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Read: John 13: 16-20 |
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We dedicate this website to the Generous Heart of Mother Mary |
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Today’s Bible Reading
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When the father of this Italian saint died, his good mother brought up her twelve children well, even though they were very poor. "Oh, if I could only have the joy of seeing one of you become a saint!" she use to say. Once when she asked as usual, "which one of you is going to become a saint?" little Peter (who was to become Pope Celestine) answered with all his heart, "Me, mama! I'll become a saint!" And he did.
When he was twenty, Peter became a hermit and spent his days praying and reading the Holy Bible. If he was not praying or reading, he would copy books or do some hard work so that the devil would not find him doing nothing, and tempt him. Because other hermits kept coming to him and begging him to guide them, he started a new Order.
Peter was an old monk, eighty-four years of age when he was made Pope. It came about in a very unusual way. For two years, there had been no Pope, because the Cardinals could not decide whom to choose. St. Peter sent them a message to decide quickly, for God was not pleased at the long delay. Then and there, they chose the holy old hermit himself! Poor Peter wept when he heard the news, but he sorrowfully accepted and took the name Celestine V.
He was Pope only about five months. Because he was so humble and simple, everyone took advantage of him. He could not say "no" to anyone, and soon matters were in great confusion. At last, the Saint decided that he had better give up his position as Pope. He did so and then threw himself at the feet of the Cardinals for not having been capable of governing the Church. What an impression his humility made on all of them!
St. Celestine hoped to live in one of his monasteries in peace. But the new Pope thought it would be safer to keep him where wicked people could not take advantage of him. The saint was put in a cell and died there. Yet he was cheerful and close to God. "You wanted a cell, Peter," he would repeat to himself, "and a cell you have." His feast day is May 19th.
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DAILY HIGHLIGHTS |
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Prayer of St. Gertrude the great dictated by Our Lady to release 1,000 Souls from Purgatory each time it is said. The prayer was extend to include living sinners which would alleviate the indebtedness accrued to them during their lives. “Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the Universal Church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.” St. Gertrude the Great was born in Germany in 1263. She was a Benedictine Nun, and meditated on the Passion of Christ, which many times brought floods of tears to her eyes. She did many penances, and Our Lady appeared to her many times. Her holy Soul passed away in 1334. November 16 is her Feast Day. |
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Going to the Heart of Things Paul’s address in the synagogue summarizes key points in the life of the Jewish people, all of them clearly identified as interventions of God in their lives. But there is a particular resting on the figure of David, described by God as, “A man after my own heart.” What an astonishing statement: David somehow was “one with” the heart of God! The psalm for today, in turn, reveals a promise made by God to David: “My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him.” Faithfulness and mercy—two of the most important words in all of scripture, words which describe the very heart of God. In faithfulness God pledges: I will never let you down. In mercy God pledges: I will love you no matter what happens. The implication of Paul’s speech is that Jesus becomes the faithfulness and mercy of God in the flesh. The resurrection of Jesus shows God’s fidelity and mercy in the face of Jesus’ rejection, torture and death. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we receive the promise made to David: I will never let you down; I will love you no matter what. “Nothing,” God says through Jesus, “will separate you from me, not even death.” The heart of God, the heart of David, the heart of Jesus: faithfulness and mercy. O Jesus, make our hearts one with yours that we may receive the gift of your faithfulness and mercy which conquers all things, which conquers death itself! |