†Saint Quote
"Let us never forget that if we wish to die like the saints we must live like them."
— St. Théodore Guérin † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"He that sacrifices to God his property by alms-deeds, his honor by bearing insults, or his body by mortifications, by fasts and penitential rigours, offers to Him a part of himself and of what belongs to him; but he that sacrifices to God his will, by obedience, gives to Him all that he has, and can say: Lord, having given you my will, I have nothing more to give you."
— St. Alphonsus Liguori, p. 191
AN EXCERPT FROM
The Sermons of St. Alphonsus Liguiori † VERSE OF THE DAY
"Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made."
Romans 1:20a |  click to read more | | ST. ZOE OF ROME St. Zoe of Rome (d. 286 A.D.) was a noblewoman married to a Roman court official during the reign of the infamous Emperor Diocletian. For six years she suffered from a condition that left her unable to speak; when she met St. Sebastian she fell at his feet so that he would heal her. St. Sebastian made the Sign of the Cross over her, and from that moment her speech miraculously returned. As she was being healed she had a vision of an angel standing next to St. Sebastian holding a book in which was written everything that St. Sebastian preached. Her first words were ones of thanks and praise to God, and many witnesses of the miracle were brought to faith in Christ. Zoe and her husband then received baptism at the hands of St. Polycarp, along with many others who had come to believe in Christ through St. Sebastian's miracles. Of this new group of Christians, St. Zoe was the first to be martyred for her faith. She was greatly devoted to St. Peter the Apostle, and was arrested while praying at his tomb. She was martyred by being hung from a tree by her hair, with a fire lit under her feet. After her death her body was thrown into the Tiber River. She then appeared in a vision to St. Sebastian, who was in prison awaiting his execution, to tell him of her martyrdom and subsequent glory. St. Zoe of Rome's feast day is July 5th. | Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 383
Reading I Gn 28:10-22a Jacob departed from Beer-sheba and proceeded toward Haran.
When he came upon a certain shrine, as the sun had already set,
he stopped there for the night.
Taking one of the stones at the shrine, he put it under his head
and lay down to sleep at that spot.
Then he had a dream: a stairway rested on the ground,
with its top reaching to the heavens;
and God's messengers were going up and down on it.
And there was the LORD standing beside him and saying:
"I, the LORD, am the God of your forefather Abraham
and the God of Isaac;
the land on which you are lying
I will give to you and your descendants.
These shall be as plentiful as the dust of the earth,
and through them you shall spread out east and west, north and south.
In you and your descendants
all the nations of the earth shall find blessing.
Know that I am with you;
I will protect you wherever you go,
and bring you back to this land.
I will never leave you until I have done what I promised you." When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he exclaimed,
"Truly, the LORD is in this spot, although I did not know it!"
In solemn wonder he cried out: "How awesome is this shrine!
This is nothing else but an abode of God,
and that is the gateway to heaven!"
Early the next morning Jacob took the stone
that he had put under his head,
set it up as a memorial stone, and poured oil on top of it.
He called the site Bethel,
whereas the former name of the town had been Luz. Jacob then made this vow: "If God remains with me,
to protect me on this journey I am making
and to give me enough bread to eat and clothing to wear,
and I come back safe to my father's house, the LORD shall be my God.
This stone that I have set up as a memorial stone shall be God's abode." Responsorial Psalm 91:1-2, 3-4, 14-15ab R. (see 2b) In you, my God, I place my trust.
You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
Say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."
R. In you, my God, I place my trust.
For he will rescue you from the snare of the fowler, from the destroying pestilence.
With his pinions he will cover you, and under his wings you shall take refuge.
R. In you, my God, I place my trust.
Because he clings to me, I will deliver him; I will set him on high because he acknowledges my name.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in distress.
R. In you, my God, I place my trust. Alleluia See 2 Tm 1:10 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 9:18-26 While Jesus was speaking, an official came forward,
knelt down before him, and said,
"My daughter has just died.
But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live."
Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples.
A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him
and touched the tassel on his cloak.
She said to herself, "If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured."
Jesus turned around and saw her, and said,
"Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you."
And from that hour the woman was cured. When Jesus arrived at the official's house
and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion,
he said, "Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping."
And they ridiculed him.
When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand,
and the little girl arose.
