Divine Mercy and Divine Grace

John 3:16-17 " For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him."
Showing posts with label Faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Faith. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Today the conversion of St. Paul

Today is Tues: The Sorrowful Mysteries on the Rosary



Please pray the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and the Stations of the Cross daily. For the Salvation of Souls, the ending of Abortion, the intentions of the Holy Father Pope Benedict, Peace,the Holy Souls in Purgatory, the needs and intentions of at least 10 others, and for your nation. 3 million of us praying these prayers daily will have a significant impact for good on the lives of others.

Please read the Free E-Book Covenant of Mercy and Blessing. It is found on the right hand column under the pages section. Feel free to copy it to your computer and share it with as many others as you want. If this site is a blessing to you please share it with at least 10 others and help with our vision of spreading Devotion to the Divine Mercy and Grace of Jesus and helping 3 million new people start praying the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and the Stations of the Cross daily. Your prayers and gifts are greatly appreciated in this effort. Thanks, Todd



ST. Paul's Conversion:
Paul’s entire life can be explained in terms of one experience—his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus. In an instant, he saw that all the zeal of his dynamic personality was being wasted, like the strength of a boxer swinging wildly. Perhaps he had never seen Jesus, who was only a few years older. But he had acquired a zealot’s hatred of all Jesus stood for, as he began to harass the Church: “...entering house after house and dragging out men and women, he handed them over for imprisonment” (Acts 8:3b). Now he himself was “entered,” possessed, all his energy harnessed to one goal—being a slave of Christ in the ministry of reconciliation, an instrument to help others experience the one Savior.


One sentence determined his theology: “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting” (Acts 9:5b). Jesus was mysteriously identified with people—the loving group of people Saul had been running down like criminals. Jesus, he saw, was the mysterious fulfillment of all he had been blindly pursuing.
From then on, his only work was to “present everyone perfect in Christ. For this I labor and struggle, in accord with the exercise of his power working within me” (Colossians 1:28b-29). “For our gospel did not come to you in word alone, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and [with] much conviction” (1 Thessalonians 1:5a).

Paul’s life became a tireless proclaiming and living out of the message of the cross: Christians die baptismally to sin and are buried with Christ; they are dead to all that is sinful and unredeemed in the world. They are made into a new creation, already sharing Christ’s victory and someday to rise from the dead like him. Through this risen Christ the Father pours out the Spirit on them, making them completely new.

So Paul’s great message to the world was: You are saved entirely by God, not by anything you can do. Saving faith is the gift of total, free, personal and loving commitment to Christ, a commitment that then bears fruit in more “works” than the Law could ever contemplate.

Quote:
“Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).
http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saints/saint.aspx?id=1271




Thursday, January 20, 2011

Christian Unity or Protestant judgement....What is a polite Catholic supposed to do?

Today is Thurs. pray the Luminous Mysteries- Christ is baptised, Jesus changes the water into wine, Jesus preaches the gospel, The tranfiguration of Jesus, Jesus gives us the Holy Eucharist at the last supper.
5 decades for the necessities and intentions of at least 10 others, peace, the salvation of souls, the ending of abortion, the intentions of the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, the Holy souls in Purgatory, and the spreading of Devotion to the Divine Mercy of Jesus.


Today's Mass Readings:

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Hebrews 7:25 -- 8:6

Psalm 40:7-10, 17

Mark 3:7-12

I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of the hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God.

-- St. Paul in his second letter to Timothy (2 Tim 1:6-8)
Read more: http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/inspiration.htm#20#ixzz1BbCqAuKT

Today's Homily
see post below this one for the video.

Saint of the day:

St. Sebastian

(257?-288?)
Nothing is historically certain about St. Sebastian except that he was a Roman martyr, was venerated in Milan even in the time of St. Ambrose and was buried on the Appian Way, probably near the present Basilica of St. Sebastian. Devotion to him spread rapidly, and he is mentioned in several martyrologies as early as a.d. 350.

The legend of St. Sebastian is important in art, and there is a vast iconography. Scholars now agree that a pious fable has Sebastian entering the Roman army because only there could he assist the martyrs without arousing suspicion. Finally he was found out, brought before Emperor Diocletian and delivered to Mauritanian archers to be shot to death. His body was pierced with arrows, and he was left for dead. But he was found still alive by those who came to bury him. He recovered, but refused to flee. One day he took up a position near where the emperor was to pass. He accosted the emperor, denouncing him for his cruelty to Christians. This time the sentence of death was carried out. Sebastian was beaten to death with clubs. HE was buried on the Appian Way, close to the catacombs that bear his name.

What to do as a polite Catholic???

It has finally happened, my being Catholic in a family of Protestant's has become an issue. During Christmas we went to Church services with some family members who were offended when my son and I did not go up for communion. My unbelieving realative can go up and partake of the Host and that is OK. It seems strange to me that we are the one's who offend others simply by following our creed. We believe that we can only commune with those who are in full communion with the Church. This offends more Protestants than I ever imagined, they want us to commune with them, but they do not want to share our faith.
For me this is the saddest thing. I joined the Catholic Church believing it is THE CHURCH Jesus founded. We can trace Her history back to the day of Pentecost. All other denominations broke off from someone else. Yet we are the one's who are at fault? Go figure.
As polite Catholics we have to defend ourselves graciously. We must take the ribbing and the sublime persecution graciously and lovingly. Why? Because this is what Jesus did. His family wanted to put Him away as a crazy person and He did not rant or rave about it. He simply went on doing what He was called to do. This site is dedicated to Him and I must follow in His footsteps. I am not at all understanding all of this, yet I know He is faithful and will see to it that everything will work out for His glory. I just wish I could have seen it coming.
I find that every Protestant wants Christian Unity as long as it is their way. None believe we should all be Catholic. Why is that? True Christian Unity must be Catholic. It is the only way it will work. Holy Mother Church does love all of Her children even those who through misguided good intentions split the very church they proclaim to defend. How can you say you love Jesus and not love His Church?
God bless, Todd