Giving Glory to God: The Seventh Sunday of Easter 2026

                                                     Giving Glory to God:

The Seventh Sunday of Easter 2026 

May 17, 2026

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Acts 1:12-14; Psalm 27; 1 Peter 4:13-16; John 17:1-11

 

The Fourth Gospel writes a lot about giving glory to God. We are in the season of glory when we reward people for their accomplishments and achievements as events like galas and graduations. We tend to think of glory as recognition, success, admiration, and power. The more awards a person has, the more powerful she is. The glory about which Jesus speaks tells us that glory is revealed through love, obedience, self-giving, and belonging to God, the Creator. 

 

Our Christian life means that we make God visible through the way we live. Jesus revealed God’s heart to us through his actions. Everything he did – healing, teaching, forgiving, obeying, washing the feet of others – showed humanity what God is like. The parables he spoke revealed to us that God thinks expansively and we are to live into that enlargement. Through it all, Jesus never took honor or attention to himself. He repeatedly testified to the works he did publicly.

 

What is it like when you glorify God? God is glorified whenever God’s love becomes visible in human life. You do it when you make mercy visible. That means, you can enact justice or take revenge, and you choose a different way. It means that you speak the truth with kindness and gentleness and in a way that cares for another person. It is easy to speak the truth violent, but that is not our way. It means that we choose the difficult road of forgiveness rather than holding onto grudges and resentments. It means that we stay the long course, like a marathon, choosing fidelity over convenience. It means that we forgo our own needs for the more pressing needs of another in need. These are moments when we glorify God.

 

In this reading, Jesus will soon go to the Cross. To the casual observer, the Cross looks like failure, humiliation, and defeat. For Jesus, it is the fullest revelation of divine love. Glory is revealed in suffering. We see it every day when a parent cares for a sick child, a partner remains faithful through difficulty, a person who is ill lives with hope, or someone choosing integrity when dishonesty would be easier. These are the moments when we show that we know God – staying in the relationship, deepening one’s prayer, and participating in God’s own life. 

 

Consider the saints for a moment. They are not revered because they always led pure and chaste lives. They are revered because God’s life was able to shine through their choices. It is natural for us to seek the world’s glory, with admiration and achievement, but we glorify God, not by becoming extraordinary people, but by become ordinary people. We faithfully become the person God calls us to be. You are good enough and sufficient as you already are. Your lives already reveal God’s glory. God is glorified when we become fully alive in grace.

 

So, we do not glorify God to make God greater. God’s grandeur is much more unimaginable than we can consider. God is already infinite and does not need our glory. For us, to glorify God is to let God’s love become visible in us. 

 

Scripture for Daily Mass

Monday: (Acts 19) Paul went through the interior of Greece and down to Ephesus to introduce the believers to the Holy Spirit. The community was baptized into the Body of Christ.  

 

Tuesday: (Acts 20) The presbyters at Ephesus summoned Paul, who told them that he was going to an uncertain fate in Jerusalem. Paul recounts the ways he served the Lord with humility, tears, and trials, but imprisonment and hardships await him. 

 

Wednesday: (Acts 20) Paul prays for the whole flock and he prays for them because he knows adversaries will take advantage of Paul’s absence. When Paul finished speaking, the people wept loudly and threw their arms around him and kissed him.  

 

Thursday: (Acts 22) Paul is brought to trial. The Pharisees and Sadducees are sharply divided; armed forces rescue Paul from their midst. The Lord tells Paul he must go to Rome and be faithful there the same way he was faithful in Jerusalem.  

 

Friday (Acts 25) King Agrippa hears Paul’s case and determines that Paul is to be tried in Jerusalem, but Paul, as a Roman citizen, appeals for the Emperor’s decision.  

 

Saturday (Acts 28) When Paul entered Rome, he was allowed to live by himself. He called together the leaders of the Jews to let them know the charges brought against them. He told them his story. He remained for two years in his lodgings and received all who came to him without hindrance as he proclaimed the Kingdom of God.

 

Gospel: 

Monday: (John 16) The disciples realize Jesus is returning to the Father and that he is strengthening them for the time when he will no longer be physically with them.  