And news of this spread throughout all that land. | Daily Meditation: Matthew 9:18-26 Your faith has saved you. (Matthew 9:22) Today's Gospel presents us with two very different people with two very different problems. One is a synagogue official who was likely respected in his community. The other is a woman whose constant hemorrhaging made her an outcast. Yet the two had one thing in common: desperate, they believed that Jesus was their last resort. Dig a little deeper and you'll see there were actually several similarities. And those similarities can teach us about trusting Jesus. First, both the official and the hemorrhaging woman approached Jesus in a posture of humility and faith. They both acknowledged his power and their dependence on him (Matthew 9:18, 20-21). They didn't question if Jesus could help them—they knew he could and believed that all they needed was a simple physical connection with him. And they were right! Jesus was so moved by their trust that he came to their aid. This shows that when we reach out to Jesus in faith, he will meet us with his power and his presence. Another similarity is how they both overcame the restrictions of their community. The woman seeking healing was not supposed to be in a crowd where she could come into contact with other people. So touching Jesus' garment was a bold, rule-defying act. The official faced down a different sort of obstacle. Other devout Jews might have scorned him for turning to this untested upstart. So when people ridiculed Jesus for saying the girl was sleeping, the official might have felt his faith waver. Jesus recognized the strong faith of these two miracle seekers, but he also recognized their doubts and fears. To the woman he offered words of comfort: "Courage, daughter!" (Matthew 9:22). In Mark's version of the story, Jesus also encouraged the official, telling him to "not be afraid; just have faith" (5:36). Jesus has the same words for you whenever you feel desperate. So hang on tightly to your faith! Jesus came to provide salvation and healing for everyone, the respected and the rejected. Believe in him, even when it seems impossible. He will come through in the end! "Jesus, help me to build my trust in you." Genesis 28:10-22
Psalm 91:1-4, 14-15 |  Listen to 2cents | my2cents:
In Jacob's ladder, stairs to heaven dream, there were angels, messengers going up and down, from Heaven to Earth and from Earth to Heaven. The message is now reaching your ears and eyes and hopefully your heart:
"In you and your descendants
all the nations of the earth shall find blessing.
Know that I am with you;"
I've been speaking to some fathers lately, some having faced divorce, some facing divorce, some still married just fine, but I see one common denominator, we will never stop being a father, yet, some have seemingly let go of their fatherly stance. The divorced said "I regret (as he almost cried) not raising my children right...(with God). " To the one facing divorce, seemed lost "I can't handle the situation, I can't handle the abuse", as if he is letting go. And to the one married just fine when I told him to get his high school kids to church he shrugged and joked "i can't they'll beat me up!". Do you see a common denominator? I'll give you a hint...it's about faith and the call of authority. More on that, but first we pray in the Psalms: | " In you, my God, I place my trust.
Because he clings to me, I will deliver him; I will set him on high because he acknowledges my name.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in distress. " | In the Holy Gospel, our Lord is called upon for healing. That's when most people decide to come to Him. When there is no other way. But that's not right. We should come to Him FIRST. That's how it is with the Holy Sacraments. First see Father. Even for healing, go to see father in your parish. Go for confession, and if sick, ask for Anointing of the Sick. Then see serious specialists. Even priests won't tell you this, some might even scoff. But go, just go in faith! Ask and receive. The Sacraments can heal and the sacraments can give fortitude and grace to go to surgery. Either way it is a win / win situation! Forgiven! Full of grace! Fortitude! Courage! Full of Christ! | The first miracle:
""My daughter has just died.
But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live."
And so it happened.
The second miracle:
""If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured."
And so it happened.
Common denominator: Faith.
The reason we don't see many miracles is because we don't see much faith. The reason so many exorcisms are taking long, is because many wait too long and until it is too late (and having cause much damage with sin), and many overall in Church are not attending to Jesus in Holy Mass and their respective churches.
The takeaways here? Faith.
Faith can amaze God. Lack of faith too can amaze Him in a sad way. That is because He avails whatever we ask, but we turn away. In my life, I've offered people some amazing things, and they turn away. I tell them how to be extremely blessed, and they do not believe. Why? Because it calls for something and we are not ready or willing to give.
Our very lives to God.
St. Zoe pray for us. Let us pray:
Lord, I want to amaze You, Father God.
I want to amaze others but they do not seem to listen.
Instead, I face ridicule and scorn among my family and those I serve in church.
Please Father, I ask right here and right now, for grace and faith, please help my disbelief! And I pray for this so that those that I'm praying for will begin to amaze You.
My my message be taken up Jacob's ladder with your Holy Angel, and may the Angel return with the Word that will change the world.
That there is AMAZING! | from your brother in Christ our Lord,
adrian |  click to hear | Random Bible Verse from online generator: WOW. Amazing! Romans 6:22
22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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