† Quote of the Day "Faith and love are like the blind man's guides. They will lead you along a path unknown to you, to the place where God is hidden." St. John of the Cross Today's Meditation "Exterior silence is an ascetic exercise of self-mastery in the use of speech. First of all, it may be helpful to recall what asceticism is. This word is not praised to the skies by our consumer society–far from it!…Asceticism is a means that helps us to remove from our life anything that weighs it down, in other words, whatever hampers our spiritual life and, therefore, is an obstacle to prayer. Yes, it is indeed in prayer that God communicates his Life to us and manifests his presence in our soul…And prayer is essentially silence."
–Robert Cardinal Sarah, p.141
Cover image from the book, The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise, p. 141
An Excerpt From The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise, p. 141 Daily Verse "When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. For the holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say." Luke 12:11-12 | St. Luke the Evangelist (1st c.) was a well-educated Greek physician and a native of Antioch in Syria. He was a follower of St. Paul the Apostle and spent most of his life evangelizing with him in Asia Minor up until the time of Paul's martyrdom in Rome. Luke wrote a canonical account of his apostolic journeys with Paul (the Book of Acts) as well as a biography on the life of Christ (the Gospel of Luke). The two books of Luke's Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles were originally a single work. The intimate accounts contained in Luke's gospel of the early years of Christ's life (the Visitation, the Nativity, the Presentation, etc.) lead many scholars to believe that one of the eyewitnesses he interviewed was the Blessed Virgin Mary herself. According to tradition he was also a skilled artist and painted the first icons of Our Lady with the Child Jesus. Several of these icons are still venerated today, the most famous of which hangs in the Church of St. Mary Major in Rome. St. Luke is the patron saint of many trades including artists, painters, doctors, surgeons, and bachelors. His feast day is October 18th. | Feast of Saint Luke, evangelist Reading 1 2 Tm 4:10-17b Beloved:
Demas, enamored of the present world,
deserted me and went to Thessalonica,
Crescens to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.
Luke is the only one with me.
Get Mark and bring him with you,
for he is helpful to me in the ministry.
I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus.
When you come, bring the cloak I left with Carpus in Troas,
the papyrus rolls, and especially the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me a great deal of harm;
the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.
You too be on guard against him,
for he has strongly resisted our preaching. At my first defense no one appeared on my behalf,
but everyone deserted me.
May it not be held against them!
But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength,
so that through me the proclamation might be completed
and all the Gentiles might hear it. Responsorial Psalm Ps 145:10-11, 12-13, 17-18 R. (12) Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Making known to men your might
and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
The LORD is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom. Alleluia See Jn 15:16 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I chose you from the world,
to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 10:1-9 The Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two disciples
whom he sent ahead of him in pairs
to every town and place he intended to visit.
He said to them,
"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.
Go on your way;
behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.
Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals;
and greet no one along the way.
Into whatever house you enter,
first say, 'Peace to this household.'
If a peaceful person lives there,
your peace will rest on him;
but if not, it will return to you.
Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you,
for the laborer deserves payment.
Do not move about from one house to another.
Whatever town you enter and they welcome you,
eat what is set before you,
cure the sick in it and say to them,
'The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.'"
| Daily Meditation: Luke 10:1-9 Say to them, "The Kingdom of God is at hand for you." (Luke 10:9) Who were the seventy-two disciples whom Jesus sent ahead of him to every town and place he planned to visit? Of the four Gospel writers, only St. Luke, whose feast we celebrate today, mentions this mission (10:1-9). Perhaps among these disciples were the very people whom Luke wrote about in his Gospel, the ones whose lives had been radically transformed by the Lord. Maybe one of the pairs sent out were two men, one miraculously healed of leprosy and the other of paralysis (Luke 5:12-26). We can guess what they, in their gratitude, would have said about Jesus to any villager who would listen to them. What about the testimony of the sinful woman who was forgiven much (7:36-50)? And the widow from Nain and her only son who had been raised from his coffin (7:11-17)—what a witness they had to share about the nearness of the kingdom of God! Before sending them out, Jesus told his disciples to pray for more laborers for the harvest (Luke 10:2). St. Luke himself heard this call and devoted his life to spreading the good news. He traveled with St. Paul on his missionary journeys, where he encountered numerous dangers and difficulties. When he returned from his travels, he continued to share the good news by compiling both his Gospel and the Book of Acts. How many people throughout the centuries have been touched by his inspired words! What is your story? What has Jesus done for you, and what have you seen him do for others? You don't have to share it with a whole town; just start with one person. You don't need extensive training, either. All you need are your gratitude and humility as you recall your experience. Today, imagine one of the characters in Luke's Gospel walking into a Galilean village, standing in front of the synagogue, and sharing how Jesus had changed their life. Let their example give you the courage to follow in their footsteps. Know that St. Luke and these seventy-two believers are rooting for you to step out in faith and tell your own "Jesus story"! "St. Luke, pray for me as I share my story of how Jesus has touched my life." 2 Timothy 4:10-17
Psalm 145:10-13, 17-18 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Click to hear Audio | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"The Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two disciples
whom he sent ahead of him in pairs
to every town and place he intended to visit.
