Wednesday, September 8, 2021

⛪† " .Such Was His Intention ."

†Saint Quote
"You are asking for something that would be harmful to your salvation if you had it—so by not getting what you've asked, you really are getting what you want."
— St. Catherine of Siena

† MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"What really hurts is not so much suffering as the fear of suffering. If welcomed trustingly and peacefully, suffering makes us grow. It matures and trains us, purifies us, teaches us to love unselfishly, makes us poor in heart, humble, gentle, and compassionate toward our neighbor. Fear of suffering, on the other hand, hardens us in self-protective, defensive attitudes, and often leads us to make irrational choices with disastrous consequences."
— Fr. Jacques Philippe, p. 47
AN EXCERPT FROM
Interior Freedom

⛪ TODAY'S FEAST DAY

NATIVITY OF THE VIRGIN MARY

The Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated on September 8th, nine months after the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. The Blessed Virgin's parents, St. Ann and Joachim, were an aging couple praying for a child. Mary's birth was miraculous, as she was conceived without sin (Immaculate Conception), an exclusive grace God bestowed upon her because she was predestined to be the mother of the Incarnate Son of God. The birth of the Virgin Mary ushers in the dawn of the redemption of the human race through Jesus Christ.
See More About Today's Feast >

† VERSE OF THE DAY
"For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God."
2 Timothy 1:7

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ST. ADRIAN OF NICOMEDIA

St. Adrian of Nicomedia (d. 306 A.D.) lived under the Christian persecutions of the Roman Emperor Galerius Maximian. Thirty-three Christians were seized in Nicomedia, brought before a judge, and ordered to be savagely beaten. With each new torture the men received, they bravely proclaimed their faith in Christ. They argued with the judge that by his tortures he was only increasing their heavenly glory, while guaranteeing his own damnation to hell. Adrian, a man of 28 years, was head of the praetorium and witnessed the steadfast faith of these men. He was moved to the point of conversion, and exclaimed that he, too, would reject paganism to suffer and die for the name of Christ along with the other Christians. One of Adrian's servants ran to tell his wife, Natalie, what her husband had done. Natalie, who was secretly a Christian, ran to the prison in joy at the news of her husband's newfound faith, and encouraged him to stay strong and steadfast in it. After Adrian refused to recant his profession of faith in Christ, he was thrown into prison with the other men and cruelly tortured. His arms and legs were severed on an anvil before finally dying as a martyr. Saint Adrian is the patron saint of soldiers, arms dealers, and butchers. His feast day is September 8th.

Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Lectionary: 636
Reading I

Mi 5:1-4a

The LORD says:

You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah,

too small to be among the clans of Judah,

From you shall come forth for me

one who is to be ruler in Israel;

Whose origin is from of old,

from ancient times.

(Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time

when she who is to give birth has borne,

And the rest of his brethren shall return

to the children of Israel.)

He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock

by the strength of the LORD,

in the majestic name of the LORD, his God;

And they shall remain, for now his greatness

shall reach to the ends of the earth;

he shall be peace.

OR:

Rom 8:28-30

Brothers and sisters:
We know that all things work for good for those who love God,
who are called according to his purpose.
For those he foreknew he also predestined
to be conformed to the image of his Son,
so that he might be the firstborn
among many brothers.
And those he predestined he also called;
and those he called he also justified;
and those he justified he also glorified.

Responsorial Psalm
13:6ab, 6c

R. (Isaiah 61:10) With delight I rejoice in the Lord.
Though I trusted in your mercy,

let my heart rejoice in your salvation.
R. With delight I rejoice in the Lord.
Let me sing of the LORD, "He has been good to me."
R. With delight I rejoice in the Lord.

Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, deserving of all praise;
from you rose the sun of Justice, Christ our God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Mt 1:1-16, 18-23 or 1:18-23

The Book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Abraham became the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah,
whose mother was Tamar.
Perez became the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab became the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
Salmon the father of Boaz,
whose mother was Rahab.
Boaz became the father of Obed,
whose mother was Ruth.
Obed became the father of Jesse,
Jesse the father of David the king.

David became the father of Solomon,
whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.
Solomon became the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asaph.
Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,
Joram the father of Uzziah.
Uzziah became the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.
Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amos,
Amos the father of Josiah.
Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers
at the time of the Babylonian exile.

After the Babylonian exile,
Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel the father of Abiud.
Abiud became the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
Azor the father of Zadok.
Zadok became the father of Achim,
Achim the father of Eliud,
Eliud the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar became the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.

Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
"Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins."
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:

Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,

and they shall name him Emmanuel,

which means "God is with us."

OR:

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
"Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins."
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:

Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,

and they shall name him Emmanuel,

which means "God is with us."

