Why do we have temptations?

http://heralds.ca/blog/temptations/

What are we, or what is our strength, that we should be able to resist so many temptations? asks St. Bernard. And he answers: ‘This was certainly what God intended; that we, seeing our deficiencies, and that we have no other help, should with all humility have recourse to his mercy.’ God knows how useful it is to us to be obliged to pray, in order to keep us humble, and to exercise our confidence; and he therefore permits us to be assaulted by enemies too mighty to be overcome by our own strength, that by prayer we may obtain from his mercy aid to resist them; and it is especially to be remarked that no one can resist the impure temptations of the flesh without recommending himself to God when he is tempted. This foe is so terrible that, when he fights with us, he, as it were, takes away all light; he makes us forget all our meditations, all our good resolutions; he makes us also disregard the truths of faith, and even almost lose the fear of the divine punishments. For he conspires, with our natural inclinations, which drive us with the greatest violence to the indulgence of sensual pleasures. He who in such a moment does not have recourse to God is lost. The only defense against this temptation is prayer, as St. Gregory of Nyssa says: ‘Prayer is the bulwark of chastity;’ and before him Solomon: And as I knew that I could not otherwise be continent except God gave it, I went to the Lord and besought him (Wis 8:21). Chastity is a virtue which we have no strength to practice, unless God gives us; and God does not give this strength except to him who asks for it. But whoever prays for it will certainly obtain it.

St. Alphonsus Liguori, “Prayer, the Great Means of Salvation” 

Learning about the Seven Sacraments

Guardian Angels Roman Catholic Church

377 Mile End Rd

E3 4QS 

United Kingdom

Monday, 26 May 2014 from 19:30 to 21:00 

Learning about the Seven Sacraments from the Catechism of the Catholic Church

What:      A course of 6 Monday evening talks followed by Q&A sessions at Guardian Angels Parish Hall, Mile End

When:      26 May:  The Eucharist     

Talks by:  Fr Richard Conrad OP MA PhD STL

Enquiries: Contact Luke Gormally on 020 7790 1232 

or 

Mary Ebbasi on 07821 632 728

Pope Invites Palestinian and Israeli Presidents to Pray Together at the Vatican

Bethlehem, May 25, 2014 (Zenit.org) |

http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-invites-palestinian-and-israeli-presidents-to-pray-together-at-the-vatican

Pope Francis has invited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Shimon Peres to meet at the Vatican and pray together for peace.

The two leaders have accepted the Pope’s request. A spokesman for President Peres said the Israeli leader “welcomes the Pope’s initiative" and that he "appreciates any effort that is being made towards achieving peace between Israel and her neighbors.”

The Jerusalem Post reported that the subject is likely to be raised in discussion when Francis meets Peres on Monday at the President’s residence and a date will be set for the meeting in the Vatican.

Meanwhile, a PLO executive committee member told CNN that the Palestinian leadership had accepted the papal invitation. Abbas' office has said the prayer meeting will take place on June 6. 

The Pope issued the invitation at the end of this morning’s Mass in Manger Square. “In this, the birthplace of the Prince of Peace, I wish to invite you, President Mahmoud Abbas, together with President Shimon Peres, to join me in heartfelt prayer to God for the gift of peace,” he said. “I offer my home in the Vatican as a place for this encounter of prayer”.

“All of us want peace,” the Pope continued. “Many people build it day by day through small gestures and acts; many of them are suffering, yet patiently persevere in their efforts to be peacemakers.

Francis said everyone, especially those “placed at the service” of their respective peoples, “have the duty to become instruments and artisans of peace, especially by our prayers.

“Building peace is difficult, but living without peace is a constant torment,” he said. “The men and women of these lands, and of the entire world, all of them, ask us to bring before God their fervent hopes for peace”.

The Pope’s initiative will have to take place soon as President Peres, who is 90 years old, steps down in July. He has served as President since 2007.

It was one of three surprises today in Bethlehem, the others being the Pope’s unexpected prayer beside the separation wall that divides Israel and Palestine, and his planned trip to Galilee, also announced at the end of the Mass. 

(May 25, 2014) © Innovative Media Inc.

CHOSEN TO SERVE

In every age, human societies have felt the need to distinguish some men as mediators between themselves and the deity, real or fictitious, to whom they dedicate their faith. It is such a compelling sentiment and need that, strictly speaking, we find virtually no exceptions to this rule over the course of his- tory. For while our nature instinctively clamours for the infinite, it yearns to establish a bridge that will help it span the measureless abyss that separates us from God, and win the favour of this Omnipotent Being, whose absolute perfection and purity our intelligence can only glimpse.

Now, the greater the notion that society has of the God it worships and honours, the more perfection it will demand of the men that it establishes as the sacred bond of unity with Him. Thus, in the Old Law, this perfection was imposed on the priests of the Chosen People as a precept, precisely because they exercised the role of intermediaries with the God of Israel: “They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God; for they offer the offer- ings by fire to the Lord, the bread of their God; therefore they shall be holy” (Lv 21:6).

The Incarnation of the Word raised the relationship between God and man- kind to unheard-of heights. All the attributes of this relationship were surpassed by an unimaginable phenomenon: the sacred bridge that united Heaven to earth would no longer be comprised of mere mortals set apart by the people, but by the very Son of God, made man, Jesus Christ, “designated by God a high priest” (Heb 5:10).

And it is through Him, “holy, blameless, unstained, separated from sinners, exalted above the heavens” (Heb 7:26), that other men will henceforth be priests until the consummation of the ages, and, like the Apostle, they can say: it is “Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20). To the priest was granted the unsurpassed dignity of acting in persona Christi, for through his ministry it is Jesus Himself who teaches, governs and sanctifies.

Of this man raised to such a sublime height, the faithful ask and require— today more than ever—not only the light of uprightness and a good reputation, but also the splendour of true holiness. The priest of Jesus Christ was not chosen to be served, but to serve. Yes, to serve the faithful and the en- tire world, making a spectacle of his spotless purity and his holiness. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may [...] give glory to your Father who is in Heaven” (Mt 5:16).

From Heralds of the Gospel Magazine June 2013

MAY PROCESSION 2014 - a date for your diary!