Mass Schedule for Holy Week and Divine Mercy Feast 2018 - Church of Divine Mercy, Sg.Ara, Penang, Malaysia

Holy Week

Palm Sunday/Passion Sunday

The triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem that was marked by the crowds who were in Jerusalem for Passover waving palm branches and proclaiming him as the messianic king.

Maundy Thursday/Holy Thursday

The institution of the Eucharist or Communion at the Passover meal (Last Supper), the betrayal by Judas and and Jesus praying in Gethsemane while the disciples fell asleep.

Good Friday

The church commemorates Jesus’ arrest (base on Jewish customs of counting days from sundown to sundown it was already Friday), his trial, crucifixion and suffering, death, and burial. Thus Jesus, our Passover lamb, was sacrificed for our sins on Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7), and His blood protects us from the angel of death. Jesus died on the cross and was buried before sunset. So Friday was first day that Jesus lay in the tomb.

Holy Saturday

The seventh day of the week, the day Jesus rested in the tomb. In the first three Gospel accounts this was the Jewish Sabbath, which provided appropriate symbolism of the seventh day rest.

Before Abraham was, I am

Do you listen to Jesus' words as if your life depended on it? Jesus made a claim which only God can make - "if any one keeps my word, he will never see death." St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD), explains this verse from John 8:51:

"It means nothing less than he saw another death from which he came to free us - the second death, eternal death, the death of hell, the death of the damned, which is shared with the devil and his angels! This is the real death; the other kind of death is only a passage" (Tractates on the Gospel of John 43.10-11).

When God established a relationship with Abraham, he offered him an unbreakable "everlasting covenant" (Genesis 17:7). Jesus came to fulfill that covenant so that we could know the living God and be united with him both now and for all eternity. God made us to know him and to be united with him and he gives us the gift of faith and understanding so that we may grow in the knowledge of what he has accomplished for us through his Son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus challenged the people of Israel to accept his word as the very revelation of God himself. His claim challenged the very foundation of their belief and understanding of God. Jesus made a series of claims which are the very foundation of his life and mission. What are these claims? First, Jesus claims unique knowledge of God as the only begotten Son of the Father in heaven. Since he claims to be in direct personal communion with his Father in heaven, he knows everything about the Father. Jesus claims that the only way to full knowledge of the mind and heart of God is through himself. Jesus also claims unique obedience to God the Father. He thinks, lives and acts in the knowledge of his Father's word. To look at his life is to "see how God wishes me to live." In Jesus alone we see what God wants us to know and what he wants us to be.

When the Jewish authorities asked Jesus who do you claim to be? he answered, "before Abraham was, I am." Jesus claims to be timeless and there is only one in the universe who is timeless, namely God. Scripture tells us that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). Jesus was not just a man who came, lived, died, and then rose again. He is the immortal timeless One, who always was and always will be. In Jesus we see the eternal God in visible flesh. He is God who became a man for our sake and for our salvation. His death and resurrection make it possible for us to share in his immortality. Do you believe the words of Jesus and obey them with all your heart, mind, and strength?

Lord Jesus, let your word be on my lips and in my heart that I may walk in the freedom of your everlasting love, truth and goodness.

source: From the desk of Don Schwager, 

hosted by Kairos Europe and the Middle East

The truth will make you free

Do you know the joy, peace, and freedom which God offers to those who trust in him and obey his word? God sent his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to bring us God's kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). Jesus came to rescue us from our sinful pride and slavery to sin. He came to rescue us from Satan's snares and the clutches of hell, and to free us from the world's temptation to empty glory and lust for greed and power. Only Jesus can truly set us free and reconcile us with God - every other way falls short of God's plan to save and deliver us from death, corruption, and sin.

Why did the religious authorities reject Jesus's offer of freedom, forgiveness, and new life in the kingdom of God? Despite Jesus' numerous signs and miracles, the Jewish authorities could not accept his claim to speak and act in the name of his heavenly Father. They were blinded by their misguided ideas of how the Messiah would restore Israel and rule the earth. And Jesus revealed to them how Satan had led them into temptation - both to reject him as the Messiah and to thwart his claim by killing him.

