended to find us, dispel evil in us, and bring us to the light.  With Mary’s protection, may we be sentinels of the dawn, contemplating the Savior's face. rediscovering the Church's young, beautiful face that shines when she's missionary, welcoming, free, faithful, poor in means, and rich in love.
Blessing of the sick:  The Lord always goes before us.  In his passion, he took our suffering on himself.  Jesus knows sorrow and pain, understands, comforts, and strengthens us, he as he did with SS. Francisco Marto and Jacinta.  Think of how the Lord comforted Peter in prison.  The Church asks the Lord to comfort the afflicted, and he comforts you, even in ways you can't see, in your hearts and with strength.
Jesus is present but hidden, in the Eucharist, and in the wounds of our sick brothers and sisters.  On the altar we worship Jesus; in our brothers and sisters, we encounter his wounds.  Christians adore and seek Jesus and recognize his wounds.  Today Mary asks us the question she asked the shepherd children:  “Do you want to offer yourselves to God?”  Their answer makes us able to understand and imitate them; they lived as an offering to the Lord.
Live your life as a gift.  Tell Our Lady you want to offer yourself to God.  You share fully in the Church’s life and mission.  Your presence, your prayers, the offering of your sufferings in union Jesus', the patient acceptance of your condition, are all a spiritual resource, an asset to every community.  You're a precious treasure of the Church!  Entrust your sorrows, sufferings, and weariness to Jesus.  Count on our prayer for you; it rises to heaven from all the world.  God our Father will never forget you.
Greeting at Apparitions Chapel:  You have a special place in my heart.  Jesus has entrusted you to me; I commend you, especially those most in need, to him.  May Mary, loving Mother of the needy, obtain the Lord’s blessing for you; may it rest on the destitute, outcasts, the excluded, the abandoned, orphans, victims of injustice.
This blessing was fulfilled in the Virgin Mary.  No other creature ever basked in God's light as she did; she gave a human face to the Son of the Father.  Now we contemplate her in the joyful, luminous, sorrowful, and glorious moments of her life we revisit when we pray the rosary.  With Christ and Mary, we abide in God.  "To be Christian, we must be Marian; we have to acknowledge the essential, vital, and providential relationship uniting Mary to Jesus, a relationship that opens the way leading to him” (Paul VI).  Whenever we pray the rosary, the Gospel enters anew into the life of individuals, families, peoples and the world.
Is Mary a teacher of the spiritual life, the first to follow Jesus on the way of the cross, or a Lady unapproachable and impossible to imitate?  One blessed because she believed, or a statue from which we beg free favors?  Mary of the Gospel, or a Mary of our making who restrains a vengeful God, sweeter than Jesus the ruthless judge, more merciful than the Lamb slain for us?
We do God's grace an injustice if we say his judgment punishes sins before saying his mercy forgives them!  God’s judgment will always be rendered in the light of his mercy.  His mercy doesn't deny justice; he didn't deny sin but redeemed it.  In the faith that unites us to his cross, we're freed of our sins; we put aside fear.  “When we look to Mary, we come to believe again in love and tenderness .  In her, we see that humility and tenderness are not virtues of the weak but of the strong, who need not treat others poorly to feel important.  This interplay of justice and tenderness makes the Church look to Mary as a model of evangelization.”   With Mary, may we become a sign and sacrament of God's mercy.  With her and under her gaze, may we sing the Lord's mercies....
Prayer to the Blessed Virgin of Fatima:  Hail Holy Queen, Blessed Virgin of Fatima, Lady of Immaculate Heart, our refuge and our way to God!  As a pilgrim of the Light that comes to us through you, I thank the Father always at work.  As a pilgrim of the Peace you proclaim, I praise Christ, our peace and implore concord among everyone.  As a pilgrim of the Hope the Spirit awakens, I wash the feet of all.
