Saint Casimir Parish

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MINISTRY OF PRAISE
 

MAY, 2017
 
St. Casimir Parish

 

Almighty God,
grant that with the help of St. Casimir’s intercession
we may serve you in holiness and justice.

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE FOLLOWING INTENTIONS

  • That Christians in Africa, in imitation of the Merciful Jesus, may give prophetic witness to reconciliation, justice, and peace.                             (May Papal intention)

  • That we work to imitate Mary’s faith, mercy and charity in order to strengthen our virtues.
     

  • That those who were baptized at Easter might grow ever stronger in their faith and be powerful witnesses of the Gospel to the world.
     

  • That the Eucharist will give unending friendship with the Lord to children preparing to receive First Holy Communion.
     

  • That the Gospel of Life may shed its light on the most vulnerable of human beings so that their dignity will be recognized and their lives protected.
     

  • That God bless Father Bacevice and the Pastoral and Finance Councils in their efforts to secure the future of St. Casimir Parish.
     

  • 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.
     

  • That the mystery of the Ascension will bring comfort and peace to those who are separated from their loved ones.
     

  • That our Ministers of Praise be validated in their belief in the power of prayer.

WHAT’S HAPPENING            AT ST. CASIMIR PARISH?

  • May 5th    First Friday Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, 8:00 – 9:00am in Church 

  • May 10th     Evening Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, 6:00 –9:00pm in Church

  • May 20-21     Pick up Flower Orders

 

 SAINT FOR MAY
 

SAINT VENERABLE BEDE

Priest, Doctor
(672-754)

May 25th

I have spent the whole of my life…devoting all of my pains to the study of the Scriptures, and amid the observances of monastic discipline and the daily task of singing in church, it has ever been my delight to learn or teach or write.                                                                                                      (St. Bede)

     Bede was born in England and by the age of seven was already in the monastery school. At 29, he was ordained a priest. He was gifted in writing and teaching. He composed forty-five books. Thirty were commentaries on Scripture; others were on the lives of the saints and secular subjects. His most well known work was the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, which has given us a picture of the history of the Church of early England and Ireland.

 

     Though dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge, he was very spiritual and was aware of the neglect of the sacraments by the people of his day. He encouraged devotion and daily reception of the Holy Eucharist. He believed that his strength and ability came from prayer which helped him to find God in scholarly pursuits and in the wonders of creation. As a teacher he believed that it was not enough to pass on knowledge. Knowledge must influence how we live. Our lives must be lived in gratitude to God and for the good of others.

 

     Bede remained in his monastery until his death. He died in 735 praying his favorite prayer: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As in the beginning,so now, and forever. We learn from St. Bede the importance of being faithful to God in every ordinary task.
 

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.

 

THOUGHTS FROM THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

…she is our Mother in the order of grace
 

#967  By her complete adherence to the Father’s will, to his Son’s redemptive work, and to every prompting of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary is the Church’s model of faith and charity. Thus she is a “preeminent and…wholly unique member of the Church”; indeed, she is the “exemplary realization” (typus) of the Church.

#968  Her role in relation to the Church and to all humanity goes still further. “In a wholly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope, and burning charity in the Savior’s work of restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is a mother to us in the order of grace.”

REFLECTION

A LESSON OF
THE VISITATION
 

Father Paul Murray, O.P.
Irish Dominican theologian and author
who teaches at the Angelicum University in Rome

    When Mary was greeted by her elderly cousin Elizabeth, she at once sang her Magnificat, that great song of joy and of self-knowledge in God: “My soul glorifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in the Lord God, my Savior!” Mary was not able to respond in this way when she was greeted by the angel Gabriel. No – what in the end occasioned her joy were words spoken to her by Elizabeth, her elderly relative, very simple and very humble words of delighted recognition: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”

     There is here, if I’m not mistaken, an important but unexpected lesson. Sometimes we might be inclined to think, that without the confirmation of some interior vision or some deep experience in prayer, we cannot hope to know the joy of God’s love for us. But Mary’s experience at the Visitation reminds us that such a deep and joyful realization can be the result of a simple good deed or act of generosity done to someone in need. Again and again, to our astonishment, we discover that it is in the poor, in those who need our help, that the Lord is waiting to fill us with the knowledge, the joyful knowledge that we are loved. And this knowledge is knowledge that heals.

     If we, who know ourselves to be wounded in some way, make an effort to help others who are suffering, if we “share our bread with the hungry” and try to “shelter the homeless poor” or make a visit to someone in need – then like Mary, according to the prophet Isaiah, not only will we experience enlightenment of some kind, but [our] wound will quickly be healed over” (Is 58: 6-8). And why? Because in those who are most in need of help we will meet Christ himself: “Whatever you do to one of these, the least of my brothers, you do to me.”                                                                     Father Paul Murray,O.P.

Source: MAGNIFICAT, May 2012, pp. 421-422