Jesus met their opposition and hostility with courage and determination to do his Father's will. He willingly embraced the cross in order to destroy the works of Satan and to save both Jews and Gentiles through his atoning sacrifice for the sin of the world. Jesus shows us the way to the kingdom of God - through faith and obedience to God's word and will for our lives. To be a follower and disciple of the Lord Jesus requires faith and obedience - they are two sides of the same coin. The word disciple literally means one who learns from the Master and who listens to the voice of the Teacher. And the word for obedience literally means to listen under and be subordinate to the one who has rightful authority to teach and command what is just and true.

The free gift of faith 

How can we grow in faith and discipleship - by faithfully following the Lord and obeying his word. Faith is a free supernatural gift of God. It is more than just a belief in the truths of God. It is first and foremost a personal relationship of trust and obedience to the Lord and his word. The Lord is worthy of our complete trust and wholehearted devotion because he is utterly reliable, just and true, and he is faithful to his word. That is why we can entrust our lives to him and submit to him without reservation.

God does not leave us in the dark or remain distant and silent. He reveals himself to all who earnestly seek him and hunger for his truth. God, in fact, first seeks us out and draws us to himself. We could not find him if he did not first seek to reveal himself to us. That is why we need to respond to God's gracious gift of invitation with an open and receptive heart that wants to listen, learn, and receive what God wishes to give us. Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) said, "I believe, in order to understand - and I understand, the better to believe" ( Sermon 43:7,9).

The test of faith 

In the Old Testament Book of Daniel we see a remarkable example of faith being put to the test in the midst of trial and adversity. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the three young companions of Daniel, were commanded by the king of Persia to bow down and submit to the pagan idols of his nation, they unhesitatingly said, "We will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up" (Daniel 3:18). They knew God's command, "Do not worship false idols"(Exodus 20:3-6; Deuteronomy 12:29-31). They decided it was far better to obey God and entrust their lives to him rather than give in to the threats of others. God gave them courage to take a bold stand for their faith. They willingly accepted the King's punishment as they were bound and thrown into a burning fiery furnace.

Daniel tells us how God was very present to these three young men as they proclaimed their faith in him. God showed his presence to the three men and walked with them in the fiery furnace. As a remarkable sign of God's power to the pagan rulers of Persia, God kept the three men from harm and delivered them from death (Daniel3:25,28). Do you trust in God to give you his help and strength when your faith is put to the test?

True and false sources of identity 

The scribes and Pharisees, who were the religious authorities of the Jews, questioned Jesus' authority to speak and act in God's name. They questioned Jesus' claim to forgive sins and to set people free from slavery to sin. They understood that only God had power to forgive sins and to release people from their burden of guilt and shame. They refused to accept that Jesus' authority was given to him by his Father in heaven. Jesus tells them that they think evil of him and desire to kill him because they are under the influence and power of the "father of lies" who is opposed to the one true Father and Creator who made us in his image and likeness (Genesis 1:26-27).

Jesus explains that he is speaking of two different senses of "fatherhood". The first is a physical identity through natural fatherhood. And the second and more significant identity is a self-chosen one that is the result of being led and formed in a moral way of thinking and living one's life that has been shaped through the example, words, and influence of someone we are consciously or unconsciously following and imitating.

We do not grow or learn in a vacuum. We are shaped for better or for worse by those we choose to imitate and follow. Sin leads us away from God's truth and the help he gives us to follow him. Slavery to sin is ultimately rooted in the father of lies (John 8:44), whom Scripture calls the devil (Luke 4:1) and Satan (Luke 10:18), the ruler of this present world who is opposed to God (John 12:31; 2 Corinthians 4:4).

True freedom comes from God 

The freedom which Jesus offers his followers is freedom from the power of sin, Satan, and the worldly influence of those who oppose God and his ways. We are powerless to set ourselves free from bondage to Satan, sin, and death (Romans 3:23; 5:6). That is why the Lord Jesus took our sins upon himself and nailed them to the cross (1 Peter 2:24; Isaiah 53:5-6; Colossians 2:14). His death on the cross has won victory and pardon for us, and peace with God. Through Jesus' sacrifice we are not only forgiven and reconciled with God - we become the adopted sons and daughters of God (Romans 8:14-16). We can call God our Father because the Lord Jesus has reconciled us and redeemed us from slavery to sin and Satan.

