Michael St. Jacques

What could be closer to you than the One who gave you everything; who molded you inside, who stamped you with the divine image, who made you good, very good? Nothing is so similar to something else as you are to God. Meister Eckhart

@arealmofwonder Thank you!

"If you live in harmony with Nature, you will never be poor; if you live according to what others think, you will never be rich." ~ Seneca, 'Letters from a Stoic' The Pine Forest (1901) 🎨 Gustav Klimt

Illustrating today's Mass readings: "At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. ‘I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.’" – John 14:15-21, which is today's Gospel for the 6th Sunday of Easter. flic.kr/p/2scdC6v 📷Sculpture from the altar of the Infant Jesus of Prague in the church of Our Lady of Victories in Prague, Czechia.

@BirgitteUna Jesus asks Peter do you agapas me, (love willing to lay down one’s life) Peter responds with phileo (I love you like a friend) Jesus asks a second time with the same response. The 3rd. time Jesus goes to Peter’s level but tells him he will lay his life down!

EASTERTIDE ALPHABET (T) TIBERIAS Just after my A levels I was able to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Our visit to the Sea of Tiberias stands out for me as a time of grace. In what was a fairly packed itinerary, there was suddenly time to sit and watch the water.

#ActsOfTheApostles, #Benedictine, #challenge, #eastertide, #Eastertide2026, #gospel, #Hope, #kingdom, #KingdomValues, #lectiodivina, #love, #Lydia, #newlife, #OpenHearted, #resurrection, #RisenChrist, #trust With open hearts, new blog post on turveyabbey.org.uk/pilgrimage/?p=…

... and into The Week we go! 😄 May a gentle courage guide you. May humour be ever with you. May intellect wisely serve you. And may greeness dance about you.

@Jolz_Aust Know you are in my heart and my prayer!

Asking God for strength today. Feeling abandoned and unimportant, trying to trust that I’m not alone.

On the day I was entrusted with the ministry of the Successor of Peter, exactly one year ago, the Church celebrated the Supplication to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of #Pompeii. I therefore had to come here, to place my service under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary. #PastoralVisit vatican.va/content/leo-xi…

One year has passed since the white smoke of 8 May 2025 announced to the world the election of Pope Francis’ successor. Our video retraces the most significant moments of the American Pontiff’s first year, from audiences to apostolic journeys to Türkiye, Lebanon, and Africa.

Gospel of the Day (John 15,9-11) "If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete." vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the…

EASTERTIDE ALPHABET (R) RABUNNI At our Easter Vigil service at Turvey Abbey we have always used John’s account of the Resurrection. The text is sung and, as a consequence, I almost know it by heart. The music swells when Mary reaches the moment of recognition and says ‘Rabunni’

Team Iron Will Fam, Thought I'd follow-up with a post regarding Iron Will's recent hospitalization. We've had a few days to digest some new realities. I apologize for the length of this post, but it's important. First, Iron Will is doing SO much better. Thank you all for your intentional and powerful prayers! His lungs are still diminished, and we continue to treat him at home, but no one keeps the wee little man confined to barracks for long! Second, a critical observation for families who have children with Down syndrome and breathing issues, or even breathing issues alone: Every time Iron Will's been hospitalized with breathing issues, standard protocol has been to immediately start him on Albuterol treatments. Before we leave home and then round-the-clock in the hospital. And interestingly enough, he always seems to get worse before he gets better. When we asked why, there was no viable explanation beyond, "The (fill in the virus or infection name) has to run its course." BUT THERE IS A REASON. A potentially life-impacting/threatening reason. I said we were blessed this time around with a doctor (Pulmonologist) who applied some intellectual rigor to the problem set. True statement. He read Iron Will's complete medical history before he ever came to talk with us. ALL OF IT. And he noted Iron Will was diagnosed with tracheobronchomalacia (TBM) very early in life. And that no follow-up had been performed to assess the currency or impacts of the condition. That was Issue #1. Issue #2? Albuterol is contraindicated - or at a minimum, should be used with extreme caution (e.g., when a concurrent significant asthma flare is present) - in cases like Iron Will's where TBM is the primary driver. Why? Because it can deepen the collapse of the trachea and bronchi, making breathing harder, not easier. Yeah - you're reading that the same way I'm writing it. WTH?!!! We are Iron Will's most strident advocates. My wife is like the Sherlock Holmes of Down syndrome - relentlessly researching ways to improve Iron Will's health and life. She knows his medical profile like the back of her hand and can recite it in her sleep. In fact, sometimes she does. And guess what we were NEVER told? Despite announcing each visit that he had TBM. And guess which equation no ER staff or hospitalist ever took the time to solve? Including at a Down Syndrome Center... So this time, as he was getting worse, the Pulmonologist (who had already done a thorough INTEL prep of the battlefield) stopped the Albuterol treatments as soon as he came to see Iron Will. And the regression slowed. Then stopped. And then healing began. Listen, this isn't an anti-Albuterol post. In fact, it can be lifesaving - if and when it's administered in the proper context as part of a warranted treatment protocol. New assessment? Iron Will doesn't have asthma. It was always the TBM. There's a lot of guilt on our part. We’ve gotta process feeling like we failed Iron Will for a long while. Guilt that hopefully time and the absence of permanent damage will assuage. Because we live for that little guy. For all our children. And I'm not saying it's the whole answer - we have much more to learn, and a follow-up scope to assess potential damage already done and determine best next steps - but it's a big part of the solution. This visit - heartbreaking as it was because they all are - was providential for us. And now, I hope, for other families with children in the same situation. Because, as with everything we do as people and as Team Iron Will, our goal is to use lived experience to make other's lives better. #TeamIronWill #IronWill #DownSyndrome

