April 8, 2008

St. Julie Billiart

(1751-1816)

Born in Cuvilly, France, into a family of well-to-do farmers, young Marie Rose Julia Billiart showed an early interest in religion and in helping the sick and poor. Though the first years of her life were relatively peaceful and uncomplicated, Julie had to take up manual work as a young teen when her family lost its money. However, she spent her spare time teaching catechism to young people and to the farm laborers.
A mysterious illness overtook her when she was about 30. Witnessing an attempt to wound or even kill her father, Julie was paralyzed and became a complete invalid. For the next two decades she continued to teach catechism lessons from her bed, offered spiritual advice and attracted visitors who had heard of her holiness.

When the French Revolution broke out in 1789, revolutionary forces became aware of her allegiance to fugitive priests. With the help of friends she was smuggled out of Cuvilly in a haycart; she spent several years hiding in Compiegne, being moved from house to house despite her growing physical pain. She even lost the power of speech for a time.

But this period also proved to be a fruitful spiritual time for Julie. It was at this time she had a vision in which she saw Calvary surrounded by women in religious habits and heard a voice saying, "Behold these spiritual daughters whom I give you in an Institute marked by the cross." As time passed and Julie continued her mobile life, she made the acquaintance of an aristocratic woman, Francoise Blin de Bourdon, who shared Julie's interest in teaching the faith. In 1803 the two women began the Institute of Notre Dame, which was dedicated to the education of the poor as well as young Christian girls and the training of catechists. The following year the first Sisters of Notre Dame made their vows. That was the same year that Julie recovered from the illness: She was able to walk for the first time in 22 years.

Though Julie had always been attentive to the special needs of the poor and that always remained her priority, she also became aware that other classes in society needed Christian instruction. From the founding of the Sisters of Notre Dame until her death, Julie was on the road, opening a variety of schools in France and Belgium that served the poor and the wealthy, vocational groups, teachers. Ultimately, Julie and Francoise moved the motherhouse to Namur, Belgium.

Julie died there in 1816. She was canonized in 1969.

Comment:

Julie's immobility in no way impeded her activities. In spite of her suffering, she managed to co-found a teaching order that tended to the needs of both the poor and the well-to-do. Each of us has limitations, but the worst malady any of us can suffer is the spiritual paralysis that keeps us from doing God’s work on earth

ebos, how far now. we continue to pray for your mum daily for His most holy will to be done.

lindiwe nice to hear from you after your leave of absence, no mind d internet connection jare

bmcc, you are most welcome amongst your brethren. please feel at home

pam pam how body now?

how st patricks too?

For those of us that has not been to and won't go for mass today; here is the reading and gospel for today.




FIRST READING:               Acts of the Apostles 7:51-8:1

Stephen said to the people, the elders and the scribes. You stubborn people, with your pagan hearts and pagan ears. You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. Can you name a single prophet your ancestors never persecuted? In the past they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, and now you have become his betrayers, his murderers. You who had the Law brought to you by angels are the very ones who have not kept it.'
They were infuriated when they heard this, and ground their teeth at him.
But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God's right hand. 'I can see heaven thrown open' he said 'and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.' At this all the members of the council shouted out and stopped their ears with their hands; then they all rushed at him, sent him out of the city and stoned him. The witnesses put down their clothes at the feet of a young man called Saul. As they were stoning him, Stephen said in invocation, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit'. Then he knelt down and said aloud, 'Lord, do not hold this sin against them'; and with these words he fell asleep. Saul entirely approved of the killing.

Responsorial Psalm         Ps 30
Response:                          Into your hands, O Lord,
                                             I commend my spirit.
Or                                         Alleluia!

1. Be a rock of refuge for me,
   a mighty stronghold to save me,
   for you are my rock, my stronghold.
   For your name's sake, lead me and guide me.          Response

2. Into your hands I commend my spirit.
   It is you who will redeem me, Lord.
   As for me, I trust in the Lord:
   let me be glad and rejoice in your love.                        Response

3. Let your face shine on your servant.
   Save me in your love.
   You hide those who trust you in the shelter of your presence
   from the plotting of men.                                                Response

GOSPEL:                        John 6:30-35

The people said to Jesus, 'What Sign will you give to show us that we should believe in you? What work will you do? Our fathers had manna to eat in the desert; as scripture says: He gave them bread from heaven to eat'.
Jesus answered:

'I tell you most solemnly,
it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven,
it is my Father who gives you the bread from heaven,
the true bread;
for the bread of God
is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world'.

