12 JUNE AFROCENTRIC PROPHECY MEDITATIONS Now Playing: AFROCENTRIC SORROWFUL MYSTERIES ROSARY, STATIONS CROSS, CHAPLET DIVINE MERCY, DIVINE OFFICE
Black Catholics Recent Meditations
BLACK CATHOLICS RECENT MEDITATIONS,CONTEMPLATIONS, PRAYERS AND VISIONS
Black and African Catholics Prayers, Prophecies, Recent Meditations, Contemplations for all in the African Diaspora.
NEW BOOK
Black Saints reference book, 456 pages, paperback, 1000 lines of Black and African Saints in the Latin Rite, Coptic and Orthodox branches of the Mystical Body of Christ (all Christianity combined) to year 599 A.D. Order from BarnesandNobles.com, Ingram Book Group internationally, Amazon, wherever online books are sold, or quickly from www.booklocker.com/books/3088.html
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Volume I contains more than 456 updated pages of Black Saints of African Heritage to the year 599 A.D. Second Edition
(Later volumes will continue to the present).
hardcover, paperback, and ebook:
ISBN-13 978-1-60145-088-3 ISBN-10 1-60145-088-5
Our Ebook ISBN: 0-615-12944-7
Black Saints, Mystics, and Holy Folk (The Ancient African Liturgical Church, Vol I.
Black Saints, Mystics, and Holy Folk (The Ancient African Liturgical Church,Vol. I)
BOOK FOREWORD
In the beginning of the Black Church, there were Bishops Athanasius, Augustine, Cyprian of Carthage, Clement of Alexandria,Macarius, Antony, --and there was Anub and Amoun--all of the original Black Church.
Yes! More than 56,000 Africa Black saints (in groups), from the early church (we mention a few; tell where to find the rest).
To answer our brethren from Al Islam, no longer will you have to shirk, when you hear "Why do you follow a religion from Europe. You will be able to show that Christianity-- the faith of Our Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Christ-- came out of Africa, along with its precursor, the African Essenne and Therapeutae movements. Get yours today!
Black Saints, Mystics, and Holy Folk (The Ancient African Liturgical Church,Vol. I)
Now more than 456 +plus pages of lists 57,000(grouped) Black Saints, Mystics, Holy Folk, in 1000 lines of information.
HERE NOW! Immediately accessible.
Most Blacks know about the African St. Augustine, and his mom, St. Monica. Some might be vaguely familiar with St. Martin de Porres, or St. Benedict the Moor. But few know the writer of the Gospel of Mark and secretary to both Apostles Peter and Paul--was African, Mark! We have not been taught about the Saints Clement and Denis of Alexandria, nor St. Catherine the Great. Thousands of Desert Fathers and Mothers who followed Christ in the first 599 years of the Church have been hidden from us.
How many of us know about St. Macarious the Elder, and St. Macarious the Younger, Apa Noub, Ammon the Great, St. Cyprian of Carthage, Pope St. Victor I-- all African friends of God (called (I>saints)
ENJOYING THIS WEBSITE. HELP US GET THE WORD OUT! To Africa,the Caribbean,Micronesia, Melanesia,Polynesia,and the rest of the world of and in the African historical and geologic Diaspora.
For Afrocentric Stations of the Cross and Chaplet of Divine Mercy with Speaking Drums:
(Or just go to live365.com, and punch in Black Catholic Gospel Programing
includes the Afrocentric Rosary Americanus Africanus, Chaplet of Divine Mercy (from the Black Catholic Film Camino De Vida Black Catholic Film Soundtrack by St. Brigid, Los Angeles Parishoners), along with more than 30 programs of Rite of Initiation for adults and children, in as continuous, 12 hour loop broadcast.
For more information, check with
www.angelfire.com/realm/blackcatholics
A precis list/programming key can be found. Peace and love of the Christ be with you all.
