†Quote of the Day "The soul hungers for God, and nothing but God can satiate it. Therefore He came to dwell on earth and assumed a Body in order that this Body might become the Food of our souls."
–St. John Vianney Today's Meditation "The right understanding of things is a necessary step in the way of perfection. The hunger and thirst after justice—after improvements—needs direction; the beginning of wisdom—the yearning and will to be holy—must be orderly; the growth in the knowledge and love of God—the giving of the mind and heart to God—have marks that show the way. To follow these, there must be a thought of spiritual need, a meditation on what has been acquired, a looking backward on the reasons and causes of failure or success, a searching anew for the means to avoid the mistakes of the past, while new courage, fresh resolve, and reborn yearning urge the soul to ascend the mountaintops where perfection waits."
—Matt Fradd, p.31 An Excerpt From
Rooting Out Hidden Faults - How the Particular Examen Conquers Sin Daily Verse "Yet I consider life of no importance to me, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to bear witness to the gospel of God's grace."
–Acts 20:24 | St. Margaret of Hungary St. Margaret of Hungary (1242–1271) was the daughter of King Bela IV of Hungary, and niece of the famed St. Elizabeth of Hungary. Her royal parents made a vow to God that if Hungary was saved from the Mongol invasion they would dedicate Margaret to religion. God heard their prayer and the country was saved. The king and queen then entrusted four-year-old Margaret to be raised and educated in a Dominican convent. At the age of ten Margaret was transferred to the Convent of the Blessed Virgin founded by her parents, built on an island her parents named after her. Margaret spent the rest of her life there, dedicating herself to prayer and severe penances. She opposed her father's attempts to arrange her political marriage with the King of Bohemia, even though her suitor obtained a dispensation from the pope to release her from her religious vows so that she could enter into matrimony. Margaret made her solemn vows as a Dominican nun at the age of eighteen. Although a beautiful princess, she took the most menial tasks in the convent and dedicated her life to serving the poor and sick. She was considered a saint during her life and after her death. Many miracles, especially the curing of illnesses, were attributed to her intercession. She died at the age of 28. Her feast day is January 18. | Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 314
Reading 1 1 Sm 18:6-9; 19:1-7 When David and Saul approached
(on David's return after slaying the Philistine),
women came out from each of the cities of Israel to meet King Saul,
singing and dancing, with tambourines, joyful songs, and sistrums.
The women played and sang: "Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his ten thousands." Saul was very angry and resentful of the song, for he thought:
"They give David ten thousands, but only thousands to me.
All that remains for him is the kingship."
And from that day on, Saul was jealous of David. Saul discussed his intention of killing David
with his son Jonathan and with all his servants.
But Saul's son Jonathan, who was very fond of David, told him:
"My father Saul is trying to kill you.
Therefore, please be on your guard tomorrow morning;
get out of sight and remain in hiding.
I, however, will go out and stand beside my father
in the countryside where you are, and will speak to him about you.
If I learn anything, I will let you know." Jonathan then spoke well of David to his father Saul, saying to him:
"Let not your majesty sin against his servant David,
for he has committed no offense against you,
but has helped you very much by his deeds.
When he took his life in his hands and slew the Philistine,
and the LORD brought about a great victory
for all Israel through him,
you were glad to see it.
Why, then, should you become guilty of shedding innocent blood
by killing David without cause?"
Saul heeded Jonathan's plea and swore,
"As the LORD lives, he shall not be killed."
So Jonathan summoned David and repeated the whole conversation to him.
Jonathan then brought David to Saul, and David served him as before. Responsorial Psalm 56:2-3, 9-10a, 10b-11, 12-13 R. (5b) In God I trust; I shall not fear.
Have mercy on me, O God, for men trample upon me;
all the day they press their attack against me.
My adversaries trample upon me all the day;
yes, many fight against me.
R. In God I trust; I shall not fear.
My wanderings you have counted;
my tears are stored in your flask;
are they not recorded in your book?
Then do my enemies turn back,
when I call upon you.
R. In God I trust; I shall not fear.
Now I know that God is with me.
In God, in whose promise I glory,
in God I trust without fear;
what can flesh do against me?
R. In God I trust; I shall not fear.
I am bound, O God, by vows to you;
your thank offerings I will fulfill.
For you have rescued me from death,
my feet, too, from stumbling;
that I may walk before God in the light of the living.
R. In God I trust; I shall not fear. Alleluia 2 Tm 1:10 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 3:7-12 Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his disciples.
A large number of people followed from Galilee and from Judea.
Hearing what he was doing,
a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem,
from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan,
and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon.
He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd,
so that they would not crush him.
He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases
were pressing upon him to touch him.
And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him
and shout, "You are the Son of God."
