.: 09/24/24

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Quote of the Day

"The Divine Heart is an ocean full of all good things, wherein poor souls can cast all their needs; it is an ocean full of joy to drown all our sadness, an ocean of humility to drown our folly, an ocean of mercy to those in distress, an ocean of love in which to submerge our poverty." — St. Margaret Mary

Today's Meditation

"I never found anyone so religious and devout as not to have sometimes a subtraction of grace, or feel a diminution of fervor. No saint was ever so highly rapt and illuminated as not to be tempted sooner or later. For he is not worthy of the high contemplation of God who has not, for God's sake, been exercised with some tribulation. For temptation going before is usually a sign of ensuing consolation. For heavenly comfort is promised to such as have been proved by temptation. To him that overcometh, saith our Lord, I will give to eat of the tree of life." —Thomas à Kempis, p. 65
An excerpt from Imitation of Christ

Daily Verse

"But you, be self-possessed in all circumstances; put up with hardship; perform the work of an evangelist; fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance." — 2 Timothy 4:5-8
Daily Mass Readings
St. Benedict Dark Blue Wood Bead Rosary

St. Peter Nolasco (12th c.) was inspired to establish a religious order for the ransom of Christians from Muslim captivity. On August 1, 1218 the Blessed Virgin appeared to St. Peter Nolasco along with his confessor, St. Raymond of Peñafort, and to King James I of the Kingdom of Aragon to verify the Divine inspiration of this mission. Word of the Marian apparition soon spread to the entire kingdom. The new religious foundation, called the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy (the Mercedarians), was established and approved by Pope Gregory IX. The order worked to raise money to ransom Christians who had been captured and enslaved by Muslims, and to offer themselves, if necessary, as payment for their release. A feast was instituted under the title of Our Lady of Ransom and observed on September 24, later extended to the entire Church.

Tuesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 PRV 21:1-6, 10-13

Like a stream is the king's heart in the hand of the LORD;
wherever it pleases him, he directs it.
All the ways of a man may be right in his own eyes,
but it is the LORD who proves hearts.
To do what is right and just
is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
Haughty eyes and a proud heart–
the tillage of the wicked is sin.
The plans of the diligent are sure of profit,
but all rash haste leads certainly to poverty.
Whoever makes a fortune by a lying tongue
is chasing a bubble over deadly snares.
The soul of the wicked man desires evil;
his neighbor finds no pity in his eyes.
When the arrogant man is punished, the simple are the wiser;
when the wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge.
The just man appraises the house of the wicked:
there is one who brings down the wicked to ruin.
He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor
will himself also call and not be heard.

Responsorial Psalm PS 119:1, 27, 30, 34, 35, 44

R. (35) Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
Blessed are they whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the LORD.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
The way of truth I have chosen;
I have set your ordinances before me.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
Give me discernment, that I may observe your law
and keep it with all my heart.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
Lead me in the path of your commands,
for in it I delight.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
And I will keep your law continually,
forever and ever.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.

Alleluia LK 11:28

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are those who hear the word of God
and observe it.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel LK 8:19-21

The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him
but were unable to join him because of the crowd.
He was told, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside
and they wish to see you."
He said to them in reply, "My mother and my brothers
are those who hear the word of God and act on it."

Daily Meditation: Luke 8:19-21

My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it. (Luke 8:21)

Did Jesus really reject his relatives? Was he really telling Mary to go back to Nazareth and leave him alone? No more than he really wanted his followers to pluck out their eyes or cut off their hands (Matthew 5:29-30). In Jewish culture, family bonds were vital to a person's identity, social standing, and even legal status. Without these connections, you were alone and adrift in the world.

Because he seemed to be publicly denying his own family, Jesus got the crowd's attention. He knew that he was doing a new work here, and he wanted to spell it out for them clearly. He was forging a new path for Israel, showing them how closely related he was to his heavenly Father—and how close they could be as well.

He was also showing that to be in Jesus' clan means to listen attentively to his teachings and then to live out that teaching in every aspect of their lives. It's not enough to know what God's will is. He wants us to embrace that will with all that we are and to act on it in our day-to-day lives.

Of course, Jesus' mother already had this relationship with God. Many of his other relatives would also follow him into the Father's embrace after his death and resurrection. The question for his listeners that day was whether they wanted to do the same thing. Was a relationship with God attractive enough for them to want to direct their whole lives toward doing his will?