Programming key follows, with announcer, James Wesly Smith, MA, JD, moderator. Peace and love of the Christ be with you all.HEAR THE FAITH! (SM)
Artist - Track - Album Rating Start Track file name BR/FR/ST Length
1. - Prayer - Fr. Fernando Aritzi,SJ, Sharolyn Daniels, Rosebud Joyner, MA,, Carolyn Burris, Iris Hall, Teach All Nations Upon This Rock --Prayer 0:00 Prayer.mp3 16/11/sc 24:51
2. Sacred Heart Meditations
- Teach All Nations Upon This Rock-- 24:51 Sacred_Heart_Meditations.mp3 16/11/sc 25:23
3. - Ave Maria , Jessica Smith - Camino De Vida Black Catholic Film Soundtrack 50:15 Ave_Maria.mp3 16/11/sc 2:23
4. - Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary -St. Brigid Traditional Choir w/ Rosary Africanus Americanus 52:38 Joyful_Mysteries_of_the_Rosary.mp3 16/11/sc 24:16
5. Sorrowful Mysteries & Stations of The Cross -St. Brigid Traditional Choir - - Rosar Africanus Americanus 1:16:55 Sorrowful_Mysteries_Stations_of_The_Cross .mp3 16/11/sc 46:00
6.Glorious Mysteries- St. Brigid Tradtional Choir/ Rosary Africanus Americanus 2:02:55 Glorious_Mysteries.mp3 16/11/sc 20:05
7. - Our Father - Ron Smith Camino De Vida Black Catholic Film Soundtrack n/a 2:23:01 Our_Father.mp3 16/11/sc 2:26
8. God Has Cleansed My Soul - Robert Hollis - Teach All Nations Upon This Rock--Who Is God n/a 2:25:27 Who_Is_God.mp3 16/11/sc 4:30
9. - Who Is God II - Marian Fussey MA,MA, Florence Hawkins, Kelly Hawkins,Teach All Nations Upon This Rock--Who Is God. 2:29:57 Who_Is_God_II.mp3 16/11/sc 18:44
10. Who Is God IV - Florence Hawkins, Marian Fussey MA,MA, Patricia Vigne, - Teach All Nations Upon This Rock--Who Is God V n/a 2:48:41 Who_Is_God_IV.mp3 16/11/sc 12:06
11. Who Is God V - Dr. Carolyn Yusef,Ph.D.,,Ph.D, Patricia Vigne, Florence Hawkins, Marian Fussey MA,MA, Bro. Tom Vincent,SSJ,, SSJ, - Teach All Nations Upon This Rock--Who Is God. 3:00:48 Who_Is_God_V.mp3 16/11/sc 40:11
12. Who Is Christ-Fr. Paul Banet,SSJ,, SSJ, Caroyln Burris, Sharolyn Daniels, Patricia Vigne, Leola Raglin, Marian Fussey MA,MA, Rosebud Joyner, MA,, Imogene Lutz, Brenda Johnson, For Soul's Sake, Ron Smith, Guardian Angel Choir, St. Brigid Teen Ministry - - Teach All Nations Upon This Rock--Who Is Christ. 3:40:59 Who_Is_Christ-.mp3 16/11/sc 44:21
13. Who Is Christ II- Fr. Paul Banet,SSJ,, Brenda Johnson, Dr.Carolyn Yusef,Ph.D.,, Patricia Vigne, Rosebud Joyner, MA, Carolyn Burris, Sharolyn Daniels, Marian Fussey MA,MA,- Teach All Nations Upon This Rock--Who Is Christ n/a 4:25:21 Who_Is_Christ_II.mp3 16/11/sc 14:53
14. Blessed Virgin Mary & Family -Patricia Vigne, Iris Hall, Leola Raglin,- Teach All Nations Upon This Rock--Mary & Family 4:40:14 Blessed_Virgin_Mary_Family.mp3 16/11/sc 28:57
15. - The Sacraments- Brother Tom Vincent,SSJ,,SSJ, Larry Ewing, Marian Fussey MA,MA, Dr. Sikele, Sharolyn Daniels,- Teach All Nations Upon This Rock--The Sacraments 5:09:11 The_Sacraments.mp3 16/11/sc 32:07
16. Sacraments,Sacramentals, Prayer - - Sacraments, Sacramentals, Prayer - Teach All Nations Upon This Rock-- 5:41:19 Sacramentals.mp3 16/11/sc 10:35
17. The Mass - Pamalier Perry, - Teach All Nations Upon This Rock Series--The Mass 5:51:55 The_Mass.mp3 16/11/sc 28:38
18. Transubstantiation -Fr. Fernando Aritzi,SJ, Fr. Paul Banet,SSJ,- Transubstantiation - Teach All Nations Upon This Rock-- n/a 6:20:33 Transubstantiation.mp3 16/11/sc 22:35
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RECENT MEDITATIONS, CONTEMPLATIONS, AND DISCERNMENTS TO PROPHECY THROUGH PRAYER
Rejoice, Mary! Theotokos! Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Yeshua, Jesus, The Christ. Pray for us now and the hour of our death, amen!
