† Quote of the Day "Arm yourself with prayer rather than a sword; wear humility rather than fine clothes." — St. Dominic Today's Meditation "I desire that you know more profoundly the love that burns in My Heart for souls, and you will understand this when you meditate upon My Passion. Call upon My mercy on behalf of sinners; I desire their salvation. When you say this prayer, with a contrite heart and with faith on behalf of some sinner, I will give him the grace of conversion. This is the prayer: 'O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You.' " —Jesus to St. Faustina Kowalska, 186-187
An excerpt from Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska - Divine Mercy in My Soul Daily Verse "For it is written: 'As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bend before me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.' So [then] each of us shall give an account of himself [to God]." — Romans 14:11-12 | All Dominican Saints
November 7th is the Feast of All Saints of the Order of Preachers, also known as the Dominicans. Founded by a Spaniard, St. Dominic de Guzman, in France in the early 13th century, the order has 14 canonized saints and 215 beatified among its mendicant friars, cloistered nuns, active sisters, lay members, and fraternities. The special charism of the Dominican order is to study and preach for the salvation of souls. Over the centuries, the unnamed Dominican martyrs are counted in the tens of thousands, including many among the Martyrs of Nagasaki and the Martyrs of Vietnam. Some of the most famous Dominican saints include St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Rose of Lima, St. Martin de Porres, Pope St. Pius V, St. Vincent Ferrer, St. Hyacinth, St. Louis de Montfort, St. Albert the Great, St. Louis Bertrand, St. Catherine de Ricci, St. Margaret of Hungary, St. Peter Martyr, and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. | Thursday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 PHIL 3:3-8A Brothers and sisters:
We are the circumcision,
we who worship through the Spirit of God,
who boast in Christ Jesus and do not put our confidence in flesh,
although I myself have grounds for confidence even in the flesh.
If anyone else thinks he can be confident in flesh, all the more can I.
Circumcised on the eighth day,
of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin,
a Hebrew of Hebrew parentage,
in observance of the law a Pharisee,
in zeal I persecuted the Church,
in righteousness based on the law I was blameless.
But whatever gains I had,
these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ.
More than that, I even consider everything as a loss
because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Responsorial Psalm PS 105:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 R. (3b) Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Sing to him, sing his praise,
proclaim all his wondrous deeds.
Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!
R. Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.
R. Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You descendants of Abraham, his servants,
sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
He, the LORD, is our God;
throughout the earth his judgments prevail.
R. Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia MT 11:28 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel LK 15:1-10 The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,
"This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
So Jesus addressed this parable to them.
"What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them
would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert
and go after the lost one until he finds it?
And when he does find it,
he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
and, upon his arrival home,
he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,
'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.'
I tell you, in just the same way
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous people
who have no need of repentance.
"Or what woman having ten coins and losing one
would not light a lamp and sweep the house,
searching carefully until she finds it?
And when she does find it,
she calls together her friends and neighbors
and says to them,
'Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.'
In just the same way, I tell you,
there will be rejoicing among the angels of God
over one sinner who repents."
| Daily Meditation: Luke 15:1-10 I have found my lost sheep. (Luke 15:6) Because the parable of the lost sheep in today's Gospel is so familiar, it's easy to assume we know everyone's role. The "lost sheep" must be those "tax collectors and sinners" sitting right in front of Jesus. After all, he once said, "Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners" (Luke 5:31-32). So if they represent the lost sheep, then the ninety-nine sheep, the "righteous" ones, must be the Pharisees and scribes, right? They loved God. They followed Jewish law. They enjoyed the respect of the community. Jesus didn't need to focus on them; he needed to go out and find the really lost souls. This may be how the Pharisees and scribes understood the parable, too. But this interpretation has some problems. For one, it divides people into two groups: the good and the bad. But in reality, we are all lost sheep because we are all sinners. We are all like that one sheep, easily tempted to wander from the care of Jesus, our Good Shepherd. And just as the shepherd in the parable risked everything for that one lost sheep, so Jesus laid down his whole life so he could rescue each of us from sin and death. We also don't want to assume from this parable that Jesus is more concerned about some sinners than others. According to St. Luke, Jesus addressed this parable to the Pharisees and scribes (15:3). He wanted them to see that they were the lost sheep just as much as any tax collector was. He wanted them to recognize their own sins so that they could change. He wanted them to let him "find" them and carry them to his Father, just as he was doing for everyone else. Jesus came to help every lost sinner—including you. It doesn't matter how big or small or frequent or infrequent your sins are. Jesus cares about every part of your life, both the parts that you fear are beyond his reach and the parts that wander from him at times. Will you let him find you? "Jesus, thank you for seeking me out, especially when I get myself lost in sin!" Philippians 3:3-8
Psalm 105:2-7 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Click to hear Audio | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them
would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert
and go after the lost one until he finds it?
