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TRÁI TIM
MẸ: NƠI CON NƯƠNG NÁU - ĐƯỜNG ĐẾN VỚI CHÚA |
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"Chúa Giêsu muốn dùng con để làm
cho Mẹ được nhận biết và yêu mến" |
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August 23, 2009 - Twenty
First Sunday of
Ordinary Time
LITURGICAL/THEME MEDITATION:
"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of
everlasting life"
UNIVERSAL CHURCH/WORLD EVENT(S):
Science Can't Explain
Guadalupe
SAINT OF THE DAY
St. Rose of Lima
GENERAL
MARIOLOGY
THE DIVINE
HISTORY AND LIFE
OF THE
VIRGIN MOTHER OF GOD
Book Five -
Chapter I
INTERIOR TRIALS OF MARY; JESUS IN THE TEMPLE.
DIVINE MERCY
Divine Mercy in My Soul
NOTEBOOK V
TEACHING/TESTIMONY/CONVICTION:
From Abortion to Conversion: Testimony of a
Former Abortion Provider
KATHY SPARKS
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DAILY LITURGICAL MEDITATION |
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Sunday (8/23): "Lord, to whom shall we go? You
have the words of everlasting life"
Scripture: John 6:60-69
60 Many of his disciples, when they heard it, said, "This is a hard
saying; who can listen to it?" 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his
disciples murmured at it, said to them, "Do you take offense at this? 62
Then what if you were to see the Son of man ascending where he was
before? 63 It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail;
the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there
are some of you that do not believe." For Jesus knew from the first who
those were that did not believe, and who it was that would betray him.
65 And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me
unless it is granted him by the Father." 66 After this many of his
disciples drew back and no longer went about with him. 67 Jesus said to
the twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?" 68 Simon Peter answered him,
"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; 69 and
we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of
God."
Meditation: When you encounter the difficult sayings of Jesus,
how do you respond? With disbelief, indifference, or with a desire that
seeks understanding? Jesus claimed to have full revelation of God and he
backed this claim with many remarkable works of healing and miracles,
including the miraculous feeding of five thousand people at one time.
That is why many thousands sought Jesus out and were attracted to his
teaching. He offered them something both tangible and irresitible –
visible signs of God's mercy, kindness, and favor. Many stumbled,
however, when Jesus made claims which only God could possibly make.
Jesus' discourse on "eating his flesh and drinking his blood"
(see John 6:51-59) – which pointed to the Last Supper and to the unique
bread of the Eucharist or Table of the Lord – caused offence to many of
his followers. Jesus claimed to be the bread of heaven, the very life of
God given to us as spiritual food to sustain us on our journey to the
promised land of heaven.
Jesus did not leave any middle ground for his hearers. They must
either accept his word as divine or reject it as the claim of an
imposter. Even the apostles admitted that this was a "hard saying". This
expression meant that it was not just hard to understand, but hard to
accept. Jesus pressed the issue with his beloved disciples because he
wanted to test their faith, trust, and loyalty. Jesus promised his
disciples nothing less than the full blessing of eternal life and union
with God. Jesus assures his disciples that it is his heavenly Father who
invites and who gives the grace to follow even in the "hard sayings".
Jesus knew that some would not only reject him and his word, but would
do so with great opposition, hatred and violence, even betraying him to
his enemies.
It takes faith and trust to believe in Jesus and to accept his words.
Real faith, however, is neither blind trust nor ignorant belief.
Augustine of Hippo (see short
biography)
once said: "I believe, in order to understand; and I understand, the
better to believe." Faith and reason go together, because faith seeks
understanding of God's truth and revelation. That is why God gives us
the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit, who is our instructor and
daily tutor in the wisdom and knowledge of God. Paul the Apostle teaches
us to pray for understanding that God "may give you a spirit of wisdom
and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your heart
enlightened" (Ephesians 1:17-18).
Faith is a personal response to God's revelation of himself to us.
Jesus both reveals who God is and offers us a personal relationship with
God as our heavenly Father. Peter’s profession of faith was based on the
personal relationship he had with Jesus. He not only believed that Jesus
had the divine authority to speak on behalf of God, and the power to
perform signs and miracles in the name of God. Peter grasped, through
the eyes of faith, that Jesus truly was the Messiah, the Holy One of
God. Through the gift of faith Peter came to understand that Jesus was
both God and man, sent into the world by the Father who loved the world
so much that he gave us his only Son (John 3:16). Peter believed in the
words which Jesus spoke, because he accepted Jesus as the Son of God and
savior of the world.
