Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Persecution of the Church
Dear Friends,
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles (8:1b-8):
On that day [that St. Stephen was martyred], there broke out a severe persecution of the church in Jerusalem, and all were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made a loud lament over him. Saul, meanwhile, was trying to destroy the church; entering house after house and dragging out men and women, he handed them over for imprisonment.
Now those who had been scattered went about preaching the word. Thus Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them. With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing. For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice, came out of many possessed people, and many paralyzed and crippled people were cured. There was great joy in that city.
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The sky cleared yesterday and the sun came out. We had not seen the sun for many days and we had snow for three or four days. Most of the snow disappeared yesterday and it was spring once more. It should get much warmer this week reaching past 10 degrees Celsius.
Below you will find the message of Our Lord, the Son of God, given to Father Melvin. Jesus spoke to him these words,
“A sign that one is doing the will of God is the healing of the sick, and rejoice when you see this, My brother Melvin and all My brothers and sisters scattered all over the countries of the world. Philip was accepted by the people of Samaria when they saw that he chased away unclean spirits and healed the sick. They came to believe in Me as their Messiah and Lord.
“I brought about many healings through you, My brother, in different parts of the world. You prayed over couples who could not have children and within a year they had a child. A woman in a wheelchair got up and walked after you laid hands on her. A man who had difficulty to walk and needed a cane, was healed and he threw away his cane. A woman who could not hear in one ear was healed immediately you prayed over her. A woman in New Jersey who walked with crutches threw her crutches away after you prayed with her and she went to her seat dancing. All this shows that I am working with you. As Philip brought many into the church because of these signs, you too My brother, were instrumental in bringing many people into My Church. Keep up your work and you will be blessed. I love you all and I have given you all special gifts, which you must use for My Church.”
Father Melvin