and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May their souls
and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
May almighty God bless us with his peace and strength,
the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
R4C
Showing posts with label Mercy of God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mercy of God. Show all posts
Thursday, 3 August 2023
Friday, 16 March 2018
My Father is working still, and I am working
Who can claim authority and power over life and death itself? Jesus not only made such a claim, he showed God's power to heal and restore people to wholeness of life. He also showed the mercy of God by releasing people from their burden of sin and guilt. He even claimed to have the power to raise the dead to life and to execute judgment on all the living and dead. The Jewish authorities were troubled with Jesus' claims and looked for a way to get rid of him. He either had to be a mad man and an imposter or who he claimed to be - God's divine son. Unfortunately, they could not accept Jesus' claim to be the Messiah, the anointed one sent by the Father to redeem his people. They sought to kill him because he claimed an authority and equality with God which they could not accept. They failed to recognize that this was God's answer to the long-awaited prayers of his people: "In a time of favor I have answered you, in a day of salvation I have helped you" (Isaiah 49:8).
A "covenant" to the people
Jesus was sent by the Father as "a covenant to the people" to reconcile them with God and restore to them the promise of paradise and everlasting life. Jesus' words and actions reveal God's mercy and justice. Jesus fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah when he brings healing, restoration, and forgiveness to those who accept his divine message.
The religious authorities charged Jesus as a Sabbath-breaker and a blasphemer. They wanted to kill Jesus because he claimed equality with God - something they thought no mortal could say without blaspheming. Little did they understand that Jesus was both human and divine - the eternal Son with the Father and the human son, conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary. Jesus answered their charge of breaking the Sabbath law by demonstrating God's purpose for creation and redemption - to save and restore life. God's love and mercy never ceases for a moment. Jesus continues to show the Father's mercy by healing and restoring people, even on the Sabbath day of rest. When the religious leaders charged that Jesus was making himself equal with God, Jesus replied that he was not acting independently of God because his relationship is a close personal Father-Son relationship. He and the Father are united in heart, mind, and will. The mind of Jesus is the mind of God, and the words of Jesus are the words of God.
The unity of love and obedience
Jesus also states that his identity with the Father is based on complete trust and obedience. Jesus always did what his Father wanted him to do. His obedience was not just based on submission, but on love. He obeyed because he loved his Father. The unity between Jesus and the Father is a unity of love - a total giving of oneself for the sake of another. That is why their mutual love for each other is perfect and complete. The Son loves the Father and gives himself in total obedience to the Father's will. The Father loves the Son and shares with him all that he is and has. We are called to submit our lives to God with the same love, trust, and obedience which Jesus demonstrated for his Father.
If we wish to understand how God deals with sin and how he responds to our sinful condition, then we must look to Jesus. Jesus took our sins upon himself and nailed them to the cross. He, who is equal in dignity and stature with the Father, became a servant for our sake to ransom us from slavery to sin. He has the power to forgive us and to restore our relationship with God because he paid the price for our sins.
Jesus offers us abundant, life, peace, and joy
Jesus states that to accept him is life - a life of abundant peace and joy with God. But if we reject him, then we freely choose for death - an endless separation with an all-loving and merciful God. Do you want the abundant life which Jesus offers? Believe in him, the living Word of God, who became a man for our sake and our salvation, and reject whatever is false and contrary to the Gospel - the good news he came to give us.
Lord Jesus, increase my love for you and unite my heart and will with yours, that I may only seek and desire what is pleasing to you.
source: From the desk of Don Schwager,
hosted by Kairos Europe and the Middle East
Thursday, 22 February 2018
...spread the Rosary like wildfire
source: America Needs Fatima
During each and every apparition at Fatima Our Lady requested: Pray the Rosary.
It is my greatest hope that you will find it in your heart to help me distribute more rosaries.
Because the Rosary IS the solution … Our Lady of Fatima said it, not me.
Can you imagine being responsible for saving a single soul…?
… through the Rosary.
And this is why I am launching the 2018 Rosary Campaign to distribute not ten or fifty but hundreds of thousands of rosaries, here in America.
Our Lady has a special plan for those who promote her Most Holy Rosary.
At Fatima, Mother Mary told little Lucia that she would arrange these special souls "like flowers before the throne of God."
… and I would love to see you before the throne of God someday… but not before you join the 2018 Rosary Campaign!
I have an impressive story to tell you, but first…
Think about all the craziness going on in the world and ask yourself,
What can we do about it?
