Advice from the Apostle

Jas 5:13-20

Any one of you who is in trouble should pray; anyone in good spirits should sing a psalm. Any one of you who is ill should send for the elders of the church, and they must anoint the sick person with oil in the name of the Lord and pray over him. The prayer of faith will save the sick person and the Lord will raise him up again; and if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. So confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another to be cured; the heartfelt prayer of someone upright works very powerfully.

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Truth and love towards the erring and the sinner    

Jas 5:9-12

Do not make complaints against one another, brothers, so as not to be brought to judgement yourselves; the Judge is already to be seen waiting at the gates. For your example, brothers, in patiently putting up with persecution, take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name; remember it is those who had perseverance that we say are the blessed ones. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and understood the Lord’s purpose, realising that the Lord is kind and compassionate.

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Vigilance in battle

Mk 9:38-50

John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw a man casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he was not following us.”  But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon after to speak evil of me.  For he that is not against us is for us. For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ, will by no means lose his reward. “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 

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Listening to Wisdom  

Sirach 4:11-19

Wisdom exalts her sons and gives help to those who seek her. Whoever loves her loves life, and those who seek her early will be filled with joy. Whoever holds her fast will obtain glory, and the Lord will bless the place she enters. Those who serve her will minister to the Holy One; the Lord loves those who love her. He who obeys her will judge the nations, and whoever gives heed to her will dwell secure. If he has faith in her he will obtain her; and his descendants will remain in possession of her. For at first she will walk with him on tortuous paths, she will bring fear and cowardice upon him, and will torment him by her discipline until she trusts him, and she will test him with her ordinances.

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Serving God and man

 Mk 9:30-37

At that time, Jesus and his disciples went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he would not have any one know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to ask him. And they came to Caperna-um; and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they were silent; for on the way they had discussed with one another who was the greatest.

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God raises the dead

Ez 37:1-14

Reading for the Monday after Pentecost

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; it was full of bones.  And he led me round among them; and behold, there were very many upon the valley; and lo, they were very dry.  And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, thou knowest.” Read More

Solemnity of Pentecost – The Spirit orders all things

1 Cor 12:3b-7:12-13

“Bretheren: no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of working, but it is the same God who inspires them all in every one. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.”

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Pentecost Novena – Day 9: “The Bridegroom of souls”

If in the previous meditations we have come to know and love the Holy Spirit as the Friend and Keeper of our souls, today we want to contemplate Him as the Bridegroom of our souls.

All expressions of love in the human sphere have their starting point in God Himself. So we can make this beautiful comparison by considering the Holy Spirit as the Bridegroom who is courting our soul.

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Pentecost Novena – Day 8: “The Keeper of our Souls”

Once we have opened the doors for the Holy Spirit to unfold His gifts in us, we will come to know Him as the “Keeper of our souls”. We could also call Him the “keeper of the treasure”, because our soul is indeed the great treasure that our Father has entrusted to us, that the Lamb of God has bought with His blood to free it from captivity (1 Pet 1:18-19), and that the Holy Spirit with great power wants to enlighten and make flourish. Read More

Pentecost Novena – Day 7: “Friendship with the Holy Spirit”

It is a joy for the three persons of the Holy Trinity to be with us, to dwell in us and to enlighten us with their divine light. This is also true of the Holy Spirit, who gives us His seven gifts to guide us on the path of holiness.

If we follow His guidance, the fruits of the Holy Spirit will grow in our lives and our Father will be very pleased with them. We only have to imagine how wonderful it is for us to meet someone in whom the fruits of the Holy Spirit have matured. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal 5:22-23).

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