Hail, Mother of Mercy, robed in white!   Hail, our life, sweetness, and hope, Pilgrim Virgin, Universal Queen!  Adorn us with the radiance of your crown and make us pilgrims.  Adorn us with the radiance of your crown and make us pilgrims.  Enliven the joy of Christ’s Church, strengthen our hope, and draw everyone into one family.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary, Queen of the Rosary of Fatima!  May we follow the example of BB. Francisco and Jacinta and all who proclaim the Gospel, making our pilgrim way, tearing down walls, crossing borders, going out to the peripheries, making God’s justice and peace known.  With gospel joy, we'll be the Church robed in white, washed in the blood of the Lamb, blood still shed in war.  We will illumine the ways of the world, proclaiming that God dwells among us now and forever.
Hail, Mother of the Lord, Blessed Virgin Mary!  You are the image of the Church robed in light, the honor of our people, the victory over every evil.  Prophecy of the Father's love, Teacher of the Son's Good News, Sign of the Spirit's Fire, teach us the truths the Father reveals to little ones.  Show us your strength.  Be the refuge of sinners and the way to God.  I entrust myself to you and through you consecrate myself to God.  Enveloped in your Light, I will glory to the Lord forever.
Read
  • Acts 13:44-52  Paul and Barnabas:  “We had to speak God's word to the Jews first, but since you reject it, and condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.  The Lord commanded us, I have made you a light to the Gentiles, an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth.”  The Gentiles were delighted, and the word spread, but the Jews stirred up a persecution....
  • Ps 98:1-4  "All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God."  Sing joyfully to God who's done wonders.
  • Jn 14:7-14  “If you know me, you'll know my Father.  Whoever has seen me has seen him.  I am in the Father and he's in me.  Whoever believes will do the works I do and greater ones.   Whatever you ask in my name, I'll do.”
Reflect
      • Surrounding myself with 'reminders' of my faith, my spirit, my values, my connections, so I'm always aware of God's presence.
      • Talking about God with others:  it validates and strengthens my belief, increases my awareness of God in my life.  Prayer groups, writing reflections, and book clubs increase my comfort level of talking about God to others.
      • Reaching out to others:  Service and volunteering is one of my most powerful experiences.  The world is needy, and my time with and service to others bring me closer to God and increases my awareness of his presence.
      • Listening to God:  Examen, walks, silent prayer help me find God's peaceful presence.
    • One Bread, One Body:  "Life in the Word":  When we repent of sin, we'll hear, believe, delight in, and respond to God's Word.  It may lead to persecutions, but we'll "be filled with joy and the Spirit."  When we accept God's Word, we enter into new life, move from grace to grace, and walk in the Truth.
    • Passionist:  Is my Father visible through me like it is through Jesus?  I'm called to be that channel, that light.  Jesus, the Way, showed us how while on earth.  We may think our way is the way, but that can obstruct the Father.  The Jews in the 1st reading missed Jesus because he wasn't what they expected.  As we celebrate Our Lady of Fatima, let's look to her model of faith and obedience and honor her through lives of prayer, hope, and service.  Lord, wash me clean of life's debris; let there be nothing left of me but you.
    • DailyScripture.net:  "Lord, show us the Father":  One of the great truths of Christian faith is that we can know God, personally.  Personal knowledge of God as our Father distinguishes Christianity from other religions.  To see Jesus is to see what God is like.  In Jesus we see God's perfect love, unconditional, unselfish, constant, for our sake.  God will hear our prayers when we pray in his name...."
      • Our Lady of Fátima:  3 shepherd children saw Mary Mother of Jesus near Fátima (Portugal) 6 times in 1917
      • Erconwald, convert, monastery and convent founder, abbot, bishop
    Dress legend
    • 'Piano' pin:  "Sing to the Lord a new song" (psalm); "I've made you an 'instrument' of salvation..." (1st reading)
    • 'Olympics' tie pin:  "...to the ends of the earth" (1st reading); "All the ends of the earth have seen God's saving power" (psalm)
    • 'Street light' tie bar:  "I've made you a light to the Gentiles..." (1st reading)
    • 'Hand' pin:  "The Lord's right hand has won victory" (psalm)
    • 'Eyeball' pin:  "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father." (gospel)
    • 'Dove' pin:  "The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit." (1st reading)
    • Dust-colored suspenders:  Paul and Barnabas, expelled, shook the dust from their feet in protest (1st reading)
    • 'I love my dad" tie:  "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father" (gospel)
    • White shirt and socks:  Easter season
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