†Quote of the Day
"Let us love Jesus above all, let us love Mary as our mother; but then, how could we keep from loving Joseph, who was so intimately united to both Jesus and Mary? And how can we honor him better than by imitating his virtues? Now, what else did he do in all his life but contemplate, study, and adore Jesus, even in the midst of his daily labors? Behold, therefore, our model."
–St. Madeleine Sophie Barat †Today's Meditation
"I believe the life of Saint Joseph offers us a great example of strength and courage. I imagine there were many times when Joseph wondered what was in store for him and his family. Having to leave everything behind to find safety has the potential for causing great anxiety. Saint Joseph found courage in his profound faith. The life of this humble carpenter, chosen by God to be the spouse of Mary and foster father of Jesus, invites us to find our strength and courage by placing our complete trust in the Lord."
–Elizabeth Kingsbury-Puscas, p. 256 An Excerpt From
Every Day With Saint Joseph †Daily Verse
"And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful."
–Colossians 3:14-15 †St. Joseph the Worker
St. Joseph (1st c.) was born in Bethlehem in Judea and later settled in Nazareth. By Divine command he became the husband of the Virgin Mary and adoptive father to God Incarnate. We know from Scripture and Tradition that St. Joseph was a virtuous man and a carpenter by trade. It was he who was entrusted with the great mission to guard, protect, and provide for the temporal needs of God's most precious gifts, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus, in the role of husband and father within the Holy Family. St. Joseph's mission continues from heaven as the patron saint of the Catholic Church. He is also the patron of many causes including fathers, laborers, and families. His feast days are: St. Joseph the Husband of Mary on March 19th, and St. Joseph the Worker on May 1st. Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of St. Joseph the Worker in 1955 to emphasize the dignity, meaning, and value of human work in the eyes of God, and to give all laborers a model of virtue as well as a heavenly intercessor and protector. |  click to read more | | St. Joseph the Worker St. Joseph (1st c.) was born in Bethlehem in Judea and later settled in Nazareth. By Divine command he became the husband of the Virgin Mary and adoptive father to God Incarnate. We know from Scripture and Tradition that St. Joseph was a virtuous man and a carpenter by trade. It was he who was entrusted with the great mission to guard, protect, and provide for the temporal needs of God's most precious gifts, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus, in the role of husband and father within the Holy Family. St. Joseph's mission continues from heaven as the patron saint of the Catholic Church. He is also the patron of many causes including fathers, laborers, and families. His feast days are: St. Joseph the Husband of Mary on March 19th, and St. Joseph the Worker on May 1st. Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of St. Joseph the Worker in 1955 to emphasize the dignity, meaning, and value of human work in the eyes of God, and to give all laborers a model of virtue as well as a heavenly intercessor and protector.
Find a Devotional for This Saint | Acts 11:1-18 (or for the Memorial: Genesis 1:26–2:3 or Colossians 3:14-15, 17, 23-24) The Apostles and the brothers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles too had accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem the circumcised believers confronted him, saying, "You entered the house of uncircumcised people and ate with them." Peter began and explained it to them step by step, saying, "I was at prayer in the city of Joppa when in a trance I had a vision, something resembling a large sheet coming down, lowered from the sky by its four corners, and it came to me. Looking intently into it, I observed and saw the four-legged animals of the earth, the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the birds of the sky. I also heard a voice say to me, 'Get up, Peter. Slaughter and eat.' But I said, 'Certainly not, sir, because nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.' But a second time a voice from heaven answered, 'What God has made clean, you are not to call profane.' This happened three times, and then everything was drawn up again into the sky. Just then three men appeared at the house where we were, who had been sent to me from Caesarea. The Spirit told me to accompany them without discriminating. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man's house. He related to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, saying, 'Send someone to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter, who will speak words to you by which you and all your household will be saved.' As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them as it had upon us at the beginning, and I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, 'John baptized with water but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' If then God gave them the same gift he gave to us when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?" When they heard this, they stopped objecting and glorified God, saying, "God has then granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too." Psalm 42:2-3; 43:3-4 R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or R. Alleluia.