'Sir,' they said 'give us that bread always.' Jesus answered:

'I am the bread of life.
He who comes to me will never be hungry;
he who believes in me will never thirst.

thanks pam, as if u knew i did not go for mass this morning. thanks again.

@ Carlosein

U are welcome darling

Pamperme:

@ Carlosein

You are welcome darling

****%%%%%%%%%%%% spins round and round in delight %%%%%%%%%***********

Pamperme

Thanks for that. Can u post it daily if it's possible, thanks.


I would like you all to please join me in praying for my mother as she undergoes an operation. Please pray for the doctors and nurses whose care she will be in. Please pray for peace of mind for her because she's afraid. Please pray for a speedy recovery. Thank you.

~Lady~:

Pamperme

Thanks for that. Can u post it daily if it's possible, thanks.

i will try my best

Carlosein:

****%%%%%%%%%%%% spins round and round in delight %%%%%%%%%***********

lol

~Lady~:

I would like you all to please join me in praying for my mother as she undergoes an operation. Please pray for the doctors and nurses whose care she will be in. Please pray for peace of mind for her because she's afraid. Please pray for a speedy recovery. Thank you.

Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee, Blessed are thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death Amen.

~Lady~:

I would like you all to please join me in praying for my mother as she undergoes an operation. Please pray for the doctors and nurses whose care she will be in. Please pray for peace of mind for her because she's afraid. Please pray for a speedy recovery. Thank you.

~lady~, i see you are one of us holding the fort on this and other threads concerning

our faith, kudos to you

for your mother, i join in saying:

Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with you, blessed are you amongst women
and  blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God pray for us sinners, now and the hour of our death, Amen.

May God's holy will be done, accepted and glorified forever and ever Amen.

Thanks so much guys I really appreciate it.

Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with you, blessed are you amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

May the Lord be with you all

~Lady~:

May the Lord be with you all

and also with you!

see what i saw on a website, a quote of one of my favourite authors

C.S. Lewis:

God's demand for perfection need not discourage you in the least in your present attempts to be good, or even in your present failures. Each time you fall He will pick you up again. And He knows perfectly well that your own efforts are never going to bring you anywhere near perfection.

—Mere Christianity

i love C.S. Lewis

hello guys i greet you all in jesus name.

Been so busy yesterday and today.

Welcome Bmcc

Lady all is well with your mum, I call on Archangel Raphael and all the healing angels to surround her during the operation and also our Mother Mary.

Ebos i never get your time

Lindiwe thumbs up jare

Carlos, pamperme, lawyer how una dey, i salute.

Good night all. C u all 2mrw

Glory to Jesus

Honour to Mary  

oby how u dey?

pampam, bye see you 2morow darling

i dey fine, i'm about leaving d office now see u guys 2mrw by His Grace.

Na wao love watintin (pamcarl)

Oby1:

Na wao love watintin (pamcarl)

sharap dia, jealousy is worrying you

byebye sha.

and i take my leave too.

viee come and tell us how your exam was now (sure it was easy peasy )

catchya all moro!

Hi y'all,
seems like i'm becoming a nocturnal person, no bi my fault oh, na Bayelsa oh 

~Lady~:

I would like you all to please join me in praying for my mother as she undergoes an operation. Please pray for the doctors and nurses whose care she will be in. Please pray for peace of mind for her because she's afraid. Please pray for a speedy recovery. Thank you.

~Lady~ , be rest assured that the heart of Jesus, burning with love for us all, is always there for your mum and will see her through. I entrust her, the operation and all the people involved, into the hands of Jesus 'n' Mary, she'll be just fine  .
I introduce to you a wonderful Saint, whom i'm very proud of. To this Saint, nothing is refused. She's St. Philomena, Virgin and Martyr. She died a martyr at the age of 13. I love and implore her intercession all the time.
Beloved St. Philomena, whom i acknowledge after Mary as my advocate with the Divine Spouse, interceed for ~Lady~'s mum, now and always, Amen

And for all other sick people (physically 'n' spiritually), Jesus is willing and able to heal both body and soul, go to Him, He's present in our tabernacles; He's present in the Eucharist, He's present in the silence of our hearts, our bedroom, He's everywhere, if only we would pause and withdraw a little from our busy schedule and truly seek Him, only then would we find the true healing which we so desire.