A redeemed slave is not entirely free until all of his chains and weights have been broken and destroyed. The Lord Jesus alone has the power to release us from every chain and burden that would keep us in bondage to sinful habits and hurtful desires. Are there any chains - any sinful patterns, harmful attitudes, and addictive behavior - that you need to be released from? Allow the Lord Jesus to unbind you and bring you healing, pardon, and freedom to walk in his way of love and truth. The Lord Jesus sets us free from slavery to our own selfishness and sinful desires in order to set us free for a joy-filled life of love and service for his kingdom. Paul the Apostle reminds us that Christ has won freedom for each one of us - not to serve ourselves or do as we please - but rather to please the Lord and to serve our neighbors in love for their sake (Galatians 5:1,13). Do you accept and believe Christ's word of truth, love, and freedom for your life?

Lord Jesus, write your words of love and truth upon my heart and make me a diligent student and a worthy disciple of your word.

source: From the desk of Don Schwager, 

hosted by Kairos Europe and the Middle East

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

Holy Spirit 3 Day Miracle Prayer

Holy Spirit 

You who make me see everything 

and showed me the way 

to reach my ideals, 

You who gave me the Divine gift 

to forgive all the wrong 

that was done to me, 

and You who are in all 

instances in my my life.

I want to Thank You for everything 

and confirm with you once more 

I never want to be separated from You 

no matter how great 

the material desire may be. 

I want to be with you 

and my loved ones 

in your perpetual Glory. 

Amen 

< Make request >

** Pray this prayer daily for 3 consecutive days, your prayer will be answered after the third day. In making your request, promise to publish this prayer ( share in writing on the internet this prayer or distribute this prayer to others ).

source: Sherrise (Canada)

Saint Expedite, I ask for forgiveness if ....

I have overlooked or forgotten in past answered request by you in offering you what I promised if my prayer was answered. Please accept my plea for forgiveness and have mercy on me and grant the favour I now ask of you in my urgent and speedy need through the the will of God the Father. Blessed by your grace that comes from God through your speedy, quick and urgent intercession and not forsake me.

St.Expedite, I seek your help for a urgent financial blessing in current depression. I need the sum of money of Ringgit Malaysia MYR 12K which beyond my capability to settle my bank loans back logs, the people I owe and unpaid backlogs of bills. Time is running out and the people involve are chasing me and in the process of taking legal action against me. Full of confident in your urgent and speedy help, I ask your favour and grace of the Lord so that I can overcome this situation. As you always against delay and procrastination, please come to my urgent help. In Jesus name I make this prayer and urgent request. I promise I will honour you and share about you and your devotion to other by my blog and facebook, thank you St.Expedite in advance cause I really know that you will bring the speedy help that I need to me.

Saint Expedite Powerful ritual for Money

Click on St.Expedite image below 

to go to You Tube link to view video

Prayer to St.Expedite - for desperate causes

My Saint Expedite of urgent and just causes, please intercede for me with Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Succor me in this hour of affliction and despair, my Saint Expedite. You who are a Holy warrior, You who are the Saint of the afflicted, You who are the Saint of the desperate, you who are the Saint of urgent causes, Protect me, Help me, Give me Strength, Courage and Serenity.

Hear my plea. (Clearly express what you want, and ask him to find a way to get it to you.)

My Saint Expedite, help me to prevail through these difficult hours, protect me from all those who want to harm me, respond to my plea with urgency. Bring me back to the state of peace and tranquility, my Saint Expedite. I will be grateful to you for the rest of my life and I will speak your name to all those who have faith.

(Now promise to give Saint Expedite a specific offering when your desire is granted.)

Amen.

(Say one Our Father, one Holy Mary, and make the sign of the cross.)

Prayer to St.Expedite - for Quick Assistance

Saint Expedite, you lay in rest.

I come to you and ask that this wish be granted.

(Clearly express what you want, and ask him to

find a way to get it to you.)

Expedite now what I ask of you.

Expedite now what I want of you, this very second.

Don’t waste another day.

Grant me what I ask for.

I know your power, I know you because of your work.

I know you can help me.

Do this for me and I will spread your name with love and honor

so that it will be invoked again and again.

