Translate

Monday, October 10, 2016

There is something greater

Give and Take If God is love and we are seeking God, one of the royal roads to true divine encounter lies in being a loving person ourselves. This in

Like   Tweet   Pin   +1  
banner
amin

Give and Take

If God is love and we are seeking God, one of the royal roads to true divine encounter lies in being a loving person ourselves. This involves a willingness to open our eyes to receiving love as well as freely offering love to others.

-from Prayer in the Catholic Tradition

***

† "You can't go to heaven hating somebody. Forgive now. Be compassionate now. Be patient now. Be grateful now. Love Jesus and Mary now. Accept God's will now."
— Mother Angelica

✞MEDITATION OF THE DAY✞
"True devotion to Our Lady is interior; that is, it comes from the mind and the heart. It flows from the esteem we have for her, the high idea we have formed of her greatness, and the love which we have for her. It is tender; that is, full of confidence in her, like a child's confidence in his loving mother . . . It implores the aid of its good Mother at all times, in all places and above all things: in its doubts, that it may be enlightened; in its wanderings, that it may be brought into the right path; in its temptations, that it may be supported; in its weaknesses, that it may be strengthened; in its falls, that it may be lifted up; in its discouragements, that it may be cheered; in its scruples, that they may be taken away; in the crosses, toils and disappointments of life, that it may be consoled under them. In a word, in all the evils of body and mind, the soul ordinarily has recourse to Mary, without fear of annoying her or displeasing Jesus Christ."
— St. Louis De Montfort, p. 54
AN EXCERPT FROM
True Devotion to Mary

***
SaintofDay1

click to go there

asaint

Saint Francis Borgia

Saint of the Day for October 10
(October 28, 1510 – September 30, 1572)

Saint Francis Borgia's Story

Today's saint grew up in an important family in 16th-century Spain, serving in the imperial court and quickly advancing in his career. But a series of events—including the death of his beloved wife—made Francis Borgia rethink his priorities. He gave up public life, gave away his possessions, and joined the new and little-known Society of Jesus.

Religious life proved to be the right choice. He felt drawn to spend time in seclusion and prayer, but his administrative talents also made him a natural for other tasks. He helped in the establishment of what is now the Gregorian University in Rome. Not long after his ordination, he served as political and spiritual adviser to the emperor. In Spain, he founded a dozen colleges.

At 55, Francis was elected head of the Jesuits. He focused on the growth of the Society of Jesus, the spiritual preparation of its new members, and spreading the faith in many parts of Europe. He was responsible for the founding of Jesuit missions in Florida, Mexico, and Peru.

Francis Borgia is often regarded as the second founder of the Jesuits. He died in 1572 and was canonized 100 years later.

Reflection

Sometimes the Lord reveals his will for us in stages. Many people hear a call in later life to serve in a different capacity. We never know what the Lord has in store for us.

Saint Francis Borgia is the Patron Saint of:

Earthquakes

***
a1
***

Sacred Space
Daily Prayer - 2016-10-10

Presence

The more we call on God
the more we can feel God's presence.
Day by day we are drawn closer
to the loving heart of God.

Freedom

Lord, grant me the grace to be free from the excesses of this life.
Let me not get caught up with the desire for wealth.
Keep my heart and mind free to love and serve you.

Consciousness

In the presence of my loving Creator,
I look honestly at my feelings over the last day,
the highs, the lows and the level ground.
Can I see where the Lord has been present?

The Word of God

Monday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
readings audio

Reading 1 Gal 4:22-24, 26-27, 31–5:1

Brothers and sisters:
It is written that Abraham had two sons,
one by the slave woman and the other by the freeborn woman.
The son of the slave woman was born naturally,
the son of the freeborn through a promise.
Now this is an allegory.
These women represent two covenants.
One was from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery;
this is Hagar.
But the Jerusalem above is freeborn, and she is our mother.
For it is written:
Rejoice, you barren one who bore no children;
break forth and shout, you who were not in labor;
for more numerous are the children of the deserted one
than of her who has a husband.
Therefore, brothers and sisters,
we are children not of the slave woman
but of the freeborn woman.

For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm
and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 113:1b-2, 3-4, 5a and 6-7
R. (see 2) Blessed be the name of the Lord forever.
or:
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Praise, you servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD
both now and forever.

R. Blessed be the name of the Lord forever.
or:
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
From the rising to the setting of the sun
is the name of the LORD to be praised.
High above all nations is the LORD;
above the heavens is his glory.

R. Blessed be the name of the Lord forever.
or:
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Who is like the LORD, our God,
who looks upon the heavens and the earth below?
He raises up the lowly from the dust;
from the dunghill he lifts up the poor.

R. Blessed be the name of the Lord forever.
or:
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Alleluia Ps 95:8
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Lk 11:29-32

While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them,
"This generation is an evil generation;
it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it,
except the sign of Jonah.
Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites,
so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
At the judgment
the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation
and she will condemn them,
because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon,
and there is something greater than Solomon here.
At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation
and condemn it,
because at the preaching of Jonah they repented,
and there is something greater than Jonah here."


