"GOD WILLED THAT MAN SHOULD BE LEFT IN THE HAND OF HIS OWN COUNSEL, SO THAT HE MIGHT OF HIS OWN ACCORD SEEK HIS CREATOR & FREELY ATTAIN HIS FULL & BLESSED PERFECTION BY CLEAVING TO HIM." (CCC 1743).
"THE CHURCH PROPOSES. SHE IMPOSES NOTHING." (ST JOHN PAUL II).

"When Jesus had washed the disciples’ feet, he said to them: “Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it. I am not speaking of all of you. I know those whom I have chosen." (John 13: 16...20).

Thursday 12th May 2022, 4th Week of the Easter Season.

The Church celebrates today the feast of three youthful soldier martyrs. St Pancras (+ 304). Roman. Martyred at 14 under Emperor Diocletian. Also today: Saints Nereus and Achilleus, Roman soldiers. Both martyred under Emperor Trajan. The Church rejoices in saints that bore witness to Jesus at very young age: Agnes, Perpetua, Felicity, Agatha, Maria Goretti, etc.

We enter one of the most consequential conversations of Jesus with His disciples: The Last Supper Discourse.
The first thing Jesus did as He gathered the disciples to celebrate the Passover in the Upper Room which became the Last Supper was to wash the dirty feet of His disciples. What is the lesson for them and for us?

"Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him.  If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it." (John 13: 16 - 17).
Jesus the Christ came to serve and not to be served. Imitation of Jesus is the key to a blessed life.

We become saints not by the amount of knowledge or degrees we have but by imitating Jesus. As we become little by little like Jesus every day we start to imitate his mannerisms: His words and actions.  Jesus promises that this is the secret of the ultimate blessings and happiness in this world and the next.

Saints are the happiest people on earth. Why not start by desiring to be a saint?

5.12. “From Mary we learn to surrender to God's Will in all things. From Mary we learn to trust even when all hope seems gone. From Mary we learn to love Christ her Son and the Son of God!” “As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live.” (St John Paul II).

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LORD JESUS, YOU ARE MY GOOD SHEPHERD. I AM YOUR CLUELESS LAMB. I BELIEVE YOU ARE WATCHING OVER ME NIGHT AND DAY. NO HAIR FALLS FROM MY HEAD WITHOUT YOUR PERMISSION.

"Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.” (John 10: 27 - 30).

Sunday 8th May 2022, of the 4th Week in Easter. Good Shepherd Sunday.

Jesus declares in the Gospel today that He alone is our Good Shepherd. What does it mean that Jesus Christ is our Good Shepherd?
The Church is a family, a sheepfold and Jesus is the necessary gateway into the Sanctuary. God has foretold in the Scriptures that God Himself would be the Shepherd of this flock. 

What does a Good Shepherd do?
He feeds His flock and leads them to rest when they are tired. When we stray from the fold, He searches for us and brings us back. He rescues us from vicious beasts, from hurricanes and flood.

Our experience has thought us that there are false shepherds. They are everywhere: Church, schools, businesses, politicians, police, etc. With this in mind, we can appreciate much more our Good Shepherd. Scripture describes our Good Shepherd as a Lamb who is also a Shepherd. He is gentle, kind and merciful.

Now that we know how tenderly our Good Shepherd knows, loves and cares for us ("Just as the Father knows me and I know the Father"), how do we respond to this revelation? 

Psalm 23 is the picture perfect of Jesus Christ our Good Shepherd.
"The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures
where he gives me repose.
Near restful waters he leads me, to revive my drooping spirit."

Psalm 23 is the personal experience of King David. David experienced God so close and so intimately in various circumstances of his life and penned Psalm 23 as a testimony of his gratitude.

Think of this for a moment. If the Lord is truly our Good Shepherd, if we recognize His voice and follow Him, we can claim and own all the promises of Psalm 23. This is what Jesus means when He says: "I have come that they may have life and have it to the full." (John 10: 10).