Don't forget, God loves to be glorified in His angels and Saints, implore always, the intercession of the Saints, your guardian Angel, and above all the Angels and Saints, the intercession of our Mother Mary 

Today was indeed one of those hectic days i dread so much! Thank God i survived it,

It's time to say goodnightttttttt!
See y'all tomorrow evening or night!

, oops!
I'm still awake!
Nite nite!

Thanks everyone for your prayers. It's always comforting to know that no matter where I go, I will always have brothers and sisters in Christ, even on the web .
I truly believe that there is power in numbers.

I guess I should go to bed, but am not ready.

FOR SOME OF US, TODAY'S READING AND GOSPEL


FIRST READING: Acts of the Apostles 8:1-8

That day a bitter persecution started against the church in Jerusalem, and everyone except the apostles fled to the country districts of Judaea and Samaria.

There were some devout people, however, who buried Stephen and made great mourning for him.

Saul then worked for the total destruction of the Church; he went from house to house arresting both men and women and sending them to prison.

Those who had escaped went from place to place preaching the Good News. One of them was Philip who went to a Samaritan town and proclaimed the Christ to them. The people united in welcoming the message Philip preached, either because they had heard of the miracles he worked or because they saw them for themselves. There were, for example, unclean spirits that came shrieking out of many who were possessed, and several paralytics and cripples were cured. As a result there was great rejoicing in that town.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 65
Response: Cry out with joy to God all the earth.
Or Alleluia!

1. Cry out with joy to God all the earth,
O sing to the glory of his name.
O render him glorious praise.
Say to God: 'How tremendous your deeds!' Response

2. 'Before you all the earth shall bow;
shall sing to you, sing to your name.'
Come and see the works of God,
tremendous his deeds among men. Response

3. He turned the sea into dry land,
they passed through the river dry-shod.
Let our joy then be in him;
he rules for ever by his might. Response

GOSPEL: John 6:35-40

Jesus said to the crowd:

'I am the bread of life.
He who comes to me will never be hungry;
he who believes in me will never thirst.
But, as I have told you,
you can see me and still you do not believe.
All that the Father gives me will come to me,
and whoever comes to me I shall not turn him away;
because I have come from heaven,
not to do my own will,
but to do the will of the one who sent me.
Now the will of him who sent me
is that I should lose nothing of all that he has given to me,
and that I should raise it up on the last day.
Yes, it is my Father's will that whoever sees the Son
and believes in him shall have eternal life,
and that I shall raise him up on the last day.'

SAINT OF THE DAY

April 9, 2008

St. Casilda

(11th century)


Some saints’ names are far more familiar to us than others, but even the lives of obscure holy persons teach us something.
And so it is with St. Casilda, the daughter of a Muslim leader in Toledo, Spain, in the 10th century. Casilda was herself raised as a Muslim and showed special kindness to Christian prisoners. She became ill as a young woman but was not convinced that any of the local Arab doctors could cure her. So, she made a pilgrimage to the shrine of San Vicenzo in northern Spain. Like so many other people who made their way there—many of them suffering from hemorrhages—Casilda sought the healing waters of the shrine. We’re uncertain what brought her to the shrine, but we do know that she left it relieved of illness.

In response, she became a Christian and lived a life of solitude and penance not far from the miraculous spring. It’s said that she lived to be 100 years old. Her death likely occurred around the year 1050.

Tensions between Muslims and Christians have often existed throughout history, sometimes resulting in bloody conflict. Through her quiet, simple life Casilda served her Creator—first in one faith, then another.

hi pampam, i guess u have seen d latest invention of seun (oga patapata).

you have great one appearing a number of times in your above post and i guess
you must have typed either i.s.l.a.m or m.u.s.l.i.m (remove d dots to read it).

well everytime you type those words, they change to great one.

for everyone reading the saint of the today, great one shud be replaced with the above tomake sense.

aiight, i got it Carlosein _{na wah for oga seun o}

How was ur day Charlie ?

Saint of the day

April 10, 2008

St. Magdalen of Canossa

(1774-1835)

Wealth and privilege did nothing to prevent today’s saint from following her calling to serve Christ in the poor. Nor did the protests of her relatives, concerned that such work was beneath her.
Born in northern Italy in 1774, Magdalen knew her mind—and spoke it. At age 15 she announced she wished to become a nun. After trying out her vocation with the cloistered Carmelites, she realized her desire was to serve the needy without restriction. For years she worked among the poor and sick in hospitals and in their homes and among delinquent and abandoned girls.