Some thoughts on today's scripture

Jonah converted the great city of Nineveh by his godliness and his preaching, not by miracles. Holiness is a greater marvel than special effects, but less easily recognised. The spectacular is what draws the crowds. Lord your hand is more evident in saintliness than in extraordinary signs. Open my eyes to your work in my sisters and brothers.

Conversation

Do I notice myself reacting as I pray with the Word of God?
Do I feel challenged, comforted, angry?
Imagining Jesus sitting or standing by me,
I speak out my feelings, as one trusted friend to another.

Conclusion

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.

***
wauorg

wau.org
Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Luke 11:29-32

28th Week in Ordinary Time

This generation . . . seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah. (Luke 11:29)

"Lord, it's easy to imagine myself in the crowd who was asking for a sign. After all, you're an invisible God. I can't perceive you directly with my physical senses. So I confess that sometimes, I have doubted that you're really present with me. Lord, thank you, because you have never condemned my inner jumble of uncertainties and prayers. Instead, in those times of doubt, your grace has flowed even more intensely—along with your patience and understanding.

"Lord, you are teaching me that you have created the world this way because you value faith, hope, and love. The kind of faith you're building in me decides to believe even without 100 percent certainty. I wouldn't experience the thrill of stepping out in this faith if I saw you protecting and guiding me all the time. And how could I express hope if heaven were already settled onto earth? And love? That especially enflames your heart. If I were to feel the enormous weight of your glory, it might lessen the freedom of my decision to surrender myself to you. So thank you for wooing me into friendship with you.

"Lord, when the crowd asked for a sign, some might have felt rebuffed by your response. They didn't get it—by alluding to Jonah, you showed that a great sign was appearing on the horizon. You would be crucified, buried for three days, and then raised up in glory. This is the greatest sign of all! Because they had seen you alive again, your disciples boldly gave their lives in martyrdom.

"Lord, help me to cling confidently to these signs you've given—and to the ones you're still revealing to me. You promised, 'When you look for me, you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me' (Jeremiah 29:13-14). Lord, help me to pursue you with my whole heart. I trust that as I walk with you, I will discover more signs than I can count. Lord, help me to believe so that I might see!

"Jesus, thank you for the sign of the cross—the greatest sign of your love."

Galatians 4:22-24, 26-27, 31–5:1
Psalm 113:1-7

***

audio-2cents
my2cents:

We heard the Lord say "Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are children not of the slave woman but of the freeborn woman." We are born of the new covenant, the new promise, the new bond, the new swearing, the new oath, the new Sacrament. And this is through God's grace granted through the Mother of God. If you have a mother on earth, there is a better mother. If you're mother no longer lives on earth, you have a mother in Heaven. For the very day she was conceived, the Heavens rejoiced about what was about to happen...preparing the Way Of The LORD!!!
We pray today "Praise, you servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD. Blessed be the name of the LORD both now and forever."
In comes the Lord of our lives ""This generation is an evil generation;
it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah" and what sign did Jonah give then? He was dead to the world for 3 days, but came back to life to preach repentance, to exhort repentance, to extract and implement a conversion into God's peoples' hearts. "At the judgment
the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will condemn them..." but condemnation is brought on, just like the auto-sufficiency life style that is lived today that teaches "I don't need no god", as if to say "I'm not religious" or "I got my own thing going on". NO. I spent my whole weekend preaching to one man that he should not be using the bible verses to suit his lifestyle of not going to church when he'd say "where there are two or three gathered, there He is". And I said "yeah, but where are you on Sundays? ALone!? And he went to church with us on Sunday, praise be to God, been praying for this for years, for a man to finally come see what the Queen of the south came to see for herself...the Truth. The Splendor. The Marvels. The explanations. The witnessing. To see Christ on the cross as you walk through those doors of a Catholic Church. This is a sign. This is foolishness to many. But to us, it is Salvation, the Way to Heaven. To die to what I think and live for, and to rise with Him. And this all happens in Holy Communion. John 6 says "So they said to him, "What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do?m 31 Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:
'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"and the Lord replies "So Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.o 33For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
34 So they said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."
Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst."

That is to say, The SIGN is there. It is here. It has always been here. The Father asking us to come to Him. The Father, Our Father asking us to eat of Him which is Love and Eternity. Our Father, our daddy, He is asking us to stop asking for signs to see with our eyes, but to see with our hearts. To stop asking for wisdom, but ask for truth. Stop seeking and doubting, but come and see for yourself and be faithful, full of faith. The Queen sought for herself and converted and believed the Lord. For hers was a faith journey, to journey far away to see the Truth and she witnessed that this was truly the true God, the God of Israel, the God of the Son, Jesus, who died for God, being God Himself only to come into our lives so that we may die too...for GOD!!

adailypic

your brother in Christ our Lord,
Pray for us O Holy Mother of God...

adrian

1px