Expedite this wish with speed, love, honor, and goodness.

Glory to you, Saint Expedite!

My prayer and request to St.Expedite. I need your speedy and urgent help, St.Expedite.

St.Expedite, I seek your help for a urgent financial blessing in current depression. I need the sum of money which beyond my capability to settle my bank loans back logs, the people I owe and unpaid backlogs of bills. Time is running out and the people involve are chasing me and in the process of taking legal action against me. Full of confident in your urgent and speedy help, I ask your favour and grace of the Lord so that I can overcome this situation. As you always against delay and procrastination, please come to my urgent help. In Jesus name I make this prayer and urgent request. I promise I will honour you and share about you and your devotion to other by my blog and facebook, thank you St.Expedite in advance cause I really know that you will bring the speedy help that I need to me.

I proclaim the Word of God

If you don't like hearing

about JESUS CHRIST

you might want to avoid me.

I have a tendency

to live, breath and proclaim

the Love of GOD.

JESUS is LORD

Out of the heart come evil thoughts

Where does evil come from and how can we eliminate it from our personal lives? Jesus deals with this issue in response to the religious leaders' concern with ritual defilement (uncleanness) - making oneself unfit to offer acceptable worship and sacrifice to God. The religious leaders were very concerned with avoiding ritual defilement, some no doubt out of reverent fear of God, and others because they wanted to be seen as observant Jews. Jesus points his listeners to the source of true defilement - evil desires which come from inside a person's innermost being. Sin does not just happen from external forces. It first springs from the innermost recesses of our thoughts and intentions, from the secret desires which only the individual mind and heart can conceive.

God gives us his strength to resist sinful thoughts and desires

When Cain became jealous of his brother Abel, God warned him to guard his own heart: "Sin is couching at the door; it's desire is for you, but you must master it" (Genesis 4:7). Cain unfortunately did not take God's warning to heart. He allowed his jealousy to grow into spite and hatred for his brother, and he began to look for an opportunity to eliminate his brother all together. When jealously and other sinful desires come knocking at the door of your heart, how do you respond? Do you entertain them and allow them to overtake you? Fortunately God does not leave us alone in our struggle with hurtful desires and sinful tendencies. He gives us the grace and strength we need to resist and overcome sin when it couches at the door of our heart.

God's word has power to set us free to chose what is good and reject what is wrong

The Lord Jesus wants to set us free from the burden of guilt and from the destructive force of sin and wrong-doing in our personal lives. He wants to purify our hearts and renew our minds so we can freely choose to love and do what is right, good, just, and wise. The Lord Jesus is ready to change and purify our hearts through the grace and help of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Like a physician who probes the wound before treating it, God through his Word and Spirit first brings sin into the light that we may recognize it for what it truly is and call upon his mercy and grace for pardon, healing, and restoration. The Spirit of truth is our Counselor and Helper. His power and grace enables us to choose what is good and to reject what is evil. Do you believe in the power of God's love to heal, change, and transform your heart and mind?

Lord Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit and make my heart like yours. Strengthen my heart, mind, and my will that I may freely choose to love what is good and to reject what is evil.

source: From the desk of Don Schwager, 

hosted by Kairos Europe and the Middle East

This is the Time of the Cross

Our second reading today is, perhaps, the highpoint of Christian literature. Paul tells us that the crucified one is the stumbling block, the absurdity for the unbeliever. But to those who are graced, and gifted with faith, this is the power and wisdom of God.

St. Paul always speaks out of his experience. He has known the heights and the depths of life; he has been on top and cast down. But Paul makes no bones about it, time and time again he says Jesus is the source of his strength. He says, "In Him I have strength for everything." Jesus crucified is the power, the wisdom of God: the cross is the source of Paul's strength.

A professor who taught me the New Testament used to say in his private moments, "It is the cross that leads me to say that, were it not for Jesus, I would be an Atheist. Jesus gives me the only God I can believe in, a God of love that is revealed in suffering." Christianity has a very specific understanding of God.

He is not a God of power, throwing thunderbolts into people's lives, He is not a teddy bear God, He is not an unknown God.

