Catholic Truth

Praise be to Jesus Christ in the most Holy Sacrament of the Altar

Thank you Lord for first loving us and calling us to love. Help us this Advent as we try to work through the rough edges by loving more like Christ, who loves unconditionally and requires nothing in return.
In Jesus name Amen

Praise be to you Lord Jesus Christ

Amen

MK 1:1-8
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way.
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.”
John the Baptist appeared in the desert
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
People of the whole Judean countryside
and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem
were going out to him
and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River
as they acknowledged their sins.
John was clothed in camel’s hair,
with a leather belt around his waist.
He fed on locusts and wild honey.
And this is what he proclaimed:
“One mightier than I is coming after me.
I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.
I have baptized you with water;
he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus Died for you and rose again to overcome death for you. Nothing hurts him more than seeing those he saved through this passion and death. Squander his gift and make it of no avail in their lives.
Pray for us St Jean Vianney that we never take for granted the gifts of our Lord and always praise his Holy Name.
In Jesus name
Amen

Praise be to you Lord Jesus Christ
King of Light and Hope

Thank you Mary Queen, Mother and our Joy

Mt 9:35–10:1, 5a, 6-8
Jesus went around to all the towns and villages,
teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness.
At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them
because they were troubled and abandoned,
like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples,
"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest."

Then he summoned his Twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out
and to cure every disease and every illness.

Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus,
"Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: 'The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.'
Cure the sick, raise the dead,
cleanse lepers, drive out demons.
Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give."

Thanks be to God..

Feast of the Immaculate Conception Dec 8 th.
Pray for us most Holy Virgin that we May imitate your example of discipleship and Love as you Love.
In Jesus name
Amen

Lk 1:26-38
The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin's name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
"Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you."
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
"Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end."
But Mary said to the angel,
"How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?"
And the angel said to her in reply,
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God."
Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word."
Then the angel departed from her.

Praise be to God and our Lord Jesus Christ, king forever and ever.
Amen

December 7 th is the feast of St Ambrose Bishop, Church Doctor and author of the faith.
Dear Saint Ambrose in your simplicity we find great wisdom as well as an undeniable passion for our Lords teachings. Help us to put off the knowledge of the world in the most social ways and have a heart like yours for Christ and his ways. Loving our Neighbor and caring for the poor, most importantly the poor in Spirit.
In Jesus name
Amen

Mt 7:21, 24-27
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,'
will enter the Kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

"Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them
will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.
And everyone who listens to these words of mine
but does not act on them
will be like a fool who built his house on sand.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
And it collapsed and was completely ruined."

December 6 th is the feast of St Nicholas
Pray for us St Nicholas
Amen

Mt 15:29-37
At that time:
Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee,
went up on the mountain, and sat down there.
Great crowds came to him,
having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute,
and many others.
They placed them at his feet, and he cured them.
The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking,
the deformed made whole,
the lame walking,
and the blind able to see,
and they glorified the God of Israel.

Jesus summoned his disciples and said,
"My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,
for they have been with me now for three days
and have nothing to eat.
I do not want to send them away hungry,
for fear they may collapse on the way."
The disciples said to him,
"Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place
to satisfy such a crowd?"
Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?"
"Seven," they replied, "and a few fish."
He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground.
Then he took the seven loaves and the fish,
gave thanks, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied.
They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets full.

Praise be to God forever

Thanks be to God

My Hope is in you Lord Jesus Christ
Amen

Lk 10:21-24
Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said,
"I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows who the Son is except the Father,
and who the Father is except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him."

Turning to the disciples in private he said,
"Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
For I say to you,
many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,
but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it."

Praise be to God

Mt 8:5-11
When Jesus entered Capernaum,
a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying,
"Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully."
He said to him, "I will come and cure him."
The centurion said in reply,
"Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof;
only say the word and my servant will be healed.
For I too am a man subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me.
And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes;
and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes;
and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it."
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him,
"Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.
I say to you, many will come from the east and the west,
and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven."

Sarà che ormai non si regge più in piedi e la sofferenza ne ha modellato il carattere ma questo discorso di Papa Francesco di qualche giorno fa è semplicemente STREPITOSO!

"Puoi avere difetti, essere ansioso e perfino essere arrabbiato, ma non dimenticare che la tua vita è la più grande impresa del mondo. Solo tu puoi impedirne il fallimento. Molti ti apprezzano, ti ammirano e ti amano. Ricorda che essere felici non è avere un cielo senza tempesta, una strada senza incidenti, un lavoro senza fatica, relazioni senza delusioni.

"Essere felici è smettere di sentirsi una vittima e diventare autore del proprio destino. È attraversare i deserti, ma essere in grado di trovare un'oasi nel profondo dell'anima. È ringraziare Dio ogni mattina per il miracolo della vita.È baciare i tuoi figli, coccolare i tuoi genitori, vivere momenti poetici con gli amici, anche quando ci feriscono.

"Essere felici è lasciare vivere la creatura che vive in ognuno di noi, libera, gioiosa e semplice. È avere la maturità per poter dire: "Ho fatto degli errori". È avere il coraggio di dire "Mi dispiace". È avere la sensibilità di dire "Ho bisogno di te". È avere la capacità di dire "Ti amo". Possa la tua vita diventare un giardino di opportunità per la felicità ... che in primavera possa essere un amante della gioia ed in inverno un amante della saggezza.

"E quando commetti un errore, ricomincia da capo. Perché solo allora sarai innamorato della vita. Scoprirai che essere felice non è avere una vita perfetta. Ma usa le lacrime per irrigare la tolleranza. Usa le tue sconfitte per addestrare la pazienza.

"Usa i tuoi errori con la serenità dello scultore. Usa il dolore per intonare il piacere. Usa gli ostacoli per aprire le finestre dell'intelligenza. Non mollare mai ... Soprattutto non mollare mai le persone che ti amano. Non rinunciare mai alla felicità, perché la vita è uno spettacolo incredibile.".

PAPA FRANCESCO

MK 13:33-37
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Be watchful! Be alert!
You do not know when the time will come.
It is like a man traveling abroad.
He leaves home and places his servants in charge,
each with his own work,
and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch.
Watch, therefore;
you do not know when the lord of the house is coming,
whether in the evening, or at midnight,
or at cockcrow, or in the morning.
May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.
What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”

Of all the great biblical meditations of Advent,the plight of Joseph, this highly chosen man of God, his strength, loyalty and the quietness he displayed is certainly not the least of the Great things our God has done. Faithful through the most trying of times.

O come, O come Emmanuel

True, some times sweet words make for a sour drink.

Lk 21:34-36
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy
from carousing and drunkenness
and the anxieties of daily life,
and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.
For that day will assault everyone
who lives on the face of the earth.
Be vigilant at all times
and pray that you have the strength
to escape the tribulations that are imminent
and to stand before the Son of Man."