† Quote of the Day "At each step we can admire the grandeur, the power, the goodness of God. How bountifully He provides for all our wants—I would even say for our pleasures!" — St. Theodore Guerin Today's Meditation "Infinite grief I wish from My creature in two ways: in one way, through her sorrow for her own sins, which she has committed against Me her Creator; in the other way, through her sorrow for the sins which she sees her neighbors commit against Me. Of such as these, inasmuch as they have infinite desire, that is, are joined to Me by an affection of love, and therefore grieve when they offend Me, or see Me offended, their every pain, whether spiritual or corporeal, from wherever it may come, receives infinite merit, and satisfies for a guilt which deserved an infinite penalty, although their works are finite and done in finite time; but, inasmuch as they possess the virtue of desire, and sustain their suffering with desire, and contrition, and infinite displeasure against their guilt, their pain is held worthy. Paul explained this when he said: If I had the tongues of angels, and if I knew the things of the future and gave my body to be burned, and have not love, it would be worth nothing to me. The glorious Apostle thus shows that finite works are not valid, either as punishment or recompense, without the condiment of the affection of love." —St. Catherine of Siena, p. 4
An excerpt from Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena Daily Verse "What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? As it is written: "For your sake we are being slain all the day; we are looked upon as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us." — Romans 8:35-37 | St. Francis of Assisi St. Francis (1181-1226) was born in Assisi, Italy, to a wealthy cloth merchant. He was a spoiled child given to pleasure, fine dress, liberal spending, and worldliness. Handsome and courteous, he was a favorite among the nobility. As a chivalrous young knight he took part in a battle between the Italian city-states and became a prisoner of war in Perugia. After his release he became seriously ill, and while reflecting on his wanton life he had a profound conversion experience. He gave up his frivolous life, cut off his family ties, and embraced a life of extreme penance and poverty in such a dramatic manner that it caused many to think he had gone mad. While praying before a crucifix in the church of San Damiano in Assisi he received a call from Christ to rebuild the Church, "which had fallen into ruin." St. Francis followed Christ in a radical manner by patterning his new life after the example of the Apostles in the most literal way possible: he dressed as a poor peasant, worked odd jobs for food, and went through the countryside preaching repentance, love of Jesus, and peace. His joyful, radical way of life attracted followers, and with them he founded the Order of Friars Minor and the Poor Clares. His order was approved by the Holy See in 1210 and grew rapidly. Two years before his death he became the first known saint to receive the stigmata. His holiness was so widely attested that only two years after his death the Church proclaimed him a saint. St. Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of peace, ecology, the environment, animals, Italy, merchants, and families. His feast day is October 4th. | Memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi • Readings for the Memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi, Religious Reading 1 Jb 38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5 The LORD addressed Job out of the storm and said: Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning
and shown the dawn its place
For taking hold of the ends of the earth,
till the wicked are shaken from its surface?
The earth is changed as is clay by the seal,
and dyed as though it were a garment;
But from the wicked the light is withheld,
and the arm of pride is shattered. Have you entered into the sources of the sea,
or walked about in the depths of the abyss?
Have the gates of death been shown to you,
or have you seen the gates of darkness?
Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all:
Which is the way to the dwelling place of light,
and where is the abode of darkness,
That you may take them to their boundaries
and set them on their homeward paths?
You know, because you were born before them,
and the number of your years is great! Then Job answered the LORD and said: Behold, I am of little account; what can I answer you?
I put my hand over my mouth.
Though I have spoken once, I will not do so again;
though twice, I will do so no more. Responsorial Psalm Ps 139:1-3, 7-8, 9-10, 13-14ab R. (24b) Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
O LORD, you have probed me and you know me;
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
Where can I go from your spirit?
From your presence where can I flee?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I sink to the nether world, you are present there.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
If I take the wings of the dawn,
if I settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
Even there your hand shall guide me,
and your right hand hold me fast.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
Truly you have formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother's womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way. Alleluia Ps 95:8 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 10:13-16 Jesus said to them,
"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!
For if the mighty deeds done in your midst
had been done in Tyre and Sidon,
they would long ago have repented,
sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon
at the judgment than for you.
And as for you, Capernaum, 'Will you be exalted to heaven?
You will go down to the netherworld.'
Whoever listens to you listens to me.
Whoever rejects you rejects me.
And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me."