And when he does find it,
he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
and, upon his arrival home,
he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,
'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.'
I tell you, in just the same way
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous people
who have no need of repentance......" end Gospel quote, word of the Lord. | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, one feature of today's Gospel passage is the craziness of the shepherd: "What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it?" Well, the implied answer is "No one." Who would take that great a risk, putting the ninety-nine in danger to find the one? It's just bad economics. Why would God fret over one little soul? Why would he bother?
Well, it's his nature. It's what he does. As Catherine of Siena put it, he is pazzo d'amore (crazy in love). God is as crazy for you as if you were the only one in the world....." end quote from Bishop Barron.
A spanish reflection said today:
"Jesus wants to give a lesson about the truth of God. A God who devotes himself to the search for the lost sheep or the lost coin, celebrating when he finds them. If we continue reading this chapter of Saint Luke, we will find the parable, which we wrongly call "the Prodigal Son" when its real name should be the parable of "the merciful Father."
Let us draw conclusions and we will easily discover that God is always looking for us, because we are often the sheep that go astray, the children who stray from home, and we are always in need of the mercy and embrace of the Father. But are we ready to receive the gift of love that is freely offered to us?" end quote from Félix García O.P.
In the world, especially as of late, they say in our country the people, especially the youth suffer from a unique depression, and many adults suffer anxiety, and many suffer loneliness, which is odd in what is called a "social media" world of internet.
What are we to do? What about you? Is this your case? Where, yes you may be surrounded by people, but you don't feel like you are connected?
Who are the "lost" sheep? Is it just those that have lost their way in faith? Or is it those who have no faith in our Lord?
We must identify the lost, in order to seek them, find them, and bring them back, right?
Let's think about the lost sheep of yourself.
In a survivor situation, there are things that a lost person can do in order to help rescuers find them. If you have flares, use them! If you can write "Help" in huge letters, do it! If you can yell, then scream! If you are drowning in sorrows, swim! Float! Catch a breath of fresh air, and this my beloved, means prayer. Call out to the Good Shepherd.
See how good the Father is, that we should be loved so much when we are lost.
"Where are you?" He asks. He knows exactly where you are. But the question is from the book of Genesis, when Adam and Eve bit the apple and then tried to hide.
You see, they wouldn't show up anymore to Him. They weren't hiding, really, but just not being one intimately with Him.
Our little 4 year old daughter said yesterday "daddy, I'm going to the library to meet my best friend". My wife clarified "we are going to the library, not meeting anyone in particular but she is expecting to make friends there".
How we have lost that youthful loving attitude, especially to our Father whom we have been put in the world to seek and find. You see, it is the story of two people, you and Our Father. That He seeks you, and that you seek Him, the savior, yes, but your lover at the same time.
Isn't it so much more beautiful when the story of the savior is your own Father?
Like the little boy under the rubble of an earthquake, with schoolmates, he'd say "don't worry, my daddy will come get us", and they said that daddy dug and dug for days and days until he actually got his boy out.
This is the story of Our Father. He digs deep and quick. We must hold strong in our faith. The sheep of the sheep master, Jesus.
If only we'd trust in Jesus with all of our lives. |  audio | Amazing random bible verse today: Random Bible Verse 1
Psalm 42:11 11 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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