National Prescription Drug Take Back Day

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has scheduled another National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, (27 April). The free event will be held from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM. As of this writing, there are 500 collection sites planned in New England, including 55 in Connecticut, 50 in Maine, 188 in Massachusetts, 120 in New Hampshire, 38 in Rhode Island, and 49 in Vermont.

Public health, law enforcement, and other government and community representatives will be working at these sites to collect expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs that are potentially dangerous if left in the family’s medicine cabinet.

This National Take-Back Day is designed to provide an opportunity for the public to surrender expired, unwanted, or unused pharmaceutical controlled substances and other medications for destruction. These drugs are a potential source of supply for illegal use and are considered an unacceptable risk to public health and safety.

This one-day effort is designed to bring national focus to the issue of increasing pharmaceutical controlled substance abuse. The program is anonymous, and it focuses on prescription and over the counter solid dosage medications (i.e., tablets and capsules). Intravenous solutions, injectables, and needles will not be accepted. In addition, illicit substances such as marijuana or methamphetamine are not a part of this initiative.

To view a list of collection sites in a specific state, please click on the following:

US DEA: National Take Back Initiative Collection Site Search

Edvard Grieg: String Quartet No. 1 in G minor

It's time for some classical music. This is a presentation of Edvard Grieg’s String Quartet No. 1 in G minor (op. 27) as given by the Nordic String Quartet:

 

Reflection from Henry Ward Beecher

"I used to think the Lord's Prayer was a short prayer; but as I live longer, and see more of life, I begin to believe there is no such thing as getting through it. If a man, in praying that prayer, were to be stopped by every word until he had thoroughly prayed it, it would take him a lifetime. 'Our Father' - there would be a wall a hundred feet high in just those two words to most men. If they might say, 'Our Tyrant,' or 'Our Monarch,' or even 'Our Creator,' they could get along with it; but 'Our Father' - why, a man is almost a saint who can pray that.

"You read, 'Thy will be done,' and you say to yourself, 'Oh, I can pray that;' and all the time your mind goes round and round in immense circuits and far-off distances; but God is continually bringing the circuits nearer to you, till He says, 'How is it about your temper and your pride? How is it about your business and your daily life?'

"This is a revolutionary petition. It would make many a man's shop and store tumble to the ground to utter it. Who can stand at the end of the avenue along which all his pleasant thoughts and wishes are blossoming like flowers, and send these terrible words, 'Thy will be done,' crashing down through it? I think it is the most fearful prayer to pray in the world." - Henry Ward Beecher

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of networking breakfasts.

Fr. Jack Kolodziej, OSFS, on the Gospel of Mark

"When I was in high school, we learned about the New Testament in my freshman religion class. Fr. Joseph Murray, an Oblate who seemed to know everything about the Bible, taught us that the Gospel of Mark was the shortest of the four gospels. . . .

"Later theology classes would confirm what I had first learned as a freshman at Northeast Catholic High School. While they expanded my understanding of scripture and explained the Gospels in more detail, the core concepts of the Bible were shared with me while I was reading The Catcher in the Rye and trying to grasp the complexities of geometry. The idea that we could encounter Jesus alive in the pages of an ancient book appealed to me as a young man looking for meaning in life. . . ."

In a recent commentary, Father Jack Kolodziej, OSFS, reflected on how St. Mark's Gospel invites readers "to encounter the real Jesus and to let the Savior of the world change our world."

To access Fr. Kolodziej's complete post, please visit:

De Sales Weekly: Provincial's Reflection: Responding to the Gospel (25 APR 24)

Reflection Starter from Joyce Meyer

"Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting." - Joyce Meyer

Birthday Blessings, Jake!!!

Birthday greetings to (great) nephew Jake Duggan, who birthday is today!! May this day, and each day of the coming year, be richly blessed!!!

The Earls: "Remember Then"

It’s time for some doo wop. In this video, The Earls present "Remember Then":

 

National Youth Violence Prevention Week

This week, the week of 22-26 April, is being observed as National Youth Violence Prevention Week, an initiative designed to raise awareness and to educate students, teachers, school administrators, counselors, school resource officers, school staff, parents, and the public on effective ways to prevent or reduce youth violence.

Background information:

Sandy Hook Promise: National Youth Violence Prevention Week

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of those who teach literacy to adults.

Bill Schmitt on Defining Authenticity

"The editors at Merriam-Webster recently announced that 'authentic' was their 'word of the year' for 2023. They affirmed the perceptiveness voiced decades ago by comedian Robin Williams regarding our experiences: 'Reality - what a concept!'

"More people are wondering about reality, whether they want to embrace it, pursue it, manipulate it, or marginalize it. . . .

"In this culture where truth seems to be up for grabs, dictionary fans realize authenticity is important.

"However, in their news release, Merriam-Webster acknowledged that 'authentic' is a quality that is 'subject to debate.' As they put it, 'the line between "real" and "fake' has become increasingly blurred.'"

In a recent commentary, writer Bill Schmitt reflected on some of the ways we may face the authenticity challenge.

To access Mr. Schmitt's complete post, please visit:

Magis Center: We Seek Authenticity, But Be Careful Defining What's Real (23 APR 24)

Reflection Starter from the Gospel According to Mark

"[W]hoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." - Mark 10:43-45

Quartet Classic: "Some Glorious Day"

As we continue to live this week,I offer this version of Quartet Classic presenting "Some Glorious Day":

 

School Bus Driver Appreciation Day

This day, 23 April is being observed as School Bus Driver Appreciation Day. This observance, on the fourth Tuesday in April, is designed to "celebrate this often underappreciated school role."

