May Newsletter: Overview
Dear Friends,
You may or may not have noticed that we were unable to get out an April newsletter. Between my "daytime" job and tax season, I am afraid time just got away from me. So please forgive us as we get back on track.
I wanted to focus on two of May's Holy Days - the Ascension (Thursday, May 1st - transferred to Sunday, May 4th) and Pentecost (Sunday, May 11th). This is the time when Jesus points us to the role of the Holy Spirit. He recognized that the apostles were in no way ready to undertake the mission that was in store for them. Although He had spent 3 years intimately teaching, preparing, and nurturing them, yet when He was arrested, they scattered like dried leaves in the wind. Christ recognized that they needed the Holy Spirit for their next level of spiritual development (as do we).
The Holy Spirit appears sometimes as a dove, a tremendous wind and also as tongues of fire. Frankly, it is easy to relate to Jesus because of His human form, but it is more challenging when it comes to the Holy Spirit. These visual images which are intended to clarify the characteristics of the Holy Spirit, can also tend to be stumbling blocks if we stop there.
The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, piety, fear of the Lord and fortitude (courage). The 12 fruits of the Holy Spirit's presence are charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity (kindness), goodness, longanimity (or long suffering), mildness, faith, modesty, continency, and chastity. If you look at these characteristics, the dove becomes a perfect visual image for peace, chastity, goodness and joy. The strong wind represents (at least for me) fear of the Lord. The tongues of fire as fortitude or courage.
Before Christ ascended into Heaven, He promised His disciples that He would send the Holy Spirit. After the Ascension, they, along with the Virgin Mary, retired to the Upper Room where the Last Supper had taken place to pray and prepare themselves for the descent of the Holy Spirit. The nine days between Ascension Thursday and Pentecost Sunday became the first novena. Most Catholics today begin the novena to the Holy Spirit, the day after Ascension Thursday, which means that they pray the final prayer on the day before Pentecost Sunday. Of course you can say it at anytime.
God Bless,
Christine - The Way of the Cross
Anne Coming to Justice, IL in July
Anne to travel to Chicago to participate in the Direction For Our Times events on July 11th and 12th
We are happy to announce that Anne will be participating in the events at Rosary Hill this coming July. She will speak briefly at the Re-Charge
event Friday evening, July 11 and will give two talks at the Eucharistic Day of Renewal on Saturday, July 12 in addition to participating in the Holy Hour. These events will take place on the grounds of Rosary Hill in Justice, IL just outside of Chicago.
We are requesting that those who plan to attend one or both of these events complete a “let us know you are coming” form on our website to help us with our planning for these special days. We will try our best to accommodate all who wish to attend. Unfortunately there can be no reserved
seating and the seating will be on a first come, first served basis. We thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Please “let us know you are coming” to either event, or both events, by completing the form at the following link:
http://www.directionforourtimes.com/register.html
Restaurant availability close to Rosary Hill is very limited and will be difficult to navigate due to parking arrangements. We strongly encourage
people attending the Saturday event to either pre-purchase a box lunch through the Direction for Our Times website or bring their own lunch.
Coolers will be allowed on the premises. The box lunches can be pre-purchased only and will not be available for purchase on Saturday.
Drinks will be available on the Rosary Hill grounds for purchase on both Friday evening and Saturday.
Please go to: http://www.directionforourtimes.com/store/lunch.html to go to our shopping cart to purchase the box lunch for the Saturday event. We are providing this lunch at actual cost, as a service.
Please continue to check our website for information regarding this event at the following page: http://www.directionforourtimes.com/event.html
A Monthly Reflection From Anne, a lay apostle
Since last June, Anne participates in a monthly prayer group in her parish. This takes place on the first Thursday of each month, at St. Anne’s
Church in Bailieborough, County Cavan, Ireland. The evening begins at 8:00 pm with a talk by Anne, followed by an hour of Eucharistic Adoration which includes the Rosary, reading of the Monthly Message and Anne’s prayers of intercession during the procession of the Blessed Sacrament.
We are pleased to announce that you can now hear Anne’s talk from our website. On the first Friday of each month, the day after this monthly
prayer group meeting convenes, you will find an audio version of the talk available for you to listen to.
Now that we have the monthly talks by Anne available on our website, many are emailing them to friends, copying them and distributing them to others or simply bringing them to their monthly prayer groups. We are heartened by this as it is another excellent way of spreading the message.
Just as the writings are available for free on our website, we offer these talks for free. The goal is to spread God’s Good News without delay.
These audio files are available for listening directly through the web or by downloading from our website. The audio file archives include recordings of the monthly messages given by Our Lord to Anne, as well as Anne’s talks to the lay apostle prayer group.
