PEACE IN OUR HEARTS: 04/13/24 (Third Sunday of Easter)

Gospel
Lk 24:35-48
The two disciples recounted what had taken place on the way,
and how Jesus was made known to them
in the breaking of bread.

While they were still speaking about this,
he stood in their midst and said to them,
“Peace be with you.”
But they were startled and terrified
and thought that they were seeing a ghost.
Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled?
And why do questions arise in your hearts?
Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.
Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones
as you can see I have.”
And as he said this,
he showed them his hands and his feet.
While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed,
he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?”
They gave him a piece of baked fish;
he took it and ate it in front of them.

He said to them,
“These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you,
that everything written about me in the law of Moses
and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.”
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
And he said to them,
“Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer
and rise from the dead on the third day
and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,
would be preached in his name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things.”

Reflection:

Amid the disciples’ meeting, Jesus appeared and gave them peace. Jesus had a different form after His resurrection. There was no need to open the door. He could go wherever He desired to go. Jesus proved once again that He’s alive with bones and flesh. He is not a figment of imagination or hallucination. Jesus was truly alive. In our lives, there may be many hardships that seem to have no good outcome in our perspective. But, as we continuously believe in Jesus, His resurrection remains proof that any suffering we endure will eventually bear good fruit if we remain in prayer.

Jesus explained to His disciples that the Messiah must suffer and die to save us and atone for our sins. In the same way, we did not come into the world just to enjoy things. We have a unique mission as Christians or followers of Christ, and that is to proclaim the Good News in word and deed. These works and missions remind us that this is not our permanent home. Our mission is to return to the Father in Heaven through Jesus and to bring our brothers and sisters back to God. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ not just because of blood. The way to obtain the treasures in Heaven is through sacrifice and good deeds for others on Earth.

If we accept and believe this as the reality of our lives, we will have interior peace and security amidst every trial. This is also because we believe that all sufferings here will eventually end. The joy that will never end in Heaven will be ours if we remain good here on Earth until the end, even if the world and other people are wicked. If we sin and make mistakes, it is important to always seek forgiveness from God through the sacrament of confession and start anew, just as Jesus’s disciples who had weaknesses and sinned against Him when they first followed Him. God’s mercy is everlasting if we desire to change.

May we believe and continuously ponder on this. Amen. +

May our Loving and Almighty God bless us, and may He defend us against temptations and evil now and forever. Amen. +

Reflection by: FMMJ
Translation by: CJTH

Source:
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041424.cfm

Examination of Conscience and Guide to Sacrament of Confession:
https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/examination-of-conscience/

Website on how to raise and guard children in their Catholic faith:
https://howtokeepyourkidscatholic.com/

Ultimate Catholic Parents Guide:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ls6IcexZAls

Summary and Defense of Catholic Teachings:
https://www.catholic.com/tract/pillar-of-fire-pillar-of-truth

GOSPEL REFLECTIONS OF POPE FRANCIS: 03/29/24 (Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion)

From the Gospel according to John
Jn 18:1—19:42

(…) After this, aware that everything was now finished,
in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
Jesus said, “I thirst.”
There was a vessel filled with common wine.
So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop
and put it up to his mouth.
When Jesus had taken the wine, he said,
“It is finished.”
And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

Here all kneel and pause for a short time. (…)

Words of the Holy Father:

“One of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water” (Jn 19:34). Pierced, He gives; in death, He gives us life. (…) John the Evangelist, at the very moment when he recounts the pierced side, from which blood and water flow, bears witness so that we may believe (cf. v. 35). Saint John writes, that is, that at that moment the testimony occurs. Because the pierced Heart of God is eloquent. It speaks without words, because it is mercy in its pure state, love that is wounded and gives life. It is God, with closeness, compassion and tenderness. How many words we say about God without showing love! But love speaks for itself, it does not speak of itself. (Homily, ‘Agostino Gemelli’, 5 November 2021)

Source:
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day/2024/03/29.html

Amen +

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death.

