Homage to Christ

Saints Peter and Paul Church, Honolulu

"In paying homage to Christ I would rather go too far than not far enough to give Him

the praise that is due to Him."

- Blessed John Duns Scotus

The Incorruptibles

I saw this video over at Jamie's blog,  Lord Make Me a Saint  

and thought it was important enough to share here as well.

What a special gift God has given some of our amazing saints 

to encourage and inspire us all!

Blessings,

Noreen

Christmas and Purgatory Connection

Source

Since Christmas is a few days away, here is a pertinent quote from St. Teresa of Avila.  She tells us that:

 "the most souls are released on Christmas Day, followed by the number of souls released at Easter and then the feast days dedicated to Our Lord and Our Lady." 

Let's start offering up prayers for the holy souls in purgatory for our beloved family members and especially for those who have no one to pray for them.

Praise be Jesus and Mary!

Now and forever!

Advent Blessings,
Noreen

Sts. Peter And Paul:Light In Christ's Mystical Body

                                           

As St Paul is the patron saint of this blog, I thought it only fitting to post something about him today. His feast is always celebrated with St Peter. So here is a brief reflection from my archives with a link for further reading about these to great apostolic saints.

Peter and Paul were men whose paths actually crossed while on this earth. Peter was one of Jesus' Apostles and chosen by Him as the first pope. Paul never knew Christ while Our Lord walked the earth, but his powerful conversion had the effect as if he had.
I often wonder about these two great saints, who while in their earthly lives became very faith~filled men, were not always saints. Judging from what we know about their personalities, both were extremely strong willed. I wonder what it would have been like to have them both in the same room at the same time. I somehow imagine some holy sparks flying from time to time. Definitely not always as "chummy" as this El Greco painting portrays them.
Both loved Jesus deeply and believed in Him with everything that they were. God in His infinite wisdom raised up these two pillars of our Church at the same time.
Pope St Leo the Great compares Peter and Paul to: "two eyes that bring light to the body whose head is Christ."
On this Solemnity of Sts Peter and Paul, let us ask them to continue to intercede for Christ's Mystical Body, His Church, and may they intercede for each of us and inspire us with their fire and conviction in Spirit.

You can read the rest of Pope St Leo the Great's sermon, as well as the writings of other Doctors of the Church on these two powerful saints here.

Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us!

Quick Bytes #6: Ordinary Things

Our priest repeated this phrase three times at mass on All Saints' Day:

"The Saints were people who did ordinary things in extraordinary ways."

It was almost like he was daring us to contemplate why we couldn't be one someday ...

Our Hearts As Bethany

James Tissot's Jesus at Bethany

This is a post I wrote as one of my Sunday Meditations about a year ago on my personal blog, Daughter of the King. The Gospel for that Sunday was the account of Jesus visiting the home of His friends Lazarus, Mary and Martha. I thought I would share that post here in celebration of both St Martha, whose feast we celebrate today, and St Mary Magdalen, whose feast day was last Friday.
These two beautiful saints, it has often been said, represent the image of the Contemplative (Mary) and the Active (Martha). Choosing the better part, I believe, comes when we learn how to be both, often simultaneously!

Our Hearts As Bethany

I would like to look at today's Gospel (Luke 10:38~42) from a slightly different perspective. It is one related to an experience I had about a month ago while listening to and reflecting on a meditation I had heard on this very reading.
Martha, Mary and their brother Lazarus were friends of Jesus. The house in Bethany was a place Our Lord often visited during His earthly life. Scripture tells us that: "foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of man has no where to lay his head." (Luke 9:58) But Jesus knew that He would be welcomed at this home of His friends at any time.
In today's reading we hear how the two sisters related very differently to Our Lord. Martha was always busy with the details of showing hospitality to their Divine Guest, while Mary, as always, was content to sit at His feet and hang on His every word. I sometimes imagine Lazarus in this scene in the background just rolling his eyes at the two of them. Our Lord gently but firmly rebukes Martha in her complaints about her sister's refusal to help; He tells her that Mary has chosen the better part. We never find out Martha's reaction to Jesus' rebuke.
During the evening of reflection in which I heard the meditation on this reading, we were given some quiet time for personal prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. It was during this time that the thought occurred to me that our hearts should be Bethany for Our Lord. He desires each of us to welcome Him, give Him a place to rest, and simply sit at His feet.
I don't think Jesus was all that upset with Martha; he realized that the preparations she was making were necessary, but He also desired her company.
He desires ours as well. Our hearts being a Bethany for Jesus is a thought that has remained with me since that prayerful evening. It helped me to realize that preparing my heart for Jesus in Holy Communion is important, but once I have done that, He simply desires my loving attention to His Presence. The same holds true for my visits with Him during my holy hours. I don't have to spend every one of those hours in formal prayer; sometimes it is just enough to sit quietly and prayerfully gazing at Him in the sanctuary (Psalm 63:2).

Prayer
My Dear Lord Jesus,
Come Divine Guest and find my heart a place of welcome rest. May You always find my heart and soul ready to receive You. May I never again neglect Your Presence within me because my head is too busy with the details of my day. You always felt welcomed at the home of Your friends in Bethany; may my heart be like Bethany, always ready to receive and welcome You.
May I prepare it as Martha did, then choose the better part, and sit at Your feet as Mary did.
Help me to be content in gazing upon You in prayerful adoration as You gaze lovingly upon me.
Thank You for desiring to be with me always.
Amen.