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Trust in our Shepherd.
4th Week of
Easter -
Use your white candle!
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Start with the
Basics
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here to learn more) |
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Prayer of the Week
Our family realized we've been
neglecting the Psalms. We hear the Responsorial Psalm at every Mass,
but still do not know much about these ancient prayers.
The Responsorial Psalm this Sunday is the very
familiar Psalm 23: The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want...
It is a psalm of trust in God, and is attributed to King David.
Why not open up your Bible and read through this lovely prayer?
We'll be studying more about the
psalms over the next few weeks. We'll let you know what we learn! |
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Living Our Faith
Just in time for Confirmation! We're reviewing the
gifts of the Holy Spirit during the Easter
season.
The fourth gift is Fortitude
The gift of fortitude gives us courage to stand up for what is right, even
when others may disapprove or disagree. (Read
more) |
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Celebrate All Year Long!
(Click here to learn more) |
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Saints to Celebrate
Use your white candle
all week long
to celebrate the season of Easter!
- Tuesday, April 15 is U.S. Income Tax Day. Burn as many candles as
necessary!
A solemnity is a day of greatest
importance. The celebration starts the evening before the actual
solemnity. Easter is our most important solemnity. A feast is
the next most important day. It commemorates Mary, the apostles,
martyrs and other saints, and the events associated with them. Mass
readings often reflect the special feast day. A memorial is a
special day, but often an optional celebration. The scripture
readings for Mass may or may not be specially selected for the
memorial.
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Devotion of the Month
Only one more month until Pentecost, the birthday of our
church. There is a centuries old Novena to the Holy Spirit which
begins on Friday, May 2, 2008 to help prepare for Pentecost. This week
we'll start preparing for the Novena by reviewing the
Prayer to
the Holy Spirit.
(Click here
to learn more)
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Keep Building that Faith!!
(click
here to learn more) |
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Start the Week off Right
(prepare for the Sunday Scriptures)
| Acts
2:14a, 36-41 |
1 Peter 2:20b-25 |
John
10:1-10 |
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Trust in our Shepherd.
Hopefully Easter is still an important part of your life! We are
almost halfway through the Easter season and should be building
momentum toward Pentecost! This week's readings are perfect for a
midway point. They remind us of the past, warn us of the present,
and promise salvation for the future.
Acts of the Apostles again shows us
Peter as he continues his preaching following the descent of the
Holy Spirit on Pentecost. He certainly has gotten bold - he actually
accuses his listeners of crucifying Christ! Peter's words had a
powerful effect. The people asked for forgiveness and thousands were
converted.
This is the third of six weeks
hearing the first letter of St. Peter. He teaches and consoles us
with his words. He knows that conversion to Christian living often
means suffering. However, with our conversion we become sheep, with
a Shepherd who will lead us to safety and peace.
That is the same message Jesus
teaches us in this week's Gospel. When we convert our minds and hearts
to follow Him we can finally be His sheep. There may be evil on
every side, but.He will care for us. He will guide us. He already
died for us. We just have to continue to trust Him and follow His
Way.
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Daily Dose of Scripture (our
picks of the week)
Lectionary
readings for the 4th Week of Easter:
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First Reading |
Gospel |
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| Monday |
Acts 11:1-18 |
Jn 10:11-18 |
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| Tuesday |
Acts 11:19-26 |
Jn 10:22-30 |
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| Wednesday |
Acts 12:24-13:5a |
Jn 12:44-50 |
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| Thursday |
Acts 13:13-25 |
Jn 13:16-20 |
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| Friday |
Acts 13:26-33 |
Jn 14:1-6 |
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| Saturday |
Acts 13:44-52 |
Jn 14:7-14 |
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- Acts 12:24-13:5a
We're reading most of the New Testament book, Acts of the Apostles,
during the seven weeks of the Easter season. This book is the second
volume of Luke's writings. Volume 1, of course, is the Gospel
according to Luke.
Our reading for this week is fairly short, but there is a vital
message which we all should take to heart - before making important
decisions the Christians fasted and prayed.
How frequently we think we are in control and forget that God is
waiting with open arms to guide us! How frequently we forget to take
time to pray regularly, much less fast when it isn't Lent! Prayer is a
discipline that often does not come naturally. It must be learned and
practiced. Difficult times must be weathered. Prayer is necessary in everyday activities, major life decisions,
our homes, our parishes, our world, in every phase of life and death.
Many people do not know how to get started in prayer. It is amazingly
simple - God is already there, waiting eagerly. Make the Sign of the
Cross, just close your eyes and say "Hi God," or do any regular
activity and know that doing it well is prayer. Incorporating prayer
into our everyday lives is crucial for happiness and true freedom.
- John 12:44-50
We chose this reading because it marks the end of Jesus' public
ministry, and sums up the major themes of John's Gospel, including the
need for faith (v 44), the unity of the Father and Son (v 45), that we
will be judged based on our acceptance of Jesus as the Son of God (v
47-49), and that Jesus is the light of the world (v 46).
The last item is what impressed our family recently. Our 3rd grader is
currently learning about light. We asked her what would happen if
there were no light in the world. She gave us a list of the things we
would miss - seeing things, warmth, plants growing, herbivores eating
the plants, carnivores eating the herbivores, omnivores eating
everything. She realized that, without light, everything in existence
would be dead.
Referring to Jesus as the Light of the World gave us an entirely new
perspective. Without Jesus, everything we know and understand would be
dead. Without Jesus, we are dead. Our daughter stared at us wide-eyed
when she realized this. I think we stared just as wide-eyed right
back!
Open that Catechism!
Christian living takes courage each and every day.
Read about conversion in society in
paragraphs #1886-1896 in the
Catechism of the Catholic Church.
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