| Daily Meditation: Luke 10:13-16 They would long ago have repented. (Luke 10:13) Imagine that you've found an old painting in an antique shop and paid fifteen dollars for it. You take it home and try to clean it up, but nothing seems to work. You decide to take it to an art restorer. Then you are astounded when the artist informs you that your new painting is a rare masterpiece worth at least one million dollars! That's one way to look at today's Gospel. Each of us, including the people of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, is a rare masterpiece. It's true, but it's often hard to see. That's because our souls can tend to resemble that old painting in the antique shop: covered over by the effects of sin, just waiting to be restored to their original beauty. And who is the artist capable of doing that work of healing and restoration? Jesus! And he does it in the most powerful way in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We often look at Reconciliation as a chore, an uncomfortable thing we have to do every now and then so that we don't get into too much trouble. But the Lord wants our celebration of this sacrament to be so much more than that. He wants it to be a grace-filled encounter with his love and power. When we confess our sins, we open the door not only for the Lord to pardon us but also to wash us clean and set us free. We give Jesus the opportunity to fill us once again with the peace and joy of salvation. Jesus wanted the people of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum to experience God's goodness and mercy. He invited them to repent so that they could be relieved of their guilt and rediscover the beauty that lay within them. Every one of the miracles he performed in their midst was meant as a sign of the new life he was offering them. If only they would repent and receive that new life! Your heavenly Father is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in kindness (Psalm 103:8). Jesus has come to save, not to condemn (John 3:17). Take these truths with you the next time you celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. And watch to see how your inner beauty shines forth! "Thank you, Lord, for your love! Teach me the joy and freedom of repentance." Job 38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5
Psalm 139:1-3, 7-10, 13-14 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"And as for you, Capernaum, 'Will you be exalted to heaven?
You will go down to the netherworld.'
Whoever listens to you listens to me.
Whoever rejects you rejects me.
And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me."........" end quote. | Bishop Barron said:
"What is the first thing that the minister should do upon entering a city? "Cure the sick there." Christ is Soter, healer of both body and spirit. So many of the saints were healers; so many of the apparitions of the Blessed Mother lead to healing.
Another great task of the Church is to proclaim, "The reign of God is at hand." The Church is an announcing, proclaiming, evangelizing organism. What we proclaim is that, in Jesus Christ, a whole new way of ordering things has appeared, that God, in Christ, is drawing all things to himself. The great ordering principles of the world—money, fame, power, sex, pleasure—are overthrown. A new king has come, a new way of organizing life. Love, inclusion, compassion, nonviolence, forgiveness, especially of enemies—this is now the way sanctioned by God. . . ." end of Bishop's quote.
From a Spanish reflection today:
"Today we celebrate St. Francis of Assisi. No one better than he gave himself fully to the proclamation of peace, and he was a witness of simplicity, poverty, praise and brotherhood with all creation. He lived a strong conversion to the Gospel and made it his path of life and holiness. Today he continues to inspire Christian commitment to justice, peace and care for Creation, without which the proclamation of the Good News would remain empty." end quote from Sr. Águeda Mariño Rico O.P.
St. Francis of Assisi spent his life preaching to the world after his conversion. He renounced the world, and left his family to live out the Gospel. What caused such a profound metanoia, a complete change of heart mind and soul? Franciscan Media says: "A turning point in the life of the young Francis of Assisi was his capture and imprisonment following a battle with rival city Perugia in 1202. Upon being released, he returned to Assisi a changed man, no longer interested in the worldly amusements of his past and more deeply drawn to solitary prayer.
Over the next two years, he began to lead a "life of penance." This included not only mortification and self-denial but also a new vision of reality—seeing the world from God's point of view: a creation filled with beauty, joy, and goodness, reflecting the goodness and love of God, our Creator who deserved highest praise, worship, and love in return.
The first step in this metanoia was a generous response to God's grace when he embraced the leper, thus overcoming his revulsion for those with this dreaded disease and turning his heart to compassion and mercy. He began to live among lepers in the marginalized communities outside the walls of Assisi, serving their needs and thus reorienting his life from one of self-protection and personal enhancement to one of self-sacrifice and concern for others." end quote.
Today, wars are still on. There will always be wars. I'm attempting to write a book and looking at history, there is continuous wars in the world no matter the year we live in. The Church teaches we are on earth, the church militant. This is not a time to relax, and burn away our midnight oil on ourselves, but for God.
This is why St. Francis is such a critical role model of self denial for us today. He went on to preach to everyone and every thing he encountered, both human and animals and the moon and the sun.
And you? Are you disillusioned with the world? If so, let us join St. Francis in a complete change of heart, mind, and soul.
If you are fed up with the mundane world offerings, turn against the tide and swim this way. The world wants you to be independent, and free, but no! We are not to be independent but to be dependent on God and a slave to God the Father. Totally backwards teaching, but only in this way we will be free, totally free and detached from the world as we pour ourselves out to God and to one another. This militant stuff is not easy. Being a lover of God is to stand out in the world as a great light. And the Lord sees us, and dwells as light in a soul.
St. Francis suffered much in his short life, stigmata, his disciples were murdered by Muslims for preaching and reaching them, and yet, he exuded peace, love, and joy for the Lord. He had found the inkling of the little way. But he preached always, as we are to do. Do not fall for the wrongly attributed quote to him, for he did not say "preach always and if necessary use words". Dr. Scott Hahn, president of the Franciscan University says that Franciscan scholars cannot find anywhere in their studies that St. Francis was the one who said this. St. Francis preaches and teaches, and so do you. By how you live yes, but always preaching to the birds, to children, to the lepers. to the forgotten, and why?
Because it was no longer St. Francis of Assisi living, but another Christ.
Jesus living as He desires to live on earth.
May we be the next Christ to our neighbor and thus, the world. |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Ephesians 1:3 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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