Amen. +

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +

Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion:
https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/good-friday/

Examination of Conscience and Guide to Sacrament of Confession:
https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/examination-of-conscience/

Website on how to raise and guard children in their Catholic faith:
https://howtokeepyourkidscatholic.com/

Ultimate Catholic Parents Guide:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ls6IcexZAls

Summary and Defense of Catholic Teachings:
https://www.catholic.com/tract/pillar-of-fire-pillar-of-truth

GOSPEL REFLECTIONS OF POPE FRANCIS: 03/28/24 (Thursday of Holy Week)

From the Gospel according to John
Jn 13:1-15

Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come
to pass from this world to the Father.
He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.
The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over.
So, during supper,
fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power
and that he had come from God and was returning to God,
he rose from supper and took off his outer garments.
He took a towel and tied it around his waist.
Then he poured water into a basin
and began to wash the disciples’ feet
and dry them with the towel around his waist.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him,
“Master, are you going to wash my feet?”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“What I am doing, you do not understand now,
but you will understand later.”
Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered him,
“Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.”
Simon Peter said to him,
“Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.”
Jesus said to him,
“Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed,
for he is clean all over;
so you are clean, but not all.”
For he knew who would betray him;
for this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

So when he had washed their feet
and put his garments back on and reclined at table again,
he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you?
You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am.
If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet,
you ought to wash one another’s feet.
I have given you a model to follow,
so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

Words of the Holy Father:

Service. This gesture is the condition to enter the kingdom of heaven. Yes, to serve… everyone. But the Lord, in the words he exchanged with Peter (cf. Jn 13:6-9), makes him realize that to enter the kingdom of heaven we must let the Lord serve us, that the servant of God be our servant. And this is hard to understand. If I do not let the Lord be my servant, do not let the Lord wash me, help me grow, forgive me, then I will not enter the kingdom of heaven. (…) In this way, conscious of the need to be washed clean, you will be great dispensers of forgiveness. Forgive! Have a big heart that is generous in forgiving. This is the measure by which we will be judged. As you have forgiven, so you will be forgiven, in the same measure. Do not be afraid to forgive. Sometimes we have doubts; look to Christ [he looks to the Crucifix]. There, there is forgiveness for all. Be courageous, also in taking risks, in forgiving, in order to bring consolation. (Homily, 9 April 2020)

Source:
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day/2024/03/28.html

Amen +

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death.

Amen. +

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +

Holy Thursday:
https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/holy-thursday/

Examination of Conscience and Guide to Sacrament of Confession:
https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/examination-of-conscience/

Website on how to raise and guard children in their Catholic faith:
https://howtokeepyourkidscatholic.com/

Ultimate Catholic Parents Guide:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ls6IcexZAls

Summary and Defense of Catholic Teachings:
https://www.catholic.com/tract/pillar-of-fire-pillar-of-truth

GOSPEL REFLECTIONS OF POPE FRANCIS: 03/26/24 (Tuesday of Holy Week)

From the Gospel according to John
Jn 13:21-33, 36-38

Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified,
“Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant.
One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved,
was reclining at Jesus’ side.
So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant.
He leaned back against Jesus’ chest and said to him,
“Master, who is it?”
Jesus answered,
“It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it.”
So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas,
son of Simon the Iscariot.
After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him.
So Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”
Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him.
Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him,
“Buy what we need for the feast,”
or to give something to the poor.
So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.

When he had left, Jesus said,
“Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself,
and he will glorify him at once.
My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.
You will look for me, and as I told the Jews,
‘Where I go you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you.”

Simon Peter said to him, “Master, where are you going?”
Jesus answered him,
“Where I am going, you cannot follow me now,
though you will follow later.”
Peter said to him,
“Master, why can I not follow you now?
I will lay down my life for you.”
Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me?
Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow
before you deny me three times.”