57,000 Black Saints, Martyrs, and Holy Folk Discovered in the Ancient African Church before 599 A.D.
"Out of Egypt I called My Son"/B> See Hosea 11:1, Matthew 2:15
"Why do you follow a white god... Why do you worship in institutions that never accepted you..." Stinging questions Black Catholics and others ethnic perennially parry from members in the historically Black Churches. The questions traditionally have included queries from Al Islam (Muslims) believers in the urban areas.
But now evidence exists that Christianity (also) sprang out of the African, as opposed to the Saudi Arabia origination of the Prophet Muhammad and his original followers. Black Saints, Mystics, and Holy Folks (The Ancient African Liturgical Church, Vol. I). seeks to correct the oversight, especially as the Church grows by leaps in bounds in the Africa and the geologic and historical lands of Black Diaspora.
Such proofs can be gleaned from the 57,000 African Saints in the early 500 years from when Jesus (Yeshua) commissioned His apostles to go forth and teach all nations.
Horrors of enslavement and colonialism still haunt and direct the Black Church experience in the church. But now, Black Christians, Catholics and ethnics can show that Yeshua, Jesus the Christ, grew up in Africa, personally establishing an African root to His vine, and the branches. Black Saints, Mystics, and Holy Folk shows that the once powerful African Church had at least five apostles ministering there before their departures to other lands. Cephas (Simon Peter) in set up a church in Babylon, Egypt before going to Antioch and finally Rome. Phillip visited and assisted the Ethiopian Eunuch (See Acts 8:26-39. Nathaniel Bartholomew Levi ministered in Africa.
Tradition calls Matthew, Apostle to the Ethiopians (See http://www.traditioninaction.org/SOD/j092sdMatthew_9-21.htm
And Jude Thaddeus Lebbeus (Jesus' cousin) healed there, according to Black Saints introductory chapters. The Coptic branch of the one, holy catholic (which means universal) Church still manifests proud traditions of the Holy Family's visits. (See Isaiah 19:1, Matthew 3: 13-15. http://touregypt.net/featurestories/journey.htm).
Important information, inasmuch United States Bishops (and those elsewhere) blew an opportunity to evangelize the formerly enslaved after the American Civil War.
As the Holy Catholic church struggles in the West, the Church African (originally part of the oriental Church), finds the leaves of growth regaining the light of day, bursting thought the concrete of neglect, persecution, and heresies of the Vandals, and Arians who nearly destroyed the African Church during the AD 400s.
Volume II (600A.D. to present saints) is slated for November 2008, but Volume I now available, Black Saints Mystics, and Holy Folks (The Ancient African Liturgical Church, Vol. I, Second edition),the 456 page paperback can be ordered here: Ingram, or
Booklocker.com, Inc. PO Box 2399 Bangor, ME 04402-2399
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ENJOYING THIS WEBSITE. HELP US GET THE WORD OUT! Africa , the Caribbean, Micronesia, Melanesia, Polynesia,and the rest of the world of and in the African historical and geologic Diaspora.
ALL POSTINGS UNDER 17 U.S.C. Fair use provisions for those in the African Historical and geologic diaspora (and descendants) who otherwise would not be exposed to such, (educational and religious)
For those in the African Geologic and Historical Diaspora who would not otherwise be exposed to such:
Afrocentric Rosary Mysteries by St. Brigid Traditional Choir (Los Angeles). Afrocentric Chaplets Divine Mercy moderated by James Wesly Smith,
Pray the Joyful mysteries on Monday and Saturday, the Luminous on Thursday, the Sorrowful on Tuesday and Friday, and the Glorious on Wednesday and Sunday (with this exception: Sundays of Christmas season - The Joyful; Sundays of Lent - Sorrowful)
From Our Lord and Savior, Yeshua, and Blessed Mother Maryam... As you know they were homeless for several years, while avoiding Herod's 10 assassins. They don't desire you to be so presented:
Free Foreclosure News (but update information and seek competent advice from the sources listed):
From Our Lord and Savior, Yeshua, and Blessed Mother Maryam... As you know they were homeless in Kemet (Egypt) for several years, while avoiding Herod�s 10 assassins. They don�t desire you to be� so presented:
WEBSITE: Free Foreclosure News (but always update the information and seek competent advice (such as One LA in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area) from the HUD/HOPE/FHA MAKE HOME AFFORDABLE sources listed:
Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary Protectress of Africa
Holy Mary, Mother of God, Protectress of Africa, you have given to the world the true Light, Jesus Christ. Through your obedience to the Father and the grace of the Holy Spirit, you have given us the source of our reconciliation and our justice, Jesus Christ, our peace and our joy.