@Kinza1278 10

My son just made this he told me to show you guys give it a score of 1-10

My brother, a seminarian, asked me years ago to watch this movie.

Feast of the Protomartyr of Carmel today: St Angelus. Born in Jerusalem in 1185 into a Jewish family, he converted to Catholicism & entered the Carmelite Order. Ordained priest, he spent time on Mount Carmel until asked to go to Sicily to preach against the Cathars. He was effective & worked miracles. When he persuaded a woman to leave an incestuous union, her lover, a Cathar sought revenge, attacking Angelus, who died a week later on 5th May 1220. Before he died, Angelus forgave his killer & warned against avenging his death.

Reflection by Pope Leo XIV "Missionary zeal is born from an encounter with Christ. We desire to share with others what we have received so that they, too, can come to know the fullness of love and truth found only in Him. As you draw close to Jesus through fellowship, the Sacraments, and Eucharistic Adoration, do not be afraid to ask Him what He is calling you to." (Video message to SEEK26, January 2, 2026)

The Church interprets history through the lens of the Gospel and speaks decisively against all evil, as the pilgrim People of God. At the same time, she acknowledges the need for continual conversion so she may properly fulfill her mission. As members of the same Body, we are called to renewal. #GeneralAudience

In the Catholic tradition, the confession of devotion refers to the frequent reception of the Sacrament of Penance even when a person has committed no mortal sins, confessing only venial faults or imperfections out of a desire for greater spiritual growth rather than out of strict necessity. This practice has deep roots in the Church's life but received strong papal encouragement in the twentieth century, most notably from Pope Pius XII. Pius XII addressed the topic directly in his 1943 encyclical Mystici Corporis Christi (On the Mystical Body of Christ). He warned against opinions that downplayed the value of confessing venial sins frequently, noting that while such sins can be forgiven in many other ways, the sacrament offers unique benefits for advancing in virtue. He wrote that this pious practice, introduced into the Church under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, should be earnestly advocated. Through it, "genuine self-knowledge increases, Christian humility grows, bad habits are corrected, spiritual neglect and tepidity are resisted, the conscience is purified, the will is strengthened, salutary self-control is attained, and grace is increased" by the power of the sacrament itself. The pope's words responded to a climate in which some voices suggested that frequent confession of minor faults was unnecessary or even discouraged in favor of a more general, liturgical acknowledgment of sin. Pius XII rejected this view, affirming that devotional confession serves as a powerful aid for souls striving for holiness. It is not required that every venial sin be confessed in detail; a generic or partial accusation suffices as long as there is sincere contrition and a purpose of amendment. The focus lies less on exhaustive enumeration than on opening the soul to God's healing mercy and drawing closer to Christ, the Head of the Mystical Body. This encouragement fits within a broader pattern of papal teaching. Earlier popes such as St. Pius X had promoted frequent communion and the sacraments as means of spiritual renewal, and later figures like St. John Paul II continued to echo the value of regular confession. For Pius XII, the confession of devotion was not a burden but a gift, helping the faithful to overcome small faults before they harden into vices, to receive spiritual direction, and to grow in union with the Church. Priests were urged to welcome such penitents rather than dismiss them, recognizing the practice as a sign of authentic piety. Today the confession of devotion remains a recommended path for those seeking deeper conversion. It reminds Catholics that the Sacrament of Penance is not merely a courtroom for grave offenses but a meeting place with divine mercy that refines the soul day by day. In our age when awareness of personal sin is diminished, Pius XII's teaching stands as a gentle yet firm invitation: approach the confessional often, not out of fear, but out of loving devotion, and there receive the grace that makes steady progress in holiness possible.