St Matthew (21/9) - in general

Ten of Jesus disciples were fisherman. They are Peter&his brother,Andrew. Philip, Bartholomew,Thomas,James,Thaddaeus, Judas Iscariot. James&John,brothers of whom,Jesus affectionately calls"SONS OF THUNDER",due to their explosive temperament. Other 2 disciples,tax collector- Levi(Matthew)& simon.

Paul converted Luke,physician,to christianity. He stress on Christian purity,gathered information from Mary,hence his Gospel is termed as"Our Lady's Gospel".

Mark,(son of mary from Jeruselem- an old friend of Peter)gathered oral teaching of St peter for his Gospel, since he acted as secretary + interpreter to St peter. St Mark is great Venetian patron saint. His body have been stolen from Alexandria -Egypt, by venetian soldiers in 815: and in Venice it has rested ever since under the high altar of his magnificent basilica. His feast is on april 25.

Levi,was tax collector for king Herod at Capernaum,when Jesus called him, overjoyed,he held a great home party for Jesus & disciples,his fellow tax collectors with many sinners!,caused amazement of Pharisees. Leaders of Israel would not think of eating,like this!.Jesus said"I HAVE COME NOT TO CALL JUST BUT SINNERS" Matthew("Gift of Jahweh") tried to convince Jews that Messiah had come in person of Jesus. Hence he groups together all acts to show Jesus completely fulfilled all familiar propercies concerning Messiah. Isaias- Emanuel who was born with a virgin/at Bethlehem(Micheas)/who fled to Egypt(Osee)/ was heralded by a precursor,curing sick,His passion & death- Isaias. His symbol is young man. He pioneered to write essential events of Jesus life,as witnessed by him & taught by all apostles. He was stoned to death. He is the patron of bankers & book keepers.

Gospel means Good News. Gospels were originally written as anonymous-to focus attention on subject of work& not author,later Church attached names,after studying the writings.

Mt,Mk&Lk share number of similarities,even using exact same words. Hence these 3 works are called Synoptic Gospels,means"to view together"

Gospel of John is unique,using very distinctive language& theological concepts.

Yet,even Synoptic Gospels,for all their similarities,have different perspectives on life of Jesus.



Knowing perspective of 4Gospels writers helps us to interpret their works& better understand Jesus life.

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John The Baptist(24/6)

3major times in Catholism.(1)upto John baptist(2)Jesus life(3)after Pentecost-U'r present life/start of church.we notice in(1)Having openly rebuked Herod for his unlawful marriage with Herodias,his brothers wife,he was arrested.John doubted&even sent someone to ask Jesus in public"Are U sure U'are who say U'are?  JOHN WAS DOUBTING SAME MAN HE HAS BAPTISED!(2)Peter denied Christ 3 times(3)Mary is only human,who went thru,all 3 time lines,NEVER,lost her FAITH,what ever worries she encountered,not like apostles in turbulent boat!.until John,God directed Jews,then showed how to enjoy U'r life, thru' His teaching of Love,then Holy Spirit was given to Guide U/church

Along with John,Church celebrate 3 birthdays. Jesus(25/12)&Mary(8/8).now U'r in time line3,there are no dreams, stars,angles to direct U,how to resolve U'r worries!.Ask Holy Mary(Queen of Heaven)handle worries similar to us.U?

At cross Jesus said to Mary"women,here is U'r son"then he said to john"Here is U'r mother"after doing this Jesus said"all was now finished" At foot of cross,at supreme hour of new creation,CHRIST LED US TO MARY!He brought us to her because He didnot want us to Journey without a mother!.Lord didn't want to leave without this icon of womanhood.God who made SUN, also made MOON.Moon does not take away brilliance of sun. On dark nights we are grateful for moon. When we see it's shining,we know there must be Sun.SO IN THIS DARK NIGHTS OF WORLD WHEN HUMAN TURN THEIR BACKS ON HIM WHO IS LIGHT OF WORLD,WE LOOK TO MARY TO GUIDE THEIR FEET WHILE WE AWAIT SUNRISE!have U ever heard Mary has fallen sick health wise?Why?

GBU

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Woman Of All Seasons(31/5) Brief Version

We worship only Trinity,& respect Mary.

