Sunday, May 06, 2012
The Need for Assistants
Dear Friends,
Please read the passage below from the Acts of the Apostles (6:1-7):
At that time, as the number of disciples continued to grow, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. So the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table. Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task, whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” The proposal was acceptable to the whole community, so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the Holy Spirit, also Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas of Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles who prayed and laid hands on them. The word of God continued to spread, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly; even a large group of priests were becoming obedient to the faith.
I continue again today the report on the Pilgrimage to Europe. On April 24, 2012, we ate breakfast at 8:00 a.m. and at 9:15 a.m. I was at St. James’ Church to pray. I prayed my rosary and at 9:55 a.m. I entered the sacristy and got dressed for Holy Mass at 10:00 a.m. I helped again to distribute Holy Communion to the many people in the church. After Holy Mass I was chosen to be the main celebrant for the next day Mass at 10:00 a.m. in English. I then went to our hotel and lead 14 people of our group to visit the Castle in Medjugorje built by Patrick Latta from Vancouver, B.C. He now lives in Medjugorje. We did not see Patrick because he was sick but we saw his wife Nancy who gave us a talk and prepared a snack for us. After this visit we walked to the Cenacolo. This is a gift of the Holy Spirit to help those with addictions. There are 70 men living there and undergoing a great healing for they were drug addicts, alcoholics or had other addictions. The youngest is 15 years old and the oldest is 63 years old. Two young men witnessed about their life in the Cenacolo. One was from South Korea and the other was from the USA. There are now 60 Cenacolos in the world but Canada does not have one yet. I will continue with the report tomorrow.
(Below you will find the message of Our Lord and Redeemer given to Father Melvin. Jesus spoke to him these words.)
“Be filled with the Holy Spirit, My brother Melvin, and all My brothers and sisters living all over the world. You know that the Apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and they were inspired during their life by the Holy Spirit. At one point they were inspired to begin the Diaconate, a special order in the Church to help people. The Diaconate still exists today. I desire that every diocese train men to become Deacons so they can work in the parishes. They are the ones who should be allowed to preach at times on Sundays, to read the Gospel, to distribute Holy Communion and to be leaders of various groups. These are sorely needed today.”
Father Melvin