Blessed Savior, I thank you that this operation is safely past, and now I rest in your abiding presence, relaxing every tension, releasing every care and anxiety, receiving more and more of your healing life into every part of my being. In moments of pain I turn to you for strength, in times of loneliness I feel your loving nearness. Grant that your life and love and joy may flow through me for the healing of others in your name. Amen.
Author: WebDept ParishAdmin
Easter People
He is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!
How powerful is today’s First Reading from Acts of the Apostles! We hear that Peter and John are arrested for doing good and miraculous works in the name of Christ. We should have the same confidence in Christ that Peter and John do. In defense of their actions, they defend the name and person of Christ: “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved”. Peter and John testify to Jesus Christ as Truth incarnate who became man for the sake of our salvation. Their testimony–in both word and deed–show us that when we do good works in the name of Christ, there are two possible outcomes: the conversion of others or the persecution by others. Peter and John experience both and face both with unwavering faith in Christ.
The story we hear in the Gospel tells of the third time Jesus reveals Himself to the disciples after His death and resurrection. Christ seeks out his disciples in the ordinariness of their lives. They are fishing, something that supports their livelihood. Christ knows that His followers need inspiration in every aspect of their lives, especially in the midst of the ordinary. It is in our everyday lives that we should be living out the Gospel. We should seek Jesus in the faces of the people who we encounter in the midst of our typical day, in the tedium of sending emails or returning phone calls, in the mundane tasks of picking up milk or driving kids to swim lessons, and in the normality of conversations with our families, co-workers, and friends. Those we encounter should also see the face of Christ in us when they meet us in the humdrum of everyday life.
As we continue through this Easter season, may we remember to be a witness to the miracle of the Resurrection in our everyday lives. May our hearts be ever ready to see the face of Christ in every person we encounter and may we be a light for others on the path to Christ.
“We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song!” – St. John Paul the Great
Dakota currently lives in Denver, CO and teaches English Language Development and Spanish to high schoolers. She is married to the love of her life, Ralph. In her spare time, she reads, goes to breweries, and watches baseball. Dakota’s favorite saints are St. John Paul II (how could it not be?) and St. José Luis Sánchez del Río. She is passionate about her faith and considers herself blessed at any opportunity to share that faith with others. Check out more of her writing at https://dakotaleonard16.blogspot.com.
Feature Image Credit: J_Photo, https://www.cathopic.com/photo/19921-christ-has-risen-from-the-grave
St. Abdiesus: Saint of the Day for Friday, April 22, 2022
Also called Hebed Jesus, a deacon in the Christian community of Persia who was caught up in the persecutions conducted by King Shapur II. Records indicate that Abdiesus was accompanied in his martyrdom by Abrosimus, Acepsimus, Azadanes, Azades, Bicor, Mareas, Milles, and a women named Tarbula. Some were Persian courtiers, others priests and bishops. Tarbula was the sister of St. Simeon, and suffered a particularly cruel death by sawing.
Prayer for Eternal life with God: Prayer of the Day for Friday, April 22, 2022
Heavenly Father,
in glorifying Jesus
and sending us your Spirit,
You open the way to eternal life.
May my sharing in this Gift increase my love
and make my faith grow stronger.
Send Your Spirit to cleanse my life
so that the offering of myself to You at Mass
may be pleasing to You.
May my sharing in the Eucharist,
our Bread of Life,
bring me eternal life.
An Untroubled Heart
Jesus stands amid the Apostles, offers his peace, and then further offers words of comfort with a proclamation to not let our hearts be troubled. Although not always the simplest task, God never asks for the impossible; therefore, we can be assured of the graces necessary to accomplish it.
As worries mount, so too is the tendency to feel God has forgotten us or abandoned us. Perhaps the Apostles felt that way following the death of our Lord and before he appeared with this greeting of peace. In Christ, there is always hope; we have in both the Old and New Testament the assurance to never be forsaken nor abandoned (Hebrews 13:5); recalling Jesus remains with us always, until the end of the age, to be exact ( Matthew 28:20).
It is precisely those moments when we struggle the most to see God amid our circumstances that we should rely on the gift of hindsight. Looking back to the outcomes of other hardships or trials (especially those beyond our control), carefully and prayerfully recognize all the graces bestowed. The situation possibly didn’t resolve as wished, yet there is a discernable peace associated with that time and some greater good that comes from it.
Like the Apostles between the Resurrection and Pentecost, we too may see our peace disturbed, or doubts creep in when we don’t know the path to the place Jesus has for us. It is human nature to want all the details, and we want them before we act. That is not the trust to which Jesus calls us. The road may seem confusing or beyond our reach. The promises, while trustworthy, may feel for someone else and not for someone so filled with doubt, sin, or fear. Remember, out of great love for us, while we were still sinners, God sent his only Son to die for our redemption (Romans 5:8).