As the hind longs for the running waters,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
Athirst is my soul for God, the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God? R. Send forth your light and your fidelity;
they shall lead me on
And bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling-place. R. Then will I go in to the altar of God,
the God of my gladness and joy;
Then will I give you thanks upon the harp,
O God, my God! R. Gospel Acclamation Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my sheep, and mine know me. Jn 10:14
Alleluia, alleluia. John 10:11-18 (or for the Memorial: Matthew 13:54-58) Jesus said: "I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them. This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again. This command I have received from my Father." | I had a vision . . . (Acts 11:5) It was a tense discussion as "the circumcised believers confronted" Peter about eating with Gentiles (Acts 11:2). According to custom, "eating with" equated to "agreeing with," and it certainly did not look good for a Jewish follower of Christ to break bread with people who did not adhere to Jewish standards of purity. How did Peter respond to the confrontation? Not with a lengthy theological defense, but with a vision! As a result of Peter's explanation that day, the Church undertook a major shift in its acceptance of Gentiles. This wasn't the only time a vision had a major impact on the Church. In France in 1858, a "beautiful lady" appeared to a fourteen-year-old girl named Bernadette and told her, "I am the Immaculate Conception." As a result, Lourdes became the site of many miraculous healings, and the dogma of the Immaculate Conception spread throughout the world. In Poland in 1924, another teenager, Helena Kowalska, had a vision of the suffering Christ, which led to her joining a convent. In 1931, as a young nun, she had another vision of Jesus as the Divine Mercy. Paintings of this image have led to a newfound appreciation of the power of God's mercy over sin, hatred, and despair. The Bible is also filled with stories of how God used visions and dreams to advance his plan and his purpose. In the Old Testament, the patriarch Joseph's dreams led to his banishment from his family but, ultimately, to their salvation and restoration. The prophet Jeremiah had many visions that God asked him to share with the people. And St. Joseph's dreams helped protect the Holy Family. Today, marvel at how creative and generous God is in revealing his love through dreams and visions. Perhaps a vivid dream has inspired you to pursue a God-given purpose. Perhaps you've seen an image in your mind's eye that comforted you in a time of sorrow. Recall these experiences and thank God for them. Then ask him to continue to deepen your love for him and for others in his own creative way. "Jesus, help me to see you more clearly, both while I am awake and as I sleep." Psalm 42:2-3; 43:3-4
John 10:11-18 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
" When they heard this, they stopped objecting and glorified God, saying, "God has then granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too." end bible verse. Today, we hear good news. That our Lord isn't just for the chosen ones, the Israel of all time, but He is for everybody that seeks Him and years for Him, and doesn't even know Him. I remember a valentine's card I bought my wife early on that said "even before I met you, I already loved you".
That is how our Lord loves, for many do not know Him, yet He loves them. And it is your job to make sure that message reaches their hearts. | We pray today:
"Athirst is my soul for the living God.
As the hind longs for the running waters,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
Athirst is my soul for God, the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?" The world is thirsty for truth, for Jesus our Lord. The world tries to satisfy themselves with other things, but nothing ever truly satisfies. In the Lord, there is true drink. It is bitter at first...but then becomes the most sweetest of all. | In the Gospel today we heard: "Jesus said: "I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. A hired man, who is not a shepherd and whose sheep are not his own, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf catches and scatters them" end of bible verse. Have you ever run into volunteers at church that are pretty mean? We have one or two of those right? How about the hired people, they seem pretty nice, mostly, right? Can the pay make the difference? I ran into another choir director, a paid one at a church, I tried making small talk with him, but he seemed uninterested that I too was a choir director. He is a paid director, I am not. I was interested in knowing his song selections and set ups, and he seemed not too interested. Then the deacon showed up, he stands right up and walks to him and left me hanging. And I thought, "this is how it is when paid people work at church". Theirs is a job. They have a boss to impress. But what about the love of God in neighbor?
I have a saying that I always like to say, "money makes people act funny". Our Lord says today: "I will lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd." Did you know that more and more are turning to our Lord, from all walks and faiths? And the dark side is making itself more and more obvious...and this means that their cover is being taken, they are being exposed. What does this mean for the rest of us? Hope. Hope will always live, because Jesus reigns.
Our Lord said today:
"This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again." Did you know that our Lord lays His life for us repeatedly? While most of the world, especially the protestant world says "one and done" as if to say "once and for all", this is not the entire and absolute truth. Our Lord lays His life over and over again for us, in atonement for our sins. What He did on the cross was eternal, for all sins, yes, but what or how does that work? Do we really know? I'm listening to the book of Heaven, and it seems as if our Lord suffers and dies eternally for us...and He does it with Love, and the atonement is ongoing. Therefore, this is a calling. Why should we make Him suffer one ounce more? Why should we demand another drop of His blood for our sins?
Purity is being asked of us. Abstain from meats? No! Abstain from sin! Sacrifice an animal? No! Sacrifice yourself for the love of God our Father! | ...†....
Let us pray:
Lord, You give Yourself eternally on the cross, and on our altar. You have given us Yourself entirely and forever.
Help us give ourselves to you entirely, and eternally, in this sharing of this cup of everlasting love! | Random Bible Verse 1
Isaiah 40:30–31 30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
