†Quote of the Day "Without love, deeds, even the most brilliant, count as nothing."
–St. Therese of Lisieux Today's Meditation "I've appointed the Devil to tempt and to trouble My creatures in this life [St. Catherine of Siena reports that Our Lord said to her]. I've done this, not so that My creatures will be overcome, but so that they may overcome, proving their virtue and receiving from Me the glory of victory. And no one should fear any battle or temptation of the Devil that may come to him, because I've made My creatures strong, and I've given them strength of will, fortified in the Blood of My Son. Neither the Devil nor any other creature can control this free will, because it's yours, given to you by Me. By your own choice, then, you hold it or let it go if you please. It's a weapon, and if you place it in the hands of the Devil, it right away becomes a knife that he'll use to stab and kill you. On the other hand, if you don't place this knife that is your will into the hands of the Devil—that is, if you don't consent to his temptations and harassments—you will never be injured by the guilt of sin in any temptation. Instead, you'll actually be strengthened by the temptation, as long as you open the eyes of your mind to see My love, and to understand why I allowed you to be tempted: so you could develop virtue by having it proved. My love permits these temptations, for the Devil is weak. He can do nothing by himself unless I allow him. So I let him tempt you because I love you, not because I hate you. I want you to conquer, not to be conquered, and to come to a perfect knowledge of yourself and of Me."
—St. Catherine of Siena, p. 159-160 Daily Verse "Hearken to me, you who pursue deliverance, you who seek the Lord; look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were digged."
–Isaiah 51:1 | Blessed Katarzyna Faron Bl. Katarzyna Celestyna (Catherine Celestine) Faron (1913-1944) was born in Zabrzez, Poland. At the age of five she was orphaned and raised by pious, childless relatives. Desiring the religious life, she entered the Congregation of the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate in 1930. She served in the community as a kindergarten teacher and catechist. After the breakout of World War II she became the leader of her religious house, ran an orphanage, and helped the poor. She was eventually arrested by the Gestapo, charged with conspiracy against the Nazis, and sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp on the feast of Epiphany in 1943, where she was assigned to manual labor digging ditches. She praised God in all her suffering and resigned herself to following His will. Due to the poor conditions she developed typhoid fever and tuberculosis. Because she completed the nine First Fridays devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, she trusted that she wouldn't die without Holy Communion, as Our Lord promised. On December 8, 1943, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, she received Holy Communion as viaticum which was secretly brought to the camp by a prisoner priest. While on her deathbed she prayed intensely for various intentions on a rosary made of bread. According to witnesses she offered her sufferings for the conversion of a priest who had fallen away from the Church, who did eventually return to the true Faith. Bl. Katarzyn finally died from her illness on Easter morning. She is one of the 108 beatified Polish Catholic Martyrs killed during World War II by Nazi Germany. Her feast day is April 9th. | Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 4:32-37 The community of believers was of one heart and mind,
and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,
but they had everything in common.
With great power the Apostles bore witness
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,
and great favor was accorded them all.
There was no needy person among them,
for those who owned property or houses would sell them,
bring the proceeds of the sale,
and put them at the feet of the Apostles,
and they were distributed to each according to need. Thus Joseph, also named by the Apostles Barnabas
(which is translated "son of encouragement"),
a Levite, a Cypriot by birth,
sold a piece of property that he owned,
then brought the money and put it at the feet of the Apostles. Responsorial Psalm Ps 93:1ab, 1cd-2, 5 R. (1a) The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is king, in splendor robed;
robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
And he has made the world firm,
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O LORD.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed:
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, for length of days.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Jn 3:14-15 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Son of Man must be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him
may have eternal life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 3:7b-15 Jesus said to Nicodemus:
"'You must be born from above.'
The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes,
but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes;
so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."
Nicodemus answered and said to him,
'How can this happen?"
Jesus answered and said to him,
"You are the teacher of Israel and you do not understand this?
Amen, amen, I say to you,
we speak of what we know and we testify to what we have seen,
but you people do not accept our testimony.