Faith is an entirely free gift of God which enables us to respond to
God's word with trust because God is true and utterly reliable. Faith is
the key to understanding and experiencing God at work in our daily
personal lives. Do you believe, as Peter did, that Jesus can change your
life because he has the words of everlasting life? Ask the Lord
Jesus to increase your faith and understanding of his word that you may
grow in the knowledge of his love and plan for your life.
"Lord Jesus, you have the words of everlasting life. Strengthen my
faith and help me to cast aside all doubt, fear, and indifference to
your word that I may obey it with trust and joy. May there be nothing in
my life which separates me from your love and truth."
Psalm 34:2-3,16-22
2 My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and be
glad.
3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!
16 The face of the LORD is against evildoers, to cut off the remembrance
of them from the earth.
17 When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears, and delivers them
out of all their troubles.
18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in
spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the LORD delivers him
out of them all.
20 He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.
21 Evil shall slay the wicked; and those who hate the righteous will be
condemned.
22 The LORD redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take
refuge in him will be condemned.
www.dailyscripture.net
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UNIVERSAL CHURCH/WORLD EVENTS |
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Science Can't Explain Guadalupe
Time and Accidents Have Not Destroyed Marian Image
PHOENIX, Arizona, AUG. 21, 2009 ( Zenit.org).- A physicist who has spent years researching the tilma bearing the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is affirming that there is no scientific explanation for the phenomenon.
Adolfo Orozco stated this in a presentation given at an International Marian Congress that took place Aug. 6-8 in Phoenix.
The congress, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, the Phoenix Diocese and the Institute of Guadalupan Studies, was dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Orozco gave a presentation on the image of the Virgin imprinted on St. Juan Diego's tilma, stating that it is "completely outside" any scientific explanation.
He explained that due to the humid, salty environment around the basilica where the tilma is kept in Mexico City, the cloak material should have decomposed years ago.
In fact, the researcher noted, this is what happened to a painted copy of the image that was made in 1789, on a material similar to the original tilma.
Although the copy was preserved behind glass, like the original, it had to be discarded eight years later because it was falling apart and the painting was fading, the physicist reported.
The original image, however, which was imprinted on the cloak when the Blessed Virgin appeared to the saint, remains intact after 478 years.
Orozco told his audience that this phenomenon is heightened by the fact that it should have been destroyed twice, once when nitric acid was accidentally spilled on a section of the cloth, and another time when a bomb exploded close to it.
He affirmed that there is no natural explanation for how the image has survived undamaged through time and potentially destructive events such as these.
In addition to his research on the tilma, Orozco has spent many years studying the Holy Shroud that covered Christ in the tomb, and has lectured on over 300 occasions on the scientific aspects of it.
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DAILY LITURGICAL SAINT |
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http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/SaintofDay
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GENERAL
MARIOLOGY |
THE DIVINE HISTORY AND
LIFE
OF THE
VIRGIN MOTHER OF GOD
BOOK FIVE
Concerning
the Perfection with which the most Holy Mary copied and
Imitated
the Activity of the Soul of Christ; how the Incarnate Word
Instructed
Her in the Laws of grace, the Articles of Faith, the
Sacraments, the Ten Commandments; and with what
Alacrity
and Noble Promptitude She Corresponded.
Also
concerning the Death of Saint Joseph, the
Preaching
of Saint John, the call of the
First
Disciples and the Baptism
Of the
Virgin Mary, our
Blessed
Lady
CHAPTER I.
INTERIOR TRIALS OF MARY; JESUS IN THE TEMPLE.
WORDS OF THE QUEEN.
My daughter, all the works of my most holy Son and my
own actions are full of mysterious instruction and doctrine for the
mortals who contemplate them diligently and reverently.
