Or if a family member is planning on living with his girlfriend, and comes over to my house and tells me face to face, I say that its nice that you have found someone that you care about, but fornication is a sin and I am concerned for your eternal soul. Or when my co-workers pass jokes that are against God, I don’t think they’re funny and don’t laugh along with everyone. like I do not have to figure out if I should skip Mass while on vacation, The Church has it “figured” out already, and so I look up the nearest Parish and get the Mass times and go. If I listen to the teachings of The Church, I am listening to Christ. The Catholic Church holds and safeguards The Truth. These are never discussed outside of the group. Our group started out with about 6 people, we are now up to 11…We bring our Bibles, I bring the Catholic Catechism (in case there questions to be answered)…and we always start with a prayer to the Holy Spirit for guidance…We try to keep it as informal and relaxed as possible…and it a safe zone, in which people know they can bring their problems and they can vent them freely, and may even get suggestions on how to help with them. We have found that we are better prepared for the Sunday Mass, and that it becomes more meaningful for us. I am glad you asked that question….our Pastor wanted us to reflect on the readings for each upcoming weekly Sunday Mass…so as we can, we try to read those readings ahead of time…the leader, gets a meditation from a Catholic site on the reading for study…we read the readings on at a time, talk about what it means to us and relates to our life and things in the world plus how the readings are related to each other…then we read the meditation, and close with prayer. You May Also Like: Prophets: Messengers of God’s Mercy How We Participate in Divine Mercy Divine Mercy Give me your eyes of mercy to see the needs of those around me and respond with generosity, compassion, and love.” “Lord, help me this day to embody your merciful love in word, deed, and prayer. Include in your morning prayer this intention: This is one of the most powerful ways to evangelize because it is revealing the face of the Merciful Father revealed in Jesus to others. Most importantly, BE mercy! Look for every opportunity to speak and demonstrate God’s merciful love in your daily encounters.The Chaplet of Divine Mercy is a wonderful way to gather this intention to the Heart of Jesus. Ask for God to have mercy upon your nation and enkindle mercy within its citizens, so we will be the guardians and protectors of those in most need of our mercy, especially the unborn and aged. Pray daily for God’s mercy to be upon our world, especially war-torn countries.Ask yourself, “How am I regularly performing or supporting with my prayers or almsgiving these fourteen works?” Use them as a regular spiritual checkup or examination of conscience. Commit to memory the seven corporal works of mercy and the seven spiritual works of mercy (see Catechism of the Catholic Church 2447). They involve interior conversion, prayer, and concrete actions. There are many ways, but let me propose three. So, let’s ask ourselves in what ways can we embody that message? He has demonstrated that it can be an open door to welcome not only new believers but those who may have felt estranged or distant from their faith. While there are many parts to the “Good News,” Pope Francis, led by the Holy Spirit, has been emphasizing, in particular, the message of mercy. What is the fundamental message we are called to embody? They need to see a gospel that is lived and embodied in our relationships, marriages, families and professions. It is not enough to simply present an armload of faith facts. Like the ancient prophets, we are called not only to share our message but to embody it. This dramatic embodiment was intended to awaken Israel to their true spiritual condition and call them to return to the Lord and his life-giving law. His marriage and family became a living parable to his audience. Hosea was called to marry a prostitute named Gomer, who would symbolize Israel’s own unfaithfulness. God’s first command to Hosea wasn’t to simply call people to repentance, but to embody in his own life, the broken relationship between the Lord and his people, Israel. Their spiritual lives were marked by idolatry, injustice, and oppression of the poor. His audience was the Northern Kingdom who had abandoned covenant faithfulness with the Lord. Our prophet lived in the eighth century BC, during the reign of King Jeroboam II. In this first post, we will meet the messenger Hosea.
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