 

Tuesday: (John 17) Jesus raises his eyes to heaven and realizes it is time to glorify the Father through his death so he may give eternal life to all that be given to him. He revealed God’s name to them and now it is time to see the glory of God revealed.

 

Wednesday (John 17) Jesus prays for the safety of those given to him. He wants them to be safe as they testify to God’s steadfastness in a harsh world. He prays for unity, “so that they may be one just as we, Father, are one.” 

 

Thursday (John 17) Jesus consecrates them to the truth and wards off the Evil One. He also prays for those given to him through the testimony of others. The love Jesus and the Father share is available to future disciples. 

 

Friday (John 21) After the Farewell Discourse ends, Jesus appears at the seashore with Simon Peter who professes his three-fold love of Jesus. Jesus forgives him and asks him to care for his people even though the authorities of this world will eventually have their day with him. 

 

Saturday (John 21) Peter turns to Jesus and asks about the Beloved Disciple. Jesus retorts, “What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours?” This disciple is the one who wrote the testimony about Jesus and can attest to its truth.

 

Saints of the Week

 

May 18: John I, pope and martyr (d. 526), was a Tuscan who became pope under the rule of Theodoric the Goth, an Arian. Theodoric opposed Emperor Justin I in Constantinople who persecuted Arians. John was sent to Justin to end the persecutions. He returned to great glory, but Theodoric was not satisfied, though Justin met all his demands. John was imprisoned and soon died because of ill treatment.

 

May 20: Bernardine of Siena, priest, (1380-1444) was from a family of nobles who cared for the sick during plagues. He entered the Franciscans and preached across northern and central Italy with homilies that understood the needs of the laity. He became vicar general and instituted reforms. 

 

May 21: Christopher Magallanes, priest and companions, martyrs (1869-1927) was a Mexican priest who served the indigenous people by forming agrarian communities. He opened seminaries when the ant-Catholic government kept shutting them down. He was arrested and executed with 21 priests and 3 laymen. 

 

May 22: Rita of Cascia, religious (1381-1457), always wanted to become a nun but her family married her off to an abusive man. He was murdered 18 years later. Rita urged forgiveness when her two sons wanted to avenge their father's murder. They soon died too. Rita wanted to enter a convent, but he marital status kept her out. Eventually, the Augustinians in Cascia admitted her. She became a mystic and counselor to lay visitors.

 

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• May 17, 1572. Pope Gregory XIII exempted the Society from choir and approved simple vows after two years of novitiate and ordination before solemn profession. In these matters he reversed a decree of St Pius V. 
• May 18, 1769. The election of Cardinal Lorenzo Ganganelli as Pope Clement XIV. He was the pope who suppressed the Society. 
• May 19, 1652. Birth of Paul Hoste mathematician and expert on construction of ships and history of naval warfare. 
• May 20, 1521. Ignatius was seriously wounded at Pamplona, Spain, while defending its fortress against the French. 
• May 21, 1925. Pius XI canonizes Peter Canisius, with Teresa of the Child Jesus, Mary Madeleine Postal, Madeleine Sophie Barat, John Vianney, and John Eudes. Canisius is declared a Doctor of the Church. 
• May 22, 1965. Pedro Arrupe was elected the 28th general of the Society of Jesus. 
• May 23, 1873. The death of Peter de Smet, a famous missionary among Native Americans of the great plains and mountains of the United States. He served as a mediator and negotiator of several treaties.

Dando gloria a Dios: El séptimo domingo de Pascua de 2026

                                                       Dando gloria a Dios:

El séptimo domingo de Pascua de 2026

17 de mayo de 2026

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Hechos 1:12-14; Salmo 27; 1 Pedro 4:13-16; Juan 17:1-11

 

El Cuarto Evangelio habla extensamente sobre dar gloria a Dios. Nos encontramos en un tiempo de gloria en el que premiamos los logros y éxitos de las personas con eventos como galas y graduaciones. Solemos asociar la gloria con el reconocimiento, el éxito, la admiración y el poder. Cuantos más premios recibe una persona, más poderosa se la considera. La gloria de la que habla Jesús nos enseña que se manifiesta a través del amor, la obediencia, la entrega y la pertenencia a Dios, el Creador.