Words of the Holy Father:

The most perfect lost sheep in the Gospel is Judas”. Indeed, he is “a man who always, always had something of a bitterness in his heart, something of criticizing the others, always at a distance: a man who did not know the “gracious sweetness of living with others”. Therefore, because this “sheep” “was not satisfied”, he “escaped”. Judas, “escaped because he was a thief. Others “are lustful”, and similarly “escape because there is that darkness in their heart which distances them from the flock”. We are confronted with “that double life” which exists “in many Christians”. (…) We are able to understand the lost sheep”. Indeed, “we too always have a little something, little or not so little, of the lost sheep”. (Santa Marta, 6 December 2016)

Source:
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day/2024/03/26.html

Amen +

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death.

Amen. +

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +

Examination of Conscience and Guide to Sacrament of Confession:
https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/examination-of-conscience/

Website on how to raise and guard children in their Catholic faith:
https://howtokeepyourkidscatholic.com/

Ultimate Catholic Parents Guide:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ls6IcexZAls

Summary and Defense of Catholic Teachings:
https://www.catholic.com/tract/pillar-of-fire-pillar-of-truth

GOSPEL REFLECTIONS OF POPE FRANCIS: 03/25/24 (Monday of Holy Week)

From the Gospel according to John
Jn 12:1-11

Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany,
where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served,
while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him.
Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil
made from genuine aromatic nard
and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair;
the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples,
and the one who would betray him, said,
“Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages
and given to the poor?”
He said this not because he cared about the poor
but because he was a thief and held the money bag
and used to steal the contributions.
So Jesus said, “Leave her alone.
Let her keep this for the day of my burial.
You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

The large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came,
not only because of him, but also to see Lazarus,
whom he had raised from the dead.
And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too,
because many of the Jews were turning away
and believing in Jesus because of him.

Words of the Holy Father:

Today I would like to pause on one of Jesus’ words. Six days before the Passover – we are right at the doorway of the Passion – Mary performs this contemplative gesture. Martha was serving, (…) and Mary opens the door to contemplation. And Judas thinks about money, and thinks about the poor, but “not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he was in charge of the common fund and used to help himself to the contributions” (v. 6). This story of the unfaithful administrator is always current: they are always around, even at a high level. Think about some charitable or humanitarian organisations that have many, many employees, with a structure full of people, and only forty per cent of donations arrive at the poor because sixty per cent goes to pay the salaries of many people. This is a way of taking money from the poor. But Jesus is the answer. And this is where I want to stop. “You have the poor with you always” (Jn 12:8). This is a truth. “You have the poor with you always”. There are poor people. There are many of them: there are the poor people we see, but they are just a small part; the majority of poor people are those we do not see: the hidden poor. (…) The first question Jesus will ask is: “How did you get on with the poor? Did you give them something to eat? When they were in prison, did you visit them? In hospital, did you see them? Have you helped the widow, the orphan? Because that is where I was”. And on this we will be judged. (Santa Marta, 6 April 2020)

Source:
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day/2024/03/25.html

Amen +

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death.

Amen. +

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +

Examination of Conscience and Guide to Sacrament of Confession:
https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/examination-of-conscience/

Website on how to raise and guard children in their Catholic faith:
https://howtokeepyourkidscatholic.com/

Ultimate Catholic Parents Guide:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ls6IcexZAls

Summary and Defense of Catholic Teachings:
https://www.catholic.com/tract/pillar-of-fire-pillar-of-truth

GOSPEL REFLECTIONS OF POPE FRANCIS: 02/14/24 (Ash Wednesday)

From the Gospel according to Matthew
Mt 6:1-6, 16-18

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Take care not to perform righteous deeds
in order that people may see them;
otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.
When you give alms,
do not blow a trumpet before you,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets
to win the praise of others.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you give alms,
do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
so that your almsgiving may be secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you pray,
do not be like the hypocrites,
who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners
so that others may see them.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you pray, go to your inner room,
close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

“When you fast,
do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.
They neglect their appearance,
so that they may appear to others to be fasting.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you fast,
anoint your head and wash your face,
so that you may not appear to be fasting,
except to your Father who is hidden.
And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”

Words of the Holy Father:

