In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 […]

20 comments

ETERNAL LIFE NOW

21st June 2019

History was divided in two at Jesus’ death and resurrection. God, in His sovereign purpose, had been working towards that point in anticipation, and since then everything has flowed from it - both the free grace of God and its opposition. It is the central fact of history.

…so that through the church the manifold wi[...]

5 comments

FROM DUST TO DUST TO RESURRECTION

14th June 2019

Jesus is the centre and foundation of our faith, and his great world-overturning resurrection is the source and focus of our hope (1 Corinthians 15:17). Resurrection is the reversal of death, and the significance of Jesus’ resurrection wasn’t just that it vindicated his teaching, but it opened the way to the resurrection of the cosmos. His resurrection was powerful enough to launch God’s great project - renewing all of creation.

[...]

4 comments

PEOPLE OF THE PRESENCE

7th June 2019

Let’s start with a question – are you living for Christ or are you living in Christ? ‘For’ – if we are not careful we can become consumed in what we do; ‘In Christ’ – our doing comes out of our being; It’s important to ‘be’ before we try to ‘do’. We find our true […]

1 comments

FEEDING OF 5000

30th May 2019

“Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” (John 6:5) Jesus asked Philip from Bethsaida, up on the hillside on the east side of the Sea of Galilee, faced with a clamouring and hungry crowd (5000+) and no shops anywhere near. Philip was a man with a practical head – and there is […]

1 comments

FAITH IN THE VALLEY

24th May 2019

The righteous shall live by his faith Hab 2:4 God values faith because it is a continual trusting confidence in Him, His goodness and His power to fulfil His promises. Faithful trust reaches out and creates relationship, so it is the key that unlocks everything else. Every great movement of God can be traced to […]

5 comments

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Reach More

You Don’t Need Another Program, You Need a Movement

https://www.evangelicalcatholic.org/reach-more/

An online learning management system with over 800 pages full of content, practical worksheets, and videos to help keep your staff motivated for mission as they learn the skills to accomplish it.

The Apostolic Fathers – Fathers of the first, second, third and fourth century

Lichtenberg
9 years ago

Here are 3.000 pages for your reading joy. This trilogy is the accounts of the early Apostolic Fathers written by Philip Schaff and edited by Alexander Roberts, D.D. & James Donaldson, LL.D. These version where published in 1885 and the ambitious aim has been to present English translations of the complete works and whereabouts of the early church Fathers down to the date of the first General Council held at Nice in A.D. 325. The trilogy gives an amazing insight into Christianity as it evolved in its earliest years. As written in the foreword of the first book:

“Those were times of heroism, not of words; an age, not of writers, but of soldiers; not of talkers, but of sufferers.”

The Apostolic Fathers

These version where published in 1885 and the ambitious aim has been to present English translations of the complete works and whereabouts of the early church Fathers.

Written by: Schaff, Philip (1819-1893)

Published by: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company

Edition: Public Domain online version 2002

Available in: Ebook

Download the massive works here:

Fathers of the First Century The Apostolic Fathers Vol I

Fathers of the Second Century Vol II

Fathers of the Third and Fourth Centuries Vol III

How to Conquer Spiritual Blindness

JUNE 18, 2019

How to Conquer Spiritual Blindness

FR. ED BROOM, OMV

Jesus the “Light of the world” gave sight to the blind! Spiritual blindness is an extremely prevalent reality. However, spiritually blind eyes can still have their sight restored.

This short article will bring to the light three major reasons for spiritual blindness and then three remedies to conquer this blindness! May Jesus the “light of the world” dispel the spiritual blindness in our souls.

Three Reasons for Spiritual Blindness

1. Jealousy and Envy.

One of the Capital sins is Envy. A definition for envy: “You feel bad because somebody else has something that you do not have and when something bad happens to this person, you rejoice.” Cain killed Able due to envy. Saul tried to kill young David because of envy. Joseph was sold as a slave into Egypt due to the envy of his brothers. Finally, one of the principal reasons for the condemnation, crucifixion, and death of Jesus was the envy of some. Have you ever given into jealousy or envy in your life? Time to repent.

