†Quote of the Day "If I am distracted, Holy Communion helps me to become recollected. If opportunities are offered by each day to offend my God, I arm myself anew each day for the combat by the reception of the Eucharist. If I am in special need of light and prudence in order to discharge my burdensome duties, I draw nigh to my Savior and seek counsel and light from him."
–St. Thomas More Today's Meditation Winnow not in every wind, and do not start off in every direction (Sirach 5:11). It is essential to discern what the Spirit wants when we are making important choices in our lives. Through prayer, fasting, spiritual reading, spiritual advice, discernment of signs, sorting out our hidden motivations, etc., we develop a sense of what God wants of us."
—Rev. Jude Winkler, O.F.M., p. 13 Daily Verse "Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, "Be strong, fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you."
–Isaiah 35:3-4 | St. Claude de la Colombiere St. Claude de la Colombiere (1641-1682) was born to a noble family in France and became a Jesuit priest. He was known for his solid and serious sermons and his dedication to observing the rule of his order with exactness. He became the rector of a Jesuit house next to the Monastery of the Visitation where St. Margaret Mary Alacoque lived, who was given special revelations from Jesus of His Sacred Heart. Claude became St. Margaret Mary's spiritual director, and, like her, became a zealous promoter of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In 1676 he was sent to England to attend the wife of the future King James II, serving at court as preacher and confessor. When anti-Catholic persecutions broke out, Claude was falsely accused of being involved in a 'papist plot' and was thrown into prison. While there his health suffered due to mistreatment. He was preserved from execution and instead banished from England by royal decree. He returned to his native France, where his fragile health continued to deteriorate until he died a few years later. The day after his death, St. Margaret Mary received supernatural assurance that he needed no prayers, as he was already in heaven. His feast day is February 15. | Thursday after Ash Wednesday Reading 1 Dt 30:15-20 Moses said to the people:
"Today I have set before you
life and prosperity, death and doom.
If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God,
which I enjoin on you today,
loving him, and walking in his ways,
and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees,
you will live and grow numerous,
and the LORD, your God,
will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy.
If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen,
but are led astray and adore and serve other gods,
I tell you now that you will certainly perish;
you will not have a long life
on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and occupy.
I call heaven and earth today to witness against you:
I have set before you life and death,
the blessing and the curse.
Choose life, then,
that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God,
heeding his voice, and holding fast to him.
For that will mean life for you,
a long life for you to live on the land that the LORD swore
he would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." Responsorial Psalm PS 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6 R. (40:5a) Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord. Verse Before the Gospel Mt 4:17 Repent, says the Lord;
the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. Gospel Lk 9:22-25 Jesus said to his disciples:
"The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected
by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised." Then he said to all,
"If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
yet lose or forfeit himself?"
| Daily Meditation: Luke 9:22-25 If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23) Crucifixions in first-century Palestine under Roman occupation were all too common. So Jesus understood that no one would ever want to take up his cross—let alone on a daily basis. Yet he said that this is necessary if we are to follow him. Why? Consider the meaning of the words "deny himself" (Luke 9:23). Taking up our crosses requires denying our very human tendency to act out of our own self-interest. It means following Jesus' example by loving God and our neighbor before ourselves. That, in turn, often requires a concerted effort to die to ourselves and our selfish desires. But how do we do this? For as we know, willpower alone only gets us so far. Jesus knew that our own efforts would never be enough. That's why, before taking up his own cross, Jesus promised his disciples that he would send them the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-18). The Spirit would give them the courage and strength to deny themselves and take up their crosses—and he will do the same for us. So believe that whatever particular cross you face, the Holy Spirit will help you to carry it. He will give you the grace to die to all those things that are preventing you from truly following in Jesus' footsteps, like self-pity, anger, or selfishness. Or maybe he'll enable you to let go of some precious free time so that you can care for a person in need. You'll likely feel some resistance at the thought of denying yourself. But that's precisely why you need the Spirit's power and grace! You can trust that he will provide for you, one day—and even one moment—at a time. Jesus wants us to follow him, even when that means taking up our crosses. Today, picture your Lenten journey as forty days of walking along behind the Lord, following in his footsteps, and carrying whatever cross he has given you. Know that he doesn't just ask that you take up your cross. He gives you his Holy Spirit to make it possible. "Lord Jesus, thank you for your Holy Spirit, who gives me the power and grace to carry my cross today." Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Psalm 1:1-4, 6 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian:
Audio English | In the Gospel today we heard:
""The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected
by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised."
Then he said to all,
"If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me....." end of Gospel verse.
. . . | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, our Gospel today lays out Jesus' conditions for discipleship. For all of us sinners, to varying degrees, our own lives have become god. That is to say, we see the universe turning around our ego, our needs, our projects, our plans, and our likes and dislikes. True conversion—the metanoia that Jesus talks about—is so much more than moral reform, though it includes that. It has to do with a complete shift in consciousness, a whole new way of looking at one's life.
Jesus offered a teaching that must have been gut-wrenching to his first-century audience: "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." His listeners knew what the cross meant: a death in utter agony, nakedness, and humiliation. They didn't think of the cross automatically in religious terms, as we do. They knew it in all of its awful power.
Unless you crucify your ego, you cannot be my follower, Jesus says. This move—this terrible move—has to be the foundation of the spiritual life. . . . ." end quote from Bishop Barron.
There's something that you will have to know if you decide to follow our Lord Jesus the Christ, and this is that you will have to check your ego at the door.
After being in various ministries for about 20 years, I've noticed the biggest failures for the whole is one's ego, that is to say, one's pride. If we can overcome this obstacle with grace and humility, then we are more availed to do God's Holy will.
This is to take up your cross.
This is to follow Him.
Our Lord was humiliated, yet He loved them.
He was scourged, whipped, spit on, yet He loves us.
Our sins still continue to humiliate Him and His name, yet, He is offering Himself to us.
At what point in lent will we give in to Him?
I'm working on a men's conference as part of a team. I keep putting these words on flyers and sites: "It Starts now".
We shouldn't wait around saying "I'll get to it later".
The cross is here, and the cross is now.
Sure, you're probably suffering right now, but is it for yourself or for God?
It starts now!
We can offer our whole lives to Him, and it all starts in the heart.
Our Lord continues:
"For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
yet lose or forfeit himself?"
Much of the mantra in the world is messages about "self care" and "self preservation" and sure, we are to take care of ourselves, but we are missing the point if all we care about is our bodies!
But what about the soul that actually animates our bodies? And what about our God that has given us the soul for the body?
Suddenly things get real deep. Suddenly, I'm finding myself in need of something greater. I pine, I yearn, I need God more than ever before. I need Him and I need to offer myself to Him...don't we all? We are all there in the will, but are we willing in spirit and body? We want to be in shape, but are we doing anything about it? We want to be holy, but are we doing anything about it? We want to do God's will, but are we really lifting a finger? I ask for prayer for our Men's conference this weekend, for us to be opened and filled with God's will. |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Psalm 105:7–8 7 He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth.
8 He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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