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for Roman Catholics http://www.shrineofsaintjude.net/home-s20-2010.html |
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First Sunday After Easter
- Sunday in White
Proper Preparation
Catholic Douay Rheims Bible
This is the Written Word of God
"Proximate preparation" includes two prayers:
1) The Act of Contrition.
2) The Veni, Sancte Spiritus.
O my God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, because I love Thee above all things with my whole heart and soul. I detest all of my sins because it was for them and His Love for me that Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity, my Lord and my God, suffered, was crucified, and died on the cross. O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee by my sins, faults, imperfections, negligences and carelessness, Who art all good and deserving of all of my love.
I firmly resolve with the help of Thy Grace, to sin no more, to confess my sins, to do penance, to amend my life, to avoid all of the near occasions of sin, and always give to Thee freely, liberally and generously what is of supererogation and perfection, not only in greater things, but especially in lesser things, so that I may gain beforehand Thy efficacious, superabundant, particular and special Graces and Helps so that I will always be victorious in resisting and overcoming all temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil and his followers. Grant me those Graces and Helps needed so that my every thought, word and action may be done solely out of love for Thee, Who art Love. Amen.
Saint John Chrysostom
It was the custom of Patriarch Saint John Chrysostom [b. Antioch, c. 347 A.D. - d. at Commana in Pontus on Friday, September 14, 407 A.D.], Patriarch of Constantinople [Thursday, February 26, 398 A.D. - Thursday, June 24, 404 A.D.], exiled from his See the 2nd time on Thursday, June 24, 404 A.D., Father and Doctor of the Catholic Church, to properly prepare himself and his Congregation before preaching. He taught that unless God the Holy Ghost prepares the minds and hearts of the Preacher and of the Congregation, the Preacher preaches in vain and the Congregation listens in vain.
Therefore, so as not to waste your time, please pray the Veni, Sancte Spiritus, remembering how one Holy Saint was of the opinion that a Sermon is a Sacramental.
Veni, Sancte Spiritus
Come, O Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of Thy faithful
And kindle in them the fire of Thy love.
V. Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be
created;
R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
Let Us Pray
O God, who didst instruct the hearts of Thy faithful by the light of Thy Holy Spirit, grant us in the same Spirit to relish what is right and ever to rejoice in His consolation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary; pray for us.
Saint Thomas Aquinas, Patron Saint of Catholic Schools,
pray for us.
Epistle for the First Sunday After Easter - Sunday in White
1 John 5:4-10.
The Epistle appointed to be read during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass today is taken from Saint John's First Epistle, Chapter 5, Verses 4-10.
Brethren:
For whatsoever is
born of God, overcometh the world: and this is the victory which overcometh
the world, our faith.
Who is he that
overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is he that
came by water and blood, Jesus Christ: not by water only, but by water
and blood. And it is the Spirit which testifieth, that Christ is the Truth.
And there are three
who give testimony in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost.
And these Three are One.
And there are three
that give testimony on earth: the spirit, and the water, and the blood:
and these three are one.
If we receive the
testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater. For this is the testimony
of God, which is greater, because He hath testified of His Son.
He that believeth
in the Son of God, hath the testimony of God in himself.
Gospel for the First Sunday After Easter - Sunday in White
John 20:19-31.
The Gospel for today is taken from the Holy Gospel of Saint John, Chapter 20, Verses 19-31.
At that time:
Now when it was late that same day, the first of the week, and the doors were shut, where the disciples were gathered together, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them:
Peace be to you.And when He had said this, He shewed them His hands and His side. The disciples therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord.
He said therefore to them again:
Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent Me, I also send you.When He had said this, He breathed on them; and He said to them:
Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, who is called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him:
We have seen the Lord. But he said to them: Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.And after eight days again His disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Jesus cometh, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said:
Peace be to you.Then He saith to Thomas:
Put in thy finger hither, and see My hands; and bring hither thy hand, and put it into My side; and be not faithless, but believing.Thomas answered, and said to Him:
My Lord, and my God.Jesus saith to him:
Because thou hast seen Me, Thomas, thou hast believed: Blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed.Many other signs also did Jesus in the sight of His disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God: and that believing, you may have life in His name.
Thus far are the words of today's Holy Gospel.
“Peace be to you”
(GOSPEL, John 20:19).
VIn
the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.
“Peace be to you” (John 20:19; 20:26).The Apostles were filled with fear and anguish. Why? Because they were afraid that they, like Christ, would be arrested by the Jews, thrown into prison, and probably executed.
This explains why, in today’s Gospel, you find Christ repeating:
“Peace be to you” (John 20:19; 20:21; 20:26)three times, because:
1) peace is the most precious of all earthly goods; and,Therefore, a person who has peace is happy no matter in what condition or circumstances that person is.2) because without peace nothing can make a person content or happy.
But a person who has covetous eyeballs has no peace and is very unhappy, even if that person possess all the money in the world and everything such unlimited money can buy!
Remember where Christ warns all of us against being worldly and materialistic asking:
“what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26).Having the covetous eyeballs of a billionaire will not get one to Heaven as Christ clearly teaches where He says:
“It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 19:24).Although “the eye of a needle” refers to a very low gate in the wall of a city through which camels can hardly pass, a 1942 Catholic Commentary claims it is:
“impossible for a rich man to be saved, but by the Grace of God” because “it IS possible for him to give away his wealth to the poor... which practically means ceasing to live as a rich man” (“A Commentary on the New Testament”, by The Catholic Biblical Association, Imprimatur, Edwin V. O’Hara, Kansas City, Mo., 1942, p. 134).So, while wealth is an obnoxious and odious spiritual burden, peace is a precious treasure which can be proven from two facts.
