The month of May is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

“Christ is now exalted above the heavens, but He still suffers on earth all the pain that we, the members of His body, have to bear. He showed this when He cried out from above: ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ and when He said: ‘I was hungry and you gave me food.’ Why do we on earth not strive to find rest with Him in heaven even now, through the faith, hope and love that unites us to Him?” 
+ SAINT AUGUSTINE   

The Seventh Week in the Season of Easter

Monday, May 18

Holy Gospel: John 16:29-33

Prayer: O God, who reward faithful souls and who have consecrated this day by the martyrdom of Pope Saint John the First, graciously hear the prayers of your people and grant that we, who venerate his merits, may imitate his constancy in the faith. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen. 

Contemplation: How did Jesus convince his disciples that he was the Son of God? Jesus could read their hearts like an open book. He answered their questions before they could even speak them out. And he showed them the glory of God. For a Christian, believing in God cannot be separated from believing in the One he sent, his “beloved Son,” in whom the Father is “well pleased.” We can believe in Jesus and in the words he speaks because he is himself God, the Word made flesh. Since he “has seen the Father,” and is “one with the Father,” Jesus is the only one who knows the Father as he truly is and can reveal him to us. Our faith is “certain” because it is founded on the very word of God who cannot lie. Faith is already the beginning of eternal life. Saint Basil the Great says: “When we contemplate the blessings of faith even now, as if gazing at a reflection in a mirror, it is as if we already possessed the wonderful things which our faith assures us we shall enjoy one day.” 

Tuesday, May 19

Holy Gospel: John 17:1-11a

Prayer: Grant, we pray, almighty and merciful God, that the Holy Spirit, coming near and dwelling graciously within us, may make of us a perfect temple of his glory. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen. 

Contemplation: Jesus tells his disciples that they can know the only true God. Knowledge of God is not simply limited to knowing something about God, but we can know God personally. The essence of Christianity, and what makes it distinct from Judaism and other religions, is the knowledge of God as our Father. Jesus makes it possible for each of us to personally know God as our Father. To see Jesus is to see what God is like. In Jesus we see the perfect love of God – a God who cares intensely and who yearns over men and women, loving them to the point of laying down his life for them upon the Cross. Jesus is the revelation of God – a God who loves us completely, unconditionally and perfectly. And so we might ask ourselves: Do I seek unity of heart, mind and will with God? With my neighbor?  

Wednesday, May 20 | St. Bernardine of Siena

Holy Gospel: John 17:11b-19

Prayer: O God, who gave the Priest Saint Bernardine of Siena a great love for the holy Name of Jesus, grant through his merits and prayers, that we may ever be set aflame with the spirit of your love. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen   

Contemplation: Have you ever given time, thought and prayer to know what your purpose and mission in life is? Jesus’ aim and mission was to glorify his heavenly Father. All he said and did gave glory to his Father. On the eve of his sacrifice and in the presence of his disciples, Jesus made his high priestly prayer: “Holy Father, keep them in your name that they may be one as we are one”. Jesus prayed for the unity of his disciples and for all who would believe in him. Jesus’ prayer for his people is that we be united with God the Father in his Son and through his Holy Spirit and be joined together, in unity with all who are members of Christ’s body. Jesus saw glory in the cross rather than shame. Obedience to his Father’s will was his glory. Jesus kept his Father’s word even when tempted to forgo the cross. His strength was not in himself but in his Father who kept him. We, too, must take up our cross and follow the Lord Jesus wherever and whenever he may call us.  

What does the Holy Name of Jesus mean?: Saint Bernardine of Siena encouraged devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus and often held the IHS monogram in his hand when preaching. This devotion was later incorporated as a feast day into the universal calendar of the Church.  When, therefore, we say, “Jesus” let us ask God for all we need with absolute confidence of being heard.  For this reason, the Church ends her prayer with the words, “through Jesus Christ” which gives the prayer a new and Divine efficacy. But the Holy Name is something still greater. Each time we say “Jesus” we give God infinite joy and glory, for we offer Him all the infinite merits of the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ.  St. Paul tells us that Jesus merited the Name Jesus by His Passion and Death. Each time we say “Jesus” let us clearly wish to offer God all the Masses being said all over the world for all our intentions. We thus share in these thousands of Masses. Each time we say “Jesus” we gain indulgences for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, thus relieving and liberating very many of these holy souls from their awful pains. Thus they may be our best friends and pray for us – they cannot pray for themselves, however. Each time we say “Jesus” it is an act of perfect love, for we offer to God the infinite love of Jesus. The Holy Name of Jesus saves us from innumerable evils and delivers us especially from the power of the devil, who is constantly seeking to do us harm. The Holy Name of Jesus gradually fills our souls with a peace and joy we never had before. The Holy Name of Jesus gives us strength that our sufferings become light and easy to bear.

Thursday, May 21 | St. Christopher Magallanes & Companions

Holy Gospel: John 17:20-26

Prayer: Almighty and eternal God, who made the Priest Saint Christopher Magallanes and his companions faithful to Christ the King even to the point of martyrdom, grant us, through their intercession, that, persevering in confession of the true faith, we may always hold fast to the commandments of your love. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,  God, for ever and ever. Amen. 

Contemplation: Look around at the people in the pews who are with you in Church.  Look around at the people in your office, your school, your home, your neighborhood.  The distinctive mark of Jesus’ disciples is their love for God and their desire to do his will, and their love for one another. Jesus’ prayer at the Last Supper concludes with the prayer for all men and women who will come after him and follow him as his disciples. In a special way Jesus prays here for us that as members of his body we would be one as he and his Father – God the father – are one.

Friday, May 22 | St. Rita of Cascia

Holy Gospel: John 21:15-19

Prayer: Bestow on us, we pray, O Lord, the wisdom and strength of the Cross, with which you were pleased to endow Saint Rita, so that, suffering in every tribulation with Christ, we may participate ever more deeply in his Paschal Mystery. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Contemplation: Do you want the fire of God’s love to burn in your heart? John the evangelist tells us that “God is love” (1 John 4:16). His love is unconditional, without limit, and everlasting. It’s the beginning and the end; and it’s the essence of Christianity. It draws us to the heart of God and it compels us to give to him our full allegiance and our very lives. Saint Paul the Apostle tells us that God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given us (ref. Romans 5:5). As so we ask ourselves: Do I love God with all my mind, all my heart, and all my soul?  If not, then ask yourself: what is holding me back? 

Excerpts from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner. Meditations and contemplations adapted from Biblical Meditations for Advent by Rev. Carroll Stuhlmueller, C.P.; prayers are from The Roman Missal, Catholic Book Publishing, 2011; information about saints, solemnities, feasts and memorials courtesy of the Catholic Culture web site. frlumpe:2026