Following the terrible attacks on Easter Sunday at churches in Sri Lanka, the Church there has set up an emergency fund and is appealing to Catholics worldwide to help rebuild the lives of those affected, and their damaged Churches. We know Catholics in Scotland also want to contribute. Please make your donation online to Missio Scotland https://www.missioscotland.com/sri-lankan-appeal or by post to Missio Scotland, 4 Laird Street, Coatbridge ML5 3LJ
Dear Brothers and Sisters, as evening approached on Easter Sunday, Jesus came and stood among His disciples and greeted them with Peace. He then showed them His hands and His side. And although He still visibly bore the terrible wounds inflicted on His Sacred Body by the sins of the world, He revealed them now not as rebuke to humanity but as an offer of the kind of lasting peace that only He could give.
Dear Brothers and Sisters. Peter and the other disciple ran together to the Tomb and saw the linen cloths on the ground. Till this moment they had failed to understand the teaching of Scripture, that Jesus must rise from the dead. But now they saw, and they believed. Later that same day the Risen Lord appeared to them in the flesh with greetings of peace and forgiveness of sins.
by Susan Hines-Brigger. Published by Franciscan Media
“The life and mission of Padre Pio prove that difficulties and sorrows, if accepted out of love, are transformed into a privileged way of holiness, which opens onto the horizons of a greater good, known only to the Lord.”—Pope John Paul II at Padre Pio’s canonization Mass
Remember what He told you when He was still in Galilee: that the Son of Man had to be handed over into the power of sinful men and be crucified and rise again on the third day!
by Susan Hines-Brigger. Published by Franciscan Media
“Do not say you are all alone in climbing Calvary and that you are all alone as you struggle and weep, for Jesus is with you and will never abandon you.”—Letters, Vol. 2, 479
Dear Brothers and Sisters, as we reflect on the Great Mystery that is the Eucharist and the Holy Mass my thoughts turn to the words of Pope Saint John Paul, written in the Year of the Eucharist 2004.
by Susan Hines-Brigger. Published by Franciscan Media
“When you sit down to eat, prayerfully reflect that you have in your midst the Divine Master and his holy apostles at the last meal he had with them when he instituted the sacrament of the altar.” —letter to Raffaelina Cerase, December 17, 1914
by Susan Hines-Brigger. Published by Franciscan Media
“I say to bear our imperfections with patience, and not at all to love and caress them, because humility is nourished in this suffering.” —Letters, Vol. 3, 684-85
by Susan Hines-Brigger. Published by Franciscan Media
“Let us answer God’s call for the sake of goodness, with all us doing our duty: I myself through the unending prayers of a humble servant of our Lord Jesus Christ; you through the burning desire to hold the whole of suffering humanity close to your breast.”—Padre Pio
by Susan Hines-Brigger. Published by Franciscan Media
“One who comes [to the confessional], comes seeking comfort, pardon, peace in his soul; let him find a father who embraces him and says, ‘God loves you,’ and makes the penitent feel that God really does.” —Pope Francis, speaking of Padre Pio
by Susan Hines-Brigger. Published by Franciscan Media
“Be firm in your resolutions. Stay in the boat the Lord has placed you in, and when the storm comes, you will not perish. It may seem to you that Jesus is sleeping, but it only seems that way.”—letter to an unknown addressee, December 27, 1917
The Inverclyde Across to Lourdes group will be travelling by Jumbulance on pilgrimage , from 20th till 29th June this year. They are appealing for male and female helpers, and sick persons to join them on pilgrimage.
Scottish Refugee Council are pleased that community groups across Scotland can now apply for funding to deliver a peer education project which enables refugees to build social connections with the wider community, improve cultural orientation, increase language practice and build employability pathways.
by Susan Hines-Brigger. Published by Franciscan Media
“Do not listen to or believe the enemy when he tells you that God has rejected you or that God is punishing you for some hidden unfaithfulness and is wanting to chastise you to remove it from your soul. That is not the least bit true.” —letter to Margherita Tresca, May 17, 1918