†Saint Said:
"Seeing the sun, the moon and the stars, I said to myself, 'Who could be the Master of these beautiful things?' I felt a great desire to see him, to know him and to pay him homage."
— St. Josephine Bakhita †MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"It is inevitable that the barque of Peter will encounter rough sailing. This is why we must stand together in faith and doctrine. Sometimes our morning prayer could easily include the Apostle's Creed as a reminder of our beliefs."
— Rev. Thomas J. Donaghy, p. 22
AN EXCERPT FROM
Inspirational Thoughts for Everyday †VERSE OF THE DAY
""The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord."
Lamentations 3: 24-26 |  click to read more | | STS. MARK & MARCELLIAN Sts. Mark and Marcellian (d. 286 A.D.) were twin brothers who were martyred for their faith in Rome under Emperor Diocletian. According to legend they were both deacons from a distinguished family who were thrown into prison for being Christians. Their mother and father, who were pagans, visited their sons in prison and pleaded with them to return to the worship of false gods so that they could be saved. At the same time, St. Sebastian also visited the brothers and encouraged them to stand strong in their faith. St. Sebastian's exhortation was so persuasive that the parents of Marcellian and Mark were converted, along with several friends who were present, as well as the other prisoners. All of these new Christian converts were eventually martyred alongside Mark and Marcellian. The brothers had their feet nailed to a wood post, and later their bodies were pierced with lances. Their feast day is June 18th. | Friday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 369
Reading I 2 Cor 11:18, 21-30 Brothers and sisters:
Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast.
To my shame I say that we were too weak! But what anyone dares to boast of
(I am speaking in foolishness)
I also dare.
Are they Hebrews? So am I.
Are they children of Israel? So am I.
Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.
Are they ministers of Christ?
(I am talking like an insane person).
I am still more, with far greater labors,
far more imprisonments, far worse beatings,
and numerous brushes with death.
Five times at the hands of the Jews
I received forty lashes minus one.
Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned,
three times I was shipwrecked,
I passed a night and a day on the deep;
on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers,
dangers from robbers, dangers from my own race,
dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city,
dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea,
dangers among false brothers;
in toil and hardship, through many sleepless nights,
through hunger and thirst, through frequent fastings,
through cold and exposure.
And apart from these things, there is the daily pressure upon me
of my anxiety for all the churches.
Who is weak, and I am not weak?
Who is led to sin, and I am not indignant? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. Responsorial Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 R. (see 18b) From all their distress God rescues the just.
I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD; the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
Glorify the LORD with me, let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy, and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard, and from all his distress he saved him.
R. From all their distress God rescues the just. Alleluia Mt 5:3 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are the poor in spirit;
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 6:19-23 Jesus said to his disciples:
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal.
But store up treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. "The lamp of the body is the eye.
If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light;
but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness.
And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be." | Daily Meditation: Psalm 34:2-7 When the poor one called out, the Lord heard, and from all his distress he saved him. (Psalm 34:7) After a busy day in which you "had a million things to do," you might have come to dinner exclaiming, "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse!" Those million tasks and that horse, of course, are exaggerations. But it is no exaggeration when the psalmist declares that God saves us from all our distress. Granted, as today's first reading shows, God didn't save Paul from whippings, beatings, stonings, shipwrecks, and other dangers. Still, Paul knew that God heard him every time he called out—even in the midst of his sufferings (2 Corinthians 11:30). God is our ever-present help. He walks with us through distress. He has not promised a trouble-free life, but he assures us of his help. By his Spirit, he empowers us to deal with the problems, the dangers, and the worries that come into our lives. He doesn't cause the troubles that come into our lives, but he will save us from crumbling under the weight of them. He promises to give us hope to keep taking the right steps in any distress we face. Most of us won't face torture or shipwreck, but we all have troubles. Making the rent each month, facing frightening medical diagnoses, watching a loved one suffer and die—yes, you have trouble in the world. You also have God's assurance that you don't have to surrender to fear because he will be with you. He is a loving, faithful, and powerful Father. God does not cause your distress any more than he caused St. Paul's. And he will sustain you just as surely as he sustained St. Paul. That is who he is: Father, Savior, Healer, Provider. Be insistent and tireless in seeking his presence and his help in the midst of your distress. Take him at his word. He promises to hear you when you cry out to him. He will always answer, though perhaps not as you expect, and he will sustain you, just as he sustained St. Paul. "Father, I believe you hear my prayers and know my needs. Help me today so that I don't sink under the weight of my troubles." 2 Corinthians 11:18, 21-30
Mathew 6:19-23 |  Listen to 2cents | my2cents:
Saint Paul says:
"And apart from these things, there is the daily pressure upon me
of my anxiety for all the churches.