Mother of Tenderness and Wisdom, show us Jesus, your Son and the Son of God. Guide our path of conversion, so that Jesus might shine his glory on us in every aspect of our personal, familial and social lives.
Mother, full of Mercy and Justice, through your docility to the Spirit, the Counselor, obtain for us the grace to be witnesses of the Risen Lord, so that we will increasingly become the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
Mother of Perpetual Help, we entrust to your maternal intercession the preparation and fruits of the Second Special Assembly for Africa. Queen of Peace, pray for us! Our Lady of Africa, pray for us!
BLACK SAINTS OF THE DAY
Black Saints of the day From the Black Saints reference book (James Wesly Smith), 456 pages, paperback, 1000 lines of Black and African Saints in the Latin Rite, Coptic and Orthodox branches of the Mystical Body of Christ (all Christianity combined) to year 599 A.D. Order from BarnesandNobles.com, Ingram Book Group internationally, Amazon, wherever online books are sold, or quickly from www.booklocker.com/books/3088.html
MORE RESOURCES (Some of the links might be broken, as they are old so verify)
Be aware that Yeshua, Jesus the Christ, wants His Church reunited. It will be! For in God�s eyes, there exists one, holy catholic (which means universal), and apostolic church in the Mystical Body of Christ(all Christianity combined).
PROPHECY MEDITATIONS TODAY
Test! Discern The Spirit! Accept what speaks to YOUR SOUL/SPIRIT. Disregard the rest!
from such sites as Seers, OLOE, ERA OF PEACE, J.Leary, Carol Ameche,and Fr. Melvin Doucette. Fair use, educational and religious purposes, 17 U.S.C. for those in the African Historic and Geologic Diaspora who would otherwise not be exposed to such,
Medjugorje Day By Day June 13 - ACCEPT DIVINE PEACE
Mother Teresa Mother Theresa once said, ALWAYS REMEMBER this saying: "Jesus only brings you peace, fear and anxiety come from the devil." If you feel anxious just Trust in God's Mercy and pray and your peace will return. You will be assaulted on all sides with health, with dryness, but Jesus and Mary are at your side.
And we here all have the greatest gift of all, Mary to intercede for us. To lay all of our prayers at the feet of her son. We have Mary at our side. Just think about the magnificence of Having the Mother of God at your side, pleading God's mercy for you and those you love. She leads us to her Son and wants to hear us say: "Jesus, I trust in You., the whole message of Divine Mercy".
Meditations by Padre Pio - May Jesus be your guide, your support and your life, always and in everything (ASN,44).
Archbishop Fulton Sheen
The canvas must wait for maturity to grow
"There are certain conflicts and tensions which are natural to us as human beings, namely, the conflict between the flesh and the spirit. In the young it is not always clear which is dominant or will be the master during life. It takes a lot of struggle to give dominance to the higher part of our being. For that reason, an artist refused to paint the portrait of a young man. The artist said that he saw two impulses in the youth neither of which yet showed dominion. He would delay the portrait until his character was formed."
St. Faustina's diary http://www.marian.org/directory_flash.html - After Communion, I heard the voice saying, My daughter, look into the abyss of My mercy and give praise and glory to this mercy of Mine. Do it in this way: Gather all sinners from the entire world and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. I want to give Myself to souls; I yearn for souls, My daughter. On the day of My feast, the Feast of Mercy, you will go through the whole world and bring fainting souls to the spring of my mercy. I shall heal and strengthen them. (206)
God, One in the Holy Trinity.I want to love You as no human soul has ever loved You before; and although I am utterly miserable and small, I have nevertheless cast the anchor of my trust deep down into the abyss of Your mercy, O my God and Creator! In spite of my great misery I fear nothing, but hope to sing You a hymn of glory for ever. Let no soul, even the most miserable, fall prey to doubt; for, as long as one is alive, each one can become a great saint, so great is the power of God's grace. It remains only for us not to oppose God's action. (283)
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.
