Rely on His Mercy!

Our fallen human nature prohibits us from remaining free from sin, even when we strongly desire to do so. Our daily sins, our thoughts, our words, what we do, and what we fail to do, are numerous on a daily basis. Ask for God's grace, try to refrain from sin, but most importantly, acknowledge and rely upon God's mercy always! If blessed with the opportunity to do so, the most important words we can ever utter on our death beds are simply the words, "Jesus, mercy". Saint Padre Pio, as he was approaching the time in which he would draw his last breath, continually prayed the words, "Jesus, Mary".

Peter, Do You Love Me? Do You Love Me? Do You Love Me?

 

Have you ever been given a second chance, or perhaps many chances to repair the damage you have done in a relationship with our Lord? I have! Through the sacrament of Reconciliation, God always gives us that second, third, fourth, . . . one thousandth chance to restore what we have damaged by our sins! 

 

After hearing the gospel reading for Friday, May 17, 2013, I was once again deeply moved, and so felt strongly compelled by the Spirit to share my feelings about this passage. The reading involves Jesus providing Peter with the perfect chance to undo his cowardly denial of him while our Lord endured his passion. Jesus had already forgiven Peter and made atonement for his sins through his passion and death. Jesus is always willing to allow us the opportunity to restore our relationship with him, no matter how serious the offense! This is a powerful illustration of Jesus’ love, mercy, and perfect knowledge of what each one of us needs to be at peace in our relationship with him.

One of the most beautiful things about this exchange between Peter and our Lord is the fact that Jesus lovingly allows Peter the opportunity to express his love for him, not once, but three times, the very same number of times that Peter fearfully denied even knowing him just a short time earlier. Although Peter privately expressed complete and utter sorrow for his act immediately upon realizing what he had done. I’m sure Peter's actions continued to bother him in the recesses of his heart, that is, until the moment Jesus healed this wound with the tender love, compassion, and mercy shown in this gospel account! Has Jesus done this for you? I know he has done it for me! For this, I am eternally grateful!

The gospel reading is from John 21:15-19, and is as follows:

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.”

Prayer After Receiving Our Lord in the Eucharist

Lord Jesus, thank you for giving Yourself to me under the appearance of this bread and this wine; thank you for making Your Whole Self available to me, just one of the over 7 billion human beings whom You have brought into existence, temporarily residing on this small planet within the vast universe You created! How awesome, loving, and merciful You are to give Your entire Self to me; Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, a Gift that will nourish me and provide me with the grace to be able to one day see Your precious face, and experience the joy of being in Your presence for eternity! This is life’s greatest Gift - You in the Eucharist! There is no more valuable Gift we will ever be privileged to receive on this journey back to You! Lord, as I receive You in this Eucharist, I ask, that in Your unending mercy, You extend the grace I receive today to all those, whom for whatever reason, will not, or cannot partake in this precious Gift today! Please help me to go beyond mere words in expressing my thanks to You! Let me draw upon the grace you provide to act in a way that expresses my love and appreciation. Make my heart like yours, and help me to become worthy to be used as an instrument through which You draw others to Your Way, Truth, and Life! Thank You, Lord, for giving Yourself to me!  



 



Faith Formation – Thank You, Felician Sisters!

I consider myself fortunate to have been educated by the Felician Sisters in grades K-8. I will remain forever grateful to those dedicated servants of God.

My prayer is that every parent be afforded the opportunity to send their children to Catholic schools.

The faith foundation the Felician Sisters helped establish in me has stood the test of time. There have been times when I have neglected the practice of my Catholic faith and placed God on hold as I raced through life. But I’m here to tell you that God never let me go, as He patiently waits for every one of us! His hand was always upon me and I will forever remain amazed and awestruck at His mercy and love!

God’s grace, mercy, love, and patience have ignited in me a burning desire to do for others what those wonderful Felician Sisters did for me, which is to share the teachings of our Catholic faith and encourage believers to proclaim those truths to others with the love and gentleness of Christ!