Saint Catherine of Siena, pray for us!

"Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire." Saint Catherine of Siena

Today we celebrate the Feast Day of Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church.

Words and Meditation by Saint Catherine of Siena:
"Our souls are like a garden of fruit trees. When we seek to do the Will of God, our souls will bear good fruit. How to we seek His Will? It is by listening to Him through prayer and silence and by united our crosses to the Cross of Jesus.

Have you ever walked through an apple orchard with a little child carrying a basket? There is such delight as the child pulls the apples from the trees and fills up the basket to overflowing. God delights in you. He wants to fill your soul so you will be overflowing with His love. As you draw close to Him, He will build virtues in your soul and He will set your heart on fire for Him.

God delights in you. Sit with Him as He fills your basket with the sweet and tender fruit which comes from His loving you and you loving Him in return.

Look at the sweetness of the tender fruit, the spotless Lamb, the seed sown in Mary as in a lovely field!...Our rational will has been made even stronger by God's union with humanity. I beg you in Christ gentle Jesus to lift your love, your affection, your desire up high. Take hold of the tree of the most holy cross and let it be planted in the garden of your soul, because this is a tree laden with fruits, the true solid virtues. For you see very well that beyond God's union with his creature, He has joined Himself to the Most Holy Cross. And He wills, He insists, that we too join ourselves to this sweet tree in love and desire. Then our garden cannot help producing sweet and tender fruit."

"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 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." John 15:14-17

Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me under the shadow of Your wings. Psalm 17:8

Reflection: "I am the Good Shepherd."

Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He is our Protector and our Refuge. When we wander away and get lost, He never stops looking for us. He knows us by name and we are His own. He watches over His flock and protects us from danger and from enemies. When we are in trouble, He lifts us up on His shoulder or under the safety of His arm and He carries us home.

I am the Good Shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10:11

Meditation:  Imagine you are lost in the forest, wandering, feeling afraid and alone. You cannot find your way out and you do not know where to go for shelter. The sounds of the night frighten you. Suddenly, you hear someone calling your name. It is the Lord, Jesus, the Good Shepherd. He gathers you into His arms and tells you He has been searching for you. He holds you close, as a loving father does. You are safe. Look into His eyes and tell him everything you have been through. Let Him hold you so close you can hear His beating Heart. Let Jesus console you and carry you home to the safety of His fold. You are not alone. Rest with Jesus.

The Lord is my Shepherd. There is nothing I shall want. Psalm 23:1

Today is World Day of Prayer for Vocations. Let us pray for vocations to our Mother Mary.

Mary, Most Holy, as a young woman living in obscurity, you nurtured with loving care, the Word of God made flesh. Please protect and accompany all young men and women to a vocation to the priesthood, consecrated life or marriage. Amen.

Today is also Good Shepherd Sunday, a day to remember and pray for our beloved priests. I have been blessed to know so many beautiful priests, good shepherds. 

There is one priest I want to remember in a special way today. His name is Fr. Greg Staab, OMV (Oblate of the Virgin Mary). Jesus called him to his eternal home on March 1, 2018. Fr. Greg lived "all for Jesus through Mary" and he taught others to consecrate their lives to Jesus through Mary. He had a burning love for the Divine Mercy of Jesus. Fr. Greg was in hospital or rehabs for more than three years with a very rare disease, but his priestly ministry continued from his hospital bed. There was a constant flow of visitors to see Fr. Greg: priests, seminarians, sisters, friends, hospital patients and hospital workers. For as long as he was able, he celebrated Mass followed by a Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration from his hospital bed every day. He inspired me and others with his deep love for the Eucharist and for Mary, our Immaculate Mother, his love for prayer and for the Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, his devotion to Saint Therese of Lisieux and Saint Faustina and to the Divine Mercy of God in Jesus Christ who bestows upon us unimaginable graces when we approach the Fount of His mercy.

Immaculate Mary, Mother of God and Mother of Priests, pray for all our good shepherds like Fr. Greg. Keep them under your protective mantle of love and pray for vocations to the priesthood, the consecrated life and marriage from our families, our parishes and our Church.

World Day of Prayer for Vocations

Reflection: Jesus said to Mary of Magdala, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?"

The tomb is empty...

But Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the body of Jesus had been. And they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken my Lord, and I don't know where they laid Him." When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" She thought it was the gardener and said to Him, "Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take Him." Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni," which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, "Stop holding on to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to My brothers and tell them, 'I am going to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.'" Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and what He told her. John 20:11-18

Meditation

Place yourself at the tomb. Mary is weeping and so are you. Suddenly, Jesus is standing there in your midst. At first, you do not recognize him. Jesus said to you, "Why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" Then He calls you by name and you know it is Jesus. He is truly risen! You embrace Him and He looks at you with great love and says, "Stop holding on to Me...Go to My brothers and tell them" Mary went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord." 

Can YOU see the Lord? Turn to the Holy Spirit in prayer and Eucharistic adoration and ask Him to give you the courage and the words to draw others close to Him. He will fill you with His love, peace and joy and send you out to go and tell others about Him and His great love. 

How often do you want to hold onto something that you know you need to let go? How do you let go? You let go by asking Jesus to help you. He wants you to let go of attachments to the world and to people. He wants you to go and tell others about Him and how much He loves them. Mary of Magdala ran to the disciples and proclaimed, "I have seen the Lord!"

Can YOU see the Lord? Open your heart and invite him in. Then bring others to Him. Who is it in your life who is far away from the Lord? Ask Jesus to help you reach out to that person. When we bring others to our Blessed Mother Mary, she will bring them to her Beloved Son.

The promise is made to you and to your children, and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call. Acts 2:39

This promise is the gift of the Holy Spirit that Peter spoke of on the day of Pentecost. Jesus has risen from the dead!  Morning has broken.

Jesus has called YOU by name. He has given YOU a mission and commissioned YOU to go and tell others about Him. Are you seeking Him? Can YOU see Him?

The Seven Last Words of Christ

"Jesus, remember me, when You come into Your Kingdom." Luke 23:42

"He was spurned and avoided by men, a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity, One of those from whom men hide their faces, spurned, and we held him in no esteem. Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, While we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins, Upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed." Isaiah 53:3-5

No matter when we go through in this life, Jesus and Mary are always with us. His Love endures forever. Hold onto and meditate on His Seven Last Words from the Cross.

The Seven Last Words of Christ
"I thirst." John 19:28
"Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." Luke 23:34
"Amen I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." Luke 23:43
"Father, into Your hands, I commend My Spirit." Luke 23:46
"My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?" Mark 15:34
"It is finished." John 19:30
"Women, behold your Son...Behold your mother." John 19:26-27

A prayerful reflection by high school seniors:

The Seven Last Words of Christ