JUNE 13 - ACCEPT DIVINE PEACE
Today Our Lady asks us to accept and live divine peace:
The attitude of the Christian toward the future should be one of hope in salvation. Those who think only of wars, evils and punishments are ill advised. If you dwell on evil, punishment, or wars, you are on the road to encountering them. Rather, your responsibility is to accept divine peace, to live it, and to spread it. (Locutionists Jelena & Mirijana August 1984).
And in Colossians, Paul also issues a call to peace:
Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful (Col 3:14-15).
Reflection:
In the beginning of the apparitions, the Blessed Virgin said: "Through prayer and fasting, you can avert wars and suspend the laws of nature." In a sermon on peace, Fr. Slavko Barbaric stated: "The Lord of Peace enables us to understand the profound importance of peace within our own hearts-for this is how it is spread throughout the world." The more hearts that live peace, the sooner will it flourish on earth. "Let us therefore," he concludes, "be instruments of peace, for blessed are the peacemakers-they shall be called the children of God.'"
Application: In addition to your prayers for peace, strive to be a peacemaker wherever you are today.
Medjugorje Day By Day June 12 - ENTER INTO THE MASS
"The Lord calls us friends, he makes us his friends, he entrusts himself to us, he entrusts to us his Body in the Eucharist, he entrusts to us his Church. Therefore, we must be true friends to him, we must have the same perception as he has, we must want what he wants and not what he does not want. Jesus himself tells us: 'You are my friends if you do what I command you' (John 15:14). Let this be our common resolution: all of us together, to do his holy will, in which lies our freedom and our joy" (Pope Benedict XVI, May 13, 2005).
Mother Teresa - Prayer in action is love, and love in action is service.
Meditations by Padre Pio - Jesus, I love you very much; it is useless to repeat it to You, I love You. My Love, my Love. Only You! Praise be to You alone. (AD,38).
Archbishop Fulton Sheen - The woes of confusion are legion
"One wonders if modern psychology has ever found a word which so adequately describes an unhappy and disturbed personality as the word legion. The word is found in the description of the mad man of the Gerasenes, who when asked by Our Lord to describe himself answered, 'My name is Legion: for we are many.' Notice the contradiction between my and we. He did not know what he really was, except that he was tossed about hither and thither by a crowd of wild and disordered impulses."
St. Faustina's diary http://www.marian.org/directory_flash.html -
I spent the whole day in thanksgiving, and gratitude kept flooding my soul. O my God, how good You are, how great is Your mercy! You visit me with so many graces, me who am a most wretched speck of dust. Prostrating myself at Your feet, O Lord, I confess with a sincere heart that I have done nothing to deserve even the least of Your graces. It is in Your infinite goodness that You give Yourself to me so generously. Therefore, the greater the graces which my heart receives, the deeper it plunges itself in humility. (1661)
O Jesus, eternal God, thank You for Your countless graces and blessings. Let every beat of my heart be a new hymn of thanksgiving to You, O God. Let every drop of my blood circulate for You, Lord. My soul is one hymn in adoration of Your mercy. I love You, God, for Yourself alone. (1794)
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.
JUNE 12 - ENTER INTO THE MASS
Today's message concerns prayer and the Eucharist:
Always have God's love within you, for without this love you cannot convert yourselves completely. Let the rosary be in your hands in memory of Jesus. Dear children, strive to enter more deeply into the Mass as you should (Locution Jelena & Mirijana JUNE 1, 1985).
And in John's gospel, Jesus speaks of the Eucharist as well:
Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever (Jn 6:56-58).
Reflection: Fr. Slavko Barbaric offered these reflections on the Eucharist in a sermon given in Medjugorje in May of 1989:
Our Lady once said, "Come to church a little early," which I would interpret to mean about twenty minutes early, to prepare for Mass by offering the rosary. Also, we should remain after Mass for at least ten minutes in order to give thanks. [The Mass] is somewhat like a beautiful banquet spread out before us; if we do not take the initiative to socialize and eat the carefully prepared food, then the event is meaningless.
In the same way, if we eat the food quickly and then hurry away without thanking our host, it would be considered rude behavior. Likewise, hurrying away from Mass is disrespectful to the Lord. We need to spend some time giving thanks and praying for our healing as well as the healing of others. The Mass will have a real effect on our lives.
