I believe.

Pentecost Sunday – Mass during the Day

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in them the fire of your love.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Veni, Sancte Spiritus

Come, Holy Spirit, come!
And from your celestial home
Shed a ray of light divine!
Come, Father of the poor!
Come, source of all our store!
Come, within our bosoms shine.
You, of comforters the best;
You, the soul’s most welcome guest;
Sweet refreshment here below;
In our labor, rest most sweet;
Grateful coolness in the heat;
Solace in the midst of woe.
O most blessed Light divine,
Shine within these hearts of yours,
And our inmost being fill!
Where you are not, we have naught,
Nothing good in deed or thought,
Nothing free from taint of ill.
Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
On our dryness pour your dew;
Wash the stains of guilt away:
Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray.
On the faithful, who adore
And confess you, evermore
In your sevenfold gift descend;
Give them virtue’s sure reward;
Give them your salvation, Lord;
Give them joys that never end. Amen.
Alleluia.

John 20:19-23

On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/pentecost-sunday-mass-during-day

https://stpaulcenter.com/did-jesus-appear-to-the-disciples-in-jerusalem-or-galilee/

https://catholicexchange.com/why-jesus-breathed-on-his-apostles/

“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you”

https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/what-does-church-mean

The Apostles Creed

I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.

Amen.

I believe.

Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter

The Holy Spirit will teach you everything
and remind you of all I told you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

John 21:15-19

The Crucifixion of Saint Peter with a Donor,
Painted by anonymous Northern French Painter,
Painted circa 1450,
Oil on panel
© Metropolitan Museum, New York

After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten breakfast with them, 
he said to Simon Peter,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
He then said to Simon Peter a second time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” 
He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
He said to him the third time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time,
“Do you love me?” and he said to him,
“Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.
Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger,
you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; 
but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands,
and someone else will dress you
and lead you where you do not want to go.”
He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God.
And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/051724.cfm

https://mailchi.mp/afd14132b51a/luke-620-26-eustache-le-sueur-happy-are-you-who-are-poor-who-are-hungry-who-weep-13436132?e=17b320f3a4

The Sacrament of Waiting by Macrina Weiderkehr

Slowly
she celebrated the sacrament of letting go.
First she surrendered her green,
then the orange, yellow, and red
finally she let go of her brown.
Shedding her last leaf
she stood empty and silent, stripped bare.
Leaning against the winter sky
she began her vigil of trust.

Shedding her last leaf
she watched its journey to the ground.
She stood in silence
wearing the color of emptiness,
her branches wondering;
How do you give shade with so much gone?

And then,
the sacrament of waiting began.
The sunrise and sunset watched with tenderness.
Clothing her with silhouettes
they kept her hope alive.

They helped her understand that
her vulnerability,
her dependence and need,
her emptiness,
her readiness to receive
were giving her a new kind of beauty.
Every morning and every evening they stood in silence
and celebrated together
the sacrament of waiting.

by Macrina Weiderkehr

I believe.

Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter

May they all be one as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that the world may believe that you sent me, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

John 17:20-26

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying:
“I pray not only for these,
but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
so that they may all be one,
as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
that they also may be in us,
that the world may believe that you sent me.
And I have given them the glory you gave me,
so that they may be one, as we are one,
I in them and you in me,
that they may be brought to perfection as one,
that the world may know that you sent me,
and that you loved them even as you loved me.
Father, they are your gift to me.
I wish that where I am they also may be with me,
that they may see my glory that you gave me,
because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Righteous Father, the world also does not know you,
but I know you, and they know that you sent me.
I made known to them your name and I will make it known,
that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.”

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/051624.cfm

https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/seventh-sunday-of-easter-3/commentary-on-john-1720-26

Unity

Praying Hands,
by Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528),
Pen-and-ink on blue paper,
Drawn circa 1508
© The Albertina Museum, Vienna, Austria

https://followtheteachingsofjesus.com/articles/church/what-did-jesus-say-about-church-unity-and-why-arent-we-taking-any-notice.html

We Are One With You

O God, we are one with you. You have made us one with you.
You have taught us that if we are open to one another, you dwell in us.
Help us to preserve this openness and to fight for it with all our hearts. Help us to realize that
there can be no understanding where there is mutual rejection.

