†Quote of the Day
"O my God, teach me to be generous, to serve you as you deserve to be served, to give without counting the cost, to fight without fear of being wounded, to work without seeking rest, and to spend myself without expecting any reward, but the knowledge that I am doing your holy will. Amen."
–St. Ignatius of Loyola †Today's Meditation
"Our Lord, by descending into hell, planted (if I may thus express myself), in the spiritual garden of the Church, a mysterious tree, the fruits of which—namely, His merits—are destined for the constant relief of the Poor Souls in Purgatory. The Church Militant must cultivate the tree, and gather its fruits, in order to present them to that suffering portion of the Church which can do nothing for itself. Thus it is with all the merits of Christ; we must labor with Him if we wish to obtain our share of them; we must gain our bread by the sweat of our brow. Everything which Our Lord has done for us in time must produce fruit for eternity; but we must gather these fruits in time, without which we cannot possess them in eternity. The Church is the most prudent and thoughtful of mothers; the ecclesiastical year is an immense and magnificent garden, in which all those fruits for eternity are gathered together, that we may make use of them in time. Each year contains sufficient to supply the wants of all; but woe be to that careless or dishonest gardener who allows any of the fruit committed to his care to perish; if he fails to turn to a proper account those grace which would restore health to the sick, strength to the weak, or furnish food to the hungry! When the Day of Judgment arrives, the Master of the garden will demand a strict account, not only of every tree, but also of all the fruit produced in the garden."
—Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich, p. 351-352 An Excerpt From
The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ †Daily Verse
'Be still, and know that I am God. I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth!' The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge."
–Psalm 46:10-11 | St. Martin De Porres St. Martin de Porres (1569-1639) was born in Lima, Peru. He was the illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman and a freed slave woman from Panama, of either African or Native American descent. His parents never married. For the first eight years of his life his father did not acknowledge him, and abandoned the family after Martin's sister was born. St. Martin de Porres was raised in poverty with the societal stigma of being mix-raced. As a young man he served as an assistant to a barber-surgeon where he learned medicine and the care of the sick. When he was 15 he joined the Dominican friars as a helper, eventually becoming a Lay Brother which at the time was forbidden for the children of slaves by Peruvian law. He took on the work of nursing the sick in the Dominican infirmary as well as the sick among the townspeople, even giving a sick man his own bed. He was also made almoner, and begged money to assist his work with the poor and sick. He founded an orphanage, tended to slaves brought from Africa, and dispensed alms to the needy. His prayers and penances were so great that he soon demonstrated miraculous powers. In addition to healing the sick, his other miracles were bi-location, levitation, hidden knowledge, and the ability to communicate with animals. Word of his sanctity spread and people from all walks of life came to him for spiritual direction. St. Martin de Porres is the patron saint of social justice, bi-racial people, African-Americans, hairdressers, barbers, public education, public health, and the poor. His feast day is November 3rd. | Friday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Rom 9:1-5
Brothers and sisters:
I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie;
my conscience joins with the Holy Spirit in bearing me witness
that I have great sorrow and constant anguish in my heart.
For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ
for the sake of my own people,
my kindred according to the flesh.
They are children of Israel;
theirs the adoption, the glory, the covenants,
the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises;
theirs the patriarchs, and from them,
according to the flesh, is the Christ,
who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen. Responsorial Psalm Ps 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20 R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He has granted peace in your borders;
with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem. Alleluia Jn 10:27 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 14:1-6 On a sabbath Jesus went to dine
at the home of one of the leading Pharisees,
and the people there were observing him carefully.
In front of him there was a man suffering from dropsy.
Jesus spoke to the scholars of the law and Pharisees in reply, asking,
"Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?"
But they kept silent; so he took the man and,
after he had healed him, dismissed him.
Then he said to them
"Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern,
would not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day?"
