Our new book, Black Saints, Mystics, and Holy Folk I,

456 pages of Black Saints, Martyrs of African Heritage.

More info, here: http://www.booklocker.com/books/3088.html

Book URL:  https://www.angelfire.com/realm/blackcatholics/BlackSaintsMysticsHoly.html

Author’s Bio: www.angelfire.com/realm/blackcatholics/JamesWeslySmith.html

http://www.cushcity.com/displaypages/christianfair.htm

http://www.cushcity.com/displaypages/giftfair.htm

https://www.angelfire.com/realm/blackcatholics/blog/

Medjugorje Day By Day Feb 12 - A TIME OF TEMPTATION

Our Lady of Lourdes, (France)�Feast, February 11
"The unique glory of the sanctuary of Lourdes resides in this fact, that people are attracted there from everywhere by Mary for the adoration of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, so that this sanctuary�at once the center of Marian devotion and the throne of the Eucharistic Mystery�surpasses in glory, it seems, all others in the Catholic world"  (Pope St. Pius X).

"Perpetual adoration is the most beautiful thing you could ever think of doing.  People are hungry for God." (Mother Teresa of Calcutta)

Mother Teresa -  

Before we share the gospel with the poor, this is what we must do: we must first satisfy the needs of the body, so we can then bring them Christ.
We stand before the world as ambassadors of peace by preaching the message of love in action that crosses all barriers of nationality, creed, or country.

Meditations by Padre Pio -

Save souls by continuous prayer.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen - 

Strange metamorphosis as strangers behind the wheel!

"Many people who are very kind in their own homes and offices can become very unkind and selfish once they get behind the steering wheel of an automobile. This is probably due to the fact that in their own home they are known; in the automobile they have the advantage of anonymity and hence can be almost brutal without the fear of discovery. To be kind out of fear of others thinking we are unkind is not real kindness, but rather a disguised form of egotism."

St. Faustina's diary  

O my Jesus, I understand well that, just as illness is measured with a thermometer, and a high fever tells us of the seriousness of the illness, so also, in the spiritual life, suffering is the thermometer which measures the love of God in a soul.       (774)

And God has given me to understand that there is but one thing that is of infinite value in His eyes, and that is love of God; love, love, and once again, love; and nothing can compare with a single act of pure love of God. Oh, with what inconceivable favors God gifts a soul that loves Him sincerely! Oh, how happy is the soul who already here on earth enjoys His special favors! And of such are the little and humble souls.       (778)

O Love, O queen! Love knows no fear. It passes through all the choirs of Angels that stand on guard before His throne. It will fear no one. It reaches God and is immersed in Him as in its sole treasure. The Cherubim, who guards paradise with flaming sword, has no power over it. O pure love of God, how great and unequaled you are! Oh, if souls only knew your power!       (781)

MEDJUGORJE DAY BY DAY

These thoughts for a day are taken from a daily meditation book based on the Messages of Our Lady of Medjugorje by Father Richard J. Beyer, Ave Maria Press.

Feb 12 - A TIME OF TEMPTATION - To Ivan's prayer group in 1988:

Dear children, I am your Mother and I warn you this time is a time of temptation. Satan is trying to find emptiness in you, so he can enter and destroy you. Do not surrender! I will pray with you. Do not pray just with your lips, but pray with the heart. in this way prayer will obtain victory! (Visionary Prayer Group Message 7-4-88).

In Matthew's gospel, the powers of evil retreat when confronted by the Son of God:

When he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs coming out of the tombs met him. They were so fierce that no one could pass that way. Suddenly they shouted, "What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?"

Now a large herd of swine was feeding at some distance from them. The demons begged him, "If you cast us out, send us into the herd of swine." And he said to them, "Go!" So they came out and entered the swine; and suddenly the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the water (Matthew 8:28-32).

Reflection:

Our Lady always seeks to protect us from harm, and so naturally warns us of approaching danger. Thus she reveals Satan to us, although he would much rather remain hidden. "Satan is trying to find emptiness in you," she says, "so he can enter and destroy you. Do not surrender!"

The gospel writers also reveal to us the Evil One and his cruelty, but show us as well his powerlessness when confronted by the Son of God. This eternal victory of Christ over evil is also our victory. When calling on his name in time of temptation, the enemy is immediately routed.

It is tapping into this power of Christ through prayer that is our chief weapon against Satan. This is why the Gospa urges us not to pray in rote fashion, "but pray with the heart. In this way prayer will obtain victory!"

Application:

For the next few days, offer the Prayer to St. Michael,

perhaps forming a daily habit:

February 11, 2008

Give thanks to the God of heaven

Reading: Luke 4:1-13

Dear friends,

Give thanks to the God of heaven, for His mercy endures forever.� Psalm 136

My morning prayer was spent with Our Heavenly Father who said, �Melvin, My son, I love you and I love all My sons and daughters living in the world. You remember the history of the Chosen People as it is written in the Bible. I brought them out of Egypt with a mighty hand, made a road through the Red Sea so that they could cross the sea on dry land and I fed them for 40 years in the desert. I made them My people when I spoke to them through Moses on Mount Sinai. I gave them the commandments they were to follow all the days of their lives. I made a Covenant with them so that I would be their God and they would be My people. At the end I gave them a country flowing with milk and honey where they could live in close union with Me.

Although they were not always faithful to the Covenant, I forgave them when they repented. I renewed the Covenant and they remained My people. It is from these people that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, My Son, was born. She is the perfect example of the fruit of the Covenant as She followed it perfectly. My Son Jesus came into the world for the salvation of all the people and to establish the New People of God, inviting all the nations of the world to be part of it. He made a new Covenant in His blood, which established a loving relationship with the faithful of the world and with Me, their God.

You are now in the period of Lent, a period that reminds you of the 40 years of the Chosen People in the desert. It also reminds you of the 40 days that Jesus, My Son, spent in the desert with nothing to eat and to drink and was tempted by the devil. He spent those days with Me in prayer, as He was about to begin His public life. Join Him during these 40 days of Lent by repenting of all your sins, by fasting in order to keep your body and mind under control and to deepen your relationship with Me, your Father, and with Jesus, My Son and your Saviour. I bless you all.

Father Melvin

P.S. I arrived home last evening. I spent over two weeks on a cruiser with over 3,000 people on board. I was one of the chaplains with all these Irish people from everywhere. Over 1,200 were from Ireland during the first week and of course many of Irish descent from the USA joined them. There were a few people from Canada. We visited many places including Honduras, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and some islands such as the Cayman Island, St. Thomas and last of all Grand Turk in the West Indies. I celebrated Holy Mass everyday with a good group almost every day.