Good morning, Digital Neighbors!   Happy Monday and the final week of Easter! I hope you all had a beautiful weekend. The weather here was phenomenal, some of the most beautiful spring days thus far.

For the Blessed Mother, the Apostles, and Disciples of Jesus these days between the Ascension and Pentecost were days of prayerful waiting and joyful anticipation.  Unlike the days of fearful hiding between the Passion and the Resurrection, there is a renewed confidence in the power of Jesus and in His promise to be with them always.  They know He has conquered sin and death, and they trust that the Holy Spirit will continue the work of Jesus, the Gospel, until He returns.

The Blessed Mother is the teacher of these gathered men and women as one well acquainted with the Holy Spirit and the Spirit’s movement in one’s life. She is the model of loving trust in the will of God.  She knows more than anyone else how a yes to God can change everything in your life.  Her yes so many years ago to God brought the Incarnate Word into the world and His yes to God brought abundant mercy and amazing grace into the world.  The Apostles and Disciples are ready to say yes, to be transformed by the Holy Spirit and set on fire with apostolic zeal and paschal joy.  For the last 44 days the church has proclaimed that reality in the Acts of the Apostles as we see Peter and then Paul in their service to the Gospel. The Acts do not end, the baton of evangelization, conversion and discipleship is passed from them down through the ages to us.

On this Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, I thought it would be good to conclude with a few prayers from Our Lady’s apparitions at Fatima.  Have a great day and peace.

THE FATIMA PRAYER

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fire of hell, lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who are in most need of Thy Mercy.

THE PARDON PRAYER

My God, I believe, I adore, I trust and I love Thee! I beg pardon for all those that do not believe, do not adore, do not trust and do not love Thee.

Happy Easter Digital neighbors!     Blessed Feast of the Ascension to all my fellow Catholics, and a blessed day to all the rest of you!  As I mentioned on Thursday, the feast has been transferred so that more Catholics will have the opportunity to celebrate the feast day.  Some words from St. Augustine and some commentary on it.

From a sermon by Saint Augustine, bishop
No one has ever ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven

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. For just as he remained with us even after his ascension, so we too are already in heaven with him, even though what is promised us has not yet been fulfilled in our bodies.

Christ is now exalted above the heavens, but he still suffers on earth all the pain that we, the members of his body, have to bear. He showed this when he cried out from above: Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? and when he said: I was hungry and you gave me food.

Why do we on earth not strive to find rest with him in heaven even now, through the faith, hope and love that unites us to him? While in heaven he is also with us; and we while on earth are with him. He is here with us by his divinity, his power and his love. We cannot be in heaven, as he is on earth, by divinity, but in him, we can be there by love.

He did not leave heaven when he came down to us; nor did he withdraw from us when he went up again into heaven. The fact that he was in heaven even while he was on earth is borne out by his own statement: No one has ever ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.

These words are explained by our oneness with Christ, for he is our head and we are his body. No one ascended into heaven except Christ because we also are Christ: he is the Son of Man by his union with us, and we by our union with him are the sons of God. So the Apostle says: Just as the human body, which has many members, is a unity, because all the different members make one body, so is it also with Christ. He too has many members, but one body.

Out of compassion for us he descended from heaven, and although he ascended alone, we also ascend, because we are in him by grace. Thus, no one but Christ descended and no one but Christ ascended; not because there is no distinction between the head and the body, but because the body as a unity cannot be separated from the head.

Happy Easter Digital neighbors!   Happy Saturday (posting this on Sunday since yesterday got away from me.)  Yesterday was a beautiful day, I spent a fair amount of it outside.  The Cicadas are just beginning to call, Rylee has discovered that they taste pretty good, and the day was perfect weather wise. It was a day to give thanks for such simple things in creation.  Scott and his wife Gerry helped me assemble a grill which would have been well beyond my ability and probably would have tested and wrecked my patience.  To be fair, Scott did most of the assembling, I did what I was told. It was a great day to be thankful for little things that are so good.

BE THANKFUL

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire. If you did, what would there be to look forward to? Be thankful when you don’t know something

For it gives you the opportunity to learn. Be thankful for the difficult times. During those times you grow. Be thankful for your limitations Because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge. Because it will build your strength and character. Be thankful for your mistakes They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary. Because it means you’ve made a difference. It is easy to be thankful for the good things.

A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for the setbacks. Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive. Find a way to be thankful for your troubles and they can become your blessings.

—author unknown