Verse of the Day – God Did Not Give Us a Spirit of Cowardice
Daily Message from Pope Francis – The Gospel Asks Us to Take a Fresh Look at Ourselves
“In so many of life’s situations, indeed, it may happen that we get discouraged… And we may allow ourselves to be paralyzed by doubt when we find we are working hard but the results are not achieved, and things seem never to change. The Gospel asks us to take a fresh look at ourselves and at reality; it asks us to have bigger eyes, that are able to see further, especially beyond appearances, in order to discover the presence of God who as humble love is always at work in the soil of our life and that of history. This is our confidence, this is what gives us the strength to go forward every day, patiently, sowing the good that will bear fruit.” Pope Francis
The Journey of Joy
Scripture Reading: Philippians 4:4-9
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Philippians 4:4
A group of Buddhist scholars considered the weighty question of whether the Buddha, their figure of supreme serenity and harmony, ever laughed. After carefully checking their holy books, they concluded that indeed the Buddha may have smiled on at least one occasion. Some religions lack an emphasis on joy, but there should be no doubt that Christians appreciate humor, laughter, and joy. Why? Because God himself is joyful.
In Nehemiah 8:10 we are reminded, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” And I love the description of God in Zephaniah 3:17: “The Lord . . . will take great delight in you . . . [and] will rejoice over you with singing.” Can you picture God singing for joy as he thinks about you and me?
Certainly the culmination of joy is the coming of Jesus. At Jesus’ birth the angel of the Lord proclaims, “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people” (Luke 2:10). Christ’s coming to bring salvation has brought exuberant joy into the world.
The Holy Spirit, who lives in us, makes the joy of God and Jesus our own. There is no longer any need to search for joy. The Christian can say, “I have found it!”
The apostle Paul explains that when we have the joy of the Lord, we have the peace of God as well—and that is the fruit we will look at tomorrow.
Lord, we live in a world that is missing deep joy because of disease, disaster, and emotional distress. We desperately need your joy. Holy Spirit, fill us with the joy of the Lord, we pray. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.
| The Journey of Joy, By Dean Deppe — Friday, June 18, 2021 |
//Reframe Ministries//
Morning Offering – Cast Yourself Into the Arms of God
“Cast yourself into the arms of God and be very sure that if He wants anything of you, He will fit you for the work and give you strength.”
— St. Philip Neri
//Catholic Company//
Daily Message from Pope Francis – Our Strength is Prayer
MONDAY, APRIL 26, 2021
“Many of us learned how to whisper our first prayers on our parents’ or grandparents’ laps… We become aware that the gift we received with simplicity in infancy is a great heritage… The garment of faith is not starched, but develops with us; it is not rigid, it grows, even through moments of crisis and resurrection… After certain passages in life, we become aware that without faith we could not have made it and that our strength was prayer – not only personal prayer, but also that of our brothers and sisters, and of the community that accompanied and supported us, of the people who know us, of the people we ask to pray for us.”
Pope Francis
I Heard God Laugh – Begin Today
The most difficult part of anything is getting started. It requires the most mental strength and determination. But once we get past that first obstacle, there’s nothing we can’t do. Make today the day you let your inspiration carry you to victory over the resistance you’re facing, and begin.
One Day at a Time
Seeking God in Suffering – In the Stillness
In the Stillness
DAY 10 | Psalm 46
The Lord Almighty is with us. . . . He says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” —Psalm 46:7, 10
When we ask children to be still, our goal is that they stop talking or crying and listen to what we have to say. Sometimes we must stand and shout this with authority, and other times we can just cradle them with a gentle “Shhh.”
In this psalm, God is using both an outdoor voice and an indoor voice to assure his children that there is nothing too big for the Lord to handle. We need not be afraid—regardless of the surrounding chaos—because God is right there with us in times of trouble. He both lifts his voice above the uproar (verse 6) and draws us close with the quiet whisper “Be still, my child; I am here.”
There are days when the pain level is so high, the disappointment so deep, and the fear so crippling that we can lose sight of the God who is our refuge and strength. Desperation can drive us away from God, and we can find ourselves craving his commanding, large-and-in-charge presence along with his intimate words of assurance.
