Saturday in the Fifth Week of Easter

We pray through the Easter season and listen to Saint Augustine teach us why praise is practice for the joy we hope to live forever. We hold praise and longing together, learning to let our actions become an Alleluia long after we leave church. 
• offering the day through the Immaculate Heart of Mary in union with the Mass 
• Augustine on praising God now as training for eternal joy 
• praise with joy and petition with yearning while we wait for what is promised 
• Lent and Easter as signs of trial now and serenity to come 
• Alleluia as mutual encouragement to praise the Lord 
• praising God with our whole life through justice and good actions 
If you found this time of prayer and reflection fruitful and would like more opportunities to grow in your faith, consider joining the Cristeros and purchasing our publications now available on Amazon.com. The Cristeros app is available on the Apple app in Google Play Store. More information on the Cristeros can be found at theCristeros.org. 

Transcript

Saint Augustine On Praise

Baptism And Fullness Of Glory

Closing Prayers And Devotions

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Saturday, in the fifth week of Easter. In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, for the remission of my sins, for the intentions of my family and friends, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen. From a discourse on the Psalms by Saint Augustine, Bishop. Our thoughts in this present life should turn on the praise of God, because it is in praising God that we shall rejoice forever in the life to come, and no one can be ready for the next life unless he trains himself for it now. So we praise God during our earthly life, and at the same time we make our petitions to him. Our praise is expressed with joy, our petitions with yearning. We have been promised something we do not yet possess, and because the promise was made by one who keeps his word, we trust him and are glad. But insofar as possession is delayed, we can only long and yearn for it. It is good for us to persevere in longing until we receive what was promised, and yearning is over. Then praise alone will remain. Because there are these two periods of time, the one that now is, beset with the trials and troubles of this life, and the other yet to come, a life of everlasting serenity and joy, we are given two liturgical seasons, one before Easter and the other after. The season before Easter signifies the troubles in which we live here and now, while the time after Easter, which we are celebrating at present, signifies the happiness that will be ours in the future. What we commemorate before Easter is what we experience in this life. What we celebrate after Easter points to something we do not yet possess. This is why we keep the first season with fasting and prayer. But now the fast is over, and we devote the present season to praise. Such is the meaning of the Alleluia, we sing. Both these periods are represented and demonstrated for us in Christ our Head. The Lord's passion depicts for us our present life of trial, shows how we must suffer and be afflicted and finally die. The Lord's resurrection and glorification show us the life that will be given to us in the future. Now, therefore, brethren, we urge you to praise God. That is what we are all telling each other when we say Alleluia. You say to your neighbor, Praise the Lord, and he says the same to you. We are all urging one another to praise the Lord, and all thereby doing what each of us urges the other to do. But see that your praise comes from your whole being. In other words, see that you praise God, not with your lips and voices alone, but with your minds, your lives, and all your actions. We are praising God now, assembled as we are here in church. But when we go on our various ways again, it seems as if we cease to praise God. But provided we do not cease to live a good life, we shall always be praising God. You cease to praise God only when you swerve from justice and from what is pleasing to God. If you never turn aside from the good life, your tongue may be silent, but your actions will cry aloud, and God will perceive your intentions. For as our ears hear each other's voices, so do God's ears hear our thoughts. Your sorrow will be turned into joy. Alleluia. While the world rejoices, you will weep, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. Alleluia. Almighty and eternal God, who through the regenerating power of baptism have been pleased to confer on us heavenly life. Grant we pray that those you render capable of immortality by justifying them may by your guidance attain the fullness of glory through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen. Let us praise the Lord and give Him thanks. All that I have and all that I am, I give to your hands, Jesus, through the heart of Mary, your blessed mother. Amen. Sacred heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. If you found this time of prayer and reflection fruitful and would like more opportunities to grow in your faith, consider joining the Cristuros and purchasing our publications now available on Amazon.com. The Cristeros app is available on the Apple app in Google Play Store. More information on the Cristuros can be found at theCristeros.org.