Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength

What is the purpose of God's law or commandments? The Pharisees prided themselves in the knowledge of the law and their ritual requirements. They made it a life-time practice to study the 613 precepts of the Old Testament along with the numerous rabbinic commentaries. They tested Jesus to see if he correctly understood the law as they did. Jesus startled them with his profound simplicity and mastery of the law of God and its purpose.

Our love for God is a response to his exceeding grace and kindness towards us

What does God require of us? Simply that we love as he loves! God is love and everything he does flows from his love for us. God loved us first and our love for him is a response to his exceeding grace and kindness towards us. The love of God comes first and the love of neighbor is firmly grounded in the love of God. The more we know of God's love and truth the more we love what he loves and reject what is hateful and contrary to his will.

Faith and hope strengthen our love for God

What makes our love for God and his commands grow in us? Faith in God and hope in his promises strengthens us in the love of God. They are essential for a good relationship with God, for being united with him. The more we know of God the more we love him and the more we love him the greater we believe and hope in his promises. The Lord, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, gives us a new freedom to love as he loves. Do you allow anything to keep you from the love of God and the joy of serving others with a generous heart? Paul the Apostle says: hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us (Romans 5:5). Do you know the love which conquers all?

We love you, O our God; and we desire to love you more and more. Grant to us that we may love you as much as we desire, and as much as we ought. O dearest friend, who has so loved and saved us, the thought of whom is so sweet and always growing sweeter, come with Christ and dwell in our hearts; that you keep a watch over our lips, our steps, our deeds, and we shall not need to be anxious either for our souls or our bodies. Give us love, sweetest of all gifts, which knows no enemy. Give us in our hearts pure love, born of your love to us, that we may love others as you love us. O most loving Father of Jesus Christ, from whom flows all love, let our hearts, frozen in sin, cold to you and cold to others, be warmed by this divine fire. So help and bless us in your Son.

source: From the desk of Don Schwager, 

hosted by Kairos Europe and the Middle East

Novena to Our Lady of Good Remedy, in difficulty obtaining help, have Faith she will Help

A brief history Lady of Good Remedy and the novena.

800 years ago Christians were being captured and sold into slavery by the thousands, and nobody knew what to do about it. Then, in the year 1198, a man had an idea. St. John of Matha founded the Trinitarians to go to the slave markets, buy the Christian slaves and set them free. To carry out this plan, the Trinitarians needed large amounts of money. So, they placed their fund-raising efforts under the patronage of Mary. They were so successful at that, over the centuries, the Trinitarians were able to free thousands and thousands of people and to return them safely home. In gratitude for her miraculous assistance, St. John of Matha honored Mary with the title of "Our Lady of Good Remedy." Devotion to Mary under this ancient title is widely known in Europe and Latin America, and the Church celebrates her feast day on October 8. Our Lady of Good Remedy is often depicted as the Virgin Mary handing a bag of money to St. John of Matha. When in need - for whatever reason, but especially where you have had difficulty obtaining help - invoke the aid of Our Lady of Good Remedy, and you will surely experience the power of her intercession.

OUR LADY OF GOOD REMEDY NOVENA

O QUEEN OF HEAVEN AND EARTH, Most Holy Virgin, we venerate thee. Thou art the beloved Daughter of the Most High God, the chosen Mother of the Incarnate Word, the Immaculate Spouse of the Holy Spirit, the Sacred Vessel of the Most Holy Trinity.

O Mother of the Divine Redeemer, who under the title of Our Lady of Good Remedy comes to the aid of all who call upon thee, extend thy maternal protection to us. We depend on thee, Dear Mother, as helpless and needy children depend on a tender and caring mother.

Hail, Mary....

O LADY OF GOOD REMEDY, source of unfailing help, grant that we may draw from thy treasury of graces in our time of need.

Touch the hearts of sinners, that they may seek reconciliation and forgiveness. Bring comfort to the afflicted and the lonely; help the poor and the hopeless; aid the sick and the suffering. May they be healed in body and strengthened in spirit to endure their sufferings with patient resignation and Christian fortitude.

Hail, Mary....

DEAR LADY OF GOOD REMEDY, source of unfailing help, thy compassionate heart knows a remedy for every affliction and misery we encounter in life. Help me with thy prayers and intercession to find a remedy for my problems and needs, especially for... (Indicate your special intentions here).

On my part, O loving Mother, I pledge myself to a more intensely Christian lifestyle, to a more careful observance of the laws of God, to be more conscientious in fulfilling the obligations of my state in life, and to strive to be a source of healing in this broken world of ours.

Dear Lady of Good Remedy, be ever present to me, and through thy intercession, may I enjoy health of body and peace of mind, and grow stronger in the faith and in the love of thy Son, Jesus.

Hail, Mary.....

V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of Good Remedy,

R. That we may deepen our dedication to thy Son, and make the world alive with His Spirit.

Prayer for those Lukewarm in Faith

Because of the weakness of faith among those in the world who are believers, those of you who are strong in your faith have a huge responsibility now. You must pray this conversion prayer for the others.

�I urge you Jesus, in your Divine Mercy, 

to cover those lukewarm souls 

with your Precious Blood 

so that they can be converted. 

Amen.� 

Say this short prayer on behalf of those whom you believe need it most.

Lenten Campaign 2013, FAITH = LOVE + ACTION (Diocese of Penang)

"As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." as written in the Letter of St.James (2:26), therefore the Penang Diocesan has adapted the theme of "FAITH = LOVE + ACTION" for the Lenten Campaign 2013.

Let us love God, let us love people around us ("love one another as I love you. Greater love has no one, as to lay down one�s life for one�s friends." John 15:12-13)  especially the needy and give generously prove that we have Faith and are the disciples of Christ Jesus.

Parishes within the Diocese of Penang will mobilize it's parishioners to form the �Love Squad� at their respective parish level, consisting of youth and Parish Human Development Committee members in support to the Lenten campaign. The Love Squad will be responsible for organizing and promoting the Lenten campaign throughout the Lent 2013 season.

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Please contact the below address or website for further information on  the Penang Diocesan Lenten Campaign.

Pusat Keuskupan Katolik
2nd Floor, 
290, Jalan Macalister,
10450 Penang,
Malaysia.
Tel : 604-2273405
Fax : 604-2283870

or

visit
http://pohd.penangdiocese.org/

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.

~ Deuteronomy 7:9 ~

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.

~ 1 Peter 1:22 ~

No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

~ 1 John 4:12 ~