http://www.monkrock.com Tue, 21 May 2013 16:35:35 GMT http://www.monkrock.com/index.cfm?load=page&page=1337 We shall be blessed with clear vision if we keep our eyes fixed on Christ, for he, as Paul teaches, is our head, and there is in him no shadow of evil. Saint Paul himself and all who have reached the same heights of sanctity had their eyes fixed on Christ, and so have all who live and move and have their being in him. Mon, 20 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT rss405 http://www.monkrock.com/index.cfm?load=page&page=1336 He had promised through the prophets that in these last days he would pour out his Spirit on his servants and handmaids, and that they would prophesy. The Spirit accomplished the Father’s will in men who had grown old in sin, and gave them new life in Christ. Sun, 19 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT rss404 http://www.monkrock.com/index.cfm?load=news&newsarticle=403&page=1089 At Pentecost, the mission of Christianity was initiated and enacted; spiritual gifts were given to each Believer for the praising of the one true God as one Body in Christ, and the preaching of the one true Faith to all people of every nation and tongue. Sun, 19 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT rss403 http://www.monkrock.com/index.cfm?load=page&page=1335 The disciples spoke in the language of every nation. At Pentecost God chose this means to indicate the presence of the Holy Spirit: whoever had received the Spirit spoke in every kind of tongue. Sat, 18 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT rss402 http://www.monkrock.com/index.cfm?load=page&page=1334 This unique gift which is in Christ is offered in its fullness to everyone. It is everywhere available, but it is given to each man in proportion to his readiness to receive it. Its presence is the fuller, the greater a man’s desire to be worthy of it. This gift will remain with us until the end of the world, and will be our comfort in the time of waiting. By the favors it bestows, it is the pledge of our hope for the future, the light of our minds, and the splendor that irradiates our understanding. Fri, 17 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT rss401 http://www.monkrock.com/index.cfm?load=page&page=1333 After Christ had completed his mission on earth, it still remained necessary for us to become sharers in the divine nature of the Word. We had to give up our own life and be so transformed that we would begin to live an entirely new kind of life that would be pleasing to God. This was something we could do only by sharing in the Holy Spirit. Thu, 16 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT rss395 http://www.monkrock.com/index.cfm?load=news&newsarticle=396&page=1082 This morning, I walked about the grounds of a beautiful house near Kilkenny, Ireland - a small river flowing through a farm, warm sunlight, dogs and cats with soft fur and good hearts, all permeated by a sweet-smelling Irish breeze. All of this passes. Wed, 15 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT rss396 http://www.monkrock.com/index.cfm?load=page&page=1331 The Spirit dwells in the Church and in the hearts of the faithful as in a temple. He prays in them and bears witness in them to their adoption as sons. He leads the Church into all truth and gives it unity in communion and in service. He endows it with different hierarchical and charismatic gifts, directs it by their means, and enriches it with his fruits. Wed, 15 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT rss393 http://www.monkrock.com/index.cfm?load=page&page=1332 In those days, Peter, stood up in the midst of the disciples and said… As the fiery spirit to whom the flock was entrusted by Christ and as the leader in the band of the apostles, Peter always took the initiative in speaking: My brothers, we must choose from among our number. He left the decision to the whole body, at once augmenting the honor of those elected and avoiding any suspicion of partiality. For such great occasions can easily lead to trouble. Tue, 14 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT rss394 http://www.monkrock.com/index.cfm?load=page&page=1330 The Spirit is the source of holiness, a spiritual light, and he offers his own light to every mind to help it in its search for truth. By nature the Spirit is beyond the reach of our mind, but we can know him by his goodness. The power of the Spirit fills the whole universe but he gives himself only to those who are worthy, acting in each according to the measure of his faith. Tue, 14 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT rss392 http://www.monkrock.com/index.cfm?load=page&page=1328 As light strikes the eyes of a man who comes out of darkness into the sunshine and enables him to see clearly things he could not discern before, so light floods the soul of the man counted worthy of receiving the Holy Spirit and enables him to see things beyond the range of human vision, things hitherto undreamed of. Mon, 13 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT rss390 http://www.monkrock.com/index.cfm?load=news&newsarticle=398&page=1082 I was privileged to attend Holy Mass in my favorite Irish coastal village of Doolin, often home of the famous traditional musician Blackie O'Connell, and site of the best trad Irish folk music in all the country. Holy Rosary parish in Doolin is, in many respects, what I love so much about little country churches. Though the town of Doolin is meager in population, the church was packed in the morning. The walk up the dirt road in the misty morning air was wonderful - a great opportunity to clear one's mind and pray before Mass begins. Sun, 12 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT rss398 http://morningoffering.blogspot.ie/ There is no spiritual improvement if we do not seek to please God with holiness of life. If we find good in our deeds, we must attribute it to God. If we find we've neglected our spiritual struggle, and acted with foolish abandon, we, in our weakness, must turn to God in repentance. Sun, 12 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT rss391 http://www.monkrock.com/index.cfm?load=page&page=1327 The novena in honor of the Holy Spirit is the quintessential novena and the most important of all the novenas because it was the first that was ever celebrated. Our Lord Jesus Christ himself instituted this novena when, on the day of his ascension, he sent his apostles back to Jerusalem to pray for nine days that they might be ready for the coming of the Holy Spirit on the tenth day, the first Pentecost. Fri, 10 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT rss389 http://www.monkrock.com/index.cfm?load=page&page=1320 Today our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven; let our hearts ascend with him. Listen to the words of the Apostle: If you have risen with Christ, set your hearts on the things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God; seek the things that are above, not the things that are on earth. Thu, 09 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT rss387 http://www.monkrock.com/index.cfm?load=page&page=1321 Throughout the whole period between the resurrection and ascension, God’s providence was at work to instill this one lesson into the hearts of the disciples, to set this one truth before their eyes, that our Lord Jesus Christ, who was truly born, truly suffered and truly died, should be recognized as truly risen from the dead. Wed, 08 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT rss388 http://www.monkrock.com/index.cfm?load=page&page=1312 If, in Christ, all of us, both ourselves and he who is within us by his own flesh, are members of the same body, is it not clear that we are one, both with one another and with Christ? He is the bond that unites us, because he is at once both God and man. Tue, 07 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT rss386 http://www.monkrock.com/index.cfm?load=page&page=1307 The Holy Spirit renews us in baptism through his godhead, which he shares with the Father and the Son. Finding us in a state of deformity, the Spirit restores our original beauty and fills us with his grace, leaving no room for anything unworthy of our love. Mon, 06 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT rss385 http://www.monkrock.com/index.cfm?load=page&page=1306 We have been justified by our faith in Christ and the power of the curse has been broken. Christ’s coming to life again for our sake has put an end to the sovereignty of death. We have come to know the true God and to worship him in spirit and in truth, through the Son, our mediator, who sends down upon the world the Father’s blessings. Sun, 05 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT rss384 http://www.monkrock.com/index.cfm?load=page&page=1305 Our thoughts in this present life should turn on the praise of God, because it is in praising God that we shall rejoice for ever in the life to come; and no one can be ready for the next life unless he trains himself for it now. Sat, 04 May 2013 05:00:00 GMT rss383