10 Catholic Things that Caught My Eye Today (April 11, 2016)

1. Are We Laboring for the Food and Life God Gives?

2. Today’s Mass readings.

3.

God chose us not so much because we are faithful, but because the Lord is faithful and endures our faithlessness, our indolence, our lapses.

— Joseph-Anthony Kress (@JAKressOP) April 11, 2016

4.

Today's the feast of St Stanislaus, patron saint of Kraków. May he pray for all going to @wydKrakow2016 this summerhttps://t.co/15FexUU9V0

— Fr Lawrence Lew OP (@LawrenceOP) April 11, 2016

5. It’s also the feast of Saint Gemma Galgani. 10 things here.

6.

Today’s quote comes from Fr Doyle’s prayer for priests + Thoughts for Feast of St Gemma Galgani https://t.co/mm95v8zFcD via @wordpressdotcom

— Sr. Veronica Paul (@sistervpaul_) April 11, 2016

7. From a letter by Saint Cyprian, bishop and martyr, from the Office of Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours today:

As we do battle and fight in the contest of faith, God, his angels and Christ himself watch us. How exalted is the glory, how great the joy of engaging in a contest with God presiding, of receiving a crown with Christ as judge.

Dear brethren, let us arm ourselves with all our might, let us prepare ourselves for the struggle with uncorrupted minds, with a whole faith, and with devoted courage.

The blessed Apostle teaches us how to arm and prepare ourselves: Put round you the belt of truth; put on the breastplate of righteousness; for shoes wear zeal for the Gospel of peace; take up the shield of faith to extinguish all the burning arrows of the evil one; take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.

Let us take this armor and defend ourselves with these spiritual defenses from heaven, so that when the evil day comes we may be able to resist the threats of the devil, and fight back against him.

Let us put on the breastplate of righteousness so that our breasts may be protected and kept safe from the arrows of the enemy. Let our feet be shod in the teaching of the Gospel, and armored so that when we begin to trample on the serpent and crush it, it will not be able to bite us or trip us up.

Let us with fortitude bear the shield of faith to protect us by extinguishing all the burning arrows that the enemy may launch against us.

Let us wear on our head the helmet of the spirit, to defend our ears against the proclamations of death, to defend our eyes against the sight of accursed idols, to defend our foreheads so that God’s sign may be kept intact, and to defend our mouths so that our tongues may proclaim victoriously the name of Christ their Lord.

Let us arm our right hand with the sword of the spirit so that it may courageously refuse the daily sacrifices, and let the hand—mindful of the eucharist—that took hold of the body of the Lord embrace the Lord himself, and so gain from the Lord the future prize of a heavenly crown.

Dear brethren, have all this firmly fixed in your hearts. If the day of persecution finds us thinking on these things and meditating upon them, the soldier of Christ, trained by Christ’s commands and instructions, will not tremble at the thought of battle, but will be ready to receive the crown of victory.

8. From Magnificat today:

9. A good idea throughout the day:

How will you use this day God has blessed you with?

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." pic.twitter.com/xzng9icEVd

— Diocesan Priest (@diocesanpriest) April 11, 2016

Plus some things on the pope’s “Joy of Love” here and here.

10.

The cross means there is no shipwreck without hope; there is no dark without dawn; nor storm without haven. -StJPII pic.twitter.com/OrYgjVGs0n

— Desert Nuns (@DesertNuns) April 11, 2016