In her mid-twenties Magdalen began offering lodging to poor girls in her own home. In time she opened a school, which offered practical training and religious instruction. As other women joined her in the work, the new Congregation of the Daughters of Charity emerged. Over time, houses were opened throughout Italy.

Members of the new religious congregation focused on the educational and spiritual needs of women. Magdalen also founded a smaller congregation for priests and brothers. Both groups continue to this day.

She died in 1835. Pope John Paul II canonized her in 1988.

FOR THE AS USUALS (NO MASS TODAY), HERE IS THE READING AND GOSPEL FOR TODAY

FIRST READING: Acts of the Apostles 8:26-40

The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, 'Be ready to set out at noon along the road that goes from Jerusalem down to Gaza, the desert road'. So he set off on his journey. Now it happened that an Ethiopian had been on pilgrimage to Jerusalem; he was a eunuch and an officer at the court of the kandake, or queen, of Ethiopia, and was in fact her chief treasurer. He was now on his way home; and as he sat in his chariot he was reading the prophet Isaiah. The Spirit said to Philip, 'Go up and meet that chariot'. When Philip ran up, he heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, 'Do you understand what you are reading?' 'How can I' he replied 'unless I have someone to guide me?' So he invited Philip to get in and sit by his side. Now the passage of scripture he was reading was this:

Like a sheep that is led to the slaughter-house,
like a lamb that is dumb in front of its shearers,
like these he never opens his mouth.
He has been humiliated and has no one to defend him.
Who will ever talk about his descendants,
since his life on earth has been cut short!

The eunuch turned to Philip and said, 'Tell me, is the prophet referring to himself or someone else?' Starting, therefore, with this text of scripture Philip proceeded to explain the Good News of Jesus to him.

Further along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, 'Look, there is some water here; is there anything to stop me being baptised?' He ordered the chariot to stop, then Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water and Philip baptised him. But after they had come up out of the water again Philip was taken away by the Spirit of the Lord, and the eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. Philip found that he had reached Azotus and continued his journey proclaiming the Good News in every town as far as Caesarea.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 65
Response: Cry out with joy to God all the earth.
Or Alleluia!

1. O peoples, bless our God,
let the voice of his praise resound,
of the God who gave life to our souls
and kept our feet from stumbling. Response

2. Come and hear, all who fear God.
I will tell what he did for my soul:
to him I cried aloud,
with high praise ready on my tongue. Response

3. Blessed be God
who did not reject my prayer
nor withhold his love from me. Response

GOSPEL: John 6:44-51

Jesus said to the crowd:

'No one can come to me
unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me,
and I will raise him up at the last day.
It is written in the prophets:
They will all be taught by God,
and to hear the teaching of the Father,
and learn from it, is to come to me.
Not that anybody has seen the Father,
except the one who comes from God:
he has seen the Father.
I tell you most solemnly,
everybody who believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
Your fathers ate the manna in the desert and they are dead;
but this is the bread that comes down from heaven,
so that a man may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread which has come down from heaven.
Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever;
and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.'

this is a wonderful forum to be in and its also good that we help pray for those who are in need not only in this forum when ever we remember to pray for them too. to our friend whose mother is sick i pray the almight to lay HIS MIGHTY HEALING HANDS ON HER Amen. thank you guys again for keeping the faith.GLORY to JESUS HONOR to MARY.

Pamperme:

aiight, i got it Carlosein _{na wah for oga seun o}

How was your day Charlie ?

my day was grand yesterday and today is even better dear, thanks.

so the case is now of the "as usual" abi?

Bmcc:

this is a wonderful forum to be in and its also good that we help pray for those who are in need not only in this forum when ever we remember to pray for them too. to our friend whose mother is sick i pray the almight to lay HIS MIGHTY HEALING HANDS ON HER Amen. thank you guys again for keeping the faith.GLORY to JESUS HONOR to MARY.

thanks for joining us to pray too Bmcc. others don't recognize when we pray and help
each other, it's when there are errors and scandals that they shout from the highest
hills (not that i care anyway).

the church remains forever against all odds.

Glory to Jesus, Honour to Mary the Queen.

Thanks so much for your prayers. She went into surgery and made it out alive.
Please pray for he speedy recovery.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you, blessed are you amongst women and blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of death. Amen.