Divine Mercy Sunday - Easter 2 A

Readings

First Reading: Acts 2: 42-47

Second Reading: 1 Peter 1: 3-9

Gospel: John 20: 19-31

Anecdotes

1.    I spoke as a brother”: A Timemagazine issue in 1984 presented a startling cover. It pictured a prison cellwhere two men sat on metal folding chairs, facing each other, up close andpersonal. They spoke quietly so as to keep others from hearing theconversation. The young man was Mehmet Ali Agca, the pope’s would-be assassin;the other man was Pope John Paul II, the intended victim. The pope held thehand that had held the gun and shot the bullet which tore into the pope’s body.John Paul wanted this scene to be shown around a world filled with nucleararsenals and unforgiving hatreds. This was a living icon of mercy. The pope hadbeen preaching forgiveness and reconciliation constantly. His deed with AliAgca spoke a thousand words. He embraced his enemy and pardoned him. At the endof their 20-minute meeting, Ali Agca raised the pope’s hand to his forehead asa sign of respect. John Paul shook Ali Agca’s hand tenderly. When the pope leftthe cell he said, “I spoke to him as a brother whom I have pardoned and who hasmy complete trust.” This is an example of God’s divine mercy, the same divinemercy to which St. Faustina bore obedient witness. (http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac0308.asp)

Easter 2 A -Doubting Thomas

John 20:19-31 - "Thomas" John 20:19-31 - "Touched" by Leonard Sweet If I were to mention the names of certain disciples to you and ask you to write down the first word that comes into your mind, it is unlikely you would come up with the same words. If I were to mention the name of Judas many of you would write down the word "betray" but not all of you. If I were to mention Simon Peter, some of you would write down the word "faith," but not all of you. If I were to mention the names of James and John, some of you would write down the phrase "Sons of Thunder," but not all of you. But when I mention the word Thomas, there is little question about the word most everyone would write down. It would be the word doubt. Indeed, so closely have we associated Thomas with this word, that we have coined a phrase to describe him: "Doubting Thomas."

Diabetes - All about it

Diabetes is the Fastest Growing Disease in the World Today!

According to the Centers for Disease Control:

• Diabetes is an epidemic.
  
• 17 million Americans have diabetes . . .
  with 5.9 million completely unaware that they even have the disease.
  
• Diabetes is the 5th leading cause of death in the United States . . .
  with over 200,000 deaths each year from diabetes-related complications.
  
• Among U.S. adults, diagnosed diabetes increased 49% from 1990 to 2000.
  Similar increases are expected in the next decade and beyond.

Good Friday Meditations

Good Friday Meditations by Ken Gardiner

This section contains four of the hour-long meditations and a three hour-long meditation which I have used over the years. One is based on the seven words from the cross, and others see the events of Good Friday through the eyes and thoughts of those who were there.

Group A

The cross imagined through the eyes of Peter, Mary the Mother of Jesus and every individual involved in this meditation.
Group A: Click

Group B

Three meditations on the verse:
And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. (Matt. 27:36)
Group B Click

Group C

Identifying ourselves with those who were standing round the cross.
Group C Click

Group D

Imagining the thoughts of Christ between his arrest and trial; The thoughts of Simon of Cyrene who carried the cross, Our own response.
Group D Click

A 3 Hour Service

Meditations based on the seven words from the cross.
A 3 Hour Service Click

Good Friday and Easter

Sermons for Good Friday and Easter John 18 : 1-19:42 - "Good Friday: The Three Crosses" John 20:1-9 - "Why I Believe in The Resurrection" Mark 16:1-8 - "Be Hatched or Go Bad" by Leonard Sweet _________________________________________ The Three Crosses The Cross. It struck fear in the hearts of the world. It was Rome's means of controlling the people. According to Roman custom, the penalty of crucifixion was always preceded by scourging; after this preliminary punishment, the condemned person had to carry the cross, or at least the transverse beam of it, to the place of execution, exposed to the jibes and insults of the people. On arrival at the place of execution the cross was uplifted. Soon the sufferer, entirely naked, was bound to it with cords. He was then, fastened with four nails to the wood of the cross. Finally, a placard called the titulus bearing the name of the condemned man and his sentence, was placed at the top of the cross. Slaves were crucified outside of Rome in a place called Sessorium, beyond the Esquiline Gate; their execution was entrusted to the carnifex servorum (the place of the hangman). Eventually this wretched locality became a forest of crosses, while the bodies of the victims were the pray of vultures and other rapacious birds. It often happened that the condemned man did not die of hunger or thirst, but lingered on the cross for several days. To shorten his punishment therefore, and lessen his terrible sufferings, his legs were sometimes broken. This custom, exceptional among the Romans, was common with the Jews. In this way it was possible to take down the corpse on the very evening of the execution. Among the Romans, though, the corpse could not be taken down, unless such removal had been specially authorized in the sentence of death. The corpse might also be buried if the sentence permitted. It is remarkable that all of this the Bible records with the simple words, "And they crucified Him." (Mark 15:24).

5 Monkeys and Banana Experiment

One Lesson How Monkeys Are Teaching Us to Work Smarter

 

There was an interesting experiment conducted years ago using monkeys and bananas.
The researchers placed five monkeys in a room with a ladder and a some bananas at the top of it. It didn’t take long before one of the monkeys saw the bananas and decided to climb the ladder.