 

Nuestra vida cristiana implica hacer visible a Dios a través de nuestra forma de vivir. Jesús nos reveló el corazón de Dios mediante sus acciones. Todo lo que hizo —sanar, enseñar, perdonar, obedecer, lavar los pies de los demás— mostró a la humanidad cómo es Dios. Las parábolas que contó nos revelaron que Dios tiene un pensamiento amplio y que debemos vivir conforme a esa amplitud. A pesar de todo, Jesús jamás buscó el honor ni la atención para sí mismo. Testificó repetidamente de las obras que realizó públicamente.

 

¿Qué se siente al glorificar a Dios? Dios es glorificado cada vez que su amor se manifiesta en la vida humana. Lo hacemos al mostrar misericordia. Esto significa que, en lugar de practicar la justicia o vengarnos, elegimos un camino diferente. Significa hablar la verdad con bondad y gentileza, con compasión hacia el prójimo. Es fácil decir la verdad con violencia, pero ese no es nuestro camino. Significa elegir el difícil camino del perdón en lugar de aferrarnos a rencores y resentimientos. Significa perseverar, como en una maratón, eligiendo la fidelidad por encima de la comodidad. Significa dejar de lado nuestras propias necesidades por las más apremiantes de quienes lo necesitan. Estos son los momentos en que glorificamos a Dios.

 

En esta lectura, Jesús pronto irá a la cruz. Para el observador casual, la cruz parece un fracaso, una humillación y una derrota. Para Jesús, es la máxima revelación del amor divino. La gloria se revela en el sufrimiento. Lo vemos a diario cuando un padre cuida a un hijo enfermo, una pareja permanece fiel en la adversidad, una persona enferma vive con esperanza o alguien elige la integridad cuando la deshonestidad sería más fácil. Son estos momentos los que demostramos que conocemos a Dios: perseverando en la relación, profundizando en la oración y participando en la vida de Dios.

 

Consideremos por un momento a los santos. No se les venera por haber llevado siempre vidas puras y castas, sino porque la vida de Dios se manifestó a través de sus decisiones. Es natural que busquemos la gloria del mundo, con admiración y anhelo de logros, pero glorificamos a Dios no convirtiéndonos en personas extraordinarias, sino en personas comunes. Nos convertimos fielmente en la persona que Dios nos llama a ser. Eres suficiente y suficiente tal como eres. Tus vidas ya revelan la gloria de Dios. Dios es glorificado cuando vivimos plenamente en la gracia.

 

Así pues, no glorificamos a Dios para engrandecerlo. La grandeza de Dios es mucho más inimaginable de lo que podemos comprender. Dios es ya infinito y no necesita nuestra gloria. Para nosotros, glorificar a Dios es permitir que su amor se manifieste en nosotros.

 

Lecturas bíblicas para la Misa diaria

Lunes: (Hechos 19) Pablo recorrió el interior de Grecia y llegó hasta Éfeso para presentar a los creyentes al Espíritu Santo. La comunidad fue bautizada e incorporada al Cuerpo de Cristo.

Martes: (Hechos 20) Los presbíteros de Éfeso llamaron a Pablo, quien les dijo que se dirigía a Jerusalén para enfrentarse a un destino incierto. Pablo relata cómo sirvió al Señor con humildad, lágrimas y pruebas, pero le esperan prisión y dificultades.

 

Miércoles: (Hechos 20) Pablo ora por toda la congregación, pues sabe que sus adversarios se aprovecharán de su ausencia. Al terminar de hablar, la gente lloró desconsoladamente, lo abrazó y lo besó.

 

Jueves: (Hechos 22) Pablo es llevado a juicio. Los fariseos y saduceos están profundamente divididos; las fuerzas armadas rescatan a Pablo de entre ellos. El Señor le dice a Pablo que debe ir a Roma y ser fiel allí de la misma manera que lo fue en Jerusalén.