I remember feeling helpless, but I no longer feel like that anymore.
Because together we can spread the Rosary.
Did you know that during all six Fatima apparitions Our Lady insisted: "Pray the Rosary"?
Now, to help people do that we must spread the Rosary first. And here is the thing. I do know how to do that, but part of this needs to come from you.
Does all this make sense to you?
I am writing you because I know you love Our Blessed Mother and her Rosary.
Now, listen to this true story. It was part of my inspiration to launch the 2018 Rosary Campaign.
It happened to our Fatima Custodian in California, Kenneth Murphy.
The place is Wilmington, California.
Monica calls it her own "reversion."
Monica was a cradle Catholic but, sadly, was bombarded by anti-Marian propaganda. One close friend even convinced her that the Bible proves the rosary is "demonic."
I have heard that one before…
Thankfully, in September 2017, a better friend asked Monica to join her in someone’s home for a Fatima presentation. Monica thought, "let me give this a try."
At the conclusion of the Fatima presentation, Kenneth distributed "Rosary pledge" fliers and Monica pledged to pray one rosary a year.
When Monica returned to her home, she decided to get it over with quickly.
She went on YouTube to relearn how to pray her one and only rosary for 2017. After she was done, Monica thought, "That wasn’t too bad, only twenty minutes…"
Little did she know that because of that one YouTube rosary she prayed, grace began to quietly flow into her heart…
Days later, Monica watched videos on the power and promises of the rosary. She was especially touched by God’s biblical promise: "I will put enmity between the serpent and the woman and She will crush his head (Genesis3:15)."
Monica slowly began to see the rosary not only as a powerful prayer but as a weapon against the devil!
Blessed with many graces, Monica says, "Now I am a vigilante to defend and promote Our Blessed Mother!"
Filled with enthusiasm Monica is now asking her family and friends "Whose side are you on; God’s side or the devil’s? Join Our Lady in crushing the head of the serpent with her rosary!"
Remember: Our Lady said it-- There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary.
That is my story. It brought tears to my eyes and reminded me how I should use every moment I still have left to propagate the Rosary.
So, shall we go and find other Monica’s out there?
Let us offer them the best gift out there: the Rosary.
If you and I team up on this, America Needs Fatima will be able to spread more rosaries than ever!
…. All I need is the funding to actually make these rosaries.
But I haven’t won the lottery yet! And I don’t think Our Lady will make that happen either.
She wants her children to pull together in a team effort.
When you help me purchase a large number of rosaries, you will make Our Lady’s promises a reality. And not just for yourself. For all those who pray because of your sacrifice.
These are the promises Our Blessed Mother linked to her Rosary:
To all those who shall pray my Rosary devoutly, I promise my special protection and great graces.
Those who shall persevere in the recitation of my Rosary will receive some special grace.
The Rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies.
The Rosary will cause virtue and good works to flourish; it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God; it will withdraw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire for eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.
The soul which recommends itself to me by the recitation of the Rosary, shall not perish.
Whoever shall recite the Rosary devoutly, applying himself to the consideration of its sacred mysteries shall never be conquered by misfortune. God will not chastise him in His justice, he shall not perish by an unprovided death; if he be just he shall remain in the grace of God, and become worthy of eternal life.
Whoever shall have a true devotion for the Rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.
Those who are faithful to recite the Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plenitude of His graces; at the moment of death they shall participate in the merits of the saints in paradise.
I shall deliver from Purgatory those who have been devoted to the Rosary.
The faithful children of the Rosary shall merit a high degree of glory in Heaven.
You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary.
All those who propagate the Holy Rosary shall be aided by me in their necessities.
I have obtained from my Divine Son that all the advocates of the Rosary shall have for intercessors the entire celestial court during their life and at the hour of death.
All who recite the Rosary are my sons and daughters, and brothers and sisters of my only Son Jesus Christ.
Devotion to my Rosary is a great sign of predestination.
I invite you to take a moment and imagine…
…imagine an America much different than the one we have now; an America where Our Lady’s promises can be fulfilled because many, many Americans are PRAYING THE ROSARY.
Imagine an America where the Rosary will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies; where the Rosary will cause virtue and good works to flourish; where it will obtain for souls the abundant mercy of God!
You have already given so much of your time to me today. And for that I thank you!
Please give me just one moment more, as I want to be absolutely clear:
Thanks be to Our Lady, America Needs Fatima has developed an intricate network to get thousands of rosaries into the hands of every-day Americans.
