†Quote of the Day
"For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy."
–St. Therese of Lisieux †Today's Meditation
"There is no such thing as a dull, futile, or useless experience. Every sorrow loses its sting, because everything is an opportunity to glorify God. Saint Paul wrote, "For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities: for when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor 12:10). Once you have learned to find contentment in adversity, all of life becomes changed with light and hope and joy."
–J. Augustine Wetta, O.S.B, p. 103
An Excerpt From
Humility Rules: Saint Benedict's 12-Step Guide to Genuine Self-Esteem †Daily Verse
"As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office; and He said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed Him."
–Matthew 9:9 |  click to read more | | St. Matthew St. Matthew the Apostle (1st c.) was a Jew who also went by the name of Levi. He was from Galilee and served in Capernaum as a tax collector for Herod Antipas before becoming a disciple of Jesus. It was in the home of St. Matthew that Jesus dined with the "sinners and tax collectors." Under Jesus' influence St. Matthew was led to repentance for the evil he had done as a tax-collector, a position despised by his fellow Jews. He repaid those he cheated four-fold, sold all his possessions, and followed Christ as one of the twelve Apostles. St. Matthew preached among the Jews for fifteen years following the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus. He is the author of the Gospel that bears his name, which he wrote to convince the Jews that Jesus Christ was the Messiah promised to Israel. According to tradition, St. Matthew the Apostle brought the Gospel to Syria, Media, Persia, Parthia, and finished his preaching in Ethiopia with a martyr's death. He is the patron of guards, bankers, accountants, security forces, and stock brokers. His feast day is September 21st. | Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist Reading 1 Eph 4:1-7, 11-13 Brothers and sisters:
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit
through the bond of peace:
one Body and one Spirit,
as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each of us
according to the measure of Christ's gift. And he gave some as Apostles, others as prophets,
others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,
to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,
for building up the Body of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of faith
and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,
to the extent of the full stature of Christ. Responsorial Psalm Ps 19:2-3, 4-5 R. (5) Their message goes out through all the earth.
The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day,
and night to night imparts knowledge.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth.
Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth. Alleluia — See
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
We praise you, O God,
we acclaim you as Lord;
the glorious company of Apostles praise you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 9:9-13 As Jesus passed by,
he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, "Follow me."
And he got up and followed him.
While he was at table in his house,
many tax collectors and sinners came
and sat with Jesus and his disciples.
The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples,
"Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
He heard this and said,
"Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
Go and learn the meaning of the words,
I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."
| Daily Meditation: Matthew 9:9-13 He said to him, "Follow me." (Matthew 9:9) As he traveled from place to place ministering to people, Jesus one day passed by a customs post. There he saw Matthew collecting taxes. But instead of seeing a man most respectable Jews would avoid, he saw a would-be disciple. Matthew knew who this rabbi was, but he was keenly aware of the distance between himself and God, so he dismissed any thoughts of Jesus from his mind. How shocked he must have been, then, when Jesus walked right up to him, looked him in the eye, and said, "Follow me" (Matthew 9:9)! In an instant, the distance between Matthew and God had disappeared. From then on, he would faithfully follow Jesus. On this feast day of St. Matthew, remember this scene and take courage from it: you do not have to prove yourself before saying yes to the Lord! When Jesus calls you, all you have to do is respond as Matthew did: "Yes, I will follow you." Whatever you need, you will learn on the way. The Lord in his goodness will supply whatever you are lacking. Notice that once he committed himself to Jesus, Matthew didn't waste any time. He immediately connected his friends to Jesus (Matthew 9:10), and he continued doing so as an apostle and evangelist. After Jesus' resurrection, he ministered to his fellow Jews in Judea; later, tradition holds, he preached the gospel in Ethiopia and Persia. Eventually he was martyred, but the Gospel that bears his name continues to live on in the Church and in the hearts of countless followers down through the centuries. Just as he did for Matthew, Jesus calls people before their lives are changed. As he told the Pharisees who objected that day, "I did not come to call the righteous but sinners" (Matthew 9:13). So imagine Jesus passing by your home, classroom, or work site today. He stops and calls you to follow him. Don't worry if you think you aren't worthy to be his disciple; recommit yourself to him just as you are. Then trust that Jesus will give you all that you need to be his faithful follower. "Jesus, I say yes to your call today." Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13
Psalm 19:2-5 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit
through the bond of peace: one Body and one Spirit,......." end of verse.
. . .
Something told me, that there are opposing spirits in the world. One of them is the good, the unity, and the other is the evil separatists. We want faith and unity, don't we? The opposing side wants the opposite, little and, and separation. Sometimes it is like herding cats instead of sheep when it comes to God's flock. What makes so many scatter, so quick? Some faithful remain, but our Lord gathers us from all sorts of places for a reason. | We pray today:
"Their message goes out through all the earth.
Not a word nor a discourse whose voice is not heard; Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message........"_ end of Psalm." | In the Gospel today we heard:
"As Jesus passed by,
he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, "Follow me."
And he got up and followed him........" end of Gospel verse. ... | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, today's Gospel celebrates the call of Matthew. Jesus tells the tax collector, "Follow me."
The call of Jesus addresses the mind, but it moves through the mind into the body, and through the body into the whole of one's life, into the most practical decisions. "Follow me" has the sense of "apprentice to me" or "walk as I walk; think as I think; choose as I choose; see as I see." Discipleship entails an entire reworking of the self according to the pattern and manner of Jesus.
Upon hearing the address of the Lord, Matthew "got up and followed him." The Greek word behind "got up" is anastas, the same word used to describe the Resurrection (anastasis) of Jesus from the dead. Following Jesus is indeed a kind of resurrection from the dead, since it involves the transition from a lower form of life to a higher.
Those who have undergone a profound conversion tend to speak of their former life as a kind of illusion, something not entirely real. The father of the prodigal son can say that he "was dead and has come to life again." So conversion is an anastasis, a rising from death......"
Our Lord then said:
"Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
Go and learn the meaning of the words,
I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners." Did you hear that my fellow sinner? LOL. He calls us to Him! We have a fighting chance at being one with Him. This happens in the ultimate moment in life...the moment we receive Him in the Holy Eucharist.
How many of us are merciful though?
Because, sure we do stuff for God, but how many of us are merciful?
Sure we forgive and move on, but how many of us give mercy?
To give mercy, is to give all...and more. Sacrifice gives someone else's life. But what about yours?
You see, in the old testament, we'd sacrifice the life of an animal, or fruit of the land, but in the new testament, we see our Lord give Himself on the cross and asks us to do the same.
There is mercy. And not just giving of our bodies, but our mind, our heart, our very soul.
What do I mean? I mean what Scripture has told us repeatedly today:
"with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit
through the bond of peace: one Body and one Spirit"
This is where the world is lacking. There is too much pride, too much violence and too many impatient souls.
What the world is needing is the light and body of Christ.
........ Let us pray:
Lord, I want to be one in Your body, both now and forever. P.S.
Pray for us, we are starting a cursillo in Abilene Tx today, many men giving their lives in one way or the other, we pray it is for our Lord, a more powerful light, a living testimony, a living body. P.S.S.
We packed the ICU room singing hymns to my aunt yesterday. Then, they disconnected her from all life support lines on my aunt Rosa yesterday but she has kept breathing on her own with good oxygen, but her kidneys and liver are damaged. We still hope, and leave in our Lord's hands. |  Click To Hear | Random Bible Verse 1
Luke 12:6–7 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?1 And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