Daily Meditation: Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said. (Matthew 1:22)

When you watch a movie for the second time, you tend to pick up on details you missed at first. But you also risk losing any sense of surprise since you already know how it ends. Something similar might happen when you read today's Gospel. As we celebrate Mary's birth today, we already know how her story will end. But let's delve into the details to imagine how Mary and Joseph must have felt as they learned about the special role God had for them.

Mary was "greatly troubled" and questioned the archangel about whether this was possible (Luke 1:29). When Joseph heard that she was pregnant, he decided to divorce her quietly (Matthew 1:19). Their actions hardly resound with confidence! All they could see were the scandalous risks involved with choosing to go forward. Joseph risked his reputation if he married a woman who carried somebody else's child. Mary jeopardized not only her chance of a good marriage but her very life as well. Yet both said yes and did what God was asking of them.

If Joseph and Mary had been able to see how their choices would affect the world, would it have been easier for them to say yes to God? Probably. But that makes it all the more remarkable; they made their choices in the dark, without knowing how everything would turn out.

Think about all the times you have said yes to the Lord in your life without knowing how the story would end. In some situations, maybe you still followed him eagerly. But at other times, when you were in the "darkness" of suffering or loneliness or confusion, it may have been much harder.

Mary and Joseph were human, and like us, their understanding of what God would do through them was limited. But they went forward in trust, and God used them powerfully in his plan of salvation. In the same way, every time we say yes to God, we can trust that his plans for us are always bigger—and better—than our own.

"Lord, help me respond to you with the same trust that Mary and Joseph showed."

Micah 5:1-4
Psalm 13:6

Listen to 2cents

From today's 1st Holy Scripture:

(Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne,

And the rest of his brethren shall return

to the children of Israel.)

He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock

by the strength of the LORD,

in the majestic name of the LORD, his God;

And they shall remain, for now his greatness

shall reach to the ends of the earth;

he shall be peace."

"They shall remain", we heard. Our Lord speaks "Remain in Me". From John 15:4 "Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me."
What does this message say to you? I've been told to read this repeatedly as my penance for Confessions in years past. Just now it is dawning...separated from Him...we become nothing...for His Kingdom. Therefore, remain, so we can bear fruit, and this vine is growing my friend.

We pray in the Psalms:
"With delight I rejoice in the Lord.
Though I trusted in your mercy,

let my heart rejoice in your salvation.

With delight I rejoice in the Lord.
Let me sing of the LORD, "He has been good to me."

There is a story of a monk who said he can no longer play his violin, something he has done since he was a child. But he says it still plays music all day in his heart and mind. This is what a prayer is like, and is to be like, all day, in your mind, all day, in your heart...the song of God and today, the song of Mary.

In the Holy Gospel according to Matthew, we heard:
"Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins."

Now this would take a leap of faith in all dimensions and realms. That you would be called the father, and mother of the God child.
Today we celebrate the birth of Mary, Happy Birthday Mother! Mother Mary today we honor you with flowers of love and devotion to your precious heart.
I was at church the other day, it was quiet, and I was doing something when a lady with flowers walks in...kneels before our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, and then, she takes the flowers to Mother Mary, and the lady asks me from across the church "do you have a vase?", I said no. She put them there, in a corner by Mother Mary's Statue of Gudalupe, and yesterday, as I prayed there alone, I saw the flowers had a vase.
What about all of this? Why flowers to statues? Well, why flowers to grave sites? Why flowers at all? We are an expressive creature of God. We are to express ourselves and therefore, express Him in the world.
I desire my kids to be active in Church. They are not born with this love. I must express my love of God. And so, I express my interest on them with my interests. If I was a sports fanatic, I'd have them in sports. But I am a follower of God, and therefore, I put them in Church things. They cannot decide on their own if they are not educated. They cannot fall in love if love doesn't pursue them like St. Monica chasing St. Augustine. Or like the Holy Spirit chasing you right now. I am persistent. I am a nuisance. I think I annoy some. But a nuisance got to me in my life, a little old lady I wanted to ignore, but her persistence paid, I had a life changing experience. But it wasn't her, but the Holy Spirit working through a willing spirit.

Expressions.
Expressions of love my friend.
St. Joseph expressed faith.
Mother Mary is born to parents who couldn't have kids (they say) but they persisted in prayers, and miracles happen.
Even if a miracle doesn't happen, persistence becomes the oil in the lamp.

Let's pray:
Lord, I pray for perseverance.
I pray for persistence. Heavenly Father, I pray for grace.
I pray to remain! I pray we remain in You, ever faithful, ever graceful, ever loving, ever holy, ever YOURS!

amen

from your brother in Christ,
Adrian

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Random bible verse generator:

WOW

Revelation 4:11

1 "Worthy are you, our Lord and God,

to receive glory and honor and power,

for you created all things,

and by your will they existed and were created."

If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace

Going4th

For questions or comments contact Adrian@going4th.com. For more go to www.Going4th.com

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