Jesus is truly the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and we don’t have to search far to find He is always with us. He journeys alongside our darkness and our joy. He is the embodiment of the unseen God; if we have seen him, then we have seen the Father. We don’t need to search far to find signs and wonders of a God; we can witness his almighty love in a sunrise, the sweet smile of a child, and the peace which comes in prayer. And most notably, in the Eucharist, “The disciples of Jesus recounted what had taken place along the way, and how they had come to recognize him in the breaking of bread” (Luke 24:35). Amen, this is where hope prevails amid the most challenging and uncertain times in Christ, always by our side.
Allison Gingras works for WINE: Women In the New Evangelization as National WINE Steward of the Virtual Vineyard. She is a Social Media Consultant for the Diocese of Fall River and CatholicMom.com. She is a writer, speaker, and podcaster, who founded ReconciledToYou.com and developed the Stay Connected Journals for Catholic Women (OSV).
Feature Image Credit: Luis Felipe Tun, https://www.cathopic.com/photo/15132-su-amor-llega-mas-lejos
The views and opinions expressed in the Inspiration Daily blog are solely those of the original authors and contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Diocesan, the Diocesan staff, or other contributors to this blog.
St. Anselm: Saint of the Day for Thursday, April 21, 2022
St. Anselm Archbishop of Canterbury and Confessor APRIL 21,A.D. 1109 IF the Norman conquerors stripped the English nation of its liberty, and many temporal advantages, it must be owned that by their valor they raised the reputation of its arms, and deprived their own country of its greatest men, both in church and state, with whom they adorned this kingdom: of which this great doctor, and his master, Lanfranc, are instances. St. Anselm was born of noble parents, at Aoust, in Piedmont, about the …
A Prayer for the Dying and a Special Soul: Prayer of the Day for Thursday, April 21, 2022
O most merciful Jesus,
Lover of souls,
I beseech Thee,
by the agony of Thy most Sacred Heart,
and by the sorrows of Thine Immaculate Mother,
wash clean in the Thy Blood
the sinners of the whole world
who are to die this day.
Remember most especially the soul I spiritually adopt
with the intention of entrusting him or her to Thy Shepherd’s care:
I beseech Thee for the grace to move this sinner,
who is in danger of going to Hell, to repent.
I ask this …
Rejoice
The Octave of Easter is full of redemptive resurrection joy. Each day is a celebration of Easter and the joy it brings to believers. The readings today bring forth two stories of rejoicing: the healing of a man crippled from birth by two of the apostles and the road to Emmaus. The Psalm calls on the hearts that seek the Lord to rejoice!
Today I ask you to pray with me a prayer and hymn of praise, the Te Deum, as it appears in the Liturgy of the Hours, the Office of Readings for this day. Rejoice!
You are God: we praise you;
You are God: we acclaim you;
You are the eternal Father:
All creation worships you.
To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,
Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy, Lord, God of power and might,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise you.
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.
Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you:
Father, of majesty unbounded,
Your true and only Son, worthy of all worship,
And the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.
You, Christ, are the king of glory,
The eternal Son of the Father.
When you became man to set us free
You did not spurn the Virgin’s womb.
You overcame the sting of death,
And opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You are seated at God’s right hand in glory.
We believe that you will come, and be our judge.
Come then, Lord, and help your people,
Bought with the price of your own blood,
And bring us with your saints
To glory everlasting.
Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance.
Govern and uphold them now and always.
Day by day we bless you.
We praise your name forever.
Keep us today, Lord, from all sin.
Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.
Lord, show us your love and mercy;
For we put our trust in you.
In you, Lord, is our hope:
And we shall never hope in vain.
Alleluia! Amen! Rejoice!
Beth Price is part of the customer care team at Diocesan. She is a Secular Franciscan (OFS) and a practicing spiritual director. Beth shares smiles, prayers, laughter, a listening ear and her heart with all of creation. Reach her here bprice@diocesan.com.
Feature Image Credit: Angie Menes, https://www.cathopic.com/photo/14463-resurreccion-cristo-
St. Marian: Saint of the Day for Wednesday, April 20, 2022
When St. Mamertinus was Abbot of the monastery which St. Germanus had founded at Auxerre, there came to him a young man called Marcian (also known as Marian), a fugitive from Bourges then occupied by the Visigoths. St. Mamertinus gave him the habit, and the novice edified all his piety and obedience. The Abbot, wishing to test him, gave him the lowest possible post – that of cowman and shepherd in the Abbey farm at Merille. Marcian accepted the work cheerfully, and it was noticed that the beast …
Children’s Prayer For Parents: Prayer of the Day for Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Dear Lord! Fill our parents with Thy choicest blessings;
enrich their souls with Thy holy grace;
grant that they may faithfully
and constantly guard that likeness to Thy union with Thy Church,
which Thou didst imprint upon them on their wedding day.
Fill them with Thy spirit of holy fear,
which is the beginning of wisdom;
inspire them to impart it to their children.
May they ever walk in the way of Thy commandments,
and may we their children be their joy on earth …