O God, in accepting one another wholeheartedly, fully, completely, we accept you, and we thank
you, and we adore you, and we love you with our whole being, because our being is your being,
our spirit is rooted in your spirit. Fill us then with love, and let us be bound together with love as
we go our diverse ways, united in this one spirit which makes you present in the world, and 
which makes you witness to the ultimate reality that is love. Love has overcome. Love is victorious.

– Thomas Merton

I believe.

Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter

Your word, O Lord, is truth;
consecrate us in the truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

The Savior, Henry Ossawa Tanner

John 17:11b-19

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying:
“Holy Father, keep them in your name
that you have given me,
so that they may be one just as we are one.
When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me,
and I guarded them, and none of them was lost
except the son of destruction,
in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
But now I am coming to you.
I speak this in the world
so that they may share my joy completely.
I gave them your word, and the world hated them,
because they do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.
I do not ask that you take them out of the world
but that you keep them from the Evil One.
They do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.
Consecrate them in the truth.
Your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world,
so I sent them into the world.
And I consecrate myself for them,
so that they also may be consecrated in truth.”

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/051524.cfm

https://www.1517.org/articles/gospel-john-1711b-19-easter-7-series-b

Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand,
Painted by Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528),
Painted in 1508,

https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/john-17-11-19-2022/

Memorial of Saint Isadore, the farmer

https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2024-05-15

Prayer Of The Farmer

The Angelus, Jean-Francois Millet

O God, Source and Giver of all things, 
Who manifests Your infinite majesty, 
power and goodness in the earth about us, 

we give You honor and glory. 
For the sun and rain, 
for the manifold fruits of our fields, 
for the increase of our herds and flocks we thank You. 
For the enrichment of our souls with divine grace, we are grateful. 

Supreme Lord of the harvest, 
graciously accept us and the fruits of our toil, 
in union with Christ Your Son, 
as atonement for our sins, 
for the growth of Your Church, 
for peace and charity in our homes, 
for salvation to all.

Amen.

I believe.

Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle

I chose you from the world,
to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

CROSSING THE PASTURE BY WINSLOW HOMER – HANDMADE OIL PAINTING ON CANVAS – AMERICAN PAINTINGS

John 15:9-17

Jesus said to his disciples:
“As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.

“I have told you this so that my joy might be in you
and your joy might be complete.
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you:  love one another.”

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/051424.cfm

https://sacredspace.com/scripture/john-159-17/

Feast of Saint Matthias

https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-matthias/

St. Maximilian Kolbe’s Consecration to Mary

O Immaculata, Queen of Heaven and earth, refuge of sinners and our most loving Mother, God has willed to entrust the entire order of mercy to you. I, _______________, a repentant sinner, cast myself at your feet humbly imploring you to take me with all that I am and have, wholly to yourself as your possession and property. Please make of me, of all my powers of soul and body, of my whole life, death and eternity, whatever most pleases you. If it pleases you, use all that I am and have without reserve, wholly to accomplish what was said of you: “She will crush your head,” and, “You alone have destroyed all heresies in the whole world.” 

Let me be a fit instrument in your immaculate and merciful hands for intro­ducing and increasing your glory to the maxi­mum in all the many strayed and indifferent souls, and thus help extend as far as possible the blessed kingdom of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus. For wherever you enter you obtain the grace of conversion and growth in holi­ness, since it is through your hands that all graces come to us from the most Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

V. Allow me to praise you, O Sacred Virgin. 

R. Give me strength against your enemies.

Amen.

I believe.

Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter

If then you were raised with Christ,
seek what is above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

John 16:29-33

Chalk Paths,
Painted by Eric Ravilious (1903-1942),
Painted in 1935,
Watercolour on paper

The disciples said to Jesus,
“Now you are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech.
Now we realize that you know everything
and that you do not need to have anyone question you.
Because of this we believe that you came from God.”
Jesus answered them, “Do you believe now?
Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived
when each of you will be scattered to his own home
and you will leave me alone.
But I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
I have told you this so that you might have peace in me.
In the world you will have trouble,
but take courage, I have conquered the world.”

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/051324.cfm

https://sacredspace.com/scripture/john-1629-33/

Go out into the world

https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/john-16-29-33-2022/

Feast day of Julian of Norwich

https://slate.com/human-interest/2016/01/julian-of-norwich-and-anchorites-who-chose-to-withdraw-from-society-and-live-permanently-secluded-in-a-room-attached-to-a-church.html

“Truth sees God, and wisdom contemplates God, and from these two comes a third, a holy and wonderful delight in God, who is love.”— St. Juliana of Norwich

Prayer of St. Ambrose

O loving Lord Jesus Christ, 

I, a sinner, not presuming on my own merits, 

but trusting in Your mercy and goodness, 

with fear and awe approach the table of Your most sacred banquet. 

For I have stained both my heart and body with many sins, 

and have not kept a strict guard over my mind and tongue. 

Wherefore, O gracious God, O awful majesty, I, a wretched creature, 

entangled in difficulties, have recourse to You, the fount of mercy; 

to You I fly for healing and take refuge under Your protection, 

and I ardently desire to have Him as my Savior whom I am unable to face as my Judge. 

To You, Lord, I show my wounds, to You I lay bare my shame. 

I know that my sins are many and great and on their account I am filled with fear. 

But I trust in Your mercy, which is endless. 

Look down on me, therefore, with the eyes of mercy, Lord Jesus Christ, eternal King, 

God and Man, crucified for men. Hear me, for my hope is in You;

have mercy on me, for I am full of sin and wretchedness, 

You who never cease to let flow the fountain of mercy. 

Hail Victim of Salvation, offered for me and for all mankind on the tree of the cross. 

Hail, noble and precious Blood, flowing from the wounds of my crucified Lord Jesus Christ 

washing away the sins of the whole world. 

Remember, Lord, Your creature, whom You have redeemed with Your Blood. 

I am grieved because I have sinned. I desire to make amends for what I have done. 

Take away from me, therefore, O most merciful Father, all my iniquities and my sins, 

that, being purified both in soul and body, I may worthily partake of the Holy of Holies; 

and grant that this holy oblation of Your Body and Blood, of which though unworthy I purpose to partake,

may be to me the remission of my sins, the perfect cleansing of all my offenses,

the means of driving away all evil thoughts and of renewing all holy desires, 

the accomplishment of works pleasing to You, 

as well as the strongest defense for soul and body against the snares of my enemies. 

Amen.

I believe.

Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

Go and teach all nations, says the Lord;
I am with you always, until the end of the world.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Mark 16:15-20

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Go into the whole world
and proclaim the gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;
whoever does not believe will be condemned.
These signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will drive out demons,
they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.
They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them,
was taken up into heaven
and took his seat at the right hand of God.
But they went forth and preached everywhere,
while the Lord worked with them
and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/051224-Ascension.cfm

https://www.christianiconography.info/pentecost.html

The coming of the Holy Spirit so that we may become the church

https://anglicancompass.com/10-ways-to-preach-the-pentecost-sermon/

https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/greater-works

So that we may go out into the world…..

https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/doing-the-works-of-jesus-and-greater-works

Pentecost Prayer
Spirit of Christ, stir me;
Spirit of Christ, move me;
Spirit of Christ, fill me;
Spirit of Christ, seal me.
Consecrate in me Your Heart and Will, O Heavenly Father.
Create in me a fountain of virtues.
Seal my soul as Your own, that Your reflection in me may be a light for all to see. Amen

I believe.

Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter

Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead,
and so enter into his glory.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

John 16:20-23

Calm After The Storm by Jennifer Taylor

Jesus said to his disciples: 
“Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn,
while the world rejoices;
you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.
When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived;
but when she has given birth to a child,
she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy
that a child has been born into the world.
So you also are now in anguish.
But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice,
and no one will take your joy away from you.
On that day you will not question me about anything.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.”

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/051024.cfm

https://sacredspace.com/scripture/john-1620-23/

Feast of the Day Saint John of Avila

https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/saint-john-of-avila/

https://aleteia.org/2024/02/27/st-john-of-avila-for-year-of-prayer-2024/

“I pray God may open your eyes and let you see what hidden treasures he bestows on us in the trials from which the world thinks only to flee.”

— St. John of Ávila

Prayer for Peace—St. John Paul II

Lord Jesus Christ, who are called the Prince of Peace, who are Yourself our peace and reconciliation, who so often said, “Peace to you” – please grant us peace.

Make all men and women witnesses of truth, justice and brotherly love. Banish from their hearts whatever might endanger peace. Enlighten our rulers that they may guarantee and defend the great gift of peace.

May all peoples on the earth become as brothers and sisters.

May longed-for peace blossom forth and reign always over us all. Amen.

I believe.

Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter – Ascension

I will not leave you orphans, says the Lord;
I will come back to you, and your hearts will rejoice.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

John 16:16-20

My Soul is Sorrowful unto Death by James Tissot (full resolution image of painting).

Jesus said to his disciples: 
“A little while and you will no longer see me,
and again a little while later and you will see me.”
So some of his disciples said to one another,
“What does this mean that he is saying to us,
‘A little while and you will not see me,
and again a little while and you will see me,’
and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?”
So they said, “What is this ‘little while’ of which he speaks?
We do not know what he means.” 
Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them,
“Are you discussing with one another what I said,
‘A little while and you will not see me,
and again a little while and you will see me’?
Amen, amen, I say to you,
you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices;
you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.”

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/050924-thursday.cfm

Ascension

“The Ascension”, Rembrandt, c.1636, Alte Pinakothek, Munich.

Mark 16:15-20

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/050924-Ascension.cfm

https://scotland.op.org/painting-the-ascension-rembrandt/

Prayers for those who go before us

https://www.nhsfife.org/media/0dnuxsi6/commendation-of-the-dying-and-prayers-for-the-dead.pdf

You Sit at the Right Hand of the Father as Lord over All Things

O Jesus Christ, 
almighty Son of God, 
you are no longer in humiliation here on earth, 
but sit at the right hand of your Father 
as Lord over all things. 
Send us your Holy Spirit. 
Give your Church pious pastors. 
Preserve your Word. 
Control and restrain the devil 
and all who would oppress us. 
Mightily uphold your kingdom 
until all your enemies have been put under your feet, 
that we may hold the victory 
over sin, death and the devil; 
through you, 
who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, 
one true God, now and forever.

Source: Veit Dietrich, d. 1549, Ascension

I believe.

Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter

I will ask the Father
and he will give you another Advocate
to be with you always.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

John 16:12-15

Jesus said to his disciples:
“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.
But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,
he will guide you to all truth.
He will not speak on his own,
but he will speak what he hears,
and will declare to you the things that are coming.
He will glorify me,
because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.
Everything that the Father has is mine;
for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine
and declare it to you.”

https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading

https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/the-holy-trinity-3/commentary-on-john-1612-15-3

We must be dependent upon the Holy Spirit

https://mtseymourunited.com/4098-2/

Serenity Painting by Monika Holte 

The Prayer of St. Francis de Sales

Be at peace.
Do not look forward in fear to the changes of life;
rather look to them with full hope as they arise.
God, whose very own you are, will deliver you from out of them.
He has kept you hitherto, and He will lead you safely through all things;
and when you cannot stand it, God will bury you in his arms.
Do not fear what may happen tomorrow;
the same everlasting Father who cares for you today
will take care of you then and every day.
He will either shield you from suffering, or give you unfailing strength to bear it.
Be at peace, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imagination.

St. Francis de Sales  1567-1622
Patron of Journalists