Christian apologist, born at Flavia Neapolis, about A.D. 100, converted to Christianity about A.D. 130, taught and defended the Christian religion in Asia Minor and at Rome, where he suffered martyrdom about the year 165. Two “Apologies” bearing his name and his “Dialogue with the Jew Tryphon” have come down to us. Leo XIII had a Mass and an Office composed in his honour and set his feast for 14 April.
Life
Among the Fathers of the second century his life is the best known, and from …
Guardian Angel,
watch over those whose names you can read in my heart.
Guard over them with every care
and make their way easy and their labours fruitful.
Dry their tears if they weep;
sanctify their joys;
raise their courage if they weaken;
restore their hope if they lose heart,
their health if they be ill,
truth if they err,
repentance if they fail.
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Visitation refers to Mary going to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, while carrying in her heart the good news of the coming of the Messiah and in her womb the Messiah Himself.
There seems to me to be one word that links our reading from Zephaniah with the Gospel from Luke: joy. The words joy and rejoice are repeated throughout the two readings:
Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel!
He will rejoice over you with gladness…
He will sing joyfully because of you…
…the infant in my womb leaped for joy…
My spirit rejoices in God my Savior…
In the reading from Zephaniah, we hear of Israel’s hope in the Lord and of the love the Lord has for His people. Israel hopes in the Lord with great joy and it is that hope that allows them to be filled with joy. The hope they have and the joy they experience does not mean they will not suffer. As we know, the Israelites endure much suffering. That suffering, however, is marked by their perseverance and trust in the Lord. God made us so that we can participate in His own love so, when our hearts are joyful because of Him, He too is joyful because of us. He loves us and He rejoices in His sons and daughters.
Having joy in the Lord does not mean that everything will be easy or that we will not encounter hardships. It does mean that when life gets hard and when we are faced with difficulties, we have someone to turn to. God wants to be our refuge. In the midst of our suffering, He wants us to turn to Him with hearts that are joyful.
Mary is the perfect example of someone who experienced difficulty and, rather than relying solely on herself to get through it, she turned to God. Mary perfectly conformed her will to God’s despite what others might have thought and she is filled with peace and joy because of her conformity. Mary then goes and shares her joy with Elizabeth. When she visits Elizabeth, even the child in Elizabeth’s womb recognizes Mary’s hope and for that reason leaps with joy at the sound of her voice.
The joy that comes from hope in our Lord is meant to be shared with all people. May we, like Mary, carry our Savior with us and go out with joy to proclaim His presence.
Dakota lives in Denver, CO with her husband, Ralph, and their two sons, Alfie & Theophilus. She is the Dean of Enrollment Management for Bishop Machebeuf High School where her husband also teaches. You can find Dakota at the zoo or a brewery with her family or with her nose in a book at home. For more of Dakota’s writing check out https://dakotaleonard16.blogspot.com/
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Benedictine abbess and miracle worker. She was the daughter of Count Berthold of Andechs, in modem Bavaria, Germany. The count and his wife, Sophia, founded a monastery on their esÂtate at Diessen, Bavaria, and placed Mechtildis there at the age of five. She became a Benedictine nun, and then abbess. In 1153 the bishop of Augsburg placed her in charge of Edelstetten Abbey. Mechtildis was revered for her mystical gifts and miracles. She died at Diessen on May 31.
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended You and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell, but most of all because they offend you, my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance and to amend my life.
I found myself pondering the promises Jesus makes to His disciples as I reflected on the readings for today. Jesus promised that after three days the Son of Man would rise again. And it happened. Jesus promised He would send His Spirit to come and dwell with the apostles. And it happened. Jesus promised if two or three gather in His name, there He is among them. And it happens still to this day.
Jesus made many promises. Even though the Gospels are full of examples of Jesus keeping those promises, still we might be tempted to wonder whether He will keep them for us. I’m reminded of a line from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. The Beast is trying to figure out what gift to give Belle to show her her cares for her. Cogsworth suggests, “There’s the usual things: flowers, chocolates, promises you don’t intend to keep.”
How many of us have been let down by other humans? (I’m assuming we are all raising our hands.) We are each broken, flawed, and often failures. We intend to keep our promises, most of the time. As is often said when a promise goes unmet, “life happens, oh well.” We toss up our hands, chalk it up to good intentions that didn’t pan out, and move on.
We can be tempted to apply this same attitude to Jesus. Will He really keep His promise to always be with us, or is that just a metaphor? Does He really want an intimate friendship with us, or will He forget to show up like I do sometimes? Can I really give Jesus my every need and concern, is He actually interested in the same old sins and mess?