5.8. "Therefore, as St. Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, asserts, the archangel Gabriel called her [Mary] full of grace: “Ave gratia plena;” because whilst to others, as the saint above mentioned remarks, limited grace is given, to Mary it was given in fulness. And thus it was ordered, as St. Basil attests, that in this way she might become the worthy mediatrix between God and men. For if the Virgin had not been full of divine grace, as St. Lawrence Justinian adds, how could she be the ladder of paradise, the advocate of the world, and the true mediatrix between God and men?" (St Alphonsus Liguori).

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WHAT IS IN A NAME? THE NAME OF JESUS IS THE VERY PERSON, POWER & PRESENCE OF JESUS. THE NAME OF JESUS IS IMMENSE. IT IS CERTAINTY AND ALWAYS AVAILABLE RESOURCE & GOOD FORTUNE.

"The feast of the Dedication was taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter. And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me. But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand." (John 10: 23 - 30).

Tuesday 10th May 2022, in the 4th Week of Easter is the feast of St Damien Joseph de Veuster of Molokai. (1840 - 1889). Priest. Belgian missionary. Father Damien requested to be sent to the leper colony in Molokai, in Hawaii where he spent the rest of his life ministering to lepers. Four of these years were lived in confinement after he contracted leprosy. St Damien was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 11, 2009. He is the patron saint of people with leprosy.

In the Gospel of today, Jesus was in the Temple during the feast of the Dedication. The people accosted Him and challenged Him to tell them if He is the expected Messiah.
Jesus answered with our key Scripture verse for today:

"The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me." What does Jesus mean? His miracles: healing, casting out demons, raising the dead, feeding multitudes are evidence of who He is. These "works" should be sufficient proof to anyone who is well disposed towards Him.

His sheep who are well disposed towards Him, hear His teachings and see His miracles and they believe in Him. This group do not waste time seeking for proof after proof about what should be obvious to men of good will. If you consider you are one of the sheep of Jesus, do you believe in these revealed truth about Jesus Christ below:

I believe in Jesus Christ the Only Son of God, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God.

This is our ancient Faith. The Faith of Christians who are the sheep of Jesus Christ.

When Jesus is your good Shepherd, He promises that His sheep will be fully provided for and fully protected from all dangers. Learn to trust in Jesus for all your needs.

5.10.  "[Mary] is the safest, easiest, shortest and most perfect way of approaching Jesus and will to surrender themselves to her, body and soul, without reserve in order to belong entirely to Jesus.” (St Louis Marie de Monfort).

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"THE EUCHARIST IS TRANSFORMING FOR ALL WHO RECEIVE ME WITH FAITH AND WITH CONFIDENT DEVOTION, BUT IT IS ESPECIALLY SO FOR MY PRIESTS." (IN SINU JESU).

"The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my Flesh is true food, and my Blood is true drink. Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven." (John 6: 52..... 59).

Friday May 6th 2022, 3rd Week in the Easter Season.

We continue with the Bread of life Discourse in the 6th Chapter of the Gospel of St John where eating and drinking the Body and Blood of Jesus is the dominant theme of this Easter Season so far.

It has been said that the best interpretation of the Gospel is the Example of the saints who are faithful and true witnesses to Jesus and His Way. Let us read below how some of the saints bore witness to the truth of the Bread of life Discourse.

"Jesus has made Himself the Bread of Life to give us life. Night and day, He is there. If you really want to grow in love, come back to the Eucharist, come back to that Adoration." (Mother St Teresa of Kolkata).

"From the Eucharist comes strength to live the Christian life and zeal to share that life with others."  (Pope St John Paul II).

"Holy Communion is the shortest and safest way to heaven." (Pope St Pius X).

"There is nothing so great as the Eucharist. If God had something more precious, He would have given it to us." (St John Vianney).

"The Eucharist is "the source and summit of the Christian life." "The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch." (CCC 1324).

My flesh is real food and My blood is real drink says the Lord.

5. 6 "St. Bernard asks, Why does the Church name Mary Queen of Mercy? and answers, Because we believe that she opens the depths of the mercy of God, to whom she will, when she will, and as she will; so that not even the vilest sinner is lost, if Mary protects him."

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