St. Luke, the Gospel writer and physician, is the patron saint of artists, brewers, butchers, doctors, notaries, painters, physicians and surgeons.
In his Gospel, St. Luke emphasizes the universality of salvation, the poor and lowly, God’s mercy, and joy in following Jesus.
“Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men.’” -Luke 5:10
St. Luke, pray for us!
Read this great article by Fr. Robert Spitzer about his favorite prayer.
“I’ve found that this prayer brings God’s peace and calm and enables us to move beyond attachments and far by letting go into God’s providential hands…”
What is one of your favorite prayers?
Read this brief, but beautiful reflection on Prayer, Our Constant Occupation by Fr. Andre Lour.
“God sets our heart aflame for contemplation.” Are you fueling the flame? Are you taking time for prayer and contemplation each day, so you can connect with God who is trying to speak to your heart?
Easter Exsultet
Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels!
Exult, all creation around God’s throne!
Jesus Christ, our King, is risen!
Sound the trumpet of salvation!
Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor,
radiant in the brightness of your King!
Christ has conquered! Glory fills you!
Darkness vanishes for ever!
Rejoice, O Mother Church! Exult in glory!
The risen Savior shines upon you!
Let this place resound with joy,
echoing the mighty song of all God’s people!
My dearest friends,
standing with me in this holy light,
join me in asking God for mercy,
that he may give his unworthy minister
grace to sing his Easter praises.
Deacon: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Deacon: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them up to the Lord.
Deacon: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right to give him thanks and praise.
It is truly right that with full hearts and minds and voices
we should praise the unseen God, the all-powerful Father,
and his only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
For Christ has ransomed us with his blood,
and paid for us the price of Adam’s sin to our eternal Father!
This is our passover feast,
when Christ, the true Lamb, is slain,
whose blood consecrates the homes of all believers.
This is the night
when first you saved our fathers:
you freed the people of Israel from their slavery
and led them dry-shod through the sea.
This is the night
when the pillar of fire destroyed the darkness of sin!
This is the night
when Christians everywhere,
washed clean of sin and freed from all defilement,
are restored to grace and grow together in holiness.
This is the night
when Jesus Christ broke the chains of death
and rose triumphant from the grave.
What good would life have been to us,
had Christ not come as our Redeemer?
Father, how wonderful your care for us!
How boundless your merciful love!
To ransom a slave you gave away your Son.
O happy fault,
O necessary sin of Adam,
which gained for us so great a Redeemer!
Most blessed of all nights,
chosen by God to see Christ rising from the dead!
Of this night scripture says:
“The night will be as clear as day:
it will become my light, my joy.”
The power of this holy night dispels all evil,
washes guilt away, restores lost innocence,
brings mourners joy;
it casts out hatred, brings us peace,
and humbles earthly pride.
Night truly blessed when heaven is wedded to earth
and man is reconciled with God!
Therefore, heavenly Father,
in the joy of this night,
receive our evening sacrifice of praise,
your Church’s solemn offering.
Accept this Easter candle,
a flame divided but undimmed,
a pillar of fire that glows to the honor of God.
Let it mingle with the lights of heaven
and continue bravely burning
to dispel the darkness of this night!
May the Morning Star which never sets
find this flame still burning:
Christ, that Morning Star,
who came back from the dead,
and shed his peaceful light on all mankind,
your Son, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.
“I have told you these things so that you will have peace in Me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage! I have conquered the world.” John 16:33
What troubles are you facing in life right now? Are you letting those worries and trials keep you from maintaining your interior peace? God is bigger than those burdens…He has conquered them! Do not allow yourself to lose peace, for the devil knows that you are at your weakest when he has caused you to lose the interior peace you have in Christ. God promises us he has everything under His control. Trust in that.
Challenge: What concrete things can you do this week to cultivate peace in your life?
What strikes you most from Luke’s account of the Annunciation?
In the sixth month,
the angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.
Luke 1:26-38
Jesus is coming! Prepare the way of the Lord!
A recent message by the Holy Father included the following reflection:
“Reflecting on the day’s reading from the prophet Isaiah, the Holy Father called special attention to the words: ‘There is no one who calls on your name, or attempts to take hold of you; you have hidden your face from us, and have delivered us into the hands of iniquity.’ Pope Benedict said:
How can we not be struck by this description? It seems to reflect certain aspects of the post-modern world: cities where life has become anonymous and horizontal, where God seems to be absent and only man is master, as if he were the universal architect. Building, work, economy, transport, science, technology, everything seems to depend only upon man. And at times, in this apparently perfect world, terrible things happen, either in nature or society, which make us think that God has withdrawn and has, so to say, left us to our own devices….”
Read more of CatholicCulture’s article by clicking the link above.
It is Priesthood Sunday! How are you going to celebrate the life and beautiful vocation of the priests you know?
Visit our website, www.EncouragePriests.org to send spiritual bouquets or “collar hollers” to your priests. If you didn’t celebrate the tremendous gift of the priesthood on Sunday, it’s not too late! Celebrate with us all week!
“After God, the priest is everything! … Only in heaven will he fully realize what he is.” -St. John Vianney
Pray for your priests!
Dr. Peter Kreeft, CCH theological advisory board member, gives a beautiful reflection on fatherly “love” verses grandfatherly “kindness.” Sometimes we think we want kindness, rather than love, from our Heavenly Father. But God’s occasional “tough love” for us doesn’t go without benefit to our spiritual growth.
“Grandfathers are kind; fathers are loving. Grandfathers say, ‘Run along and have a good time’; fathers say , ‘But don’t do this or that.’ Grandfathers are compassionate, fathers are passionate. God is never once called our grandfather, much as we would prefer that to the inconveniently close, demanding, intimate father who loves us.” -PK
Read the whole article here.
Lord, give us the grace to be open to you loving us and molding us into the people you want us to be–even when it hurts!
Blessed Mother Teresa is one of the greatest saints when it comes to teaching us how to love.
“There are thousands of people who would love to have what we have, yet God has chosen us to be where we are today to share the joy of loving others. He wants us to love one another, to give ourselves to each other until it hurts. It does not matter how much we give, but how much love we put into our giving.”
Need a good lesson on love? Check out Blessed Mother Teresa’s No Greater Love. It is a CCH favorite!