As Christians, we believe that the God we find in the Gospel is, above all, a God of love. A love that is revealed in the suffering of the cross. The cross is central to the Gospel and understanding of God. The cross is not an accident in the life of Jesus, it is not that He happened to be in Jerusalem one day, said something out of turn, rubbed some people the wrong way and got nailed to a piece of wood. No, the cross is an essential aspect of Jesus revealing God to us.

The cross plunges deeply into the reality of God, almost like a dagger, and what it reveals about God is awesome. It tells us that our God is not unaffected by our suffering, not unaffected by our way of life, not unaffected by what happens to us. It tells us that our God loves us so much that He was prepared to become one of us. It tells us that in order to reconcile us to Himself, He was willing to undergo the most painful form of death ever devised.

This is the God who embraces our lives in Jesus of Nazareth. And still we hear people say everyday I do not believe in Him, or His cross. Prove to me that God exists.

Believers should never accept that kind of challenge. It is not that we are unable to answer it; we can show that belief in God is reasonable. First of all, if we want to be correct about it, we can say that God does not exist, existence is a human category of thought, and there is no way we can confine or express the reality of God in human categories. God does not exist, apples exist, oranges exist, we exist. God is.

Whenever we speak of God, we are only half right. God defies capture by words, categories or human thought. You will often hear unbelievers say they believe in the human spirit, and the human spirit is a wonderful thing. However, if history teaches us anything, it should teach us that the human spirit, even the educated, cultured, civilized human spirit has often been responsible for some terrible things. To believe only in humanity, humanity without grace, without God, could be a very frustrating experience.

Others say they believe in a God of nature. This belief is appealing, especially as spring is around the corner, one can almost experience God in the freshness that we are beginning to see. It is God's creation, but it is not God. All that comes to life in the spring will die in the fall.

One of the things that Jesus did supremely well, more than anything else, better than anyone else.... He loved. St. John highlights this on the first page of his passion narrative. When Jesus knew that His hour had come to pass out of the world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.

Loved them to the utmost limit of love, loved them totally, loved them to death. In the words of St. Paul, "He loved me and gave Himself up for me. Show me a man writhing on a cross in agony and I will be moved to pity, to horror, to disgust. Show me a man writhing on a cross, surrendering His body to crucifixion because He loved me, and I will be drawn to belief. To self‑giving, to love in return."

During this mass we can see in a striking way how the cross and the Eucharist interlock. That breathless moment when time turns back and Calvary comes alive in the words of love ever spoken.... This is My body, which is given up for you. This is My blood, which will be shed for you.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Robert Warren, S.A.

source:email

Happy International Women Day ~ 8 March

Happy Women's Day

Celebrated yearly to acknowledge the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women across the globe. Be empowered, while standing up for the equality and freedom for ladies. 

In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything. (1 Timothy 3:11)

She girds herself with strength, and makes her arms strong. (Proverbs 31:17)

She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. (Proverbs 31:26)

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her a share in the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the city gates. (Proverbs 31:30-31)

And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord. (Luke 1:45)

Saint Expedite

Saint Expedite was a Roman soldier, believed to have lived in the fourth century. He came to know Christianity decided to convert and devote his life Christianity faith. At the time he made that decision the devil appeared before him in the form of a crow and demanded that he delay his decision to convert to the Christian faith until the next day (tomorrow). Saint Expedite refused to delay and firmly stated he would become a Christian today (same day).

Thus image shows Saint Expedite dressed in Roman soldier clothing stepping on a crow. He is killing procrastination. “Hodie” is the Latin word for “today”. The word “Hodie” can be seen on the cross he is holding. “Cras” is the Latin word for “tomorrow”. The word “Cras” can be seen on the banner connected to the crow. Basically this sends out a powerful message; the saint is crushing tomorrow and replacing it with today.

Saint Expedite is patron saint for urgent matters and speedy needs or delivery. He is also the saint for against procrastination and emergencies where immediate solution to a situation is needed. Many have seek his help in seeking job, financial distress and legal issues. The palm branch he holds in one hand is a symbol of martyrdom. Therefore, 14 April marks the feast day for Saint Expedite. Saint Expedite is extremely popular in Brazil. Like Saint Christopher, Saint Valentine and others related saints, Saint Expedite feast has been removed from the official calendar of Roman Catholic saints due to unverifiable death date. Wednesday is most favorable with Saint Expedite.

