Meditation - Contemplation

John 21: 1-14 Jesus Appears at the Sea of Galilee After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way. Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will also come with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing. But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. So Jesus said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?” They answered Him, “No.” and He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” So when Simon Peter heard that it w...

Be Not Afraid John 6: 16-21 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. Jesus says to us, “Be not afraid; I go before you always; come and follow me, and I will give you rest.” He knows where our lives are at this point in time, and he knows what shall become of our lives in the future. Today he is calling each one of us to follow him in a more loving and personal way; are we listening? He knows where we are going, and is waiting to receive us with open arms; Be no...

Compassionate Jesus The compassion of Jesus is perfectly clear in the Gospel of John 6: 1-15. Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, Where can we by enough food for them to eat?” One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?” Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. When they were finished, having had their fill, the disciples were able to fill twelve wicker baskets with the fragments left over. Let there be no doubt that Jesus, loves and cares about our every need. If we place our trust in him, and follow in his footsteps then we have nothing to fear; he shall fulfill our every need no matter how large or small. Five thousand satisfied from a few loaves and fishes; how much more is he willing to share with those who love him as...

I’ve been reflecting much lately on the state of our Union. I see many similarities between our former President Kennedy and our current President Barack Obama, both young, well educated, well spoken, great motivators, etc. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s inaugural address included these eloquent words: “Ask not what your country can do for you-ask what you can do for your country.” I asked the words this way: “Ask not what your God will do for you-ask what you are willing to do for your God.” Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Jesus wants us to approach him and to ask him to help us with all of our needs. But, Jesus already knows our needs before we ask him to help us with them. We need only to approach him with faith, hope, and trust; he loves us, he hears our prayers, and will answer them in a way that is best for us and our eternal salvation. God is willing to give us anything we need to sustain us; our ...

Ask Not Ask not what God will do for you; Ask what you are willing to do for your God!!!!

Jn 20: 19-31 Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” This is just a piece of today’s Gospel reading. But it is without a doubt, one of the greatest mysteries of our Catholic faith; the forgiveness of sin. Many say that only God can forgive sin, no man can forgive another person’s sin. Being married to a Protestant, I have come to understand through the years the opinion of those who do not believe that a man can forgive another person’s sins. But, it is this verse that has made my faith in God’s mercy ever stronger. Jesus said to his disciples, “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” To me, there can be no other explanation of what t...

Proclaim the Gospel / Mk 16: 9-15 When Jesus had risen, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene. She went and told his companions who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. After this he appeared in another form to two of them walking along on their way to the country. They returned and told the others; but they did not believe them either. Later, as the Eleven were at table, he appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who saw him after he had been raised. He said to them, “Go into the world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.” As the first week of the Easter season comes to a close, do we find ourselves as the Eleven Apostles, in disbelief? We as Christians proclaim our belief in the resurrection of Christ, but do we really believe? Will we doubt no longer only if we see him face to face, or if we place our hands upon the wounds of salvation? J...

The Passion Alone in the garden to his Father he prayed His disciples, under the trees, asleep they laid My Father in heaven, please take this cup away No, Father, let it be done to me as you say The soldiers approach, his disciples in fear Peter draws his sword and severs one's ear Put your sword back into its scabbard Shall I not drink the cup of my Father and Lord Jesus surrenders himself without a fight He is taken away in the dark of the night As the cock crows Peter begins to cry Told by Jesus three times he would deny In a courtyard filled with a angry crowd They reviled and cursed at him out load A fearful Pilate is seated upon his throne Abandoned, Jesus stands there all alone Convicted and accused of blasphemy Overwhelmed and fearful Pilate gives a decree Our Lord knew fully his time was very near Pilate washes his hands of the whole affair A vicious murderer is spared and set free The carpenters make a cross from a tree His flesh, viciously ripped from his bones In shock...

PRAYER at the CONSECRATION: Elevation of the Host: My Lord and my God, my God and my all, I love you in the most Blessed Sacrament, Nailed upon the cross, suffered and died for the sake of all humanity, That sin may be forgiven and the gates of heaven may be opened. Elevation of the Chalice: My Lord and my God, my God and my all, I love you in the most Precious Blood, Shed upon the cross at Calvary, Cleanse us dear Lord, with this adorable sacrifice, and bring us to new life, In your name we pray, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.

Be Not Afraid If you are a Christian, someone that believes that Jesus is the Son of God; beware. Expect, to be ridiculed and slandered, for you faith. Christianity has now come full circle; just as in the early church, when Christians were persecuted for their faith, so too are we being persecuted in these times that we live today. Our Lord told us that if we wanted to follow him, then we would have to take up our cross and walk with him everyday. Our crosses come to us in many different ways; only you know what your cross may be. Be assured, that although we may carry our cross; the Lord supports it. While we are put to the test, day after day, we need to keep the faith. Those who do not, believe, hope, or trust in God, will never understand you. They may say your crazy, or you have lost control of your senses. No, you are doing exactly what the Lord expects of you; leading others to the faith by your example. Continue on, do not be afraid; words are only exterior; faith is interior....

Straight to The Cross As we enter into Holy Week, we as Catholics must put on the armor of faith and be ready to accompany our Lord on the road to Calvary. With each passing day the Catholic Church has become the main focus of those who are antichrist. We are on the chopping block, and the attacks are coming from all directions. The evil one seems to be giving it one last try to destroy the one true church; Jesus said to Peter, “Upon this rock, I shall build my church.” So, now, we must defend our faith as never before, and we will. We shall continue to fight the good fight, armed with the faith of the cross and the Holy Rosary in our hands. Jesus said, “Be not afraid, I go be for you always.” And he did, straight to the cross; now it’s our turn!

Palms of Praise Into the village Jesus sends two A prophet's word has come to pass He, an instrument that was spoken through “Behold, your meek King, riding upon an ass, On a colt, the foal of a beast of burden” “Hosanna to the Son of David,” the people cry Spreading garments and branches as he passes by Entering Jerusalem, many ask, “Who is this man we see?” “This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee” The multitudes of the city were stirred and shaken In the presence of divinity, soon to be forsaken One day, a great multitude shall sing psalms Before the throne of the “King of Kings” holding palms Arrayed in white robes, every tribe, tongue, and nation Joyfully praising the “Lamb of God,” for their Salvation!

Countless words have been spoken; as in the sands of the seashore. Infinite words have been written; vast as the stars of the universe. The earth is filled with an endless number of books and publications; some written by the greatest intellectual minds that have ever lived upon the face of the earth, others written by the most simple and humble that have graced humanity. With this thought in mind however, there are but three words that will stand the test of time. Three words, that at the moment they were uttered, changed mankind for ever. Never again will these three words need to be spoken. They have brought to completion that which is the greatest mystery of mankind; the mercy of our Creator and our eternal salvation. So great were these words, that they could only be proclaimed by the One; the son of God our Lord and Savior, “Jesus” the Christ. Humanity has been redeemed; sin and death have been conquered for all of eternity; the power of the evil one destroyed; the gates of heave...