He said to them,
"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.
Go on your way;
behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.
Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals;
and greet no one along the way.
Into whatever house you enter,
first say, 'Peace to this household.'......" end quote. | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, our Gospel shows us what Jesus wants his followers to be doing and how they ought to do it. We are a missionary Church. We are sent by the Lord to spread his word and do his work. The Gospel is just not something that we are meant to cling to for our own benefit; it is seed that we are meant to give away.
Prayer is not incidental to ministry. It is not decorative. It is the lifeblood of the Church's efforts. Without it, nothing will succeed; without it, no ministers will come forward. At all times pray, pray, pray.
Poverty and simplicity of life are prerequisites to the effective proclamation of the Gospel. Anthony, Benedict, Chrysostom, Francis and Clare, Dominic, Ignatius, Mother Teresa—across the board, the most effective proclaimers of the Gospel are those who rely on the providence of God and strip themselves of worldliness.
What is the first thing that the minister should do upon entering a city? "Cure the sick in it." Christ is Soter, healer of both body and spirit. The second great task of the Church is to proclaim that "the Kingdom of God is at hand." The Church is an announcing, proclaiming, evangelizing organism." end quote.
We heard today: "he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit." He sent missionaries, the evangelists, those carrying with them nothing, but the Word of God. To live by faith alone, and not to rely on ourselves, but on Him. These are the living testimonies, the living word, those really living the Word of the Lord in total faith. This is why our Lord says in another scripture that He Himself would reward anybody who even gives a cup of water to one of these, and why? Because, it is Him in them. He is the living Word they proclaim. He is the Holy Spirit in them. Think of today's evangelists. Do they exist? Are there those living solely on the word of the Lord, on the go, going house to house bringing peace to the home and the hearts of all?
Not only do they bring and offering of peace, but of salvation. It is in these moments that whole households are converted, baptized, and saved. The message is for you right now.
Your household, your neighborhood, everyone you encounter is that house. We are to live the Word of the Lord. And if your entire neighborhood is evangelized, and baptized and healed, then what?
Keep going. I am in many ministries. Most of them are in dire need of help, from prison ministry, to hospitals and nursing homes, to retreats and conferences, severely understaffed and very few are tremendously motivated to help with all their mind, body, strength, and soul.
St. Luke became a powerful evangelist. How? Some say He used to be a doctor, an artist, a very well learned man and could be well to do, but, his life changed when He encountered the Lord. Then, they say, he met someone special after our Lord; he meets the Mother of our Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mother Mary. He meets grace and humility all at once.
His life is impacted by her thoughts, her words, her very life of total devotion to our Lord and our God. He is formed, and transformed by the encounter. This is why we should get to know our Mother.
I'll tell you a secret maybe I shouldn't tell. At our family festival, it always falls on the same weekend as America Needs Fatima prayer for the whole nation. We began with a Holy Rosary. Me and my wife and my kids and another family came up, on stage, on the microphones, from little 7 year olds all the way up to us adults taking turns leading. I had invited one brother to help, he said "I'm falling behind, my brother isn't here and we have to set up" when I had invited him to come on stage to pray in front of all. He shyed away. But during the rosary, I noticed he had a change of heart, and joined us on the side. Keep in mind, the guy is a promoter of the rosary to his high school students in our church classes. That was fine, the day was blessed. But then, come time for church class, CCD day, I asked one of his students how things went in class after the festival. The student, one of my daughters said "it was really good, the teacher (the one who prayed on stage at the end) said he "had a most amazing experience during that rosary", he said "I could smell roses and I thought I could see an angel appear". These are signs that our Mother was with us and that the presence of God was among us.
Now you have heard of how God knocks on doors through others, He invites you to pray with Him and His mother. Do we lock Him out and make excuses? I am thinking of many men that I am wanting to lock in the date of our next men's conference, focusing on family and Saint Joseph. I can almost hear some excuses, and they don't even know the date of! But some men have already reserved the date. Jesus is continuously knocking on doors, bringing souls to joy, peace, healing, and salvation. If only, we would do this with Him and for Him.
Saint Luke the evangelist, pray for us! |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
2 Samuel 7:28 28 And now, O Lord GOD, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