If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe,
how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."
| The wind blows where it wills . . . ; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. (John 3:8) If you think about it, the Christian life is more like using a sailboat than a jet ski. A jet ski generates its own power, and its driver traverses the water however he likes. But a sailboat defers to the direction and power of the wind. The sailor is successful to the degree that he cooperates with the free movement of the wind. And so it is with us: our "success" in the Christian life depends on our openness to the wind of the Spirit guiding and empowering us. When we are "born of the Spirit" in Baptism, we receive the grace to move through life like that sailboat (John 3:8). It's that grace that teaches us to cooperate with the Spirit. There is a mystery in the wind: it "blows where it wills, . . . but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes" (John 3:8). Similarly, the Spirit can feel quite mysterious. In today's Gospel, Nicodemus could not wrap his mind around Jesus' call for him to be "born from above" (3:7). We, too, may wrestle with discerning or understanding or making sense of God's action in our lives. Prayers that seem logical and wise are left unanswered. Plans change and unexpected situations arise. Regardless, our faith tells us that the Spirit is moving. Even in the midst of suffering, God is working (Romans 8:28). While circumstances may confuse us, God's desire remains the same: to lead us to himself, to make us holy, and to walk alongside us always. We cannot foresee every twist and turn of life. Living by the Spirit often requires "adjusting our sails," letting go of the familiar, and embracing the mystery involved in following Jesus. It means not fighting the wind but yielding to the Spirit's direction and making sure his wind is at our backs. And it means trusting that the Spirit is always there. He is our consoler, tenderly listening to our prayers. He is our guide, leading us by the hand through life's hills and valleys. And he is our strength, filling our sails and moving us forward with the power we need to reach our heavenly home. "Holy Spirit, I yield to you today." Acts 4:32-37
Psalm 93:1-2, 5 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian:
Audio English | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"If I tell you about earthly things and you do not believe,
how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."..." end quote. | Nicodemus questioned our Lord when our Lord said: "'You must be born from above.'The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes,but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes;
so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." end quote.
A Spanish reflection spoke about the wind and how sail boats depend on the wind but self powered boats don't and the dependency factor is ruled out.
Bishop Barron's reflection spoke of the wind that was over the waters of creation.
So how can we summarize the two reflections? How can the be two of the same? Very simple. It is the Holy Spirit. We must be born from above, not just of water, but of the Holy Spirit, that Spirit which is not seen like the body of Jesus.
Has anybody ever said something strange to you that just boggled your mind? "Where did THAT come from?" you may ask. Many times it can be witnessed in the good or the bad, the Holy Spirit talking to you or the evil spirits trying to get at you.
An example of the good is when a brother (in Christ) said to me at the end of lent "hey are we still doing the Samuel Night retreat" in a text one morning. Boy that caught me off guard. Nobody had said ok to the retreat so I thought we'd just not have it. But I knew it was the Lord, because later on I said "Ok we're ready for the retreat tonight" and he said "I thought that was next week! But something particular happened during the retreat that is inexplicable. Who decides to spend THAT much time with the Lord all night? Our Lord is pleased with those who spend much time looking for Him and being with Him. I've noticed that in helping homeless people or prisoners or nursing home folks, is that they mostly enjoy your company, not so much what you got to bring them, like a missing family.
An evil spirit, well there's lots of those examples! LOL. I remember one though, another brother (Cursillo brother as well) said that he had been telling his wife at home that he was tired or something connected with being a teacher at church for the youth at CCD. He said he heard her clearly say from the other room "maybe you should just give up". He said those words really bothered him, "how could she say that, why would she say that to me", all day he pondered that and he was about to go teach that afternoon and he said he asked her directly "why did you say what you said about giving up?". She said "I never said such a thing". He was baffled and knew it was the devil talking to him.
And I say this to make the point to believe our Lord, that the wind blows and makes noises and talks. This is the wind in us all. What is in us all? Who is speaking in that wind? We use wind, the air to talk. We hear the vibrations of voices speak to us.
Be careful little ears what you hear. It would be better to be fitted and filled with Grace to immediately discern those voices.
It could be God calling. Otherwise...other voices leading the way. |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
1 Peter 3:8–9 Suffering for Righteousness' Sake 8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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