The Word of God guides us in living the Lenten season properly. When we do something good, at times we are tempted to be appreciated and to seek compensation: human glory. But it is a false compensation because it projects us toward what others think of us. Jesus asks us to do Good for the sake of the Good. He asks us to be aware that we are always under the gaze of the Heavenly Father and to live in relation to him, not in relation to the judgement of others. Living in the presence of the Father is a far more profound joy than worldly glory. Our attitude this Lent must therefore be that of living in secret where the Father sees us, loves us and awaits us. Certainly, even external things are important, but we must always choose and experience them in the presence of God. Let us do so in prayer, in mortification, and in the fraternal charity that we are humbly able to give before God. We will thus be worthy of the compensation of God the Father. (Message ‘Keeplent’, 10 February 2016)

Source:
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day/2024/02/14.html

Amen +

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +

Ash Wednesday:
https://mycatholic.life/saints/saints-of-the-liturgical-year/ash-wednesday/

Examination of Conscience and Guide to Sacrament of Confession:
https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/examination-of-conscience/

Website on how to raise and guard children in their Catholic faith:
https://howtokeepyourkidscatholic.com/

Ultimate Catholic Parents Guide:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ls6IcexZAls

Summary and Defense of Catholic Teachings:
https://www.catholic.com/tract/pillar-of-fire-pillar-of-truth

GOSPEL REFLECTIONS OF POPE FRANCIS: 02/09/24 (Friday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time)

From the Gospel according to Mark
Mk 7:31-37

Jesus left the district of Tyre
and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,
into the district of the Decapolis.
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him.
He took him off by himself away from the crowd.
He put his finger into the man’s ears
and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,
“Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”)
And immediately the man’s ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly.
He ordered them not to tell anyone.
But the more he ordered them not to,
the more they proclaimed it.
They were exceedingly astonished and they said,
“He has done all things well.
He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Words of the Holy Father:

Jesus revealed to us the secret of a miracle that we too can imitate, becoming protagonists of “Ephphatha”, of that phrase ‘be opened’ with which He gave speech and hearing back to the deaf and dumb man. It means opening ourselves to the needs of our brothers and sisters who are suffering and in need of help, by shunning selfishness and hardheartedness. It is precisely the heart, that is the deep core of the person, that Jesus came to “open”, to free, in order to make us capable of fully living the relationship with God and with others. He became man so that man, rendered internally deaf and mute by sin, may hear the voice of God, the voice of Love that speaks to his heart, and thereby in turn, may learn to speak the language of love, transforming it into gestures of generosity and self-giving. (Angelus, 9 September 2018)

Source:
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day/2024/02/09.html

Amen +

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +

Examination of Conscience and Guide to Sacrament of Confession:
https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/examination-of-conscience/

Website on how to raise and guard children in their Catholic faith:
https://howtokeepyourkidscatholic.com/

Ultimate Catholic Parents Guide:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ls6IcexZAls

Summary and Defense of Catholic Teachings:
https://www.catholic.com/tract/pillar-of-fire-pillar-of-truth

GOSPEL REFLECTIONS OF POPE FRANCIS: 01/31/24 (Memorial of Saint John Bosco, Priest)

From the Gospel according to Mark

MK 6:1-6

Jesus departed from there and came to his native place,

accompanied by his disciples.

When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue,

and many who heard him were astonished.

They said, “Where did this man get all this?

What kind of wisdom has been given him?

What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands!

Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary,

and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon?

And are not his sisters here with us?”

And they took offense at him.

Jesus said to them,

“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place

and among his own kin and in his own house.”

So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there,

apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.

He was amazed at their lack of faith.

Words of the Holy Father:

(…) why didn’t Jesus’s fellow villagers recognise and believe in Him? But why? What is the reason? In a few words, we can say that they did not accept the scandal of the Incarnation. They did not know this mystery of the Incarnation, but they did not accept the mystery: they did not know it. They did not know the reason and they thought it was scandalous that the immensity of God should be revealed in the smallness of our flesh, that the Son of God should be the son of a carpenter, that the divine should be hidden in the human, that God should inhabit a face, the words, the gestures of a simple man. This is the scandal: the incarnation of God, his concreteness, his ‘daily life’. And God became concrete in a man, Jesus of Nazareth, he became a companion on the way, he made himself one of us. (Angelus, 4 July 2021)

Source:

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day/2024/01/31.html

Amen 

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. 