In Mary's life(1)Angel Gabriel address as"FULL OF GRACE"(luke1:28)&told that she would become mother of saviour
(2)she was greeted by Elizabeth "BLESSED ART THOU AMONG WOMEN BLESSED IS FRUIT OF THY WOMB"(3)at cross,Jesus said(Jn19:26)thru' John,that she to be our Mother;Thru' her,we got,not manna, which men eat & die,but Eucharist, everlasting food. She was1st living Ciborium of that Eucharist,& who on christmas day opened it at communion rail of Bethlehem.

She set an example for LOVING ACCEPTANCE of GOD's WILL-  obedience-in school of suffering. God,in HIS own wisdom,showed us,resolution to our worries to be brought thru' Mary &saints to HIM,since they practically underwent woes of life & were successful in achieving HAPPINESS!.

Intercession prayers are required not to pardon for your sins,but to resolve your' worries!.Are you friendly with Mary&saints!

On 31/5 we remember the visitation of Mary. Shortly after Annunciation,Mary visited(70 miles) of her aged pregnant cousin Elizabeth,stayed until birth of John. Moment 2 women met,infant John & Elizabeth was filled with Holy spirit.

Mary praise the God by Magnificat!- cast down mighty from their throns & lift up lowly,to fill hungry with good things & send rich away empty,to scatter the proud hearted & raise lowly.

Elizabeth would never live to see her son loose his head to the dancing step daughter of Herod, but Mary would have live & die at once in seeing Her son taste death,but death might be no more for her?We don't worship Mary! But we pray to Her. We don't get favours from Her but She intercedes. She is instrument through whom Jesus perform miracles!She does not attract people to Herself but to Christ!.

GBU

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Fatima

Fatima

On13/5/1917Mary appeared to3 little children-Francisco,Jacinta &Lucia,at Fatima,Portugal.

She conveyed
(1)Russia will be consecrated to Her Immaculate Heart,by defeating communism(

2) attempt of Holy fathers life.

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After64yrs 13/5/1981,Pope St John Paul2 was shot &critically wounded in Vatican. JP2 at that moment,stopped,to bless girl who was wearing Badge Of Our Lady Of Fatima,this allowed bullet to strike in abdomen instead of his head!.

13/5/1982-In thanks giving,JP2 mounted bullet in crown of statue of Fatima.

​

Once he recovered he visited his assassin Mehmet Ali Agca,set example that Catholics have to forgive enemies.

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Mary appeared 6 times(13/6,13/7,15/8,13/9, 13/10)to3 seers. She told"RECITE DAILY ROSARY &AFTER GLORIA EACH DECADE ADD"OH MY JESUS,FORGIVE US OUR SINS! PRESERVE US FROM FLAMES OF HELL! BRING ALL SOULS TO HEAVEN,ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO HAVE MOST NEED OF U'R MERCY!"

Relevance of Fatima for your life as at today!

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1st world(1914-1918) war has taken 8 million lives. 3rd year of 1st world war, in 13/5/1917, important events took place

(1)In Russia,communistic atheistic Bolsheviks was organized by Lenin & Trotsky in St Petersburge

(2)Mother Mary appeared 1st of her apparition(out of 6) little Portuguese town of Fatima.

She carried the message of PRAY DAILY ROSARY to resolve your daily woes!. Today No communism but only u'r woes!

WHEN YOU WEAR MIRACULIOUS MEDAL AND PRAY DAILY ROSARY(with following 10 commandments+ no enemies), HOLY MARY WILL PROTECT YOUR LIFE FROM ALL DANGERS AND NHAPPINESSM

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Jesus sufferings and living example of Fr Pio(general version)

A. Human suffering:

Every human in this world under go suffering. This come in two forms - spiritual and bodily;
that is, suffering of the body and sorrow in the mind. Bodily sufferings can be trivial or tremendous, passing or permanent, merely inconveniencing or totally incapacitating. They can range from headaches and cancer to hernia and the hideous injuries apt to arise from road accidents.

Spiritual sufferings, on the other hand, wound us inwardly, and can do so in ways and to degrees quite as wide ranging as the bodily variety. Here we think of things like worry,loneliness,fear,disappointments, bereavements.

Interior sufferings like these transform the garden of the soul into a little Gethsemene, while the bodily kind look to Calvary as their crowning summit.
Scripture says of the Lord who so lovingly endured every thing that Gethsamene and Calvary could inflict on Him: " Son of God though He was, He learned school of suffering"(Heb 5:8).



B. JESUS AT THE CROSS:

 At the age of 33, Jesus was condemned to the be Crucified. At that time only "worst"criminals were given this penalty. Jesus was to be nailed to the cross by His hands and feet. Each nail was 6 to 8 inches long.