 

El viernes (Hechos 25), el rey Agripa escucha el caso de Pablo y determina que debe ser juzgado en Jerusalén, pero Pablo, como ciudadano romano, apela la decisión del emperador.

 

Sábado (Hechos 28) Cuando Pablo entró en Roma, se le permitió vivir solo. Convocó a los líderes judíos para informarles de las acusaciones en su contra. Les contó su historia. Permaneció dos años en su alojamiento y recibió sin impedimento a todos los que acudían a él, mientras proclamaba el Reino de Dios.

 

Evangelio: 

Lunes: (Juan 16) Los discípulos se dan cuenta de que Jesús regresa al Padre y que los está fortaleciendo para el momento en que ya no estará físicamente con ellos. 

 

Martes: (Juan 17) Jesús alza los ojos al cielo y comprende que es hora de glorificar al Padre mediante su muerte, para que él dé vida eterna a todos los que le sean entregados. Les reveló el nombre de Dios y ahora es el momento de ver la gloria de Dios revelada.

 

Miércoles (Juan 17) Jesús ora por la seguridad de aquellos que le han sido confiados. Desea que estén a salvo mientras dan testimonio de la firmeza de Dios en un mundo hostil. Ora por la unidad, «para que sean uno, así como nosotros, Padre, somos uno».

 

Jueves (Juan 17): Jesús los consagra a la verdad y los protege del Maligno. También intercede por aquellos que le fueron dados por testimonio de otros. El amor que Jesús y el Padre comparten está disponible para los futuros discípulos.

 

Viernes (Juan 21) Tras el Discurso de Despedida, Jesús aparece en la orilla del mar con Simón Pedro, quien le profesa un amor triple. Jesús lo perdona y le pide que cuide de su pueblo, aun sabiendo que las autoridades de este mundo llegarán a su fin.

 

El sábado (Juan 21), Pedro se dirige a Jesús y le pregunta acerca del discípulo amado. Jesús le responde: «¿Y si quiero que permanezca hasta que yo vuelva? ¿Qué te importa a ti?». Este discípulo es quien escribió el testimonio sobre Jesús y puede dar fe de su veracidad.

 

Santos de la semana

 

18 de mayo: Juan I, papa y mártir (m. 526), era un toscano que se convirtió en papa durante el reinado de Teodorico el Gótico, un arriano. Teodorico se oponía al emperador Justino I en Constantinopla, quien perseguía a los arrianos. Juan fue enviado a ver a Justino para poner fin a las persecuciones. Regresó con gran gloria, pero Teodorico no quedó satisfecho, aunque Justino accedió a todas sus demandas. Juan fue encarcelado y murió poco después a causa de los malos tratos.

 

20 de mayo: Bernardino de Siena, sacerdote (1380-1444), provenía de una familia noble que cuidaba a los enfermos durante las plagas. Ingresó en la Orden Franciscana y predicó por el norte y el centro de Italia con homilías que comprendían las necesidades de los laicos. Llegó a ser vicario general e instituyó reformas.

 

21 de mayo: Cristóbal Magallanes, sacerdote y compañeros, mártires (1869-1927), fue un sacerdote mexicano que sirvió a los pueblos indígenas mediante la formación de comunidades agrarias. Abrió seminarios cuando el gobierno anticatólico los clausuraba. Fue arrestado y ejecutado junto con 21 sacerdotes y 3 laicos.

 

22 de mayo: Rita de Casia, religiosa (1381-1457), siempre quiso ser monja, pero su familia la casó con un hombre abusivo. Él fue asesinado 18 años después. Rita imploró perdón cuando sus dos hijos quisieron vengar el asesinato de su padre. Poco después, ellos también murieron. Rita deseaba ingresar en un convento, pero su estado civil se lo impidió. Finalmente, los agustinos de Casia la admitieron. Se convirtió en mística y consejera de los visitantes laicos.