YES! Jesus proves over and over in the Gospels and beyond in the lives of the Saints that He does care, that He does provide, and He is always faithful.
In our Gospel today, we encounter another of Jesus’ promises. Jesus promises that there will be troubles. While at face value it might not sound very encouraging, it’s so important for us to fully grasp. Jesus knows there will be troubles. He knows the troubles. He knows your troubles today, your trials tomorrow, your sufferings in 20 years. He knows. And He promises more. If you take the courage He offers, you will see how He has conquered the world. All of those struggles and trials are to be used for a grander plan that involves Jesus’ reign over all creation. This is today’s promise. Do you believe it?
Kate Taliaferro is an Air Force wife and mother. She is blessed to be able to homeschool, bake bread and fold endless piles of laundry. When not planning a school day, writing a blog post or cooking pasta, Kate can be found curled up with a book or working with some kind of fiber craft. Kate blogs at DailyGraces.net.
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St. Joan of Arc is the patroness of soldiers and of France.
On January 6, 1412, Joan of Arc was born to pious parents of the French peasant class in the obscure village of Domremy, near the province of Lorraine. At a very early age, she was said to have heard the voices of St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret.
At first the messages were personal and general, but when she was 13-years-old, she was in her father’s garden and had visions of Saint Michael, Saint Catherine, and Saint …
O Lord Jesus Christ, Who said to Your Apostles: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you,” regard not my sins but the faith of Your Church, and deign to give her peace and unity according to Your Will: Who live and reign, God, world without end. Amen.
Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit,
looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God
and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,
and Stephen said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened
and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
But they cried out in a loud voice,
covered their ears, and rushed upon him together.
They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him.
The witnesses laid down their cloaks
at the feet of a young man named Saul.
As they were stoning Stephen, he called out,
“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice,
“Lord, do not hold this sin against them;”
and when he said this, he fell asleep.
R (1a and 9a) The Lord is king, the most high over all the earth.
or:
R Alleluia.
The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many islands be glad.
Justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
R The Lord is king, the most high over all the earth.
or:
R Alleluia.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
All gods are prostrate before him.
R The Lord is king, the most high over all the earth.
or:
R Alleluia.
You, O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth,
exalted far above all gods.
R The Lord is king, the most high over all the earth.
or:
R Alleluia.
I, John, heard a voice saying to me:
“Behold, I am coming soon.
I bring with me the recompense I will give to each
according to his deeds.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last,
the beginning and the end.”
Blessed are they who wash their robes
so as to have the right to the tree of life
and enter the city through its gates.
“I, Jesus, sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches.
I am the root and offspring of David,
the bright morning star.”
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.”
Let the hearer say, “Come.”
Let the one who thirsts come forward,
and the one who wants it receive the gift of life-giving water.
The one who gives this testimony says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I will not leave you orphans, says the Lord.
I will come back to you, and your hearts will rejoice.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying:
“Holy Father, I pray not only for them,
but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
so that they may all be one,
as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that they also may be in us,
that the world may believe that you sent me.
And I have given them the glory you gave me,
so that they may be one, as we are one,
I in them and you in me,
that they may be brought to perfection as one,
that the world may know that you sent me,
and that you loved them even as you loved me.
Father, they are your gift to me.
I wish that where I am they also may be with me,
that they may see my glory that you gave me,
because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Righteous Father, the world also does not know you,
but I know you, and they know that you sent me.
I made known to them your name and I will make it known,
that the love with which you loved me
may be in them and I in them.”
– – –
Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
I remember as a child thinking that following Christ would have been so much easier if I had been alive when he walked the earth. There would be no need for faith—I would see him in the flesh. I wouldn’t need to struggle with the big questions of life—I could just ask him and get a direct verbal answer.
Easy Christianity, though, is not good for our souls. It is through the challenges and questions of life that God gives us opportunities to grow. God wants us directly involved in building His kingdom, not to be passive bystanders.
So in His ascension, Jesus instructs us not to just stand there. He will give us the Holy Spirit, and we are to go and do the works of God in the world. And God will work miracles through us.
So while there is a part of me that would still like to have met Jesus while He walked the earth, I know that I serve the ascended Jesus better, and await seeing Him one day in His full glory.
J.M. Pallas has had a lifelong love of Scriptures. When she is not busy with her vocation as a wife and mother to her “1 Samuel 1” son, or her vocation as a public health educator, you may find her at her parish women’s bible study, affectionately known as “The Bible Chicks.”
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