Feast of the Day (May 31st, 2012)

Visitation of Mother Mary

1. This feast was started around 13th or 14th century.
2. The present date of celebration was set in 1969 in order to follow the Annunciation of the Lord (March 25) and precede the Nativity of John the Baptist (June 24).
3. This feast is one of the Rosary Joyful mysteries
4. Mary had proclaimed her faith and devotion to God and used as the primary prayer in Legion of Mary (Catena)

Saint of the Day (May 29th, 2012)

St. Madeleine Sophie Barat

1. Born in the year 1779  Founder of  Society of the Sacred Heart which operates more than 100 schools
2. She is proficient in Latin, Greek, history, physics and mathematics
3. She got her extensive knowledge in Bible at her 15th age
4. Her achievements for education especially for Girls during the French revolution make her a distinguished person.
5. In 1826, Society of Sacred Heart was approved by Papal.
6. In 1865, she was stricken with paralysis; she died that year on the feast of the Ascension.
7. She was canonized in 1925. 

Our Lady of (Seven) Sorrows

This devotion was originated in the thirteenth century It recalls the Sorrows the Virgin Mother of God endured in compassion for the suffering and death of her Divine Son.
The Feast of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows is on September 15. Our Lady of Sorrows is traditionally depicted in art dressed in black with seven swords piercing her heart. These seven swords symbolize the chief seven sorrows of Our Lady’s life. Devotion to the Sorrows of Mary gave rise to the figure in Christian art of the Pietà, the sorrowing Mother holding the dead Body of her Son who has been taken down from the Cross.
The Seven Sorrows Rosary consists of seven Hail Marys For each of the seven Sorrows.

1.      The Prophecy of Simeon

2.      The Flight into Egypt

3.      The Loss of Jesus in the Temple

4.      Mary meets Jesus Carrying the Cross

5.      The Crucifixion

6.      Mary Receives the Dead Body of Her Son

7.   The Burial of Her Son and Closing of the Tomb 

Novena to Sacred Heart Jesus

 

O holy heart of Jesus Christ 

Please give me a fruit from your 

Eden Garden as my Child. 

O my Sacred Heart Jesus 

Please hear my prayer which

I rise in your heart.

(Remain your request)

Jesus Christ please fulfil 

All my prayers as I place it 

In the feet of Jehovah, 

Through you my Lord. 

I give my prayers & Sorrows of my life

To you for my prayer. 

I trust you my lord.

Saint of the Day (May 2nd, 2012) - Our Lady of Fatima

1) Between May 13 and October 13, 1917, three Portuguese children (Francisco, Jacinta & Lucia dos Santos) received apparitions of Our Lady at Cova da Iria, near Fatima, a city 110 miles north of Lisbon.

2) Mary asked the children to

             a) Pray the rosary for world peace,

             b) For the end of World War I, for sinners and

             c) For the conversion of Russia.

3) Mary gave the children three secrets.

             a) Concerning devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

             b) Vision of hell.

             c) Pope John Paul II revealed the third secret in 2000; it talks about a "bishop in white" who was shot by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows into him. It has an interpretation of Pope John Paul II assassination attempt in St. Peter's Square on May 13, 1981.

4) The feast of Our Lady of Fatima was approved by the local bishop in 1930; it was added to the Church's worldwide calendar in 2002.

5) Return to God

             a) Francisco died in 1919

             b) Jacinta died in 1920

             c) Lucia dos Santos died in 2005 at the age of 97. (She was a Carmelite)

Marriage between Man and Woman: 10 Seconds Meditation

 

God made my wife fully woman and made me fully man, and he made us both fully complementary, for love and procreation. We are equal but not the same, and that is his grand design.

— from The Catholics Next Door

God vs Satan

 

God: A friend will stand in front of your home and wait for you to open the door and let him/her in. In the same way, God will wait in front of your Heart for you to open an let him in. Even though he is strong enough to let him in by His power, he will wait for you as a old friend.

