<TW>Weekend of 18 and 19 April 2009
- From: "Fr. Pat Umberger" <frpat@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Fr. Pat Umberger" <frpat@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 11 Apr 2009 12:40:35 -0500
.=: T H I S W E E K E N D :=.
from Father Pat Umberger
_________________________________________________
D I V I N E M E R C Y
For more about Divine Mercy (next) Sunday and the Divine Mercy Novena,
Chaplet and Pledge, follow the link from my Web Site: www.frpat.com
H A P P Y E A S T E R
The most important thing we believe as Christian people is that Jesus rose
from the dead. Through His Resurrection we have a life that lasts forever,
forgiveness, and God's strength every day to help us do the things that must
be done to live good Christian lives. We wish you a very Happy and Holy
Easter and Easter Season!
__________________________________________________
.=: V O L U M E 2 0 0 9 , Number 04-19 :=.
.=: T H I S W E E K E N D ' S S C R I P T U R E S :=.
Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday), Year B.
Weekend of 18 and 19 April 2009
"The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed
that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common."
How would the world change if we live this way these days?
"There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or
houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put them at the
feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need."
Why would this be difficult? Would it be impossible? How could it
transform the world?
"Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting."
Can we pray this prayer honestly today? Why? Why not?
"For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments." Think about
this. If we truly love God, will we naturally keep the commandments?
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked,
where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in
their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." What is the fear that
tends to close us in? What Jesus would be able to bring peace to us in that
fear? How would our lives change? Can Jesus do this?
Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so
I send you." How does God send us?
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive
the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins
you retain are retained." How important is the Sacrament of Reconciliation
in you life? How could you find deeper meaning in this Sacrament? How
would you explain it to somebody who knew nothing about it?
"Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the
nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."
When have we needed to see before we'd be willing to believe?
Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him,
"Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who
have not seen and have believed." What has brought us to belief? How can
we share our beliefs with others in a way they can come to believe as well?
"Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are
not written in this book. But these are written that you may come to
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this
belief you may have life in his name." Can we believe on the strength of
the experience of others?
How are these Scriptures comforting? Challenging?
.=: S P I R I T U A L R E F L E C T I O N :=.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again,
"Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive
the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins
you retain are retained."
Today we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. It is fitting on the first Sunday
after Easter for us to take time to appreciate the gifts the come to us
through the death and resurrection of Jesus. We have been given the promise
of a life that will never end, forgiveness of our sins and the gifts of the
Holy Spirit that help us live lives worthy of our calling each day. We know
our destiny, we've been given strength for a true and honest journey and
we've been promised forgiveness whenever we stand in need of forgiveness.
How fortunate we are! On Divine Mercy Sunday we are urged to pray for those
in need. We are asked to pray in a special way for all people, especially
sinners. May we always know God's willingness to forgive us, and have the
humility we need to make peace with those we have harmed and make peace with
God in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
We are also called to pray for the souls of priests and religious, that they
may be faithful to their calling and fervent in their work to reach out and
bring more people close to God. We are called to pray for both devout and
faithful souls and for those who do not believe in Jesus and those who do
not yet know him. We are to pray for our separated brethren and the unity
of Christians. We are to pray for the souls of the meek and the humble and
the souls of children.
Our Divine Mercy prayers are to be offered too, for souls who especially
venerate and glorify Jesus' mercy and for the souls who are detained in
purgatory. Finally we are to pray for souls who have become lukewarm. Over
the course of nine days preceding this Sunday we offered these prayers. We
can continue our prayers for all these people and pray the Divine Mercy
Novena whenever we wish. It's found on the Internet at:
www.frpat.com/divinemercy.htm.
As we bask in the glory of Easter we realize that it is our duty now, to go
to work. Jesus early disciples were sent in the same way. As we Jesus says
in this weekend's Gospel, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so
I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to
them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained."
We can be inspired by the community that gathered around Jesus and work for
healing and unity within our own community. As we hear in this weekend's
Scriptures, "The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no
one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything
in common." "There was no needy person among them, for those who owned
property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale, and put
them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each
according their need.
And when others see our generosity, courage and the love we have for others,
the words of this weekend's Psalm response will ring true, "Give thanks to
the Lord for he is good, his love is everlasting." If we follow the call we
hear in this weekend's Scriptures we'll have a busy week!
(c)MMIX Fr. Pat Umberger. This Spiritual Reflection is found each week at
the Web Site www.frpat.com. Feel free to link to this page or reproduce them
for parish use as long as this credit remains.
__________________________________________________
<TW>This Weekend is free, and comes from:
Father Pat Umberger, a priest of the Diocese of La Crosse
in Wisconsin U.S.A.
Web Site: www.frpat.com
Evangelization (reaching out): www.cmonback.com
.=: M A K E A D O N A T I O N ? :=.
www.frpat.com/donation.htm
.=: F O R W A R D I N G :=.
Please leave these credits when doing so.
.=: C H A N G E Y O U R S U B S C R I P T I O N :=.
Unsubscribe from your old address before you subscribe with your
new address. Use this link: www.frpat.com/morningprayer.htm#mp
You can also set your account to Vacation Mode there.
Other related posts:
- » <TW>Weekend of 18 and 19 April 2009 - Fr. Pat Umberger