2. Bitter Anger.

Anger does not fulfill the justice of God. When the passion of anger has gotten control of your life, it is probably best not to speak and react towards others; this could prove catastrophic. We have to learn to cope with our anger and learn techniques to extinguish the fire and calm down.

3. Impurity.

Without a doubt one of the chief causes of modern spiritual blindness is a rapidly increasing viewing and addiction to pornography. One of the principal reasons is the ease of access to pornography. A half a decade ago, porn was available mostly through magazines. However, no matter where one turns, today he is literally bombarded with impure images : T.V. programs and commercials, Cable, Movies, Magazines, Newspaper advertisements, and most especially the easy access to Internet—the sources never end!

It is like an avalanche that has started and in full force. There is barely anything in the world that militates more fiercely against growth in the spiritual life then giving in to impurity.

St. Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor, asserts that impurity causes spiritual blindness and leads even to hating God. Many will reject God, the Church, the reception of the Sacraments because they have become addicts—to one of the tentacles of the ugly octopus of impurity, especially internet porn!

May God save us, heal us and restore our sight!

Three Remedies to Spiritual Blindness

As Jesus healed the blind two thousand years ago, so He is just as powerful today to heal all spiritual maladies and that of course includes spiritual blindness. Our prayer should be: “Lord grant me light to contemplate the beauty of your face now and for all eternity!”

Following are three ways that we can use our eyes so as to glorify God, sanctify our souls, and live out the beatitude: “Blessed are the pure of heart for they will see God.”(Mt. 5:8)

1. Meditate on the Word of God.

What chlorine is to water, the Word of God is to the human mind. If our mind has been contaminated by indecent and impure images, they must be dislodged, purified and discarded. One of the most efficacious tools to rid one’s mind of bad images and to restore spiritual sight is the daily reading, meditating and even memorizing of the Word of God.

The Psalmist describes the Word of God as a light and lantern for our steps. Jesus is the Word of God and the Light of the World who came to dispel darkness and even blindness.

2. Contemplate the Eucharistic God.

When Jesus lived 2000 years ago people could not always see Him. When He was in Galilee, He was not at the same time in Jerusalem. In other words, even though Jesus could have been in many places at the same time, He decided to limit His presence to one time and place.

Right now we have an extraordinary grace: contact and exposure to the Real Presence of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the most Blessed Sacrament. In all of the Catholic Churches throughout the world Jesus is present in either the Tabernacle or exposed in the monstrance; and sometimes both at the same time! He invites all to come to Him: “Come to me all of you who are weary and you will find rest for your souls because my yoke is easy and my burden is light. I am meek and humble of heart.”(Mt. 11:28-30)

What a privilege we have right now: to visit Jesus, look at Him present in the Blessed Sacrament and to love Him with all of our hearts. The Psalmist once again invites us: “Look to the Lord and be radiant with joy.”

3. Contemplate the Face of Mary.

All of us should form the wonderful habit of praying to Mary every day: the Morning Offering, Angelus, Memorare, Litany, and especially the Holy Rosary. While praying to Mary it is of great help to have before our eyes a beautiful image of Mary—statue, painting, icon, mural, mosaic, stain-glass window.

Prayer is the lifting up of the mind and heart to God. By contemplating a beautiful image of Mary, such as Our Lady of grace, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, a transformation takes place in our eyes, mind, heart, soul and even in our body! The scales of our spiritual blindness fall from our interior eyes and we are able to see God and all that refers to God with greater clarity. Indeed among the many beautiful titles given to Mary, several refer to light.