Satan: A thief/enemy will come inside your home by breaking the door or through the chimney. He will come inside your home without your awareness. Likewise Satan will come into our heart by breaking the door or through some tricky worldly pleasure. We wont even notice that he came in and took all our Golden treasures.

So

• To let God into our heart we need to be more open to Godly things and activities.
• To prevent Satan to enter into our heart we should be strong and vigilant.

Unity in Love : 10 Seconds Meditation

To be free is to be able to live in truth, to love radically and to act justly by living the grace of costly discipleship. We are called to be humble and free in love, like Jesus, that we may help move the world toward unity in love.

— from The Humility of God

Sharing of Love : 10 Seconds Meditation

Love cannot exist in isolation or autonomously because love shares itself with another. Love requires a lover and a beloved, a giver and a receiver. It is the receptivity of love that makes it gift.

 — from The Humility of God

Making Love Visible: 10 Seconds Meditation

Making Love Visible

God sends us brothers and sisters who are—or at least are called to be—warm, supportive, comforting. They make God's love visible—the ones still with us and those who have gone ahead.

— from Saint Anthony of Padua

10 Seconds Meditation: Thursday, May 3rd, 2012

Only From God

No one can save your soul but God in Jesus and the Spirit. God's grace—that is, the total, unconditional love surrounding every human being—comes only from God. We ask the saints in heaven to pray for us. But none of them grants grace.

— from Saint Anthony of Padua

Saint of the Day (May 2nd, 2012)

St. Athanasius

• Born in Alexandria, Egypt on 296 AD
• Was a Bishop of  Alexandria, Egypt
• Worked as a secretary of Bishop of Alexandria.
• Great champion of the faith against the widespread heresy of Arianism.
• Fight against ‘Arianism’ gives him the title ‘Doctor of Church’ (Arianism is the theological teaching concerning the relationship of the persons of the Trinity ('God the Father', 'God the Son', and 'God the Holy Spirit') and the precise nature of the Son of God as being a subordinate entity to God the Father.)
• Athanasius was exiled to different places 5 times in his life for the fight against Arianism
• His exile for 10 years helps him to write more on his belief and teaching. His ‘Life of St. Anthony’ book was one the great example of this writings.
• He is one of the “Doctors of Church”. You can get the complete details about the ‘Doctors of Church” here.
• He died on 373 AD. 

10 Seconds Meditation: Thursday, May 2nd, 2012

Who We Are?

We are formed by environment and grace, by politics and prayer, by church and conscience. All God's creatures conspire to teach us as well. We stumble. We stutter. We rise. We are lifted.

— from Saint Anthony of Padua

Saint of the Day (May 1st, 2012)

St. Joseph the Worker

• Step Father of Jesus and protector of Mother Mary.
• He was taking care of his family by working as Carpenter.
• Only person in bible who is called as Just by God.
• He followed all the words from God from his time to get marry to Mother Mary until his Dead.
• He had the great privileges to be with Mother Mary and Jesus in his Death Bed.
• Pius XII instituted the feast of St. Joseph the Worker in 1955

10 Seconds Meditation: Thursday, May 1st, 2012

Focus on Love

Gracious, loving God, help me to be more aware of the obstacles, cares, and anxieties that limit my turning toward you. May I walk the daily path with you, placing my focus on the ways to serve, love, honor, and adore you! Amen!

— from Eucharistic Adoration 

How many times to forgive my neighbor?

Matthew Chapter 18, verse 21-35

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?"

22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.

Seventy times seven is the representation of infinite or uncountable. Jesus asks us to forgive our spouse, relatives, friends, colleagues etc when they sin against us. Even though it hurts you a lot, as a Catholic Christian we must forgive then and forget the incident. This will help us to heal from the wound.

Forgiveness must follow by Forget, which help to avoid grievance.

Forgive and you will be forgiven. Without forgiveness no one can enter into the kingdom of God. 

