September 22, 2014
Departure for Rome
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles 27, 1 – 5:
When it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they handed Paul and some other prisoners over to a centurion named Julius of the Cohort Augusta. We went on board a ship from Adramytium bound for ports in the province of Asia and set sail. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us. On the following day we put in at Sidon where Julius was kind enough to allow Paul to visit his friends who took care of him. From there we put out to sea and sailed around the sheltered side of Cyprus because of the headwinds, and crossing the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia we came to Myra in Lycia.
Pope Francis was in Albania today Sunday. He went there only for one day. He celebrated Holy Mass in a park called after Mother Theresa of Calcutta. This is the country where she was born but she worked especially in India and now she is already beautified. She is a great saint in heaven and let us call upon her to pray for us and for peace in the world and that we may have the power to help the poor as she did. She is well known throughout the world.
Below you will find the message of Our Lord and Savior given to Father Melvin. Jesus spoke to him these words,
“Give glory to your heavenly Father My brother Melvin and all My brothers and sisters who are united to Me through your faith and love. How important it is that you pray regularly and you ask the saints to intercede for you.
The reading from the Bible shows that Saint Paul is on his way to Rome. He left Caesarea as a prisoner with a centurion in charge and they traveled by boat on the Mediterranean. They stopped in Sidon and Saint Paul was allowed to go and visit some friends there and be fed by them. They traveled near Cyprus but it was windy. The headwind caused the boat to go slowly. Then they stopped at Myra and there they had to take another ship to travel to Rome.
In those days there were no engines in the boat so they had to paddle along. Today one can cross the oceans in a week or so because of the big engines in the boats. You My brother crossed the Atlantic by boat when you were young. You left New York city and traveled for a week to England. You were sent there to the theological institute to learn theology and you stayed in England for four years. While on the boat Saint Paul had plenty of time to pray and he surely prayed for advancement of the church in the many countries he worked in. He is a great saint and you should pray to him to intercede for you. I bless you all.“
Father Melvin
P.S. We had a sunny day and it was warmer today.