 

Esta semana en la historia jesuita

 

• 17 de mayo de 1572. El papa Gregorio XIII eximió a la Compañía de Cristo del coro y aprobó los votos simples tras dos años de noviciado y ordenación, antes de la profesión solemne. En estos asuntos, revocó un decreto de San Pío V.
• 18 de mayo de 1769. Elección del cardenal Lorenzo Ganganelli como papa Clemente XIV. Fue el papa que suprimió la Compañía de Jesús.
• 19 de mayo de 1652. Nacimiento de Paul Hoste, matemático y experto en construcción naval e historia de la guerra naval.
• 20 de mayo de 1521. Ignacio resultó gravemente herido en Pamplona, España, mientras defendía su fortaleza contra los franceses.
• 21 de mayo de 1925. Pío XI canoniza a Pedro Canisio, junto con Teresa del Niño Jesús, María Magdalena Postal, Magdalena Sofía Barat, Juan Vianney y Juan Eudes. Canisio es declarado Doctor de la Iglesia.
• 22 de mayo de 1965. Pedro Arrupe fue elegido 28º general de la Compañía de Jesús.
• 23 de mayo de 1873. Fallece Peter de Smet, un célebre misionero entre los nativos americanos de las grandes llanuras y montañas de los Estados Unidos. Se desempeñó como mediador y negociador de varios tratados.

Photo: Springtime

 

Poem: "The Fountain" by James Russell Lowell (1891-1891)

Into the sunshine,

Full of the light,
Leaping and flashing
From morn till night!

Into the moonlight,
Whiter than snow,
Waving so flower-like
When the winds blow!

Into the starlight,
Rushing in spray,
Happy at midnight,
Happy by day!

Ever in motion,
Blithesome and cheery.
Still climbing heavenward,
Never aweary

Glad of all weathers,
Still seeming best,
Upward or downward,
Motion thy rest;—

Full of a nature
Nothing can tame,
Changed every moment,
Ever the same;—

Ceaseless aspiring,
Ceaseless content,
Darkness or sunshine
Thy element;—

Glorious fountain!
Let my heart be
Fresh, changeful, constant,
Upward, like thee!

Photo: Blossoms

 

Prayer: Six Recognitions of the Lord (Mary Oliver)

I lounge on the grass, that's all. So simple. Then I lie back until I am inside the cloud that is just above me but very high, and shaped like a fish. Or, perhaps not. Then I enter the place of not-thinking, not-remembering, not- wanting. When the blue jay cries out his riddle, in his carping voice, I return. But I go back, the threshold is always near. Over and back, over and back. Then I rise. Maybe I rub my face as though I have been asleep. But I have not been asleep. I have been, as I say, inside the cloud, or, perhaps, the lily floating on the water. Then I go back to town, to my own house, my own life, which has now become brighter and simpler, some- where I have never been before.

Prayer: John of the Cross

All heavenly visions, revelations, and feelings are not worth as much as the least act of humility, which thinks not of self but of others.

Photo: The Family

 

Prayer: Ephrem the Syrian

Virtues are formed by prayer. Prayer preserves temperance, suppresses anger, prevents emotions of pride and envy. Prayer draws into the soul the Holy Spirit, and raises us to heaven.

Being the Reason for your Hope: The Sixth Sunday of Easter 2026

                                            Being the Reason for your Hope:

The Sixth Sunday of Easter 2026 

May 10, 2026

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Acts 8:5-17; Psalm 66; 1 Peter 3:15-18; John 14:15-21

 

The readings let us know of the coming and power of the Holy Spirit. It is easy for us to dismiss the significance of the conversion of the Samaritans. This was a major event for they were a people at odds with the Jews from earliest days. Philip showed great courage to go to a hostile land to bring the message of Jesus and it was astonishing that they said “yes.” We have to realize the Holy Spirit is at work in places that we do not see. This is one reason Popes Francis and Leo asked Jesuits to go to the frontiers.

 

In the second reading, Saint Peter tells people to “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for the reason for your hope…” Let us keep in mind an important subtlety. It is in your being. It is in the way your live your life. It is not what you say but how you are that invites people to ask this question of you. In other words, they are asking, “Why are you happy? How can I trust in God like you do?” “What is it that you see and know because I want what you have.”

 

It is important for us to realize that the answer is not in what we say. It is not what we assert as our ideas and opinions. It is the way you encourage trust and give people space to be natural around you. Your way of being tells people that they are heard in your presence, even before they speak. 

