Sunday April 26, 2020
| My dear family in the Lord, A blessed Lord's Day to you all! For our meditation for today, may I offer....... MORE ANXIETY ANTIDOTES FROM THE BIBLE Don’t Try to Control People and Situations – Submit to God in Humility “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:6-8) Don’t Keep Trying Harder – Embrace what God is Doing “What the law code asked for but we couldn’t deliver is accomplished as we, instead of redoubling our own efforts, simply embrace what the Spirit is doing in us. Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God’s action in them find that God’s Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life.” (Romans 8:4-6) THE POPE SENT YOU A LETTER YESTERDAY : Yes, he really did. Not just to you, of course, but to all the faithful. It's very short, and easy to understand, so I reprint it here: LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS to the Faithful for the Month of May 2020 Dear Brothers and Sisters, The month of May is approaching, a time when the People of God express with particular intensity their love and devotion for the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is traditional in this month to pray the Rosary at home within the family. The restrictions of the pandemic have made us come to appreciate all the more this “family” aspect, also from a spiritual point of view. For this reason, I want to encourage everyone to rediscover the beauty of praying the Rosary at home in the month of May. This can be done either as a group or individually; you can decide according to your own situations, making the most of both opportunities. The key to doing this is always simplicity, and it is easy also on the internet to find good models of prayers to follow. I am also providing two prayers to Our Lady that you can recite at the end of the Rosary, and that I myself will pray in the month of May, in spiritual union with all of you. I include them with this letter so that they are available to everyone. Dear brothers and sisters, contemplating the face of Christ with the heart of Mary our Mother will make us even more united as a spiritual family and will help us overcome this time of trial. I keep all of you in my prayers, especially those suffering most greatly, and I ask you, please, to pray for me. I thank you, and with great affection I send you my blessing. Rome, Saint John Lateran, 25 April 2020 Feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist FRANCIS In short, the Holy Father is asking us to pray the Rosary every day during May, and to add two special prayers to it. The prayers are a little bit long, so I will include them in the daily memo in a few days. When you add this to the Reconsecration of the United States and Canada being done by our bishops on May 1st, I am filled with great hope. If we storm heaven with prayer through the powerful intercession of our Blessed Mother, I pray that in May, her special month, we can "turn the corner" at least with this horrible pestilence! Remember that on May 1st, at 6 pm, we will live-stream the May Crowning from our church, where we will pray the Holy Rosary and our Holy Father's prayers, and reconsecrate our parish, in union with our bishops, to the most blessed Virgin Mary. HOLINESS TIP: Charity Giving our money to the poor in a sacrificial manner, and not just out of our surplus wealth, not only makes God very happy and the devil miserable, it also is one way of atoning for sins. Of course, we need to be prudent with our money, but we should generously give of our time, talent, and treasure to build up the Kingdom of God, His Church. Thank you for your generosity to the parish. You can get your contributions to the parish either by going to the website stanm.org and clicking the "Give" button, or sending your tithe to the parish office, either by mail or in person (just drop it into the mail slot.) Please remember to pray for the unemployed and those whose incomes have gone down due to the pandemic. DAILY PARISH WORSHIP during the Quarantine: 9 am - Holy Mass on-line 5:30 pm Confessions in the Adoration Chapel (Monday through Saturday) 6 pm Holy Hour on-line SHARE US ON-LINE on your social media. Download the parish app onto your smart phone or tablet. It the easiest way to receive everything the parish has to enrich your life. LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE: Here are some jokes from the great Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen - "A blond woman dyes at her own hands." "Child: Mom, I've never seen an angel with a mustache or beard. Do men go to Heaven?" Mom: "Yes, they get in by a close shave." OUR PRAYER FOR THE DAY: Lord Jesus, risen from the dead and alive for evermore: Stand in our midst this day as You did in the upper room; show us Your hands and Your side; speak Your peace to our hearts and minds; and send us forth into the world as Your witnesses; for the glory of Your name. Amen. I send you my fatherly blessing, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen ! Msgr. Doug Raun |
Posted in Daily Memo from Msgr. Raun
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