†Saint Said: "The most deadly poison of our time is indifference. And this happens although the praise of God should know no limits. Let us strive, therefore, to praise him to the greatest extent of our powers."
— St. Maximilian Kolbe † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"If, then, we wish to persevere and to be saved—for no one can be saved without perseverance—we must pray continually. Our perseverance depends, not on one grace, but on a thousand helps which we hope to obtain from God during our whole lives, that we may be preserved in his grace. Now, to this chain of graces a chain of prayers on our part must correspond: without these prayers, God ordinarily does not grant his graces. If we neglect to pray, and thus break the chain of prayers, the chain of graces shall also be broken, and we shall lose the grace of perseverance."
— St. Alphonsus Liguori, p. 201
AN EXCERPT FROM
The Sermons of St. Alphonsus Liguori † VERSE OF THE DAY
"And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God."
John 3:19-21 |  click to read more | | ST. OLIVIA OF PALERMO St. Olivia (448 – 463 A.D.) was the beautiful daughter of a noble family living near Palermo on the island of Sicily. She desired to serve God through her life as a consecrated virgin, and gave her wealth to the poor. When the King of the Vandals invaded Italy and came to Palermo, many Christians were martyred at his hands. The young Olivia would visit and encourage the Christians in prison. Her piety, which was greatly admired, caused the local authorities to send her to Tunis to face the governor. There she converted many to the Christian faith, and as punishment she was banished into the wilderness to starve to death or be devoured by wild beasts. She was later found alive by hunters, and upon being brought back to civilization she continued to convert many pagans with her zeal. She was again sent to the governor for punishment and was cruelly tortured. After being dipped in a vat of hot oil and miraculously suffering no harm, she was finally beheaded. In Tunisia there was an ancient Christian basilica dedicated in her honor and built on the site of her tomb; today a mosque rests on the site, yet it retains her name and the memory of her relics. St. Olivia is a virgin martyr venerated especially in Sicily and Tunisia. Her feast day is June 10th. | Thursday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 362
Reading I 2 Cor 3:15—4:1, 3-6 Brothers and sisters:
To this day, whenever Moses is read,
a veil lies over the hearts of the children of Israel,
but whenever a person turns to the Lord the veil is removed.
Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is freedom.
All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord,
are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory,
as from the Lord who is the Spirit. Therefore, since we have this ministry through the mercy shown us,
we are not discouraged.
And even though our Gospel is veiled,
it is veiled for those who are perishing,
in whose case the god of this age
has blinded the minds of the unbelievers,
so that they may not see the light of the Gospel
of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
For we do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord,
and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of Jesus.
For God who said, Let light shine out of darkness,
has shone in our hearts to bring to light
the knowledge of the glory of God
on the face of Jesus Christ. Responsorial Psalm 85:9ab and 10, 11-12, 13-14 R. (see 10b) The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.
I will hear what God proclaims; the LORD–for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him, glory dwelling in our land.
R. The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.
Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.
The LORD himself will give his benefits; our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him, and salvation, along the way of his steps.
R. The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land. Alleluia Jn 13:34 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I give you a new commandment:
love one another as I have loved you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 5:20-26 Jesus said to his disciples:
"I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that
of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven. "You have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.
But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother
will be liable to judgment,
and whoever says to his brother,
Raqa, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin,
and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar,
and there recall that your brother
has anything against you,
leave your gift there at the altar,
go first and be reconciled with your brother,
and then come and offer your gift.
Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him.
Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge,
and the judge will hand you over to the guard,
and you will be thrown into prison.
Amen, I say to you,
you will not be released until you have paid the last penny." | Daily Meditation: 2 Corinthians 3:15–4:1, 3-6 Whenever a person turns to the Lord the veil is removed. (2 Corinthians 3:16) When a person's face is veiled, a very essential part of them is hidden, a part that can reveal their thoughts or emotions. When Paul talks about the ancient Israelites' hearts being veiled, he is saying there was something that made them unable to perceive God fully. Something cut them off from seeing his face. Of course, Paul didn't mean they couldn't see God at all. Paul meant that they didn't have the full revelation of God yet. They had the Law of Moses to follow and to meditate on. They had the privilege of worshipping at the Temple, and they had feast days and sabbath days when they could gather to pray. But there was still something missing. When Jesus came, the veil was removed. By being born and living among us, Jesus showed us the face of God. It was the face of a God who is not distant but very near to us (Acts 17:27). Finally, after long years of waiting, God revealed the love and compassion that moved him to enter into our humanity and save us. Today, we know the truths about Christ's work of salvation, but in order to "see" him, we have to turn to him. There are many ways we can do this. In the pages of Scripture, we see Jesus healing and reaching out to the lost. As we look at a crucifix, we can see the sacrifice of love he made for us. We can see him in the faces of the people around us, especially the poor. In the Tabernacle at church, we can see his great humility in being present in the Eucharistic Bread. Think about what happens each time you "see" Jesus in one of these ways. When his grace and mercy touch you, you are changed. You know that you are loved eternally, no matter what you have done. You experience the peace that comes from knowing you are forgiven. Your anxieties lessen as you begin to see things from an eternal perspective. And you also want to be better—to be more like him. So turn to Jesus today. Let him remove the veil and open your eyes to the face of God. "Lord, I want to see you today!" Psalm 85:9-14
Matthew 5:20-26 |  Bro. Adrian Reads reflection Outloud. Click here | my2cents:
We hear in the Holy Scripture:
"Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."
There is no freedom in sin, or worldly pleasures. This is why Saints are burned at the stake...they want what Saints got and they can't have it...by force, that is, we have to allow ourselves to be free...in an exorcism too we must desire to be free, just like in Confessions, we must have the desire to be freed from sin...and then we become free, and then we can taste Heaven, in the Eucharist. | We pray in the Psalms:
"I will hear what God proclaims; the LORD–for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him, glory dwelling in our land.
The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land." | Our Lord says:
"I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that
of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven." Now our Lord is going deeper. Now our Lord is asking us for perfection. We are to listen up!
He continues:
""You have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.
But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother
will be liable to judgment,
and whoever says to his brother,
Raqa, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin,
and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar,
and there recall that your brother
has anything against you,
leave your gift there at the altar,
go first and be reconciled with your brother,
and then come and offer your gift.
Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him.
Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge,
and the judge will hand you over to the guard,
and you will be thrown into prison.
Amen, I say to you,
you will not be released until you have paid the last penny."
And our Lord declares that there WILL BE punishment for calling others names, even silly names like stupid or dumb or looking down on them. Why? Because He decided to reside in man's hearts, all of them.
And His heart is precious, no matter the atrocities they cause. Yesterday I heard about thugs that shot up a whole town and killed all top city officials in Mexico. It is a tragic event, they even shot up the facade of the church. Horrible right? So many pointless deaths? Right? Like abortion, right? Like being anti life, like those that choose to castrate themselves right? Like those that choose never to be open to having babies, right? You know where this is going right? But what these people do is an offshoot of our minds.
You see, everything happens in the mind in the eternal. You need no voice, minds are read. So the call to perfection now is so that we prepare ourselves for the Exodus we are encountering in death, so that we are perfect on earth, as it is in Heaven! | Let us pray:
Lord, we want to be perfect, like You Father God, help us desire perfection in mind, body, and soul, all things You have given us to be mindful and ever loving towards You in all...thank You Lord. amen | from your brother in Christ our Lord,
adrian |  click to hear | Random Bible Verse from online generator: Luke 4:18–19
18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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