 

The Church today is evolving its style of being. Priests, pastors, and laypeople must be able to receive the questions, struggles, tensions and objectives of others. They have to be able to receive each other with gentleness and reverence. We sometimes see differences in parish styles. Some pastors create an atmosphere of collaboration and stewardship while others create a version of worship and liturgy that represents their particular belief system. To an observer, one way seems open and the other closed.

 

The Church’s adopted style is one of listening. The proclamation of the Gospel cannot be done without listening. Real dialogue is not being silent and waiting until it is your turn to speak; Real dialogue allows you to be changed by what you hear. To become a church known for gentleness and reverence, as Peter suggests, means showing real strength. Some see gentleness as meekness or being weak. It is a power whose strength is realized at a later time. Being gentle suggests restraints where a person holds back the impulse to correct, to fix, or to win. Being reverent suggests seeing the person in front of you as a saint and a holy person of dignity. We are able to see each person’s story as unique, interesting, and surprising even with one’s suffering and wounds. We cannot be Church unless we approach each other without gentleness and reverence because we may be in a position to speak about Christ without knowing who he is. Our role is to reflect the Christ who is within me to another person. 

 

What if we approached one another with curiosity, discovery, and adventure. We then do not start from a position of defense, but one of engagements. We say: Tell me about yourself. Help me understand who you are and what you have experienced. This is a type of listening that strengthens faith and gives is credibility.

 

The Church gives reasons for hope not only by speaking authoritatively, but by listening deeply. When we listen with gentleness and reverence, we make space for Christ—who is always already in dialogue with every human heart, desiring to explore more deeply, and yearning to rejoice in what God is doing with your soul.

 

Scripture for Daily Mass

Monday: (Acts 16) Paul and Barnabas set sail for Philippi, a leading city of Macedonia, and a Romany colony. Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, listens to their preaching and opens her heart to them. She is baptized and invites them to stay with her.   

 

Tuesday: (Acts 16) Paul is brought to the Areopagus in Athens and tells them of the Unknown God he and Barnabas worship. 

 

Wednesday: (Acts 17) At the Areopagus, Paul declares that this unknown God is the same one Christians worship and has brought about salvation, including the resurrection of the dead. This concept unsettles some who find it a difficult teaching to accept.

 

Thursday: (Acts 15) Paul travels to Corinth and meets the Jews, Aquila and Priscilla, who were forced to leave Rome because of Cladius’ dispersion edict. He learns the tent-making trade and preaches to Jews who reject him. He encounters Titus Justus and Crispus, a synagogue leader, who comes to believe. The entire congregation believes the news of Jesus Christ. 

 

Friday (Acts 18) While in Corinth, Paul receives a vision from the Lord urging him to go on speaking as no harm will come to him. Others are harmed, but Paul escapes injury. 

 

Saturday (Acts 18) Paul travels to Antioch in Syria. Priscilla and Aquila meet Apollos, a Jewish Christian, who is preaching the way of Jesus, but of the baptism by the Holy Spirit he is not informed. They take him aside and teach him the correct doctrine. He then vigorously refutes the Jews in public, establishing from the Scriptures that the Christ is Jesus.

 

Gospel: 

Monday: (John 15) Jesus tells his friends that the Advocate will come and testify to him. Meanwhile, they will be expelled from the synagogues and harmed – even unto death.  

 

Tuesday: (John 16) The Advocate, the Spirit of truth, will guide his friends to all truth. Jesus confuses them by saying, “a little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me.”

 

Wednesday (John 16) The Spirit of truth will guide you and will declare to you the things that are coming. The Spirit will glorify. Everything the Father has is mine. 

 

Thursday (John 15) Remaining close to Jesus will allow us to share complete joy with one another. 

 

Friday (John 16) As they debate, he tells them their mourning will become joy – just like a woman who is groaning in labor pains. 

 

Saturday (John 16) As Jesus tells them again that he is part of the Father, he instructs them to ask for anything in his name and God will grant it because Jesus is leaving the world and is going back to the Father. The Father loves them because they have loved him. The Father will reward them for their generosity.

