†Saint Quote of the Day
" 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 †Today's Meditation
"The Blessed Virgin endured a long and cruel martyrdom in her heart for our sakes, and for love of us. Frequently, and with feelings of tender love, contemplate her standing at the foot of the Cross, and join her in bewailing and weeping over sin, which, by causing the death of Jesus, rent in twain the heart of Mary. Pledge your heart to this Mother of sorrows, by some habitual act of devotion and mortification, in remembrance and in honor of her bitter sufferings. Also, endure something for love of her, imitating her patience, resignation, and silence."
—Fr. Ignatius of the Side of Jesus, p. 259
Cover image from the book, The School of Jesus Crucified
An Excerpt From The School of Jesus Crucified †Daily Verse† "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us." Romans 8:18 | Nativity of the Virgin Mary
Daily Feast 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. |  click to read more | | 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 Reading 1 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 Ps 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 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 Mt 1:18-23
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, 18-2 . . . Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (Matthew 1:1) Ah, a good genealogy—don't we just love to read one of those? Actually, our natural reaction may be just the opposite as we look at the paragraphs of names of ancient men who "became the father of" other ancients, whose names we might not even recognize. But on today's feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, this genealogy helps us to understand that Jesus was born into our world at a particular historical moment, to a specific, real family of people. That's one of the reasons why we celebrate Mary's birthday. Yes, she holds a very special place in the history of Israel. She is, as Isaiah prophesied, "the virgin [who] shall be with child and bear a son," the One who would be "God . . . with us" (Matthew 1:23; see Isaiah 7:14). But Mary is not just the grand fulfillment of an ancient prophecy. She is not just the esteemed mother of the long-awaited Messiah. She is a real person, someone we can relate to, with a birthday like any one of us. That truth helps us understand not only Mary but also her son. Jesus is the second Person of the Trinity and Emmanuel, God with us. But by virtue of his mother, he is also God like us. He is fully human, just like his mother and all those ancestors. Just like us. He, too, was born—to a woman in the ancient Middle East. As a man, he walked the earth and experienced all of the triumphs and temptations, all the joys and sorrows that are common to each one of us. By becoming man, he not only made us partakers in his divine nature (2 Peter 1:4), but he also showed us how to live a fully human life as a child of God in the real world. As we honor Mary's birth, we give glory to God, who sent his son Jesus into our world to be like us in all things but sin. So go ahead! Celebrate your heavenly mother's birthday today! "Jesus, I want to praise you and honor your mother today." Micah 5:1-4
Psalm 13:6d | 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. ....." end of verse. She who is to give birth..the Mother of God, for the chosen to make a return. And what will happen at the return? Salvation. More on that to come.
. . . | We pray today:
"With delight I rejoice in the Lord.
Though I trusted in your mercy,
let my heart rejoice in your salvation....."_ end of Psalm." | In the Gospel today we heard:
_"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."......."_ end of Gospel verse. These words were told to Saint Joseph after being told "do not be afraid to taker her into your home".
This message is for all protestants and Catholics alike, do not be afraid to take Mother Mary, Mother of God into your home. Mothers are not like fathers. They are completely different and completely necessary, had it not been so, then God would not have created it that way.
Mother Mary is absolutely necessary and today is her birthday!
They are 3 birthdays the Holy Church celebrates, the birth of Mary, St. John the Baptist, and our Lord Himself.
On Christmas we celebrate the birth of our Lord and to celebrate, everybody receives a gift.
On the birth of St. John the Baptist, in Mexico everyone gets splashed with water to remind us of our baptisms, a gift of life from God.
On Mother Mary's birthday, what do we do? LOL, if you know, let me know, but something was telling me to offer to God something in her honor. She gave her life and gave Jesus to God and the world! What can we do? The same? Give Jesus to God and the world? | From a Spanish reflection today by author Jose Vegas CMF:
"... In his salvific action, God does not exclude, but links and seeks alliances, and teaches those who accept the challenge to do the same. In the nativity of Mary Immaculate we do not feel excluded from the graces that adorn her, but involved and committed so that Jesus, who was born of the Virgin Mary, continues to be born in our world with our cooperation...."
........ Today during Morning Mass, at the moment of receiving Holy Communion, Jesus in the Eucharist, I asked our Lord to give Mother Mary a great hug for me, and asked if I could hug her feet too. Mothers love flowers of love showers. So does our Mother in Heaven. To do as God wishes pleases her heart so very much. So today, offer an offering to God, a special love offering. Maybe bite your tongue and offer that anger and turn it into love for God today. Just one little thing, and that little thing is an actual gift to God, and today do it in remembrance of the gift to our Mother. Let us pray:
Lord, may we all one day sing Happy (Earth) Birthday to our Blessed Mother. May we all feast together. May we all love each other as a blessed family in Heaven. May we all enjoy that everlasting communion forever. |  Click To Hear | Psalm 23:1 [Psalm 23]
The Lord Is My Shepherd
A Psalm of David. 23 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
