Index
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Saint Casimir Parish
MINISTRY
OF PRAISE
APRIL, 2017
St. Casimir Parish
Almighty God,
grant that with the help of St. Casimir’s intercession
we may serve you in holiness and justice.
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PLEASE PRAY FOR THE FOLLOWING
INTENTIONS
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That
young people may respond generously to their vocation and seriously consider
offering themselves to God in the priesthood or consecrated
life.
(April
Papal intention)
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That the suffering and Death of Jesus Christ will strengthen the Church in
holiness and give her new growth.
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That these final days of preparation will be a time of transforming grace
for those who are to be baptized and received into the Church at Easter
Vigil.
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That Christians everywhere will live Holy Week with special reverence,
self-giving, and devotion.
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That our Lenten discipline will continue to transfigure the way we live so
as to bring forth ever deeper conformity to Christ.
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That God bless
Father Bacevice and the Pastoral and Finance Councils in their efforts to
secure the future of St. Casimir Parish.
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That all
parishioners recognize their responsibility to St. Casimir Parish’s future
through financial support, commitment to parish activities, sharing ideas,
and most importantly prayer.
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That the
Lord will deliver those in need, especially the poor, the hungry, the
homeless, the sick, the unemployed, or those suffering from addiction.
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That our
Ministers of Praise be validated in their belief in the power of prayer.
WHAT’S HAPPENING 
AT ST. CASIMIR PARISH?
April 7th First
Friday Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, 8:00 – 9:00am in Church
April 16th
Easter
Final day to order flowers from Altar Society’s flower sale
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SAINT FOR APRIL
SAINT
FRANCIS OF PAOLA
Hermit
(1416 - 1507)
April 2nd
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Be peace-loving. Peace is a
precious treasure to be sought with great zeal. Be converted with a
sincere heart. Live your life that you may receive the blessing of
the Lord.
(from St. Francis of Paola’s
writings).
Francis of Paolo’s
parents took him to a Franciscan friary when he was 13 years old.
There he learned to read and write. He also began the penitential
practices that continued for the rest of his life. A year later he
joined his parents on a pilgrimage to Assisi and Rome. When he was
15 years old he began a solitary life in a cave near the sea. Five
years later he was joined by two young men, and that was the
beginning of the Hermits of St. Francis of Assisi. Later he
changed the name to the Order of Minims, because he wanted
them known as the least in the household of God.
Francis and his
companions lived the contemplative life of hermits, which was
solitary and penitential. Penance, charity and humility formed the
basis of their religious rule and practice. Although Francis loved
the contemplative life, there came a time when he found himself
called by God and the Pope to a more active life.
Francis incurred the
anger of King Ferdinand of Naples, because of Francis’ public
criticisms of the wrongdoing of the king and his sons in regard to
treatment of the poor and the oppressed. Francis became involved in
national politics, when in 1482 Pope Sixtus IV asked Francis to
travel to France to help Louis XI of France prepare for his death.
While ministering to the king, Francis helped to restore peace
between France and Britanny by advising a marriage between the
ruling families, and between Francis and Spain by persuading Louis
XI to return some disputed land. The life of Francis speaks to us
today. He was a contemplative called to active ministry –a person
who felt the tension between prayer and service.
Sources: IN HIS LIKENESS, by
Rev. Charles E. Yost, SCJ, STL; SAINT OF THE DAY, Leonard Foley,
O.F.M., Editor;
SAINTS AND FEAST DAYS,
Loyola University Press. |
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THOUGHTS FROM THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH |
God has said everything in his Word
#65
“In many and various ways God spoke of old
to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a
Son.” Christ, the Son of God made man, is the Father’s one, perfect, and
unsurpassable Word. In him he has said everything; there will be no other word
than this one. St. John of the Cross, among others commented strikingly on
Hebrews 1:1-2:
in giving us his Son, his only Word
(for he possesses no other), he spoke everything to us at once in
this sole Word – and he has no more to say…because what he spoke before to
the prophets in parts,
he has now spoken all at once by giving us the All Who is His Son. Any
person questioning God or
desiring some vision or revelation would be guilty not only of foolish
behavior but also of offending him,
by not fixing his eyes entirely upon Christ and by living with the desire
for some other novelty.
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REFLECTION |
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BELIEVING
IN THE ONE GOD SENT
Father
Tadeusz Dajczer (d. 2009)
Polish priest, professor of
theology in Warsaw,
and co-founder of the Families of Nazareth Movement. |
“Faith is
participation in the divine life. It is experiencing God’s life within us
which allows us to see ourselves and the reality surrounding us as if we
were seeing through the eyes of God….In the face of human helplessness,
faith becomes the continuous resort to the limitless mercy of God and the
awaiting of everything from him.” (Gustave Thils)
Every moment of our lives is
permeated with the Presence that loves and bestows. To live in faith means
to be able to see this loving and constantly bestowing Presence. Because of
faith, Christ gradually becomes a light that shines through a person’s whole
life and that shines through the world. He becomes a living, active presence
in the life of his disciples. Every moment of our lives brings us his
presence. Time is the Presence written with a capital “P.” It is the
presence of Christ in our lives. It is the personal presence of God,
revealing himself as the one who expects something from us. God reveals
himself to us through his will. But what is his will? It is always that
which is best for us, because God is Love. Every moment of your life is a
moment of meeting with the Presence that is loving you. Someone
has said that time is a sacrament of the meeting between man and God. This
means that every moment is an evangelical gift since it is the Presence that
calls us to do something.
Father
Tadeusz Dajczer
Source: MAGNIFICAT, April 11, 2016, p.151
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Lietuvi