Search
-
Sunday, April 23, 2023April 23, 2023
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/042323.cfm
https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/daily-mass-reading-podcast-april-23-2023
Acts 2:14, 22-33
In addition to physical harm, abuse and exploitation involve a betrayal of trust and an affront to human dignity. In addition to wounds of the flesh, the experience of abuse and exploitation can cause us to lose heart – to lose hope. The promise of Christ is a path of life that fills us with joy – where our hearts can be glad and our flesh too will dwell in hope! How do we communicate this hope and promise to others? By allowing them to encounter Christ through us. Strive to make every interaction an experience of Christ’s love. Be deliberately different than individuals who exploit and harm. Be intentionally loving. Be intentionally Catholic!
The Prayer Radiating Christ
Dear Jesus, help me to spread Your fragrance everywhere I go.
Flood my soul with Your spirit and life.
Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of Yours.
Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Your presence in my soul.
Let them look up and see no longer me but only Jesus!
Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as You shine, so to shine as to be a light to others;
the light, O Jesus, will be all from You; none of it will be mine: it will be You shining on others through me.
Let me thus praise You in the way You love best: by shining on those around me.
Let me preach You without preaching, not by words, but by my example, by the catching force,
the sympathetic influence of what I do, the evident fullness of the love my heart bears to You.
Amen.- St. Teresa of Calcutta
Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11
The internet is full of advice – full of life hacks, lifestyle choices and paths to success. It is easy to be drawn into the next new craze that promises life-changing results. As Catholics we know that Jesus is the true path to life. Through His life, His ministry, and His passion he shows us the way through all adversity, the way to joy, and the way to eternal life.
Morning Prayer of Resolution
Adorable Jesus, my Savior and Master, model of all perfection,
I resolve—and will try this day—to imitate Your example, to be like You, mild, humble, chaste,
zealous, charitable, and resigned.
I will redouble my efforts to see Your image in all those I meet and deal with this day,
and to be as helpful to them as I would be to You.
I resolve to avoid this day all those sins which I have committed heretofore
and which I now sincerely desire to give up forever.
Amen.
-Our Catholic Prayers
1 Peter 1:177-21
What does it mean to conduct ourselves with reverence? The terms reverence and fear of the Lord are often used interchangeably with the term piety. When we think of reverence we often think only about our attitude and action toward God. God, the Creator of the Universe, is clearly deserving of reverence from His created beings. What we do not always consider is the reverence we are called to hold for one another. A common Catholic definition of piety is “to give filial worship to God precisely as our Father and to relate with all people as children of the same Father.” We are called to not only worship God with reverence, but to relate to all people as His children, created in His image.
Lord,
Help me to see You in the lives of those closest to me.
Help me to rejoice in Your presence and to grow in love of other
and in love of You as I see You at work in their lives.
Jesus, I trust in You.
Amen- Catholic Daily Reflections
Luke 24:13-35
The disciples who encountered the risen Christ on the road to Emmaus, declared how Christ was “made known to them in the breaking of the bread.” During the recent pandemic public gatherings were restricted and for many in the United States Catholics this was the first time they were unable to break bread together in the Eucharist. During that time, dioceses and parishes across the country found ways to keep the faithful connected to the Eucharist through Eucharistic Processions, live streamed Masses and Eucharistic Exposition and we were encouraged to receive Spiritual Communion.
For many the violation of trust by clergy who abused had already created a barrier to breaking bread together in the Eucharist. Let us join in solidarity with our brothers and sisters who have been absent from our parishes, but who long for the Eucharist! Let us continue to find ways to bring the Eucharist to those who have been alone in their longing. Pray for unity with all our brothers and sisters every time you pray 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 time 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.