He warned them sternly not to make him known. | Daily Meditation: Mark 3:7-12 Those who had diseases were pressing upon him to touch him. (Mark 3:10) Many people of Jesus' time struggled to understand who he was. Some believed he was a prophet or John the Baptist or Elijah back from the dead (Mark 8:27-28). Others thought he was an agent of Satan (Luke 11:15). And still others thought he was a threat to Judaism (John 11:47-48). At least the people in today's Gospel get some things right! The desperately sick in the crowd recognize that Jesus has the power to heal them of their diseases. And the demon-possessed acknowledge that he is the Son of God, whose authority over all creation includes the spiritual world. But even these two groups see only part of the picture. Jesus came to do more than heal diseases, and he didn't come just to give demons a fright. He came to deliver us from slavery to sin and from death itself. He came to establish a relationship with us that will heal our wounded souls and open up the possibility of healing for our bodies as well. These are the truths that Jesus deeply longed for them—and for us—to understand! Are you feeling burdened by hurts of the past or fears for the future? Are the devil's temptations, or his subtle lies, wearing you down? Then imitate the people of Jesus' day and cry out to him! In prayer, press in as they did, and imagine yourself touching even the hem of his garment. Let his presence and his power bring healing to your wounded, weary soul. Or has a sickness or infirmity been weighing you down, robbing you of your peace? You, too, cry out to Jesus! Ask him to pour out his healing grace—whether to restore your body to wholeness or to give you the courage and patience to unite your sufferings to his. There is no limit to what he can do. Jesus came to overcome the power of sin and death, and he did it not as a distant god but by becoming one of us and dying and rising for us. If he would go through all of that for you, of course he will hear you when you cry out to him! "Lord Jesus, I'm not ashamed to admit that I need your healing touch!" 1 Samuel 18:6-9; 19:1-7
Psalm 56:2-3, 9-13 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian:
Audio English | In the Gospel today we heard:
"He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases
were pressing upon him to touch him.
And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him
and shout, "You are the Son of God."
He warned them sternly not to make him known......" end of Gospel verse.
. . . | From Bishop Barron today;
"Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus cures so many people that he has to climb into a boat to escape the press of the crowd. To this day, the Church carries on his gracious healing ministry.
We recall that the Apostles of Jesus simply continued what the Master did. And one of the principal marks of the Lord's ministry was clearly healing. There was, of course, a deep biblical conviction that when the day of the Lord arrives, creation would be set right. What we witness in the healings of Jesus is just this repairing of creation.
If you doubt that miracles of physical healing still take place in the life of the Church, I invite you to read Craig Keener's book Miracles or visit the Church in Africa, Asia, or Latin America, where the expectation of the miraculous is taken for granted. But the Church also brings healing to mind, soul, will, and imagination. The Bible knows that sin has done tremendous damage to us, and anyone involved in pastoral ministry knows what this looks like: broken minds, divided hearts, addicted passions." End Quote Bishop Barron.
Can you imagine so many pressing on Him that He had to get on a boat to avoid being crushed? There were no hospitals to fill, most were sick at home, and even today, there are many sick in hospitals, but so many more sick at home! Can you imagine a town or a small city hearing of healing being offered? They came out in droves! I asked my teenage RCIA class last night if any of them had heard of a miracle or ever witnessed one. They were all very quiet, there were no answers. I said perhaps they've never needed a miracle, but the older one gets, and health gets weak, or we deal with other life and death situations, then miracles will be in more demand.
But I have witnessed miracles. Once I saw the Eucharist turn into flesh as the priest held it up at the closing Mass after Consecration at my Cursillo. And then again in my own parish, and thinking I was a fool, I told nobody, but then my mom and dad said they had seen it too. So I am not as crazy as you thought! LOL.
But I've been a part of probably a dozen or more miracles in my life, mostly with others, and maybe a couple with me, maybe we can put my visions in a whole other category though.
And so I asked them what I will ask you today, "do you believe miracles still happen today?".
They always happened with the Apostles. Do we have Apostles, literal direct descendants from the original disciples? Yes! They are the bishops. Can they perform miracles? Well, to be honest, God does all the miracles, we just encounter instruments of His will throughout the earth as He sees fit.
It's been a while since I have ever heard of a Bishop performing miracles, but I do hear often of parish priests performing miracles. How? They are, as are priests, acting "in persona Christi" in the Holy Sacraments. They are Jesus at that moment of the Sacraments. We too can run in droves to them, for healing. And the most normal healing will happen in Confession and Anointing of the Sick (not to be thought of last rites only!).
In a faithless world, not miracles happen.
In a faithful world, miracles happen more often than not.
So what's it like in your world?
I wrote a song about how we should be grateful if we've even had been a part of one miracle in our lifetime.
As a matter of fact, I'm asking for us in our parish and around the world, to start having a specific day of the month for Eucharistic Adoration, or at least prayers before the Blessed Sacrament. We right now are calling it praise and worship and the whole emphasis is on giving thanks to God for giving Himself and at times we ask for healing, but the heavy emphasis is on being thankful and offering ourselves for that very fact!
This happens on the 2nd Thursday of the month. Why Thursday? That is the Eucharist day, like Holy Thursday. Every Friday, in a sense, is Good Friday. We should always fast or give up something that day for our Lord for the memory of the day He have His life for us. But just the same, on Thursday is when it happened...He said Yes to God, "not my will be done but Yours Father". And the Eucharist is God Giving Himself at the Sacrifice, and this my beloved...is a miracle. Do you believe? Pray with me:
Lord, the miracle at the altar hides itself to those who choose not to believe by not having hearts opened to the truth of the sacrifice from Heaven, a divine revelation. Let us taste and see, and be grateful to Thee...not just here and now, but always, eternally! |  Click for Audio | AMAZING
Random Bible Verse
[Proverbs 3] 7 Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.
8 It will be healing to your flesh1 and refreshment2 to your bones. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