As soon as the monkey reached the banana, all five monkeys were showered with cold water.

Easter Sunday B

EASTER SUNDAY 2012 (APRIL 8, 2012) JOHN 20: 1-9

First Reading: Acts 10: 34, 37-43

Second Reading: Colossians 3: 1-4

Gospel: John 20: 1-9

Anecdotes

1) The phoenix: The late Catholic Archbishop of Hartford, John Whealon, who had undergone cancer surgery resulting in a permanent colostomy, wrote these very personal words in one of his last Easter messages: "I am now a member of an association of people who have been wounded by cancer. That association has as its symbol the phoenix, a bird of Egyptian mythology. When the bird felt its death was near, every 500 to 1,461 years, it would fly off to Phoenicia, build a nest of aromatic wood and set itself on fire. When the bird was consumed by the flames, a new phoenix sprang forth from the ashes. Thus, the phoenix symbolizes immortality, resurrection, and life after death. It was one of the earliest symbols of the risen Christ. In the same way, any person who has survived a struggle with cancer is considered phoenix-like, having risen from the ashes of disease and been given a new lease on life. Suddenly life becomes more precious to that person. Each hour is lived more fully. Each friend seems much more real. The sky seems more blue, the sunshine more beautiful, and the colors more vivid. Even dull and ordinary things are causes for gratitude to God.” Archbishop John Whealon could have lived in a gloomy tomb of self-pity, hopeless defeat, and chronic sadness, but his faith in the resurrected Lord opened his eyes to new visions of life.

Good Friday 2012

MESSAGE FOR GOOD FRIDAY 2012
Anecdotes

Powdered Christian. You might remember comedian Yakov Smirnoff. When he first came to the United States from Russia he was not prepared for the incredible variety of instant products available in American grocery stores. He says, "On my first shopping trip with my American friend , I saw powdered milk. What is it , I asked. My friend explained, “You just add water, and you get milk.” I was amazed. Then I saw powdered orange juice--you just add water, and you get orange juice! And then I saw baby powder, and I thought to myself, you add water and get a ready made baby!! “What a country!" So many Christian denominations claim that they can make powdered Christians. They preach: “Accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, surrender your life to him and confess your sins to him. You are saved.“ Once saved, you are always saved. Just add water and disciples are born not made. Unfortunately, there is no such powder, and disciples of Jesus Christ are not instantly born. We must understand what it really means to be a Christian disciple from the mouth of Jesus. He proclaimed in Mathew 16: 24, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me.” (Matthew 16: 24).It means that a truly practicing Christian must be a self denying and cross carrying Christian who obeys the teachings of Jesus. That is why we ask the question on Good Friday: what is the real message of the cross?

Easter Sunday Sermon - 2012

Sermons for Easter

John 20:1-9 - "Why I Believe in The Resurrection"

Mark 16:1-8 - "Be Hatched or Go Bad" by Leonard Sweet

  _________________________________________

You probably do not remember the name Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin. During his day he was as powerful a man as there was on earth. A Russian Communist leader he took part in the Bolshevik Revolution 1917, was editor of the Soviet newspaper Pravda (which by the way means truth), and was a full member of the Politburo. His works on economics and political science are still read today. There is a story told about a journey he took from Moscow to Kiev in 1930 to address a huge assembly on the subject of atheism. Addressing the crowd he aimed his heavy artillery at Christianity hurling insult, argument, and proof against it.

Good Friday and Easter B

Sermons for Good Friday and Easter John 18 : 1-19:42 - "Good Friday: The Three Crosses" John 20:1-9 - "Why I Believe in The Resurrection" Mark 16:1-8 - "Be Hatched or Go Bad" by Leonard Sweet _________________________________________   The Three Crosses The Cross. It struck fear in the hearts of the world. It was Rome's means of controlling the people. According to Roman custom, the penalty of crucifixion was always preceded by scourging; after this preliminary punishment, the condemned person had to carry the cross, or at least the transverse beam of it, to the place of execution, exposed to the jibes and insults of the people. On arrival at the place of execution the cross was uplifted. Soon the sufferer, entirely naked, was bound to it with cords. He was then, fastened with four nails to the wood of the cross. Finally, a placard called the titulus bearing the name of the condemned man and his sentence, was placed at the top of the cross. Slaves were crucified outside of Rome in a place called Sessorium, beyond the Esquiline Gate; their execution was entrusted to the carnifex servorum (the place of the hangman). Eventually this wretched locality became a forest of crosses, while the bodies of the victims were the pray of vultures and other rapacious birds. It often happened that the condemned man did not die of hunger or thirst, but lingered on the cross for several days. To shorten his punishment therefore, and lessen his terrible sufferings, his legs were sometimes broken. This custom, exceptional among the Romans, was common with the Jews. In this way it was possible to take down the corpse on the very evening of the execution. Among the Romans, though, the corpse could not be taken down, unless such removal had been specially authorized in the sentence of death. The corpse might also be buried if the sentence permitted. It is remarkable that all of this the Bible records with the simple words, "And they crucified Him." (Mark 15:24).