10 Seconds Meditation: Thursday, April 30, 2012

Sweet Surrender

Loving God, help me to overcome my fear of loss, so that through your consuming love I may find my true self, transformed by love, ready to share that experience of pure joy and through loving service to the world around me. Amen.

— from Eucharistic Adoration

10 Seconds Meditation: Thursday, April 29, 2012

Shine Through Me

The presence of Jesus among us is just that—a widespread presence among all of God's people. We are able to embed the wonders of the presence of God within us. Each of us can and must be the “Jesus Presence” in this world around us.

— from Eucharistic Adoration

Saint of the Day (April 27, 2012)

St. Louis Mary de Montfort

• Born in the Breton village of Montfort, close to Rennes (France) during 1673.
• Ordained as a diocesan priest in 1700.
• Great inspiration to promote devotion to Mary.
• Father Louis recommended frequent, even daily, Holy Communion (not the custom then!) and imitation of the Virgin Mary's ongoing acceptance of God's will for her life.
• Died in Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre during 1716.
• Canonized in 1947.

10 Seconds Meditation: Thursday, April 27, 2012

Strive for Perfection

You must not be surprised at all at your weaknesses and imperfections, but, recognizing who you are, you need to blush at your inconstancy and unfaithfulness to God.

— from Padre Pio's Spiritual Direction for Every Day

Saint of the Day (April 25, 2012)

St. Pedro de San José Betancur

• Born on March 21, 1626
• From Central America and fist saint from this region.
• Working as a Shepherd till his 24th age.
• Never ordained as priest after multiple attempt.
• Praised for his mercy towards poor and needy.
• Opened many hospitals and schools for poor people.
• Known as the "St. Francis of the Americas."
• Canonized by Pope John Pail II in Guatemala City on July 30, 2002
• Died in Antigua Guatemala at the age of 41.

10 Seconds Meditation: Thursday, April 26, 2012

Christian Charity

You must forgive everyone with Christian charity, remembering the example of the Redeemer, who forgave even those who crucified him. 

— From Padre Pio's Spiritual Direction for Every Day

Saint of the day (April 25th)

Glimpse to remember about St. Marc & Gospel of Marc

1.       Marc is not one of the disciples of Jesus

2.       Marc got all the details for his Gospel from St. Peter

3.       Gospel of Marc was written between 60 & 70 AD

4.       Gospel of Marc was the oldest gospel

5.       Gospel of Marc was used as based to wrote Gospel of Matthew and Gospel of Luck

6.       It was written for Gentiles

7.       It is the shortest Gospel among the four. 

Human Instinct - How does it relate to God.

Instinct, we can feel this almost every minute of our life. So what is this in our life?

For example, when you are planning to do an activity, you instinct can reflect that in a different way. 

• You are planning to go for a long ride in your bike, but your human instinct is restricting that idea or the plan is postponed by some work or by someone. 
• You are planning do something in a way and your instinct is guiding you to a different end result. 

So what are these? These are the ways we will be guided by God. As humans we need God's guidance all times. God can come to us through other person, which is not possible all times. So God is communicating to us through our instinct. Listen to your instinct and follow it. You will be walking in the right path to your eternal goal. 

The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time (Jonah 3:1). So if we are not listening to your instinct then God will still come to us in other means. He will not forsake us at any time. 

Daily Mass - Online links

Now you can see the daily mass online if you are not able to attend in person. The quality is good and very useful. It gives you almost the exact blessing and you can start the day in great joy.

1. English Mass: Click Here
2. Pod cast: Download from iTunes. Click Here
3. Tamil mass ( I am not sure whether it is daily mass or a copy is shown every time) Click Here

Do this prayer during the communion service:

An Act of Spiritual Communion:


My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.


I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul.


Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.

Giving all the wealth to the community, is it possible?

Acts 4:34-35

34 None of their members was ever in want, as all those who owned land or houses would sell them, and bring the money from the sale of them,

35 to present it to the apostles; it was then distributed to any who might be in need.