1. Peace is a precious treasure which can be proven from the fact that Christ Himself loved peace.
For example, consider how God the Son became incarnate of the Virgin Mary. When? At a time of rare peace upon the whole world.
The Saviour’s birth coincided with a very significant pagan event - the temple of Janus at Rome was closed.
Historically, from the time of the founding of Rome by the legendary Romulus, to the time of Caesar Augustus, an interval of more than seven hundred years, the pagan temple of Janus at Rome was closed only twice:At the birth of Christ, only for the third time in their history, were the Romans at peace with all nations because the devastating wars were at an end and peace reigned everywhere supreme. The tranquillity and universal peace which the world then enjoyed was a fitting example of that spiritual peace which God the Son of God came to give to sinful mankind. He came as the Prince of Peace at His birth, something which had been foretold by the Prophets, to prove His love of peace.first, during the reign of Numa Pompilius;
second, during the peace interval between the first and the second Punic wars.
At His birth in the village of Bethlehem, a multitude of Holy Angels appeared, praising God and saying:
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will” (Luke 2:14).God the Holy Ghost testifies through the pen of Saint Paul that Christ made:
“peace through the Blood of His cross” (Colossians 1:20).This proves how peace is so very dear to Him because, in order to restore peace between God and mankind, Christ shed every drop of His Precious Blood on the cross.
Christ’s life on earth evidences His love of peace.
Sending His Disciples to preach the Gospel, He tells them:
“Into whatsoever house you enter, first say: Peace be to this house” (Luke 10:5).After healing the sick and pardoning sinners, His says:
“Go in peace”.Remember how Christ rebuked two of His Apostles who wanted to call down fire from Heaven on a city of the Samaritans because they did not receive them?
“And turning, He rebuked them, saying: You know not of what spirit you are. The Son of man came not to destroy souls, but to save” (Luke 9:55-56).In imitation of Christ, His Apostles preached peace as messengers of peace. The New Testament contains twenty one Epistles. In each one you find many wishes for peace and admonitions to keep peace. They begin and end with salutations of peace. They also refer to peace in the corpus or body of their Epistles, as in this example of Saint Paul:
“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see God” (Hebrews 12:14).Instructed by the authentic Apostolic Tradition, the Catholic Church grants peace to the Faithful, especially in the administration of the Holy Sacraments.
For example, the Ritual has the Prelate or Priest who has Baptized a child say:
“Go in peace”.The Confirmed are dismissed with:
“Peace be to you”.Whenever a Prelate or a Priest enters a place to administer the Last Rites, he says:
“Peace be to this place and to all who dwell herein”.At funerals, the Prelate or Priest prays for peace for the deceased, praying:
“May they rest in peace.”2. Peace is a precious treasure which can be proven from the fact that peace makes a person happy and joyful.
Consider that what salt is to food, peace is to life. The best dishes do not taste very well when salt is lacking. People on a low sodium diet usually think of their food as being bland. So all that we may possess, whether it is good health, great riches, honor and reputation, cannot constitute the happiness of life.
Also consider how the spirit of division robs wealthy married couples of real happiness as exampled by various public people, whether movie stars, or the baseball owners of the Dodgers, or music icons, who are either in the process of getting a civil divorce or who have recently been divorced.
Such discord and disharmony ends in feelings of great anger and bitterness, especially when one spouse seems to marry only for money and make divorce lawyers wealthy.
In this way the words of Christ are verified:
“Every kingdom divided against itself, shall be brought to desolation, and house upon house shall fall” (Luke 11:17).
Let each of us resolve, with God’s Graces, to pray for real and true peace in our homes, in our parishes, in our community, in our country, and in our world, begging the Prince of Peace to fill all of us to overflowing with that same peace He gave to His Apostles, saying:
“Peace be to you” (John 20:19).As a final resolution, in the Holy Name of Jesus, and in an exercise of Catholic Charity, please contribute to the support of the Church - in this case - the Shrine of Saint Jude. Please help us to save Souls!
Thank you for your thoughtfulness and Charity! Remember, God is never outdone in generosity!!!
Think how happy you will be when, in the next life, God shows you all of the Souls you helped to save by helping our Apostolates, including this Sermon web site, because "he who causeth a sinner to be converted from the error of his way, shall save his soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins" (James 5:20).
“And in doing good, let us not fail. For in due time we shall reap, not failing. Therefore, whilst we have time, let us work good to all men, but especially to those who are of the household of the faith” (Galatians 6:9-10).
The Blessing
| V. Sit X Nomen
Domini benedictum.
R. Ex hoc nunc, et usque in saeculum. V. U Adjutorium nostrum in Nomine Domini. R. Qui fecit cœlum et terram. V. Benedicat vos, Omnipotens Deus: V. Pa X ter, et Fi X lius, et Spiritus XSanctus, descendat super vos, et maneat semper. R. Amen. |
V. Blessed X
be the Name of the Lord.
R. Now and for ever more. V. U Our help is in the Name of the Lord. R. Who made Heaven and earth. V. May Almighty God bless thee: V. The Fa X ther, the S X on, and the Holy X Ghost, descend upon thee, and always remain with thee. R. Amen. |
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