The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—
they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long.

Listen to a beautiful musical version of Psalm 23 sung by Ingrid DuMosch and Scott Challenberger

4^th Sunday of Easter A20

“Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice, and proclaimed: ‘Let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.’”[1]

Global Life Night with Life Teen
Sunday Evenings at 5:00 p.m.
Streaming on YouTube

Calling all Teens -  Life Teen's Global Life Night is on YouTube on Sunday evenings at 5:00 p.m.  These events are being produced for just for you.  Join young people from across the country as we try to stay connect and grow our faith.   The events are free and then  every Monday afternoon on the Youth Ministry Page, there will be a follow-up activity posted based on the Global Life Night from the night before.  The next meeting will be on Sunday, May 3, 2020. https://youtu.be/aAT9dmWHV8U

This is perhaps a gift we have all become more in-tuned with as we have watch spring erupt around us. We notice the subtle changes in our yards, our parks and our days. The brilliance of the sun setting over the silhouette of trees or the emerging of buds opening up after winter. God’s glory and majesty is constantly on display for us, yet we often miss the power of this gift, His expression of love. By opening ourselves up to recognizing God’s gifts and power, we automatically create an opportunity deepen our faith. If we allow ourselves, we can be wowed by the power of God. How do we acknowledge this gift? The same God that lovingly created the universe waits to hear from you. Look around. This is all a gift and we are constantly being called in to communion with God be it with through nature, creatures or each other. God’s glory reminds us of our utter dependence upon Him

As we move toward Pentecost this week, let us hold close the fact that we are filled with the Holy Spirit and thereby graced with the gifts of wisdom, understanding, courage, knowledge, right judgment, reverence and wonder and awe. As a result of being fortified with these power gifts, our actions should ultimately reflect the fruits of the Holy Spirit charity joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, faithfulness, modesty, self-control and chastity.

Father Thomas Richstatter beautifully wrote in his article Confirmation: Sacrament of the Spirit, of how Jesus is the perfect manifestation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. “Through the Gospels we see how these seven gifts form Jesus’ personality. They are characteristic of his activity. Consider the wisdom expressed in his parables; his understanding of the poor and the sick; his right judgment when tested by the Pharisees; his courage to continue the journey to Jerusalem where he surmised what fate awaited him; his knowledge of God’s will; his reverence for is heavenly Father, his awe before the wonders of creation – the lilies of the valley, the birds of the air….The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are the manifestation of the Divine Power active in the life of Jesus of Nazareth.”

Download Gifts of the Holy Spirit Activities

The gift of reverence helps us more fully develop a relationship with God.  This is the fire inside that draws us to joyfully serve and obey His will.  Through reverence, this desire comes not from a place of obligation, but from deep place of love, honor and dependence on a merciful and gracious God.   It draws us into a deeper building a more personal loving relationship with a total reliance God. Reverence allows us a window into the presence of God by not only seeing Him in liturgy, scripture and prayer but also seeing Him in others.  By honoring and loving one another, we honor and love God. Our hearts are opened and we recognize that the kingdom of God in the here and now depends upon building right relationships with one another. These relationships attempt to mirror the loving relationship God has with us.  Do we fall short?  Certainly, but reverence gives us the superpower to try again and again to honor God through our actions.  Reverence helps us to live out the charge given by Jesus when he told the apostles “I give you a new commandment:  love one another.   As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.  This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:34-35 (NABRE)

Prayer for the Guidance of the Holy Spirit

We stand before You, Holy Spirit,
conscious of our sinfulness,
but aware that we gather in Your name.
Come to us, remain with us,
and enlighten our hearts.
Give us light and strength
to know Your will,
to make it our own,
and to live it in our lives.
Guide us by Your wisdom,
support us by Your power,
for You are God,
sharing the glory of Father and Son.
You desire justice for all:
enable us to uphold the rights of others;
do not allow us to be misled by ignorance
or corrupted by fear or favor.
Unite us to Yourself in the bond of love
and keep us faithful to all that is true.
As we gather in Your name
may we temper justice with love,
so that all our decisions
may be pleasing to You,
and earn the reward
promised to good and faithful servants.
You live and reign with the Father and the Son, one God, forever and ever. Amen.  

-Second Vatican Council

Download Gifts of the Holy Spirit Activities

Knowledge is the gift of the Holy Spirit that helps us to determine the purpose of our lives and to take action to live out our God-given mission.  Working in conjunction with wisdom and understanding, knowledge allows us to gain information in order to understand God and contemplate the mysteries of our faith.  We gain clarity or focus to more fully enter into a meaningful relationship with our God and live our call to discipleship.  It is more than an accumulation of facts, historical data and rituals, knowledge makes the journey into faith a journey of the heart and not just the head.  Psalm 119:11 reminds us that it is the heart not the head that is our guidepost. “in my heart I seek you; do not let me stay from your commandments.” We can more clearly discern our path, our gifts, our challenges, our faith and act accordingly.  Knowledge, working in conjunction with the other gifts, fortifies  us on  the journey toward sainthood.

How have I used knowledge to see where God is working through me?

What is the mission God has charged me with?

Find your stone and add knowledge to your gift basket.