But they were unable to answer his question. | Daily Meditation: Luke 14:1-6 The people there were observing him carefully. (Luke 14:1) Think about the opportunity these dinner guests had. They were sharing a meal with the Messiah! But instead of using this time to get to know Jesus, they focused on "observing him carefully" so they could find something to fault him for (Luke 14:1). Can you imagine how thick the atmosphere must have been with suspicion and cynicism? But notice how Jesus reacts to this poor treatment: he doesn't respond in kind; instead, he heals a man! Then he tries to open their minds to the gospel message he had come to preach. Later, he goes on to offer his dinner companions advice and parables that illustrate the kind of humility and openheartedness that please his heavenly Father (Luke 14:7-24). Can you see how much Jesus loved these people? He knew they were judging him. He knew that many of them had already hardened their hearts against him. But he still tried to reach them with his preaching. He knew there was a chance that some of those hardened hearts could still be softened. When you were baptized, Jesus became a guest in your heart as well—and he will never leave you. Just as he didn't give up on those dinner guests, he won't give up on you. He knows the areas in your life where you are still resisting him. He knows about the sins you don't want to confess and the temptations you have given up fighting. And still he treasures you and wants to heal you, forgive you, and reveal his love to you even more deeply. So make sure you are setting aside time to be with Jesus. Imagine yourself setting a place for him in your heart. Even if you have your doubts and suspicions, sit down with him and listen to his words of wisdom. If it was possible for the people at that dinner party to change, it is certainly possible for you—and Jesus knows it! A life of holiness is within your grasp, and it all begins with spending time with the Lord. Do it today. Don't just read the words of this meditation and then move on. Linger with Jesus and listen for the message he has just for you. "Lord, I welcome you into my heart. Help me to hear your voice today." Romans 9:1-5
Psalm 147:12-15, 19-20 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian:Audio Link | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"They are children of Israel; theirs the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; theirs the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen..........."
. . . Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be an orphan from the time you were a toddler? You would be lost in many senses, wouldn't you? You would always wonder what it would be like to have a mother and a father and a family.
But the biggest and worst thing would probably be the feeling of being alone, or even worse...feeling unloved or unwanted in the world. That is probably why our Lord designed us to be His adopted children and then He literally makes us His blood children and this is unfathomable. Only God can do the impossible. Won't you come to this Love now? And forever? | We pray today:
_" Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem......"_ | In the Gospel today we heard our Lord:
""Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?"
But they kept silent; so he took the man and,
after he had healed him, dismissed him......." end of Gospel verse. | From Bishop Barron Today:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus heals a man on the sabbath, thus demonstrating his authority over the Law. The Jesus portrayed in the Gospels consistently speaks and acts in the very person of Yahweh, the God of Israel.
On another occasion, defending his disciples against the charge of picking grain on the sabbath, Jesus reminds his interlocutors that priests serving in the temple can, under certain circumstances, violate the sabbath and still remain innocent; then he adds with breathtaking laconicism, "I tell you, something greater than the temple is here." The only one who could reasonably claim to be "greater" than the temple would be the one who was worshiped in the temple.
In a number of places in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus states, "You have heard it said . . . but I say . . . " This almost casual dismissal of the Torah, the revelation given by Yahweh to Moses himself and hence the court of final appeal to any pious Jew, would have overwhelmed any first-century Jew. Once more, the only one who could legitimately overrule the Torah with such insouciance would be the one who was himself the author of the Torah......." end quote Bishop Barron.
A spanish reflection pointed out today on how much our Lord seemingly loved to heal on the Sabbath. He didn't love getting in trouble but He loved the flock, He loved it enough to correct it, He loved it enough to give His life, risk His whole life for the flock.
And what was going on with Jewish extreme laws, so severe that you couldn't even heal somebody on the Sabbath?
How extreme do you have to get to make God important? Right? I'm sure at the beginning they meant well...but soon lost sight in works, and lose all things of true faith in His creation....saying all things are evil, and we have no hope!
I was reading yesterday somewhere that there are at least 20 things we get blessed with and healed in Holy Mass and how we can offer it for others and even ourselves with eternal benefits.
This is what I see: Our Lord is offering tremendous spiritual benefits, life saving benefits, and not that many want to go. There are many that are obligated to go, forced to go for sacramentals, but not many go because they want to bless God, to sacrifice themselves for God on the altar.
The Sabbath was the most important thing our Spiritual Ancestors ever did, worship, and sacrifice, and reserve the whole entire day for God. But now?
We've taken the opposite, and I've heard some say "God made the Sabbath for man" and then they do whatever they want, they won't give a tithe, they won't go to Mass, and if they go, they go for show. They've chosen to sin, than to die to sin.
So what can we do to change the tide of death?
We must do what we do not want to do naturally! The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
Therefore, we must force ourselves. Break away from the chains. And how? By brutal force? Perseverance can be likened to water. A constant drip can destroy just about anything when given time and effort. And guess what? You are mostly made of water! And guess what else? We have been baptized with water! So with body and spirit, our soul, we have what it takes to do God's will.
Our Lord didn't obliterate sacrifice and worship, no, He came and showed us God's will, of true sacrifice and worship.
We sacrifice ourselves, open our hearts to the world, and let the blood flow, making the light shine for the future to come and drink, of divine mercy and grace.
What an amazing opportunity. ........
Let us pray:
Lord, may we thirst for You, may we hunger for You, may we love You as you desire for us to love you, and even more...with amazing acts of love You didn't even expect in fellow people we run across every single day. |  Click To Hear | AMEN! Random Bible Verse 1
Mark 10:43–45 [Mark 10] 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,1 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave2 of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