The Lord absented Himself from me in order that, seeking Him in sorrow
and tears, I might find Him again in joy and with abundant fruits for my
soul. I desire that thou imitate me in this mystery and seek Him with
such earnestness, as to be consumed with a continual longing without
ever in thy whole life coming to any rest until thou holdst him and
canst lose Him no more (Can. 5, 4). In order that thou mayest understand
better this sacrament of the Lord, remember, the infinite Wisdom made
men capable of his eternal felicity and placed them on the way to this
happiness, but left them in doubt of its attainment, as long as they
have not yet acquired it and thus filled them with joyful hope and
sorrowful fear of its final acquisition. This anxiety engenders in men a
lifelong fear and abhorrence of sin, by which alone they can be deprived
of beatitude and thus prevent them from being ensnared and misled by the
corporeal and visible things of this earth. This anxiety the Creator
assists by adding to the natural reasoning powers, faith and hope, which
are the spurs of their love toward seeking and finding their last end.
Besides these virtues and others infused at Baptism He sends his
inspirations and helps to keep awake the soul in the absence of its
Lord and to prevent forgetfulness of Him and of itself while
deprived of his amiable presence. Thus it pursues the right course until
it finds the great goal, where all its inclinations and longing shall be
satiated.
Hence thou canst estimate the listless ignorance of
mortals and how few stop to consider the mysterious order of the
creation and justification and all the works of the Almighty tending
toward this exalted end. From this forgetfulness flow so many evils
endured by men while they appropriate so many earthly goods and
deceitful delights, as if they could ever find in them their ultimate
end. The height of perversity opposed to the order of the Creator, is
that mortals in this transitory and short life rejoice in visible things
as if they were their last end, while they ought, on the contrary, to
make use of creatures to gain, not to lose, the highest Good. Do thou,
therefore, my dearest, be mindful of this dangerous human folly.
Consider all delights and joys of the world as insanity, its laughing as
sorrow, sensible enjoyment as self deceit, as the source of foolishness,
which intoxicates the heart and hinders and destroys all true wisdom.
Live in constant and holy fear of losing eternal life and rejoice in
nothing except in the Lord until thou obtainest full possession of Him.
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DIVINE MERCY
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Divine Mercy In my soul
The Mercy of the Lord I will sing Forever.
Divine Mercy in my soul.
Sr. Faustina, Diary
NOTEBOOK V
January 6, 1938.
Today, when the chaplain [Father Theodore] brought me the Lord Jesus, a
light issued from the Host, its light striking my heart and filling me with
a great fire of love. Jesus was letting me know that I should answer the
inspirations of grace with more faithfulness, and that my vigilance should
be more subtle.
The Lord also gave me to know that many bishops were considering the
question of this Feast, as well as a certain lay person. Some were
enthusiastic about this work of God, while others regarded it with
disbelief; but in spite of everything, the result was great glory for the
work of God. Mother Irene and Mother Mary Joseph were giving some kind of a
report to these dignitaries, but they were being questioned, not so much
about the work, as about myself. As regards the work itself, there was no
doubt, since the glory of God was already being proclaimed.
I feel much better today. I was glad I would be able to meditate more during
the Holy Hour. Then I heard a voice: You will not
be in good health. Do not put off the Sacrament of Penance, because this
displeases Me. Pay little attention to the murmurs of those around you.
This surprised me, because I am feeling better
today, but I gave it no more thought. When the sister switched off the
light, I began Holy Hour. But after a while something went wrong with my
heart. I suffered in silence until eleven o’clock, but then I began to feel
so bad that I woke up Sister N. [Probably sister Fabiola] who is my
roommate, and she gave me some drops, which brought me a little relief so
that I could lie down. I now understand the Lord’s warning. I decided to
call any priest at all, the next day, and to open the secrets of my soul to
him. But that was not all, for while I was praying for sinners and offering
all my sufferings for them, the evil spirit could not stand that.
Taking the form of an apparition he said, “Do not pray for sinners, but for
yourself, for you will be damned.” Paying no attention to satan, I continued
to pray with redoubled fervor for sinners. The evil spirit howled with fury.
“Oh, if I had power over you!” and disappeared. I saw that my sufferings and
prayers shackled satan and snatched many souls from his clutches.
Jesus, lover of human salvation, draw all souls to the divine life. May the
greatness of Your mercy be praised here on earth and in eternity. O great
lover of souls, who in Your boundless compassion opened the salutary
fountains of mercy so that weak souls may be fortified in the life’s
pilgrimage, Your mercy runs through our life like a golden thread and
maintains in good order the contact of our being with God. For He does not
need anything to make Him happy; so everything is solely the work of His
mercy. My senses are transfixed with joy when God grants me a deeper
awareness of that great attribute of His; namely, His unfathomable mercy.