The nails were driven into His wrist. Not into His palms as is commonly portrayed. There's a tendon in the wrist that extends to the shoulder.
The Roman guards knew that when the nails were being hammered into the wrist, that tendon would tear and break, forcing Jesus to use His back muscles to support himself so that He could breathe.
Both of His feet were nailed together. Thus He was forced to support Himself on the single nail that impaled His feet to the cross. Jesus could not support himself with His legs because of the pain, so He was forced to alternate between arching His back then using his legs just to continue to breathe. Imagine the struggle, the pain, the suffering, the courage.
Jesus endured this reality for over 3 hours.

 We saw wounds to His hands and feet and even the spear wound to His side.. A hammer driving large nails through the wrist, the feet overlapped and an even large nail hammered through the arches, then a Roman guard piercing His side with a spear.

But before the nails and the spear, Jesus was whipped and beaten. The whipping was so severe that it tore the flesh from His body. The beating so horrific that His face was torn and his beard ripped from His face. The crown of thorns cut deeply into His scalp. Most men would not have survived this torture.

 Jesus poured all 3.5 liters of his blood; He had three nails hammered into His members; a crown of thorns on His headband, beyond that, a Roman soldier who stabbed a spear into His chest.

C. Symbolic extensions of Jesus sufferings in recent past.

WHAT IS STIGMATA?

Stigmata is a miraculous phenomenon where a person receives wounds identical to those inflicted on Jesus during His crucifixion-namely nail marks in his hand &feet,wound in inside of abdomen(where lance of Roman soldier pierced heart of Christ),and/or head wounds(from crown of throns). These wounds are not self inflicted and there is no evidence of any internal or external cause,yet wounds appear and often bleed during prayer. Medicine will not heal wounds neither infected nor  become worse. No one is born with stigmata and dies from it

STIGMATA OF ST FRANCIS ASSISI

Many saints have had invisible stigmata, but only some have visible ones. The most stigmatisation in church history is that of St Francis of Assisi. In 1224, two years before his death, while in prayer on Mount Alvernia, a seraphim appeared to St Francis showing on his wings the figure of an extremely beautiful crucified man- Our Lord Jesus Christ- with His hands and feet extended in the form of across. When the vision disappeared, a flame of divine love remained in his soul, and the wounds of the Reedeemer appeared on his body. St francis hid them as well as he could until his death on 3 oct 1226. But after his passing, the friars- who witnessed his agony- and many lay people clearly saw in the palms of his hands and in his feet, three iron coloured nails formed with his own flesh and adhering to it. The heads of these nails were round and protruded from the skin. Their tips, which loomed in the back of his hands and the soles of his feet, looked gnarled and pitted so that one could easily insert, like into a ring, a finger into the fold beneath the tip protruding from the flesh. And on the right flank, as if pierced by a spear, they observed a reddish scar from a real wound from which blood often flowed.
On one hand, these wounds were the cause of great joy for St Francis, and on the other hand, they cause intolerable pain.

ANOTHER CASE!

Another remarkable case of stigmatisation is that of St Veronica Giuliani. When she died, an autopsy was done in presence of doctors and church men, and they they found that her heart seemed to have been carved into kind of delicate bas-relief representing all the instrument of crucifixion: nails, pliers,hammer, and crown of thorns.


C. MOST RECENT STIGMATA! ST PADRE PIO

 He was born on 27/5/1887 in southern Italy. At the age of 10,in order to practice mortification he formed a way to quietly abstain from solid foods and liquids. He slept on the floor,leaning his head on a rock that served as a pillow.In 1903, age 16,he admitted to the novitiate of capuchin order. In 1910 aug 10 th, he was ordained as a capuchine priest.

Receiving invisible Stigmata!

On 20 sept 1915, while praying, he suddenly felt a searing pain in the manner of burning in his hands and feet and below his heart. But he could see no injury as he looked at these parts of his body, in other words, he had received the invisible stigmta.

FR PIO STIGMATA!

Exactly 3 years later,while meditating on the passion and death of our Lord before a crucifix in the Capuchine convent, he asked for the grace of participating in the sufferings of Jesus. At that movement, he received the five wounds of the visible stigmata.

The pain was so great that he could not bear it and fainted. Blood flowed profusely from his wounds. Two friars arrived at the scene, realized what had happened and led him back to his cell, laying him in bed. He asked to be left alone.