Application:
This Sunday, come to Mass early to prepare, and leave a bit later, in order to give thanks.
Medjugorje Day By Day June 11 - I WANT YOU TO BE HAPPY
"Ah, if we had the eyes of Angels with which to see our Lord Jesus Christ who is here present on this altar and who is looking at us, how we should love Him! We should never more wish to part from Him; we should wish to remain always at His feet. It would be a foretaste of Heaven. All else would become insipid to us." (St. John Vianney)
Mother Teresa Works of love are always works of joy. We don't need to look for happiness; if we love for others we'll be given it. It is the gift of God.
Meditations by Padre Pio - My Jesus, my sweetness, my love, love which sustains me (AD,50).
Archbishop Fulton Sheen
To uphold integrity, one must be honest through and through
"Crisis produces a hardened spiritual feeling which hinders understanding. Men do not like what they do not understand, or that which would demand a change in their lives. All the training of a university will not make certain persons mathematicians. If a person does not love truth and honesty, he cannot be made truthful and honest by expounding the definitions of these virtues. One must begin by creating within him conduct along the lines of these virtues; then he can be taught."
St. Faustina's diary http://www.marian.org/directory_flash.html - This has been a great day for me. During this day I remained as though in unceasing contemplation; the very thought of this grace drew me into further contemplation; and throughout the whole day I continued in thanksgiving which I never stopped, because each recollection of this grace [of the Immaculate Conception of Mary] caused my soul ever anew to lose itself in God... (1416)
I want to live in the spirit of faith. I accept everything that comes my way as given me by the loving will of God, who sincerely desires my happiness. And so I will accept with submission and gratitude everything that God sends me. I will pay no attention to the voice of nature and to the promptings of self-love. Before each important action, I will stop to consider for a moment what relationship it has to eternal life and what may be the main reason for my undertaking it: is it for the glory of God, or for the good of my own soul, or for the good of the souls of others? If my heart says yes, then I will not swerve from carrying out the given action, unmindful of either obstacles or sacrifices. I will not be frightened into abandoning my intention. It is enough for me to know that it is pleasing to God. On the other hand, if I learn that the action has nothing in common with what I have just mentioned, I will try to elevate it to a loftier sphere by means of a good intention. And if I learn that something flows from my self-love, I will cancel it out right from the start. (1549)
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.
JUNE 11 - I WANT YOU TO BE HAPPY
Today Our Lady gives us her purpose in coming to Medjugorje:
Dear children, I call each of you to begin to live in God's love. Dear children, you are ready to commit sin and to place yourselves in Satan's hands without reflection. I call on each one of you to consciously choose God and to reject Satan.
I am your Mother and so I wish to lead all of you to complete holiness. I want you to be happy on earth and then to join me in heaven. This is, dear children, my purpose in coming here, and my desire (Monthly Message May 25, 1987).
St. Paul also speaks of the happiness which is ours as heirs of Christ:
When we cry, "Abba! Father!" It is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ-if, in fact we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him (Rom 8:16-17).
Reflection: Paul uses the term adoption to illustrate the believers' new relationship with God. In Roman culture, one who was adopted gained all the rights of a legitimate child in his new family. He became a full heir to his father's estate. Likewise, when a person becomes a Christian, he or she gains all the privileges and responsibilities of a child in God's family. As the Creator's children we are no longer slaves. This is the core of the gospel message and the messages of Our Lady in Medjugorje: we are God's heirs, sharing in the great treasures of his kingdom. Even now he has given us the greatest of gifts: his Son, forgiveness, the Holy Spirit, and eternal life.
Application: The Blessed Mother states that, "I want each one of you to be happy here on earth and to be with me in heaven." That is her purpose and her desire. She asks only that we, "consciously choose God and reject Satan." In your own words make this commitment today in prayer.
Medjugorje Day By Day June 10 - THE GIFT OF LOVE
"The same Jesus Who was sheltered by Mary Immaculate within her virginal body, is in the little body of a white Host" (Fr. Stephano Manelli, O.F.M.).
Mother Teresa
The password of the early Christians was "joy," so let us still serve the Lord with joy. Joy is love, joy is prayer, joy is strength. God loves a person who gives joyfully, and if you give joyfully you always give more. A joyful heart is the result of a heart burning with love.