The audio files are available on our website at: http://www.directionforourtimes.com/audio.html
THIS MONTH'S PRIVATE REVELATIONS:
There are two kinds of revelations: (1) universal revelations, which are contained in the Bible and form the core of our faith. These ended with the preaching of the Apostles and must be believed by all; (2) private revelations which are constantly occurring among Christians even to this day. You are under no obligation to believe the latter. When the Church approves private revelations, she declares only that there is nothing in them contrary to the faith or good morals. Private revelations contained here are approved by the Church's appointed Spiritual Advisors.
Medjugorje Message
April 25, 2008
Our Blessed Mother: "Dear children! Also today, I call all of you to grow in God's love as a flower which feels the warm rays of spring. In this way, also you, little children, grow in God's love and carry it to all those who are far from God. Seek God's will and do good to those whom God has put on your way, and be light and joy. Thank you for having responded to my call."
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“ANNE” – DIRECTION FOR OUR TIMES
May 1, 2008
Jesus
Dear apostles, My heart is bursting with love for each one of you. Indeed, I cannot contain the love that I possess for all of mankind. Many reject My love. They are not open to accepting love directly from My heart. You, My beloved apostles serving in this time, do accept the love of the Saviour. You rejoice in My love. You allow My love to transform you into carriers of heaven’s healing plan for humanity. Because so many reject Me, I give in a ridiculously lavish way to those willing to accept Me. Many of God’s children, living in the sadness of sin, will not admit that God could offer them anything of value. They are closed to My love for them and they are closed to My plan for them. But these people will, nevertheless, accept kindness from you, God’s apostles. They will accept good example from you, God’s apostles. Ultimately, if My plan is successful, they will accept love from you. The love they find in your heart will belong to Me because I
placed it there. When the people around you are loved by you, they experience Me. This works because you are connected to Me each day through your apostolic pledge and through your apostolic service. I have told you in the past that you bring light to a dark world. I want you to know, dear loyal apostles, that the light you bring is changing the world. We, those of us in heaven, see the light growing. Some of you begin unsteadily. You are not certain that you are called. My beloved one, I am speaking to you now. Listen to Me. You are called. You belong in this family. I need your help. I do not ever want to be apart from you again. It hurts Me to be apart from you and it hurts you to be apart from Me. Only I love you perfectly. If you remain close to Me, I can continue to love you in such in a way that you will value yourself as heaven values you. You are not perfect. It is true. I accept this about you. If you believed you were perfect, My beloved friend, you would be no good to Me. Far better for every one of My goals that you believe you are flawed. Believe in My perfection and be willing, and together we will bring an unstoppable flow of love into the world. I rejoice in your love for Me, dear apostle. I want you to rejoice in My love for you. If you do this, you will show others an accurate example of the peace that comes from resting in the Saviour. Rejoice in your heart. I am there and I love you.
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The Concert
When the house lights dimmed and the concert was about to begin, the mother returned to her seat and discovered that the child was missing. Suddenly, the curtains parted and spotlights focused on the impressive Steinway on stage. To her horror, the mother saw her little boy sitting at the keyboard, innocently picking out 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.'
At that moment, the great piano master made his entrance, quickly moved to the piano, and whispered in the boy's ear, 'Don't quit . . . keep playing.' Then, leaning over , Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached around to the other side of the child, and he added a running obbligato. Together, the old master and the young novice transformed what could have been a frightening situation into a wonderfully creative experience. The audience was so mesmerized that they couldn't recall what else the great master played. Only the classic, ' Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.' Perhaps that's the way it is with God. What we can accomplish on our own is hardly noteworthy. We try our best, but the results aren't always graceful flowing music. However, with the hand of the Master, our life's work can truly be beautiful. The next time you set out to accomplish great feats, listen carefully. You may hear the voice of the Master, whispering in your ear, 'Don't quit . . . Keep playing.' May you feel His arms around you and know that His hands are there, helping you turn your feeble attempts into true masterpieces. Remember, God doesn't seem to call the equipped, rather, He equips the 'called.' Life is more accurately measured by the lives you touch than by the things you acquire. So touch someone by passing this little message along. May God bless you and be with you always!
and remember, 'Don't quit . . . Keep playing.' |
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This Month's Freebie:
Traditionally the Novena to the Holy Spirit is said during the nine days between the Ascension and Pentecost. This month's freebie is entitled Novena to the Holy Spirit. Each day's prayer is very short and is focused on one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Click here to order your copy. |
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Humor: Genealogy
A little girl asked her father, 'How did the human race appear?'
The father answered, 'God made Adam and Eve and they had children and so was all mankind made.'
Two days later the girl asked her mother the same question.
The mother answered, 'Many years ago there were monkeys from which the human race evolved.'
The confused girl returned to her father and said, 'Dad, how is it possible that you told me the human race was created by God, and Mom said they developed from monkeys?'
The father answered, 'Well, dear, it is very simple. I told you about my side of the family and your mother told you about hers |
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