Friday, June 14, 2013
Winter in Malta and then Rome
Dear Friends,
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles (28:1-16):
Once we had reached safety we learned that the island was called Malta. The natives showed us extraordinary hospitality; they lit a fire and welcomed all of us because it had begun to rain and was cold. Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood and was putting it on the fire when a viper, escaping from the heat, fastened on his hand. When the natives saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “This man must certainly be a murderer; though he escaped the sea, Justice has not let him remain alive.” But he shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no harm. They were expecting him to swell up or suddenly to fall down dead but, after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god.
In the vicinity of that place were lands belonging to a man named Publius, the chief of the island. He welcomed us and received us cordially as his guests for three days. It so happened that the father of Publius was sick with a fever and dysentery. Paul visited him and, after praying, laid his hands on him and healed him. After this had taken place, the rest of the sick on the island came to Paul and were cured. They paid us great honor and when we eventually set sail they brought us the provisions we needed.
Three months later we set sail on a ship that had wintered at the island. It was an Alexandrian ship with the Dioscuri as its figurehead. We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days, and from there we sailed round the coast and arrived at Rhegium. After a day, a south wind came up and in two days we reached Puteoli. There we found some brothers and were urged to stay with them for seven days. And thus we came to Rome. The brothers from there heard about us and came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul gave thanks to God and took courage. When he entered Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him.
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We had a beautiful sunny day yesterday and it was warm in the afternoon.
Below you will find the message of Our Lord and Savior, the Son of God, gave to Father Melvin. Jesus spoke to him these words,
“If you are united to Me, I will help you, My brother Melvin and all My brothers and sisters living in every part of the world. Let us work together every day. My great friend Saint Paul was protected by Me. There were plenty of storms when they were on the sea and all thought that they would die, but not one died. I took care of them. When Saint Paul picked up the snake, the people thought that the snake would bite him and he would die. The snake did not bite him so he remained in good health. He went around healing the sick and this really touched the people who saw this or heard about it. I had given Paul many great gifts and he used them to help the people.
“I call you all, My brothers and sisters, to help the poor people and those who do not believe in Me that they come and accept Me as their Savior, so that their lives may be changed. I have all power and I want to use this power to help you, but you must cooperate with Me. Be men and women of prayer. I bless you all.”
Father Melvin