Meditations by Padre Pio - Oh, if I had an infinite number of hearts, all the hearts in Heaven and earth, your Mother's heart, Jesus, I would offer them all, every one of them to you! (AD,54). June 11 My Jesus, my sweetness, my love, love which sustains me (AD,50).
Archbishop Fulton Sheen
Laying the foundation for building our stairs to eternity "There are two kinds of wisdom: wisdom of the flesh and the wisdom which God gives. One is very often opposed to the other. The first would say this is the only life there is; therefore, we should get all we can out of it. The other sees that this life is a kind of scaffolding up through which we climb to eternal happiness; it will, therefore, be so used as a ladder to the Mansions of the Heavenly Father.
But this Divine Wisdom comes only those who have qualifications for receiving it, and is one of the first conditions is good behavior. As Our Blessed Lord said, 'If anyone will do My Will, he will know My doctrine.'"
St. Faustina's diary http://www.marian.org/directory_flash.html -
Eighth day. O my Lord, while calling to mind all Your blessings, in the presence of Your Most Sacred Heart, I have felt the need to be particularly grateful for so many graces and blessings from God. I want to plunge myself in thanksgiving before the Majesty of God and to continue in this prayer of thanksgiving for seven days and seven nights; and although I will outwardly carry out all my duties, my spirit will nonetheless stand continually before the Lord, and all my exercises will be imbued with the spirit of thanksgiving. Each evening, I will kneel for a half hour in my cell, alone with the Lord. As often as I shall awake at night, I shall steep myself in a prayer of thanksgiving. In this way I want to repay, at least in some small way, for the immensity of God's blessings. (1367)
However, in order to make all this more pleasing in the eyes of God and to remove the least shadow of doubt from my mind, I went to my spiritual director [Father Andrasz] and revealed these desires of my soul to him; that is to say, the desire to be steeped in such thanksgiving. I received permission for everything, except that I should not force myself to pray at night should I awaken. (1368)
With what great joy I returned to the convent! And on the next day I began this great act of thanksgiving by renewing my vows. My soul became thoroughly immersed in God, and there issued from my whole being but one single flame of gratitude and thanksgiving to God. There were not many words because God's blessings, like a fierce fire, consumed my soul, and all sufferings and sorrows were like wood thrown into the flames, without which the fire would go out. I called upon all heaven and earth to join me in my act of thanksgiving. (1369)
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.
JUNE 10 - THE GIFT OF LOVE
Today Our Lady speaks of our greatest need: Love is a gift from God. Pray, then, that God may give you the gift of love (Locutionists Jelena & Mirijana May 28, 1984).
St. Paul remarks on the love of the Colossians:
This you learned from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, and he has made known to us your love in the Spirit (Col 1:7-8).
Reflection:
The Colossians had such a great love for others because the Holy Spirit had transformed their lives. The ability to love our neighbor as Christ loves us comes through the grace of the Spirit. Scripture speaks of love as an action or attitude, not just an emotion; it is the fruit of our new life in Christ.
The Holy Spirit not only empowers us to love others, but also to recognize how much we are loved by God and the Blessed Mother. "You know, dear children, that I love you immeasurably," the Madonna once said, and each day I pray that the Lord will help you to understand the love I give you." When we comprehend that love, we cannot help but turn around and love others in return.
Application:
Since lose is a pure gift from the Lord, the Virgin asks us to, "pray that God may give you the gift to love." Today, let us devote our rosary to that intention.
Medjugorje Day By Day June 09 - ABANDON YOUR CONCERNS TO JESUS
St. Cristobal Magallenes and Companions, Mexican Martyrs�Feast, May 21 Between 1915 and 1937, 22 priests and 3 laymen gave their lives for the Catholic faith in Mexico. They drew their strength from receiving Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, in Mass and Adoration, and their love and devotion to their Blessed Mother Mary.
Mother Teresa
Love has no meaning if it isn't shared. Love has to be put into action. You have to love without expectation, to do something for love itself, not for what you may receive. If you expect something in return, then it isn't love, because true love is loving without conditions and expectations.