After Jesus resurrection, people who got baptized were living as one family or community and their possession/wealth were one. Everyone was sharing their wealth with others in need. So no one wants anything special and everyone is spending the life as God’s wish.

Today World:

But in today’s world we cannot share all our wealth with others. But this teaching will fit to today’s Holy Matrimony. Husband and wife should share everything they have among themself. So the family can be a small community like how it was in the early Christian life. 

Doctors of Catholic Church - Complete Details

Name	Life Period	Ordained as Doctor	Ordained by	Ethnicity	Position
St. Albertus Magnus (St. Albert the Great)	1206 - 1280	December 16, 1931	Pius XI	German	Bishop
St. Alphonsus LiguorI	1696 - 1787	July 7, 1871	Pius IX	Italian	Bishop
St. Ambrose	339 - 397	September 20, 1295	Boniface VIII	Italian	Bishop
St. Anselm	1033 - 1109	February 3, 1720	Clement XI	Italian	Bishop
St. Anthony of Padua and Lisbon	1195 - 1231	January 16, 1946	Pius XII	Portuguese	Priest
St. Athanasius	296 - 373	April 16, 1904	Pius V	Egyptian	Priest
St. Augustine	354 - 430	September 20, 1295	Boniface XIII	Latin	Bishop
St. Basil the Great	329 - 379	April 16, 1904	Pius V	Greek	Bishop
St. Bede the Venerable	672 - 735	November 13, 1899	Leo XIII	English	Priest
St. Bernard of Clairvaux	1090 - 1153	August 20, 1830	Pius VIII	French	Priest
St. Bonaventure	1221 - 1274	March 14, 1588	Sixtus V	Italian	Cardinal
St. Catherine of Siena	1347 - 1380	October 4, 1970	Paul VI	Italian	Nun
St. Cyril of Alexandria	376 - 444	July  28, 1882	Leo XIII	Egyptian	Priest
St. Cyril of Jerusalem	315 - 386	July 28, 1882	Leo XIII	Jerusalemite	Bishop
St. Ephrem	306 - 373	October 5, 1920	Benedict XV	Syrian	Decon
St. Francis de Sales	1567 - 1622	November 16, 1871	Pius IX	French	Bishop
St. Gregory Nazianzus	325 - 389	April 16, 1904	Pius V	Greek	Bishop
St. Gregory the Great	540 - 604	September 20, 1295	Boniface XIII	Italian	Pope
St. Hilary of Poitiers	315 - 367	May 13, 1851	Pius IX	French	Bishop
St. Isidore of Seville	560 – 636	April 25, 1722	Innocent XIII	Spanish	Bishop
St. Jerome	347 - 419	September 20, 1295	Boniface XIII	Dalmatian	Priest
St. John Chrysostom	347 - 407	April 16, 1904	Pius V	Syrian	Bishop
St. John Damascene	645 - 749	August 19, 1890	Leo XIII	Syrian	Priest
St. John of the Cross	1542 - 1591	August 24, 1926	Pius XI	Spanish	Priest
St. Lawrence of Brindisi	1559 - 1619	March 19, 1959	John XXIII	Italian	Priest
St. Leo the Great	400 - 461	October 15, 1754	Benedict XIV	Italian	Pope
St. Peter Canisius	1521 - 1597	May 21, 1925	Pius XI	Dutch	Priest
St. Peter Chrysologus	400 - 450	February  10, 1729	Benedict XIII	Italian	Bishop
St. Peter Damian	1007 - 1072	September 27, 1828	Leo XII	Italian	Cardinal
St. Robert Bellarmine	1542 - 1621	September 17, 1931	Pius XI	Italian	Bishop
St. Teresa of Ávila	1515 - 1582	September 27, 1970	Paul VI	Spanish	Nun
St. Thérèse de Lisieux	1873 - 1897	October 19, 1997	John Paul II	French	Nun
St. Thomas Aquinas	1226 - 1274	April 11, 1567	Pius V	Italian	Priest