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CATHOLIC TEACHING/CONVICTION/TESTIMONY |
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From Abortion to Conversion: Testimony of a Former
Abortion Provider
KATHY SPARKS
(continued)
So the recovery nurse was wondering what
was taking me so long and she walked in and looked at me. She left,
didn't say a word, shut the door, and went and got the director of the
abortion clinic. This woman walked in, shut the door behind her, put her
hands on my shoulders and grabbed me. She began to rebuke me; pull
yourself together; you're a professional. She shook me. I was a limp rag
and crying and crying, this baby was 23 weeks. The doctor himself had
told me how far along she was. She said, when did you get your medical
degree? She took the baby boy over the toilet and put him down the
toilet. I was crying and crying. Finally, when she was finished, I told
her I couldn't work procedure anymore, that I'd stay in cleanup. She
said, fine. We worked it out and the other girls went in to work
procedure for the rest of the day.
That night I went home and I told Mike
about the entire experience. I said, Mike, I don't know what to do. We
had thousands of dollars worth of debt. We had all the debts from his
first marriage, a new baby, so much financial debt. And at the time we
were such new believers in Christ that we didn't know that He was our
God who would provide every need according to His riches and glory. We
didn't know that yet. Apparently, Mike must have skimmed over that in
the Bible, we didn't know that yet. He said, let's just pray about it.
Okay, Mike, let's pray. He went to work that night and I lit two candles
at the side of my bed and sat down and prayed a very childlike prayer:
Lord, if you want me out, just speak to me, and if I know it's going
to be okay, I'll leave, Lord. I will leave. Just tell me.
I went to sleep that night, got up, and
went to the abortion clinic the next morning and experienced the same
smell, the same cold chills. I worked the cleanup room and at 10:00 in
the morning, the director, the same lady who rebuked me the very day
before, walked in and closed the door behind her. Only this time, she's
very bothered. She's very troubled. "Kathy, I had a dream last night and
it was so real that I don't know if I dreamed it or if you told me this,
or what." I'm kind of looking at her and said, "What did you dream?" She
said, "I dreamed that you walked into my office and you told me that you
had to quit this place because of your religion!" I had not told a
single person that I had made a commitment to the Lord. You know how you
have to grow in that before you tell anybody, and I just didn't tell
anybody yet. So I knew that God had given her a dream to come in and
tell me to get out. So I told her, "You did have a dream; I did not tell
you that, but I am going to quit. I do have to leave, and it is because
of my religion. What you're doing here is wrong and I must leave." She
left then. She thought I had lost my marbles the day before and now I
was crying.
It's amazing how Satan works, because if
you don't think he's real, he sure is. She walked in later on that day
and offered me $2.50 an hour more to stay and work tubal ligations. She
said, "Certainly birth control isn't against your religion." I said,
"Well birth control might not be against my religion, but this place is.
I've got to leave. So I quit."
I quite the abortion clinic and it was
incredible. I went through a series of changes, as we all do when we
come to know the Lord in a personal way, no matter how old we are.
First, I really had to receive what Jesus Christ had done for me when He
died on Calvary for me; that He died that every sin that I had committed
could be cleansed and forgiven. It took me six months before I could
really accept His forgiveness and I repented before Him for every
abortion. I repented for every other single sin that I could think of
that I had committed. I received the fact that I was a new creature.
That old person was dead.
So we plugged ourselves into a church, an
Assembly of God church because we knew some people who seemed pretty
normal there. We went to their church and got water baptized, and we
plugged ourselves into the choir and every single time we could learn
anything, do anything for the Lord, we were there.
As the years went by, we didn't do
anything with the challenge of the abortion issue. I wasn't ready yet. I
wasn't old enough in Christ to begin professing what happened. I know
that now. I know that God is wise and His timing is perfect. Anyway,
five years into the Lord, Mike and I began to get very involved in
intercessory prayer. We read every book we could get hold of, reading
all about intercessory prayer. We thought, that's it, and we were
praying and praying.
(to be continued)
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