Mary Immaculate Parish

Aspren lived at the end of the 1st century and in the early 2nd century, as confirmed by archaeological studies.  “Aspren” was a common name during the days of the Roman Republic and the early years of the Roman Empire and afterwards fell into disuse. He was cured and baptised by St Peter and became the first bishop of Naples.

St Aspren is a patron saint of migraines.

While celebrating Mass in Malmo on a visit to Sweden this week, Pope Francis suggested six beatitudes for the modern Christian:

• Blessed are those who remain faithful while enduring evils inflicted on them by others and forgive them from their heart.
• “Blessed are those who look into the eyes of the abandoned and marginalized and show them their closeness.
• “Blessed are those who see God in every person and strive to make others also discover him.
• “Blessed are those who protect and care for our common home.
• “Blessed are those who renounce their own comfort in order to help others
• “Blessed are those who pray and work for full communion between Christians.”(source Americamagazine.com)

“Knock, And He’ll open the door
Vanish, And He’ll make you shine like the sun
Fall, And He’ll raise you to the heavens
Become nothing, And He’ll turn you into everything.”
Rumi

“Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the self-same well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.
Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven?……
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.”

Kahlil Gibran

Hope is an orientation of spirit, an orientation of the heart. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense regardless of how it turns out.

Vaclav Havel