St. Augustine’s Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Breath in me O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy.

Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too may be holy.

Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy.

Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy.

Guard me, then O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy.

Download Gifts of the Holy Spirit Activities

The fourth gift of the Holy Spirit is courage or fortitude.  Courage is the necessary element that allows us to find the strength to utilize our wisdom, understanding and right judgment.  Courage provides us with the ability to stand up for our faith, defend our beliefs and put our faith into action.  We can endure ridicule, suffering and pain, when armed with the gift of courage.  The strength found through this gift is essential as it arms us with the necessary tools to stand firm despite the obstacle.  Through courage we are able to act with compassion and care on behalf of the marginalized, forgotten or discarded.    Courage gives us the confidence to go and boldly live the life of a disciple.

“Recall then that you have received the spiritual seal, the spirit of wisdom, and understanding, the spirit of right judgment and courage, the spirit of knowledge and reverence the spirit of holy fear in God’ presence.  Guard what you have received.  God the Father has marked you with His sign; Christ the Lord ha confirmed you and has placed his pledge, the Spirit, in your hearts. (St. Ambrose, de mysteries)

Download Gifts of the Holy Spirit Activities

Father Sas Celebrates
4th Sunday of Easter Mass

"No matter what happens in our lives,
the risen Jesus is always with us."

CLICK THE IMAGE TO START

Download: An Act of Spiritual Communion

Father Sas and a few of the Eucharistic Ministers brought blessings to the Marlborough Health & Rehabilitation Center on Stage Harbor Road, here in Marlborough. Pete Yorio, Maura Masotti and Barbara Meyer joined Father Sas for the blessing while Gil Thompson operated the cameras. Locked down within the confines of the facility, it is especially difficult for the residents to stay connected. We've been unable to bring communion into the building, so we were happy to bring this special ceremony to them. The blessing was also for the hardworking staff at the facility who works daily in the frontlines of COVID-19.

Click here for a prayer for those who have contracted coronavirus.

Taken from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

 Father Sas celebrates a virtual 3rd Sunday of Easter Mass
so we can spend time worshiping together.

"No matter what happens in our lives,
the risen Jesus is always with us."

CLICK THE IMAGE TO START

An Act of Spiritual Communion

My Jesus,

I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things,
and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart.
I embrace You as if You were already there
and unite myself wholly to You.
Never permit me to be separated from You.

Amen.

Download: An Act of Spiritual Communion

3^rd Sunday of Easter A20

Life surely takes strange turns. Some of our hopes and dreams have disappeared through circumstances beyond our control; for instance: for seniors in college or high school missing graduation and proms; visiting, in person, the universities to which they might apply; to empty stadiums, arenas, gyms, and running or racing tracks; to being furloughed or let go from a job; to worrying about finances; to carefully avoiding others when going for groceries, desperately searching for paper towels and toilet paper; to on-line instruction; and to attending virtual Masses or prayer groups. Who would have thought?

Cleopas and another disciple[1]certainly experienced the dashing of all their hopes about Jesus being the one to redeem Israel. Instead he was crucified and died at the hands of their religious leaders despite being considered a “prophet mighty in word and deed before God and all the people”. Some women from their group visited the tomb and claimed they had a vision of angels who announced to them that he was alive. Others went to the tomb and found it just as the women described but caught no sign or sight of Jesus. They had sadly, and maybe tearfully, explained all that to a stranger who joined them on their way home.

After gently chastising them, the stranger interpreted for them scripture passages “beginning with Moses and all the prophets” that referred to Jesus, reigniting the fire that burned so brightly before. They invited him to their abode to share a meal and to continue his instruction. And that was when it happened. He took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them – the first post resurrection Eucharist! They suddenly recognized him in the breaking of the bread; but just as suddenly he vanished from their sight.

We identified with Thomas last week; and so too, we identify with those two disciples this week as we continue our Easter journey together. Perhaps, like them, we need his presence and the Spirit he sent to interpret for us what is happening in the events of our lives. Like them we don’t see the extraordinary in the ordinary things that occur, most often because we do not take the time to reflect of them.

Well, we have the time now. Share with a trusted friend or a spiritual director; ponder in silence the words of Scripture and how they apply to you; invite Jesus and his Spirit to illuminate your mind and heart until we can all meet again to meet Jesus in the breaking of the bread. Always remember that Jesus is a companion[2] traveling along side with us!

[1] I would like to think the other disciple was his wife.

[2] It’s an interesting fact that the word “companion” comes from two Latin words “cum” & “panis” which means “with” & “bread”.

To see how CRS is responding to the worldwide pandemic, follow the links below. CRS continues their work around the world in the most vulnerable places, especially communities that lack infrastructure to handle a healthcare crisis. Given our past experience in responding to global health crises, CRS is responding immediately and efficiently to the coronavirus. Our advocacy work is as important as ever to ensure adequate funding to respond to the COVID-19 crisis around the globe. Please be sure to send your Rice Bowl collections, by check (made out to STJF with a notation to CRS), to St. John Fisher Church at 30 Jones Hollow Road or donate on-line here.

Available here on Sunday Morning as of 1:00 a.m.