FR Pio's Gethsemani

The stigmatisation of Padre Pio was frowned upon by some people, who spread rumors that he was a trickster who intentionally injured himself and kept his wounds fresh with the help of the devil. Others said he was hysterical, a psychopath, a mad man.

These suspicions and murmuring echoed in Rome, to the point that the Holy Office ordered Padre Pio placed under observation and forbid him to show his stigmata, to appear in public, to celebrate Mass in the presence of others, to write letters to anyone(including his spiritual director), and even to walk in the choir of the convent with the other friars so that his voice could be heard from a distance by those present in the church. In 1923 the Holy Office issued an official statement declaring that"...the facts attributed to Padre Pio are not found to be supernatural."It ordered the Capuchin to not to exercise any priestly Ministry(except celebrating Mass in the convent inside chapel) and dramatically vetoed pilgrimages by the faithful who went to San Giovanni Rotondo. It also banned any kind of relationship between the believers and Padre Pio, including letter writing. In 1926, the same Roman Court ruled that people should not read any book on Padre Pio and reiterated the prohibition to communicate with him. In 1935,on 25 th anniversary of his priestly ordination, he was not allowed to celebrate a Solemn Mass.

In 1936, friars who kept indirect relics of Padre Pio(eg: objects touched on him) were threatened with ipso facto suspensionad divinis. Lay people who did likewise were warned that they would be denied communion. Years later the Holy Office put on the index of all books of Padre Pio. About all these it is well to clarify that the majority of the small and mid-level officials of the Holy Office were favorable to Padre Pio.

WITHIN HIS OWN RELIGIOUS ORDER HE WAS ALSO SUBJECT TO MERCILESS PERSECUTION.
Some friars called him a"Venomous, repugnant and execrable serpent","devil" etc. One of his superiors ordered any and all documents about him found in the convent of San Giovanni Rotodo to be burned. Another referred to a piece of skin that fell from the stigmata in his hands as " disgusting". A third, seeing that a faithful had touched a handkerchief to the wounds of Padre Pio, asked him for it,tore it up, threw to the ground and trample it under foot. Padre Pio was accused of bad behavior, caressing young woman, paying journalists to advertise himself, buying and using expensive perfumes, demanding special meal etc. They went so far as to hide upon recorders under his bed and even in his confessional.

 Late 1930's Pope Pius XI ordered the Holy office to reverse it's ban on Pio,s public celebration of Mass and ability to hear confessions was restored. He offered all these humiliation(around 20 years) in total obedience to his legitimate superiors and never disobeyed a single rule even when in his heart he must have thought they were unjust.

FR PIO'S INCORRUPT BODY!

 On 23/sept/1968 he died. He was canonized as saint in 16/6/2002.In 2008,when his grave was opened, His body was found to be in corrupt.


He lived in the light of faith, immersed in supernatural realities. In God he placed all his confidence and hope, not only with words but also by example. The guiding principle of his day was to love God and make Him loved. His spirit of mortification and love of the cross show admirable practice of virtue of fortitude. His humility shines in his behavior after he received the stigmata. When it became visible, he preferred to hide it rather than have it seen by others. As for his observance of the religious vows, he was obedient in all things to the commands of his superiors; cultivated poverty with total detachment from self and from earthly goods and honors; and he shined in the practice of chastity.

FR PIO'S ADVICE:

 He greatly encouraged praying of Rosary, which he called"my weapon".His motto was"ABONDON YOURSELF INTO THE ARMS OF YOUR HEAVENLY MOTHER. SHE TAKES CUSTODY OF YOUR SOUL".

 D. EXAMPLE OF GOOD THIEF!

Indeed, that crucified pair who flanked our savior on Good Friday can be said to represent all of us, since everyone without exception hangs on a Cross carpentered by life's circumstances. But we must at all costs identify with the Good Thief by saying to the lord
"We suffer these things justly on account of our sins"(Lk23:41).

Yet another key lesson is that we can offer our Redeemer every sorrow and suffering that comes our way as a coredemptive contribution to the salvation of souls.

E. KEY LESSON OF THE CROSS

Obedience basically means our loving acceptance of God's Will. This is the paramount lesson we pupils in life 's school of suffering are to master at all costs.
A further key lesson in the syllabus is that every suffering, whatever its shape or size, really forms part of the penalty that the sins of the world, our own included, justly deserve for our having offended against the Almighty Creator.