Blessed Pope John Paul II, in his Apostolic letter on the Rosary, stated that we should strive to contemplate the Face of Jesus through the eyes of Mary. Let us cure our spiritual blindness by contemplating the beauty of the face of Mary, the “Masterpiece of creation” (St. Louis de Montfort).

image: P.Burghardt /Shutterstock.com

Tagged as: Best of Week, Fr. Ed Broom, spirituality

By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

Father Ed Broom is an Oblate of the Virgin Mary and the author of Total Consecration Through the Mysteries of the Rosary and From Humdrum to Holy. He blogs regularly at Fr. Broom's Blog.

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Nitric oxide i

Nitric oxide is produced by nearly every type ofcell in the human body and one of the most important molecules for blood vessel health. It's a vasodilator, meaning it relaxes the inner muscles of your blood vessels, causing thevessels to widen. In this way, nitric oxideincreases blood flow and lowers blood pressure.

The Catholic Church Founder

[12/06, 20:01] Connie&Gerry: The term "catholic" is derived from the Greek word καθολικός (katholikos) meaning "universal" and was first used to describe the Church in the early 2nd century. The "Catholic Church" first appears in a letter of St Ignatius written in about the year 110. In the "Catechetical Discourses" of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, "Catholic Church" is used to distinguish it from other groups that also call themselves the church.

Since the East–West Schism of 1054, the church that remained in communion with the See of Rome continued to call itself "Catholic" while the Eastern churches have generally been known as "Orthodox". Following the Reformation in the 16th century, Catholic came to distinguish the Church from the Protestant sects that separated from the Church.
There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God say, in the end, “Thy will be done.” The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis
[12/06, 20:04] Connie&Gerry: in New Jerusalem Bible Acts 11:25-26. 25 Barnabas then left for Tarsus to look for Saul,

26 and when he found him he brought him to Antioch. And it happened that they stayed together in that church a whole year, instructing a large number of people. It was at Antioch that *the disciples were first called 'Christians'.*
[12/06, 20:11] Connie&Gerry: According to church tradition, Saint Peter established the church in Antioch, and was the city's first bishop, before going to Rome to found the Church there. Ignatius of Antioch (died c. 107), counted as the third bishop of the city, was a prominent apostolic father.

exercise the tongue Stretch out left to right 10 times

Message from my US friend Shri.Sathireddy Garu whose son is a Doctor him self :

🙏
After the age of 50
one may experience
many types of illnesses.🤔
But the one I am most worried about is Alzheimer's.
Not only would I not be able to look after myself,
but it would cause
a lot of inconveinence to family members....

One day, my son Rahul
came home and told me
that a doctor friend
has taught him an exercise using the tongue.

The tongue exercise is effective to reduce the onset of Alzheimer's and is also useful to reduce / improve

*1* Body weight
*2* Hypertension
*3* Blood-Clot in Brain
*4* Asthma
*5* Far-sightedness
*6* Ear buzzing
*7* Throat infection
*8* Shoulder / Neck infection
*9* Insomia

The moves are very simple and easy to learn....

Each morning, when you wash your face, in front of a mirror, do the exercise as below :

*stretch out your tongue and move it to the right then to the left for 10 times*

Since I started exercising my tongue daily, there was improvement in my Brain Retention.

My mind was clear and fresh and there were other improvements too...

1 Far sightedness
lesser
2 No giddiness
3. Improved wellness
4. Better digestion
5. Lesser flu / cold

I am stronger and more agile.

🎀 Notes

The tongue exercise helps to control and prevent Alzheimer's...
Medical research has found that the tongue has connection with the BIG Brain. When our body becomes old and weak, the first sign to appear is that our tongue becomes stiff and often we tend to bite ourselves.

Frequently exercising your tongue
will stimulate the brain,
help to reduce our thoughts from shrinking and thus achieve a healthier body.
🙏
👨👨👨👨‍🔬Senior Citizens👨👨👨👨‍🔬)🙏 Please forward:
🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣👉
"I encourage each person receiving this newsletter to forward it to another ten people, certainly at least one life will be saved ... I've done my part, I hope you can help do your part. thanks!( May b it will b helpful for our parents)

Catechesis of the Holy Father

*Catechesis of the Holy Father* by Pope Francis.