We can ask that same question of ourselves. How closely are you embracing Jesus' word and acting on it? What about your relationship with your family? Make sure you aren't using passages like this one as a loophole to distance yourself from difficult relatives. In fact, embracing God's will is the surest path to healing and unity!

Jesus wants to guide you into a life-giving relationship with him and his Father. And he wants to guide you into a life-giving relationship with all your brothers and sisters in him!

"Jesus, help me see the Church as your family and as my family as well. Teach us all to live as brothers and sisters in your name."

Proverbs 21:1-6, 10-13
Psalm 119:1, 27, 30, 34-35, 44

Reflections with Brother Adrian:

In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him
but were unable to join him because of the crowd.
He was told, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside
and they wish to see you."
He said to them in reply, "My mother and my brothers
are those who hear the word of God and act on it........"_ end quote.

Bishop Barron said:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus identifies his disciples as his family. I want to say something about our becoming disciples in his family. Once we make the decision to follow Jesus then every other claimant to supremacy must fall away.
As I've argued many times before, every one of us has something or some set of values that we consider greatest. Perhaps it is money, material things, power, or the esteem of others. Perhaps it is your family, your kids, your wife, your husband.
None of this is false, and none of these things are bad. But when you place any of them in the absolute center of gravity, things go awry. When you make any of them your ultimate or final good, your spiritual life goes haywire. When you attach yourself to any of them with an absolute tenacity, you will fall apart.
Only when we make Christ the cornerstone of our lives are we truly ready for mission. Keep in mind that every encounter with God in the Bible conduces to mission, to being sent to do the work of the Lord. If we try to do this work while we are stuck to any number of attachments, we will fail. Period. . . ." end quote.

"My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it."
Did you hear that? If you read the verse, some interpret it as if our Lord was dismissing His own mother and disciples. But that is not how to read this.

Simple messages can be thwarted and taken the wrong way, like text messages, so easy to misread, amen?
But the message of the Lord has to be taken for the greater good.
He said that those who hear the Word of GOD and act on it are His brothers, sisters, and mothers and so forth.

Those who delve into it, those who take it to heart, those who make the Word become alive in the flesh allow an incarnation, another mother to take place, another brother to become alive as the Word becomes alive in each one.
And so,what is the Word of God? It is two things; the Holy Scriptures and the Son of God. We cannot live by scriptures alone, but by every word that comes out of the Son of God, the very heart of God.
When He speaks, we are to listen.

What has He said to your heart today? Have you heard Him speak to you today?
Why couldn't our Lord speak to you every day? What did He tell you yesterday?

Today we heard Him tell us that we are to take Him at His word, live it out, take it out to the whole world, that we may be united with Him as intimate family.
Amen?
The world seeks division to destroy us. It is a fight to unite. But division makes for dissension from bad to worse. It is most obvious in a divorce where the human catastrophe can be clearly seen as seen through the eyes of an innocent child, mom and dad hate each other, they must hate me. This is a demonic disillusion disappointment, something resulting from the discovery that something is not as good as one believed it to be.
We are fooled by the demons into this sad despondency. To make you see eyes through hatred, and sadness, all things against life, and the very Word of God from Heaven.
Our Lord is inviting us to see things in Him and through Him and with Him today. We must be the change we want to see. The Heaven we yearn for. The Christ we so much miss and yearn to see.
I know in my life, I want to see Him. There's a song someone wrote at a choir competitions with my aunt Rosa and my sister Becky and choir leader Saul, they used to sing, but we might not ever hear or know it in the general world, but the lyrics always hit me from time to time, the lyrics won't rhyme in english, but the message is interesting:

"The Lord is coming down the hill
You can hear him speak
His gentle voice shows his face in his talk

The Lord is coming down the hill
I see him coming
He has brought us a message from above
And with his life he brings freedom

The Lord is calling my name
I don't want to make him wait
Let's go with him, let's go with him..."

And at times, to imagine our Lord, to hear His voice around the corner, to hear Him coming my way, it brings tears to my eyes.
He's coming for us individually, to love us like no other being can love.
He's coming over the hill, over the horizon, and like the many tax collectors and sinners seeing Him coming, your heart starts burning with love, and sheer joy. The love of Life is approaching and this is the best thing that could ever happen to a soul...
Good things are coming for the faithful...and for the unfaithful that are about to become super faithful.
Heaping and overflowing graces, to those that Hear His voice and rejoice...