Open Wide the Doors to Christ! Beatification Hymn of Blessed John Paul II

Rit. Open the doors to Christ!
Do not be afraid:
Open wide your hearts
Love of God

Witness to Hope
for those who await salvation
pilgrim of love
on the roads of the world. Chorus.

Father to the young
You sent it to the world,
sentinels of the morning,
living sign of hope. Chorus.

Witnesses to Faith
annunciasti that with life,
firm and strong in the test
confermasti your neighbor. Rit.

Insegnasti to every man
the beauty of life
indicating the family
as a sign of love. Chorus.

Bringer of Peace
and herald of justice,
you made between people
nuncio of mercy. Chorus.

In pain betrayed
the power of the Cross.
Always drive your brothers
love on the streets. Chorus.

In the Mother of the Lord
indicasti us a guide,
in her intercession
the power of grace. Chorus.

Father of mercy,
Son, our Redeemer,
Holy Spirit of Love
to you, Trinity, glory be. Amen. Chorus.

(google translated it from the site, so it may not be perfect)

Kieran, the wonder dog\!

This is just like our "kieran"...he's a fiesty Jack Russell Terrier...he'd go to the death for us...he's a wonder dog, just like this JRT. We love him so much!!

Blessed John Paul II, pray for us!

The Beautification of Blessed John Paul II is a tremendous moment for the Church.
Whether or not some people like it, this man died in the odor of sanctity before the entire world. His obvious suffering, his complete commitment to Christ and to the Church until the very end give a great testament to a life given to God.

His numerous writings, especially the encyclicals, pave the way for the Church in the New Millenium. I had the fortunate grace to study the writings of John Paul II and the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council with teachers who knew how to present the perennial teachings of the Church with the insight and direction that Blessed John Paul II gave.

History will give us the real story. For now, we must attempt to follow Christ in the teachings of Pope Benedict XVI, who is continuing the legacy of his predecessor.
Open wide the doors to Christ! Be not afraid!

Thank you, dear Lord, for Blessed Pope John Paul II!


Image:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/world/pope-beatifies-john-paul-ii-before-1-5m-1446190.html

Blood and Water Flowing From the Side of Jesus, Have Mercy on Us!

http://www.discerninghearts.com/archives/3338

Today, three important things converge: it is the final day of the Octave of Easter, Low Sunday; it is the Feast of Divine Mercy, initiated by Jesus' revelations of Divine Mercy to St. Faustina and confirmed by Pope John Paul II; it is the day of Beautification of the Venerable Servant of God, John Paul II.

The Gospel, in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, is the "showing" of Jesus' glorified wounds to the gathered disciples...He enters through the closed doors to confirm their faith and to encounter St. Thomas who places his hands in the wounded side and wounds of the hands of His Crucified and Glorified Lord.

It is a great day of rejoicing for the Church, for the world.

The Divine Mercy was a prominent and central focus of the pontificate of Blessed John Paul II. He made present to the world his own encounter with Jesus, the Divine Mercy. Without his intervention, the devotion to the Divine Mercy and the liturgical commemoration of the Divine Mercy on this Low Sunday, the last day of the Easter Octave would not have been.

Divine Providence led the Blessed Pope John Paul II to make this message clear throughout his pontificate.

Jesus, I trust in You!

Could any other message be more poignant, more clear, more necessary in this age of darkness?

Deo gratias!
Again and again!

Holy Week, the Devil and Easter Octave

Easter Monday I was hit with an awful case of bronchitis.

I was in bed until today, coughing myself silly.

We had a very beautiful Holy Week; we celebrated the Sacred Liturgy of Holy Thursday and Good Friday with much zeal, attention and the good graces of assistance from Fr. Joseph Redfern (Pastor of St. Mary, Altoona) and Br. Mark, an Oblate of the Camaldolese.

The chant and liturgical actions, assisted by Br. Mark, Br. Joseph and on Good Friday, Patrick (Paddy) Phillips and Greg (a college student from the University of Eau Claire), were indeed inspiring.

That's why I'm sick as a dog this week.

I'm paying for it, so to speak. I'm always suspect that the Devil will pay "his due" whenever something good happens here. And, this, is just another example of that.

It's okay.

Dying and rising with Jesus make a considerable cost. I'm just paying the price, so to speak.

I'll be okay in a week or two.

I'm just so very grateful that we were able to celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord with the kind of reverence, care, and total dedication that He deserves.

In addition, last Monday of Holy Week I was hit with a horrendous virus/worm, you name it.

Put me out of business for a good week.

I was Googling info about "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" which I had viewed in the previous day.

Go figure.

The Volto Santo (Holy Face) of Manoppello

Monday in Holy Week: Mary Anoints the Feet of Jesus

"Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of right spikenard, of great price,a nd anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment." (John 12,3)

What Mary performs here is the gesture of absolute extravagant giving. It is the deed of contemplation. Nothing has prepared this act. But still, the ointment is there. It is present in the house of the contemplative, who has renounced everything for the Lord. In the house in which one assuredly does not know any special wealth. Nor is it something that belongs to the house; it is rather something that belongs to Mary alone. It is only the symbol of her extravagant giving. And she uses the whole of the precious ointment, she uses it only for the Lord's feet, and she pours it out still more lavishly in that she dries the anointed feet again with her hair and lets the perfume spread in this ordinary house...Mary shows...how much she has lavished the gift of her own self. She no longer knows what calculation and proportion are. Her entire relationship to the Lord is expressed through one single word: everything. Everything for him.

(Adrienne von Speyr, The Discourses of Controversy, Meditations on John 6-12, San Francisco: Ignatius Press)



Let Thy holy Mysteries, O Lord, impart to us divine fervour; that we may delight both in their celebration and in their fruit. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who lives and reigns with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen. (Postcommunion Prayer, Monday in Holy Week, 1962 Missale Romano)


Image: Mary Anoints of the Feet of Jesus by Frank Wesley