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Here we have finally arrived at the seventh question of the Lord’s Prayer: “But deliver us from evil” (Mt 6: 13b).

With this expression, those who pray not only ask not to be abandoned at the time of temptation, but also beg to be freed from evil. The original Greek verb was very strong: it evokes the presence of the evil one who tends to grab us and bite us (cf. 1 Pt 5: 8), and from which one asks God for liberation. The apostle Peter says also that the evil one, the devil, circles around us like a furious lion, to devour us, and we ask God to free us.

With this dual plea, “do not abandon us” and “free us”, an essential characteristic of Christian prayer emerges. *Jesus teaches His friends to place the invocation of the Father before all,* also and especially at moments in which the evil one makes his menacing presence felt. Indeed, Christian prayer does not close its eyes to life. It is a filial prayer, and not an infantile prayer. It is not so infatuated with the paternity of God that it forgets that the path of man is mined with difficulties. If the final verses of the Lord’s Prayer were not present, how could sinners, the persecuted, the desperate and the dying pray? The final plea is indeed our petition when we have reached the limit, always.

There is an evil in our life, which is an indisputable presence. The history books are a desolate catalogue of how our existence in this world has often been a failed adventure. There is a mysterious evil, that surely is not the work of God but which penetrates silently through the folds of history. Silent, like the snake that carries its venom silently. In some moments it seems to take the upper hand: in certain days its presence seems even clearer than that of God’s mercy.

He who prays is not blind, and sees clearly before the eyes this evil that is so cumbersome and so at odds with the very mystery of God. He sees it in nature, in history, even in his own heart. Because there is no-one among us who can say he is without evil, or not at least tempted by it. We all know what evil is; we all know what temptation is; we have all experienced temptation, of any sin, in our own flesh. But it is the tempter who moves us and drives us to evil, saying to us: “do this, think this, take that road”.

The last cry of the Lord’s Prayer is hurled against this “wide-ranging” evil that encompasses the most diverse experiences: the bereavement of man, innocent suffering, slavery, the exploitation of the other, the cry of innocent children. All these events protest in the heart of man and find a voice in the final word of Jesus’ prayer.

It is precisely in the accounts of the Passion that some expressions of the Lord’s Prayer find their most impressive echo. Jesus says, “Abba! Father! Everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will” (Mk 14: 36). Jesus experiences fully the piercing of evil. Not only death, but death on the cross. Not only loneliness, but also contempt, humiliation. Not only malice, but also cruelty, ruthlessness against Him. This is what man is: a being devoted to life, who dreams of love and goodness, but who then continually exposes himself and his peers to evil, to the point that we are tempted to despair of man.

Dear brothers and sisters, in this way the Lord’s Prayer resembles a symphony that asks to be fulfilled in each one of us. The Christian knows how overwhelming the power of evil is, and at the same time he experiences how Jesus, Who never succumbed to its flattery, is on our side and comes to our aid.

In this way Jesus’ prayer leaves us the most precious of legacies: the presence of the Son of God Who has freed us from evil, fighting to convert it. At the time of the final combat, He intimates to Peter to put the sword back in is sheath, He assures paradise to the repentant thief, and to all the men who were around, unaware of the tragedy taking place, He offers a word of peace: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Lk 23: 34).

From Jesus’ forgiveness on the cross, springs peace, the true peace comes from the cross. it is the gift of the Risen one, a gift Jesus gives us. Think that the Risen Jesus’ first greeting is “peace be with you”, peace to your souls, to your hearts, to your lives. The Lord gives us peace, He gives us forgiveness but we must ask, “deliver us from evil”, so as not to fall into evil. This is our hope, the strength given to us by the Risen Jesus, Who is here, in our midst: He is here. He is here with that force that He gives us to go ahead, and He promises to deliver us from evil.

The Missing Steps

FORWARD MESSAGE!