Prayer to the Holy Family

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, 

in you we contemplate the splendour of true love; 

to you we turn with trust. 

Holy Family of Nazareth, 

grant that our families too may be places 

of communion and prayer, 

authentic schools of the Gospel 

and small domestic churches. 

Holy Family of Nazareth, 

may families never again experience 

violence, rejection and division; 

may all who have been hurt or scandalized 

find ready comfort and healing. 

Holy Family of Nazareth, 

make us once more mindful 

of the sacredness and inviolability 

of the family, and its beauty in God’s plan. 

Jesus, Mary and Joseph,

graciously hear our prayer. 

Amen.

Fast and Abstinence (Lent)

Can. 1251 and 1253: Days of Fast and Abstinence 

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of Fast and Abstinence (unless Ash Wednesday falls on the Lunar New Year day). The Conference rules that those who are unable to observe abstinence from meat on a Friday, may do penance by choosing one of the following or similar ways: 

a) By doing some work of mercy and love: to give alms to the poor, visit the sick, house-bound, aged, handicapped person or someone in need; 

b) By doing some exercise of piety: attend the Friday Mass, pray before the Blessed Sacrament, read the Scriptures, pray the rosary, the Stations of the Cross; 

c) By making some act of mortification: to deprive oneself from some favourite food or drink, smoking, a TV or video show, an unnecessary visit to shopping centers, texting, computer games or internet.

Israel's 70th birthday

The greatest miracle of the modern era was the rebirth of Israel in 1948 (independence). This year marks the 70th birthday of the modern Jewish state, an event worth celebrating! I A and with amazing heritage in our faith.

Today there are thousands of Jewish people living in towns and villages that the world refuses to recognize as part of Israel. Their “settlements” are in the so-called “West Bank,” which is nothing less than the ancient Bible lands of Judea and Samaria. This land is Israel's, and God has called you and me to take a stand against the plans which would require Israel to give up this land as part of a peace plan.

It is outrageous! And it must stop. Land for peace is a lie. If Israel follows this path, it will only lead to death and destruction. Peace CANNOT come by ripping the Bible lands of Judea and Samaria away from the Jewish people. That would fly in the face of God's prophetic promise concerning the land and bring His judgment on all who support it. We must Save the Bible Lands.

source: Mike Evans @ JerusalemPrayerTeam.org

Prayer for Protection

The Light of God surrounds me.

The Love of God enfolds me.

The Power of God protects me.

The Presence of God watches over me.

The Mind of God guides me.

The Life of God flows through me.

The Laws of God directs me.

The Power of God abides within me.

The Joy of God uplifts me.

The Strength of God renews me.

The Beauty of God inspires me.

Wherever I am, God is!

When you are in urgent need ~ Pray to Saint Expedite

Our dear martyr and protector, Saint Expedite,

You who know what is necessary and what is urgently needed.

I beg you to intercede before the Holy Trinity, that by your grace 

my request will be granted.

____________ (Clearly express what you want, and ask him to find a way to get it to you.)

May I receive your blessings and favors.

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

** If Saint Expedite grants your request, place an ad in the newspaper thanking Saint Expedite, so that his name and fame will grow.

Mother Mary, get ahead ....

Maria, get ahead of my life!

Maria, get ahead of my health!

Maria, get ahead of my work!

Maria, get ahead of my finances!

Maria, get in front of my family! 

Amen.

Prayer ~ Strengthen and empower me to trust you Lord

Holy God and loving Father,

I consciously place all my fears,

worries, anxieties and burdens

in Your mighty and powerful hands.

I know that that I have

so little power to change 

the outcome of these events

and I trust that You will work 

what is pleasing to You, 

and best for me,

out of these situations.

Forgive me for my anxious thoughts 

and for letting my own worry 

become an idol that robs You 

of my full trust. 

Strengthen and empower me

to trust You more 

by the power and presence 

of Your Holy Spirit.

In Jesus' mighty and powerful name I pray.

Amen.

JESUS is the only way to salvation

We need preachers

who preach that hell is still hot,

that heaven is still real,

that sin is still wrong,

that the Bible is God's Words,

and that JESUS is the only way to salvation.