 

Saints of the Week

 

May 10: Damien de Veuster of Moloka'i, priest (1840-1889), was a Belgian who entered the Congregation of the Fathers of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. He was sent on mission to the Hawaiian Islands and was a parish priest for nine years. He then volunteered as a chaplain to the remote leper colony of Moloka'i. He contracted leprosy and died at the colony. He is remembered for his brave choice to accept the mission and to bring respect and dignity to the lepers. He was canonized in 2009. A statue of him stands in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.

 

May 12: Nereus and Achilleus, martyrs (early second century), were Roman Imperial soldiers who converted to Christianity. They left the army and were martyred when they refused to sacrifice to idols during Emperor Trajan's reign.

 

May 12: Pancras, martyr, (d. 304)was a Syrian orphan who was brought to Rome by his uncle. Both soon after converted to Christianity. Pancras was beheaded at age 14 during the Diocletian persecution and buried on the Via Aurelia. A cemetery was named after him, but his remains were sent to Northumbria in England where six churches are dedicated to him.

 

May 13: Our Lady of Fatima is a name given to Mary after she appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal between May 13 and October 13, 1917. During her appearances, Mary stressed the importance of repentance, ongoing conversion, and dedicated to the heart of Mary through praying the Rosary. 

 

May 14: Matthias, Apostle (first century) was chosen after the resurrection to replace Judas who committed suicide. In the Acts of the Apostles, Peter, quoting a psalm, told 120 people who gathered that they were to choose a new apostle - someone who had been with them from the baptism of Jesus until the resurrection. Two names were put forward and the assembly cast lots. Matthias was chosen.

 

***Please note that the Ascension is celebrated in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Newark, Hartford, and Omaha on Thursday. Most of the world celebrates the feast on  Sunday.

 

May 14: Ascension Thursday is a holy day of obligation. It marks the event in the life of the Resurrected Christ who departed from this temporal earth to return to God. It celebrates Jesus’ visible absence while recognizing his invisible presence to the world. It is the event in the life of Christ when his physical appearances came to an end so he could resume his place at the right hand of the Father in heaven. St. Ignatius was so desirous of learning about the historical Jesus that he traveled to the places in the Holy Lands where Jesus walked and lived. As he was getting kicked out of the Holy Lands, he desired to return to the place of the Ascension to see the direction of Jesus’ feet as he ascended to God. A novena is prayed beginning on this day as we await the arrival of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.

 

May 15: Isidore (1070-1130), was born in Madrid to a family of farm laborers. With his wife, he worked on an estate and became known for his piety and generosity. His remains are the cause of several miracles most notably the cure of King Philip III who became his sponsor for canonization. 

 

May 16: Andrew Bobola, S.J., priest martyr (1591-1657), is called the Martyr of Poland because of his excruciatingly painful death. He worked during a plague to care for the sick, but he became "wanted" by the Cossacks during a time when anti-Catholic and anti-Jesuit sentiment was high. His preaching converted whole villages back to Catholicism and he was hunted down because he was termed a "soul-hunter."

 

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• May 10, 1773. Empress Maria Teresa of Austria changed her friendship for the Society into hatred, because she had been led to believe that a written confession of hers (found and printed by Protestants) had been divulged by the Jesuits. 
• May 11, 1824. St Regis Seminary opens in Florissant, Missouri, by Fr. Van Quickenborne. It was the first Roman Catholic school in USA for the higher education of Native American Indians 
• May 12,1981. A letter of this date, from Secretary of State, Cardinal Casaroli, speaks positively of Teilhard de Chardin in celebration of the centenary of his birth (May 1,1881). 
• May 13, 1572. Election of Gregory XIII to succeed St Pius V. To him the Society owes the foundation of the Roman and German Colleges. 
• May 14, 1978. Letter of Pedro Arrupe to the whole Society on Inculturation. 
• May 15, 1815. Readmission of the Society into Spain by Ferdinand VII. The members of the Society were again exiled on July 31, 1820. 
• May 16, 1988. In Paraguay, Pope John Paul II canonizes Roque Gonzalez, Alfonso Rodriguez, and Juan del Castillo.