Meditations by Padre Pio - Let us love Jesus for His divine greatness, for His power in Heaven and on earth, for His infinite merits, but also and above all out of gratitude. Had He not been so good to us but more severe, how much less we would have sinned!. But when sin is followed with profound sorrow, with an honest resolution of never sinning again, an intense understanding of the great pain we have given to the mercy of God; when having rent the hardest fibers of our hearts we manage to shed scalding tears of repentance and love then, my son, the sin itself becomes a steppingstone which brings us closer, which raises us up, which leads us to Him more securely (GF,171)
Archbishop Fulton Sheen
Into everyone's life the Son shines, enlightening us as to the mysteries of life
"G. K. Chesterton once said that God has put a tremendous mystery in nature itself and that is the sun. In the light of that one thing, which we cannot see because of its brightness, everything else is made clear. Likewise, thought we cannot comprehend the nature of God completely in this life, nevertheless, in the light of the truths which He revealed, everything else is made clear, such as the mystery of pain, suffering, death, life and birth."
St. Faustina's diary http://www.marian.org/directory_flash.html - The Lord gave me knowledge of the graces which He has been constantly lavishing on me. This light pierced me through and through, and I came to understand the inconceivable favors that God has been bestowing on me. I stayed in my cell for a long act of thanksgiving, lying face down on the ground and shedding tears of gratitude. I could not rise from the ground because, whenever I tried to do so, God's light gave me new knowledge of His grace. It was only at the third attempt that I was able to get up. As His child, I felt that everything the heavenly Father possessed was equally mine. He himself lifted me from the ground up to His Heart. I felt that everything that existed was exclusively mine, but I had no desire for it all, because God alone is enough for me. (1279)
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.
JUNE 9 - ABANDON YOUR CONCERNS TO JESUS
Today the Blessed Mother asks us to abandon our worries to her Son:
Why do you not put your trust in me? I know that you have been praying for a long time, but truly, surrender yourself. Abandon your concerns to Jesus. Listen to what he says in the gospel: "And who among you, through his anxiety, is able to add a single cubit to the length of his life?" (Locutionists Jelena & Mirijana November 30, 1983).
In Psalm 37, trust is seen as the remedy to anxiety:
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
So you will live in the land, and enjoy security.
Take delight in the Lord,
And he will give you the desires of your heart. Our steps are made firm by the Lord, And he will give you the desires of your heart. Our steps are made firm by the Lord, When he delights in our way, Through we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, For the Lord holds us by the hand.
---Psalm 37:3-4, 23-24
Reflection:
The confident trust that the psalmist and Our Lady speak of today is a sister virtue to acceptance. For some, such as members of Alcoholics Anonymous the spirit of acceptance can be a life and death matter, for it is indispensable tool in their recovery.
In chapter 17 of Alcoholics Anonymous' Big Book, a physician in the program writes:
At last, acceptance proved to be the key to my drinking problem to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it's because I find some person, place, thing, or situation---some fact of my life---unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment.
Nothing, absolutely nothing happens in God's world by mistake. Until I could accept my alcoholism, I could not stay sober; unless I accept life completely on life's terms, I cannot be happy.
I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and in my attitudes.
With hard-won insight, the doctor speaks of his peace, or serenity, as inversely proportional to his expectations. The higher his expectations of other people are, the lower his serenity. "I can watch my serenity level rise," he says, "when I discard my expectations."
Application:
First, as Our Lady asks, abandon your anxieties and fear to her today, trusting in her great power. Second, as they do in AA meetings around the world, offer the Serenity Prayer. Keep it in mind for troubling times.
O Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference
Fair use, 17 U.S.C. for those in the African Diaspora who would otherwise not be exposed to such.
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James Wesly Smith is an attorney and writer/producer of more than 30 audio visual film projects on the Black Genesis of Christianity, with an emphasis on the Early African Liturgical Churches. His 30 year effort resulted in the reference tome, Black Saints, Mystics, Holy Folk, (Ancient African Liturgical Church) Volume I, and II detailing Black involvement in the Church from before 1 A.D. (See Out of Africa I called my Son, Hosea 11:1, Matthew 2:13-15). Smith may be reached at stbernice@yahoo.com AFROCENTRIC CHAPLET OF DIVINE MERCY DEVOTION
Pray the Joyful mysteries on Monday and Saturday, the Luminous on Thursday, the Sorrowful on Tuesday and Friday, and the Glorious on Wednesday and Sunday (with this exception: Sundays of Christmas season - The Joyful; Sundays of Lent - Sorrowful)
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Joyful Mysteries