Related information:

FutureFund: 25 School Bus Driver Appreciation Ideas

Thank You, Lord

Thank you,  Lord, for the graces you bestow on us during the Easter season.

Br. Andrew Lyons, O.P., on Easter People as Pilgrim People

"In April of 2022, a few months before taking the Dominican habit, I walked around the Notre Dame campus with a Dominican friar. A question had been on my mind for some time. 'Father,' I said, 'I don't think I understand Easter.' . . .

"He replied with an understanding but cautionary tone, 'Easter doesn't mean that we're done, that the work of the Christian life is over. It's a time of new life, of growth.'"

In a recent commentary using the example of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Brother Andrew Lyons, O.P., reflected on how, although we are still Easter people, we are still pilgrims on our journey..

To access Br. Andrew's complete post, please visit:

Dominicana: Easter People, Pilgrim People (19 APR 24) 

Reflection Starter from Perry Paxton

"Excellence is in the details. Give attention to the details and excellence will come." - attributed to Perry Paxton

The PeacheatersL "Midnight Rider"

One of the treasures of New England is the great variety of music in our region. Some of this music (of whatever genre) is provided musicians from the region; other music is provided by artists visiting the region from other areas.

One such example is the Massachusetts-based Peacheaters.

In this video, The Peacheaters are presenting "Midnight Rider":

 

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of helpful advice.

Bishop Henning on God's Mysterious and Marvelous Ways

"Last week, the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul was packed to overflowing for a Mass of Thanksgiving and farewell with Bishop-elect James Ruggieri. At the reception after the Mass, people waited upwards of two hours to greet him personally. It was a truly beautiful evening of prayer and fellowship and I am so grateful to the many volunteers and diocesan staff who worked to make the gathering possible. Of course, I am grateful for the Bishop-elect. His humble gift of himself drew us together as he has done for so many years across multiple parishes of the diocese. While it is difficult to say goodbye to a friend - and there were certainly some tears shed that evening - it was nonetheless an evening filled with a sense of joy in the blessings of God and a desire to send the Bishop-elect to his new ministry accompanied by the prayers and best wishes of Providence. 

"I know that too often, we have to read of decline in the practice of the faith. . . . And yet I have to ask, how many other events took place that Thursday evening in Rhode Island that drew more than 1,500 committed and joyful people...?"

In a recent commentary, Bishop Richard G. Henning, the bishop of the Diocese of Providence (RI), reflected on how it "can be challenging in the midst of life's circumstances to clearly discern God's purposes and on how we often can discern, in moments of crisis, the seeds of renewal and new life.

To access Bishop Henning's complete essay, please visit: 

The State of Hope: God’s ways are mysterious and marvelous (18 APR 24)

Reflection Starter from Josh Billings

"As the flint contains the spark, unknown to itself, which the steel alone can awaken to life, so adversity often reveals to us hidden gems, which prosperity or negligence would forever have hidden." - Josh Billings

Gaither Vocal Band: "Gentle Shepherd"

As we continue our Sunday celebration, I offer this version of the Gaither Vocal Band presenting "Gentle Shepherd":

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Today the Church celebrates the Fourth Sunday of Easter. The assigned readings are Acts 4:8-12, 1 John 3:1-2, and John 10:11-18. The Responsorial Psalm is from Psalm 118 (Psalm 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26. 28-29).

For one version of the Responsorial Psalm set to music, please visit:

YouTube: Responsorial Psalm / 4th Sunday of Easter / Year B / CBW#98/ Psalm 118

The Gospel reading for the procession with the palms (Mark 11:1-10) is as follows:

Jesus said: "I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father."

Reflections related to these readings:

Oblates of St. Francis de Sales: Salesian Sunday Reflections: April 21, 2024 Fourth Sunday of Easter

Oblates of St. Francis de Sales: Sundays Salesian: Fourth Sunday of Easter (April 21, 2024)

Community in Mission: Lord and Shepherd - A Homily for the 4th Sunday of Easter (20 APR 24)

Benedictine College: This Sunday, What Jesus Said About the Good Shepherd Almost Got Him Killed (18 APR 24)

Word on Fire: Three Qualities of a Good Shepherd (Cycle B * Easter * 4th Week)

The Pilot: Echoes: Scott Hahn: The shepherd's voice (19 APR 24)

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for Your presence with us as we face life's challnges.

Msgr. Pope on Overcoming Fear during Stormy Periods

"The Gospel from last Saturday’s daily Mass (Saturday of the 2nd Week of Easter) describes troubles rising and demonstrates how to endure them:

When it was evening, the disciples of Jesus went down to the sea, embarked in a boat, and went across the sea to Capernaum. It had already grown dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were afraid. But he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” They wanted to take him into the boat, but the boat immediately arrived at the shore to which they were heading (John 6:16-21).

"The images in this passage are reminiscent of the journey of life. . . ."

In a recent commentary Charles Pope (pastor of Holy Comforter-Saint Cyprian Parish, Washington, DC) reflected on Jesus being near to us as we face the storms of life.

To access Msgr. Pope's complete post, please visit:

Community in Mission: Overcoming Fear on a Stormy Night in Galilee (19 APR 24)