When Jesus’ disciples cried out to him in the midst of a raging storm, Jesus stood up, rebuked the wind, and told the waves, “Quiet! Be still!”—and all was calm (Mark 4:39).
What do you need Jesus to calm in your mind and heart? Pause for a moment, and hear him inviting you into the stillness of God’s presence.
God, you know our every thought and how we let our worries crowd you out and take over. Please still our racing minds, and draw us close with your assuring embrace. Amen.
//Reframe Ministries//
Minute Meditation – Christ Our Hope Has Risen
“Mercy and Love have conquered sin! We need faith and hope in order to open ourselves to this new and marvelous horizon. And we know that faith and hope are gifts from God, and we need to ask for them: ‘Lord, grant me faith, grant me hope! I need them so much!’ The silent witness to the events of Jesus’s Passion and Resurrection was Mary. She stood beside the Cross: she did not fold in the face of pain; her faith made her strong. In the broken heart of the Mother, the flame of hope was kept ever burning. Let us ask her to help us too to fully accept the Easter proclamation of the Resurrection, so as to embody it in the concreteness of our daily lives.”—Pope Francis
The Gospels of Easter week unfold the mystery of the resurrection through those who were its first witnesses. In their words and in their actions we have a model for our own lives. The first reading, from the Acts of the Apostles, shows us how Peter and the others were inspired to speak out in ways that they never dreamed of before the resurrection. And Matthew’s Gospel reminds us that from the beginning, there was opposition from those who felt threatened by this new movement of the Spirit. Our day is not much different. Sometimes our faith moves us outward with great joy and fervent hope. But sometimes we need to go within, to renew our strength and our courage in quiet times of prayer. Depending on the circumstances of our lives this year, we might not be feeling the exuberant joy we expect in this season of Easter. Illness, death, unemployment, depression, and other human realities don’t necessarily happen according to the liturgical year. But in a time when it seems the only constant is change, our faith—and even more, our hope—reminds us that God’s love will always be there for us.
The beauty of the liturgical seasons is that they offer us a new chance each year to experience the richness of God’s work of salvation in our lives. Each year we grow a bit more in our faith. Each year the events in our lives offer us new insight into what the resurrection means for us and our loved ones. What one thing is different about your life this Easter?
— from the book The Hope of Lent: Daily Reflections from Pope Francis,
by Diane M. Houdek
//Franciscan Media//
Minute Meditation – Love is Stronger Than Death
“Love has triumphed over hatred, life has conquered death, light has dispelled the darkness! Christians, by the grace of Christ, dead and risen, are the seeds of another humanity, in which we seek to live in service to one another, not to be arrogant, but rather respectful and ready to help. This is not weakness, but true strength!… May there echo in your hearts, in your families and communities, the announcement of the Resurrection, along with the warm light of the presence of the Living Jesus: a presence which brightens, comforts, forgives, gladdens. Jesus conquered evil at the root: he is the Door of Salvation, open wide so that each person may find mercy.”—Pope Francis
One of the ironies of the liturgical year is that we often find it easier to enter into the rigorous practices of Lent than to celebrate the joy of Easter and the Risen Lord. We know with our minds this great mystery of our faith. But we don’t always experience that joy in our hearts. It goes so far beyond our human experience that we have nothing to compare to it. At the heart of the story on Easter Sunday is the empty tomb. The stories of the appearances will come later, unfolding the mystery of the resurrection. But the first message to the apostles is that the tomb is empty. Somewhere in the darkness of the Easter Vigil and the pale dawn of Easter Sunday, each of us must confront the empty tomb and discover for ourselves the Risen Christ. Pope Francis reminds us that our joy in the Risen Christ calls us to a quiet love and service, wrapped in the awareness that our life in Christ needs no trumpets or pomp and earthly glory. We have a peace in our hearts that is stronger than death itself. All our hope lies in that promise.
— from the book The Hope of Lent: Daily Reflections from Pope Francis,
by Diane M. Houdek
//Franciscan Media//