May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. 

Memorial of Saint John Bosco, Priest:

Saint John Bosco

Examination of Conscience and Guide to Sacrament of Confession:

Examination of Conscience

Website on how to raise and guard children in their Catholic faith:

Home

Ultimate Catholic Parents Guide:

Summary and Defense of Catholic Teachings:

https://www.catholic.com/tract/pillar-of-fire-pillar-of-truth

FAITHFUL TO GOD: 01/28/24 (Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time)

Gospel
Mk 1:21-28
Then they came to Capernaum,
and on the sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught.
The people were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.
In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit;
he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
Jesus rebuked him and said,
“Quiet! Come out of him!”
The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.
All were amazed and asked one another,
“What is this?
A new teaching with authority.
He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.”
His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.

Reflection:

A blessed Sunday to all of us! Evil spirits obey Jesus by His authority. This is why until now, the only Church that God established is the only one with the power to cast out evil spirits. This is also known as “exorcism.” Being possessed by demons may not be common due to different reasons that are deeper and extraordinary, but demons can still have influence in our lives in many ways. It is not easy to see if we do not pray.

First, we can see the presence of the demons if there are always conflict and division. Negative thoughts about things and other people do not come from God. The works of the devil include sinful anger, ridicule, rash judgment, and unforgiveness. We may have pain in our hearts, but this is not sinful. However, the enemies of our souls gain influence in us if we harbor grudges and negative feelings.

Besides this, the devil can also have a hold in our lives through sins. When we do not attend Mass and go to the sacrament of confession, our defense against temptations becomes weaker. How do we know that we are committing sins? Let us look into the different kinds of sins. One guide is the ten commandments. We may also look at the seven deadly sins and examine ourselves using these guides. We can do online research if we want it. We can straighten out our lives if we truly desire it with the help and mercy of God.

Many people are wondering why there are many evils around the world. This is part of reality in our world. There is good, and there is evil. That is no longer important. What matters is that we truly belong to the Household of God and that He reigns in our lives, not the devil. It doesn’t mean that our life will be free of problems. Instead, it will be easier to bear the challenges because we are sure that we are in God’s hands. May our consciences be pure as we strive to be faithful to God. We have nothing to fear in life, not even death. Amen.

Reflection by: FMMJ
Translation by: CJTH

Source:
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/012824.cfm

Examination of Conscience and Guide to Sacrament of Confession:
https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/examination-of-conscience/

Website on how to raise and guard children in their Catholic faith:
https://howtokeepyourkidscatholic.com/

Ultimate Catholic Parents Guide:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ls6IcexZAls

Summary and Defense of Catholic Teachings:
https://www.catholic.com/tract/pillar-of-fire-pillar-of-truth

GOSPEL REFLECTIONS OF POPE FRANCIS: 01/20/24 (Saturday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time)

From the Gospel according to Mark
Mk 3:20-21

Jesus came with his disciples into the house.
Again the crowd gathered,
making it impossible for them even to eat.
When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him,
for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

Words of the Holy Father:

Dear friends, even among Jesus’ relatives there were some who at a certain point did not share his way of life and preaching, as the Gospel tells us (cf. Mk 3:20-21). His Mother, however, always followed him faithfully, keeping the eyes of her heart fixed on Jesus, the Son of the Most High, and on his mystery. And in the end, thanks to Mary’s faith, Jesus’ relatives became part of the first Christian community (cf. Acts 1:14). Let us ask Mary to help us too to keep our gaze firmly fixed on Jesus and to follow him always, even when it costs what it may. (Angelus, 18 August 2013)

Source:

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day/2024/01/20.html

Amen +

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +

Examination of Conscience and Guide to Sacrament of Confession:
https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/examination-of-conscience/

Ultimate Catholic Parents Guide:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ls6IcexZAls

Summary and Defense of Catholic Teachings:
https://www.catholic.com/tract/pillar-of-fire-pillar-of-truth