The distribution is not an issue. What I need are rosaries.
With a small donation of $6, I can produce and distribute three rosaries, or with $10 I can make five. Please click here to show your support for the 2018 Rosary Power Campaign now.
My good friend, thank you for all you have done and for all your generosity in the past. I feel a deep sense of gratitude and I pray every day and ask our dear Mother Mary to reward you and shower you and your loved ones with many graces and favors.
Please pray for me and I will always do the same for you.
I remain your friend,
In Jesus and Mary,
Robert Ritchie
Director, America Needs Fatima
Wednesday, 8 March 2017
Your heavenly Father knows what you need
Do you believe that God's word has power to change and transform your life today? Isaiah says that God's word is like the rain and melting snow which makes the barren ground spring to life and become abundantly fertile (Isaiah 55:10-11). God's word has power to penetrate our dry barren hearts and make them springs of new life. If we let God's word take root in our heart it will transform us into the likeness of God himself and empower us to walk in his way of love and holiness.
Let God's word guide and shape the way you judge and act
God wants his word to guide and shape the way we think, act, and pray. Ambrose (339-397 AD), an early church father and bishop of Milan, wrote that the reason we should devote time for reading Scripture is to hear Christ speak to us. "Are you not occupied with Christ? Why do you not talk with him? By reading the Scriptures, we listen to Christ."
We can approach God our Father with confidence
We can approach God confidently because he is waiting with arms wide open to receive his prodigal sons and daughters. That is why Jesus gave his disciples the perfect prayer that dares to call God, Our Father. This prayer teaches us how to ask God for the things we really need, the things that matter not only for the present but for eternity as well. We can approach God our Father with confidence and boldness because the Lord Jesus has opened the way to heaven for us through his death and resurrection.
When we ask God for help, he fortunately does not give us what we deserve. Instead, God responds with grace, mercy, and loving-kindness. He is good and forgiving towards us, and he expects us to treat our neighbor the same. God has poured his love into our hearts through the gift of the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Romans 5:5). And that love is like a refining fire - it purifies and burns away all prejudice, hatred, resentment, vengeance, and bitterness until there is nothing left but goodness and forgiveness towards those who cause us grief or harm.
The Lord's Pray teaches us how to pray
Consider what John Cassian (360-435 AD), an early church father who lived for several years with the monks in Bethlehem and Egypt before founding a monastery in southern Gaul, wrote about the Lord's Prayer and the necessity of forgiving one another from the heart:
"The mercy of God is beyond description. While he is offering us a model prayer he is teaching us a way of life whereby we can be pleasing in his sight. But that is not all. In this same prayer he gives us an easy method for attracting an indulgent and merciful judgment on our lives. He gives us the possibility of ourselves mitigating the sentence hanging over us and of compelling him to pardon us. What else could he do in the face of our generosity when we ask him to forgive us as we have forgiven our neighbor? If we are faithful in this prayer, each of us will ask forgiveness for our own failings after we have forgiven the sins of those who have sinned against us, not only those who have sinned against our Master. There is, in fact, in some of us a very bad habit. We treat our sins against God, however appalling, with gentle indulgence - but when by contrast it is a matter of sins against us ourselves, albeit very tiny ones, we exact reparation with ruthless severity. Anyone who has not forgiven from the bottom of the heart the brother or sister who has done him wrong will only obtain from this prayer his own condemnation, rather than any mercy."
Do you treat others as you think they deserve to be treated, or do you treat them as the Lord has treated you - with mercy, steadfast love and kindness?
Father in heaven, you have given me a mind to know you, a will to serve you, and a heart to love you. Give me today the grace and strength to embrace your holy will and fill my heart and mind with your truth and love that all my intentions and actions may be pleasing to you. Help me to be kind and forgiving towards my neighbor as you have been towards me.
source: From the desk of Don Schwager,
hosted by Kairos Europe and the Middle East
Tuesday, 22 December 2015
Be Merciful, rediscover and experience the Mercy of God the Father
Jubilee Year of Mercy
December 8, 2015 – November 20, 2016
“We constantly need to contemplate the mystery of mercy.
It is a wellspring of joy, serenity, and peace.
Our salvation depends on it.”