Who is weak, and I am not weak?
Who is led to sin, and I am not indignant?"
We are all facing weaknesses, but Saint Paul says to be strong, for our weakness can make us strong...if only we remain, and return to the Lord. Is a beat up saint worth anything to you? To me? Saint Paul says "Come On!". Like Christ. He is possessed by Christ, and says basically "You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the [c]chastening of the Lord,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
6
For whom the Lord loves He chastens,
And scourges every son whom He receives." Hebrews 12. | We pray in the Psalms:
"I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD; the lowly will hear me and be glad. From all their distress God rescues the just."
Who are the lowly that will hear and be glad? And who is saved from distress? Psalms go further than temporal life. There is much rejoicing for those who die suffering...for Christ.
Psalm 126: "Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy. He who goes out weeping, bearing a trail of seed, will surely return with shouts of joy, carrying sheaves of grain.…" | Our Lord speaks:
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal.
But store up treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be."
We think of our money right away, our possessions, our temporal things, right? But our Lord is asking for a deeper message...your security in Him, your faith in Him, your total life in Him, then everything else is a byproduct. Now our Lord is asking for the heart, and where you have placed it, your faith. | ""The lamp of the body is the eye.
If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light;
but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness.
And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be."
Your eye is a lamp!? YES! With what do you see? This sets up the rest of His Holy Words. If your eye is healthy, holy, and pure, you will be filled with light, with Him, with grace.
With what do you see? There are people that say all they see is darkness, evil, and the devil wildly at work. Sounds like hell, doesn't it? What do you see? And let's forget about what you see, let's talk about what God our Father wants us to see!
This morning as I meditated before writing my conversation with our Lord went:
me: "Lord I pray for my family's salvation.
Lord: "salvation?"
And when He said that, it was like a word was a picture worth a thousand words, because it meant so much. What does salvation mean? It means more than getting yourself into Heaven. Where is the Love of God? What good is a soul in Heaven if it is not completely enamored with God? That is to say about salvation, as if it is to purchase heaven with just deeds or words. How soon we forget grace, holiness, and purity, the high cost of Heaven afforded to us by Christ.
Saint Paul paid a dear price, perhaps He paid purgatory on earth for having committed atrocities against the body of Christ.
But He boasted about it, "look at my weakness!" he exhorted, as if to say, "look at me now!". You see, there is a life of grace now, because before (before Christ) we were in darkness. Back to Genesis. Before the world saw light, there was utter darkness.
And then, light enters, and it is Christ.
And now we see with the light... with Christ.
And everything is so different. The world is not dark, but lost. The sheep suffers alone. And we must be the Christ body that searches and finds and saves the sheep. The world they say is getting smaller, but it is actually great in size. How long will you travel on foot if you had nothing? How much would you have to work if you had nothing? And this is our Lord on earth...in the lowly that hear, and are glad. Let's pray:
Lord of Heaven and earth, I want my treasure to be You alone.
I want to see with Your light, with Your eyes. Help me focus every moment on Your Heavenly desires, so that I may desire what Heaven desires here on earth. Help us love Thee more and more. | from your brother in Christ our Lord,
adrian |  click to hear | Random Bible Verse from online generator: Jesus, Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith Hebrews 12:1–2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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