​St Francis of Assisi, St veronica, St Padre Pio have practically showed us the value of cross into our lives. Catholism always find solution under God's direction for the mental and physical agonies in our life. In this regard, St Padre Pio, un corrupt Body is a living example of reality of Golgotha and Gethsemani, how to apply to our own lives, to reach Happiness.
His last words before leaving this world on 23 sept 1968(81 years) to us

"PRAY THE ROSARY AND HAVE OTHERS PRAY IT"


GBU

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Annunciation Of The Lord(25/3)(general Version)

We celebrate Archangel Gabriel's announcement to Mary,that she was to become,by power of the Holy Spirit, mother of long awaited Redeemer who would,by a reparation of infinite merit,atone for the innumerable injuries committed by our rebellious human race &so redeem it."I salute u Mary! You abound in grace. The Lord is with you and you are blessed above all women on earth".

Our free will is the only thing that is really our own. Our health,our wealth,our power-all these God can take from us!.But our Freedom He leaves with us, even in hell. Because Freedom is our own, it is the only perfect gift we can make to God.

The lady who sang Magnificat did it. It was the only birth in all the world that was truly willed and, therefore, truly Free.

Mary is the Lamp

Mary thru' troubled and puzzled at the annunciation of Her Virgin Motherhood with it's personal and social implications, displayed un conceivable courage and determination in making a daring decision. She was brave and ready to take risks for GOD's cause and for MAN's redemption!.She consciously consented to PLAN OF GOD in faith,resulting many troubles!. She didn't reveal to JOSEPH her husband,who was surprised to see her FREGNENT. "Let GOD'S Will be DONE" She was actively co-operating.

 Later She left to visit Elizabeth to be confirmed of GOD'S PLAN and to confirm Her own active involvement for redemption! Mary's faith,which was strong enough to move mountains,grew ever stronger and purer as she advanced on her pilgrimage down the years seeing daily ever deeper into divine truths she treasured in Her heart(cf:lk2:51). JESUS IS THE LIGHT,MARY IS THE LAMP

.
This feast is dates back to the great council at Ephesus in 431,when Our Lady was officially proclaimed the "Mother of God".

GBU

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St Joseph Declaration

At the 1st vatican council(1869-1870) over 300 prelates petitioned to holy see to declare St joseph as the patron saint of the universal church, and on december 8,1870 pope pius IX proclaimed him so. In 1955 pope pius XII added the title, patron saint of workmen for St. Joseph, the feast to be celebrated on may 1st.

No less deeply aware of st josephs close patron al links with the universal church was John XXIII. In fact, this prompted him to declare st Joseph, as a heavenly protector of the second vatican council, realizing as he already did that the church's overall well-being and modernization would have top priority on its agenda.

Interestingly enough, it was in one of the councils initial sessions that John XXIII had striking proof of high esteem in which he held St joseph. For it so happened that a certain Yugoslav bishop felt moved to stand up and express his regret to the assembled prelates that devotion to St joseph had sadly declined in the present day church. This statement evoked a chorus of derisive laughter from the assembly: after all, was it for trivial matters such as this that they had been summoned to Rome from the ends of the earth?.
We can imagine how chastised many of those worthiest must have felt when, the very next day (november 13,1962), cardinal Cicognam, speaking on the Holy Fathers behalf, solemnly announce that he had decided to pay st Joseph the signal honor of including him, with immediate effect, in the cannon of Roman Mass, his name to be placed immediately after the Virgin Mary's and ahead of John the Baptist, the apostles and martyrs.

Vatican II assembly

Pope Pius XII laid the ground work in 1950 for Vatican II which opened in 1962 by pope John XXIII and closed by Paul VI in 1965.The major outcomes of this council are as follows:
(1)Latin was replaced by the common language of the local people,priest was allowed to face the people & in 3 years nearly all of the scriptures would be read at the Holy Mass.
(2)allowed lay people too,to involve reading scriptures,assisting with distribution of Holy communion
(3) marriage & single life were respected,as equal vocation of GOD along with Holy orders.
(4) promoting Christian unity among various denomination & religions.
(5) using modern technology to explain the faith.

Nearly 3000 priests +lay people attended. Previous council vatican1 held 100 years before to decide on papal infallability!

Undoubtedly one of St joseph's prime concerns as patron of the church is that it faithfully preserves and safeguards the precious truth of revelations- the so called deposit of faith!. Let us recall that the carpenter of Nazareth had been further privileged, along with Mary, to be the first depository of two key new testament truths: her virginal conception, and her child's identity as the incarnate son of God and redeemer-to-be of fallen mankind.

For more details follow this links :
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