~ Pope Francis ~
The beginning of the extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy was solemnly marked by the opening of a Holy Door by the Pope in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican on 8 December 2015. All other Roman Catholic Churches in Dioceses around the world will open their own Doors of Mercy in communion with the Church of Rome. A door in everyday life has several functions, all repeated by the symbol of the Holy Door:
- it marks the separation between inside and outside, between sin and the order of grace (Mi 7:18-19);
- it permits entry to a new place, in showing mercy and not condemnation (Mt 9:13);
- it provides protection, it provides salvation (Jn 10:7).
Jesus said: “I am the gate” (Jn 10:7). There is only one way that opens wide the entrance into the life of communion with God: this is Jesus, the one and absolute way to salvation. To him alone can the words of the Psalmist be applied in full truth: “This is the Lord’s own gate: where the just may enter” (Ps 117:20).
The Holy Door reminds the faithful of their responsibility when crossing the threshold:
- It is a decision which implies the freedom to choose, and at the same time the courage to abandon something, to leave something behind (cf. Mt 13, 44-46)
- Passing through this door means professing that Jesus Christ is Lord, in strengthening our faith in Him to embrace the new life He has given us. This is what Pope John Paul II had announced to the world on the day of his election: “Open wide the doors to Christ”.
The Church has received the mission of showing all people this loving face of God, manifested in Jesus Christ. Pope Francis has commissioned on Catholics around the world as individuals and as a Church “to be a witness of mercy” by reflecting on and practising the spiritual and corporal works of mercy during the year-long extraordinary Jubilee year of Mercy. By being merciful in acts of love, kindness and generosity, we will discover God and experience His mercy. It is a time for forgiveness and reconciliation. Faced with God's mercy, the challenge is not in the difficulty, but in the fact of freely making an act by which we mark our detachment from sin and our desire to be with God. To each one of us, Our Lord Jesus reveals the over-abundance of God’s love, not only does God love me but he wants to find my lost dignity. God does not condemn me in my wrongdoings nor ostracise me in what I have suffered. It is now time for each of us to be merciful towards others, to help them get up, it’s now their turn to get back on their feet.
Indulgence
To obtain the indulgence, one must be in a state of grace and have the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin, even venial sin. One must receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, receive Holy Communion, pray for the intentions of the Holy Father and pass through the Door of Mercy. The prayer for the intentions of the Pope is left to the choice of the faithful, but an “Our Father” or a “Hail Mary” are suggested.
It is recommended, but not necessary, that these rites be completed on the same day: they may also be carried out over several days.
In addition, the faithful must perform one of the following works,
Works of Piety: for instance, a pilgrimage to a sanctuary, or again an act of piety (Way of the Cross, Rosary, Eucharistic adoration, etc.),
Works of Mercy: for instance, visit brothers and sisters who are in need or are in difficulty (the sick, the imprisoned, elderly people living alone, disabled people, etc.), as if making a pilgrimage to Christ present in them, or support, by a significant contribution, works of a religious or social nature (for the benefit of abandoned children, young people in trouble, the elderly in need, foreigners in various countries seeking better living conditions).
Acts of penance: for example, for at least one whole day, abstain from unnecessary consumption (smoking, alcohol, etc.), or fast and donate a proportionate sum of money to the poor.
One can receive an indulgence for oneself or the faithful departed, but not for another living person: it is up to that person to do what is necessary to free himself or herself from sin. Neither God nor anyone else can be a substitute for one’s own free will. To do something to obtain an indulgence is not a calculated act, but ultimately an act of trust in the absolute Mercy of God.
“In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, God forgives our sins, which he truly blots out; and yet sin leaves a negative effect on the way we think and act. But the mercy of God is stronger even than this. It becomes indulgence on the part of the Father who, through the Bride of Christ, his Church, reaches the pardoned sinner and frees him from every residue left by the consequences of sin, enabling him to act with charity, to grow in love rather than to fall back into sin”.
Official hymn for the Jubilee of Mercy
Pope Francis' Jubilee explained
Penang Diocese Year of Mercy Message in English
By Rt Rev Bishop Sebastian Francis, Bishop of Penang Diocese
Penang Diocese Year of Mercy Message in Tamil
By Rt Rev Bishop Sebastian Francis, Bishop of Penang Diocese
Penang Diocese Year of Mercy Message in Bahasa Malaysia
By Rt Rev Bishop Sebastian Francis, Bishop of Penang Diocese
Penang Diocese Year of Mercy Message in Mandarin
By Rt Rev Bishop Sebastian Francis, Bishop of Penang Diocese
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