† Quote of the Day "Is it not a wonderful thing, that he that is the Lord and author of all liberty, would thus be bound with ropes and nailed hand and foot unto the Cross?" — St. John Fisher Today's Meditation "You must first have peace in your own soul before you can make peace between other people. Peaceable people accomplish more good than learned people do. Those who are passionate often can turn good into evil and readily believe the worst. But those who are honest and peaceful turn all things to good and are suspicious of no one. ... It is no test of virtue to be on good terms with easy-going people, for they are always well liked. And, of course, all of us want to live in peace and prefer those who agree with us. But the real test of virtue and deserving of praise is to live at peace with the perverse, or the aggressive and those who contradict us, for this needs a great grace. ... in this mortal life, our peace consists in the humble bearing of suffering and contradictions, not in being free of them, for we cannot live in this world without adversity. Those who can best suffer will enjoy the most peace, for such persons are masters of themselves, lords of the world, with Christ for their friend, and heaven as their reward." — Thomas รก Kempis, p.72-73 An excerpt from Imitation of Christ Daily Verse "In fact, all who want to live religiously in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But wicked people and charlatans will go from bad to worse, deceivers and deceived. But you, remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom you learned it, and that from infancy you have known [the] sacred scriptures, which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." — 2 Timothy 3:12-15 | St. John Of Capistrano St. John of Capistrano (1385-1456) was born in Capistrano, Italy. After the death of his father, his mother sent him to study law in Perugia where he rose to prominence. He achieved great success as a lawyer and was appointed governor of Perugia. He was an upright leader who refused bribes and corruption. While attempting to negotiate a peace treaty he was imprisoned, which gave him opportunity to assess the direction of his life and the state of his soul. After having a vision of St. Francis of Assisi, John left the world and entered religious life as a Franciscan friar. He was taught theology by St. Bernardine of Siena, and together the two worked to reform the Franciscan order. St. John traveled throughout Italy preaching for the salvation of souls, combating the heresies of his day, and winning many souls away from schism and heresy. Merchants would suspend their business as great crowds gathered to hear him preach in the public squares. He was also known as a healer, and many of the sick were brought to him to be cured. St. John was frequently used as an ambassador by the Holy See which allowed him to preach across the Holy Roman Empire, earning him the name "Apostle of Europe." He also preached a crusade against the Muslim Turks for the emancipation of Hungary. He was present at the Battle of Belgrade and led the charge of the Christian army under a banner monogrammed with the Holy Name of Jesus, to which he had a great devotion, urging the crusaders to invoke the name of Jesus for success in battle. The victory of the Christian army was attributed to his efforts. St. John of Capistrano is the patron of judges, military chaplains, lawyers, and jurists. His feast day is October 23rd. | Wednesday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 EPH 3:2-12 Brothers and sisters:
You have heard of the stewardship of God's grace
that was given to me for your benefit,
namely, that the mystery was made known to me by revelation,
as I have written briefly earlier.
When you read this
you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,
which was not made known to human beings in other generations
as it has now been revealed
to his holy Apostles and prophets by the Spirit,
that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same Body,
and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.
Of this I became a minister by the gift of God's grace
that was granted me in accord with the exercise of his power.
To me, the very least of all the holy ones, this grace was given,
to preach to the Gentiles the inscrutable riches of Christ,
and to bring to light for all what is the plan of the mystery
hidden from ages past in God who created all things,
so that the manifold wisdom of God
might now be made known through the Church
to the principalities and authorities in the heavens.
This was according to the eternal purpose
that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,
in whom we have boldness of speech
and confidence of access through faith in him. Responsorial Psalm IS 12:2-3, 4BCD, 5-6 R. (see 3) You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
God indeed is my savior;
I am confident and unafraid.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water
at the fountain of salvation.
R. You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name;
among the nations make known his deeds,
proclaim how exalted is his name.
R. You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement;
let this be known throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,
for great in your midst
is the Holy One of Israel!
R. You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation. Alleluia MT 24:42A, 44 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Stay awake!
For you do not know when the Son of Man will come.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel LK 12:39-48 Jesus said to his disciples:
"Be sure of this:
if the master of the house had known the hour
when the thief was coming,
he would not have let his house be broken into.
You also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come."
Then Peter said,
"Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?"
And the Lord replied,
"Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward
whom the master will put in charge of his servants
to distribute the food allowance at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.
Truly, I say to you, he will put him
in charge of all his property.
But if that servant says to himself,
'My master is delayed in coming,'
and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants,
to eat and drink and get drunk,
then that servant's master will come
on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour
and will punish the servant severely
and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
That servant who knew his master's will
but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will
shall be beaten severely;
and the servant who was ignorant of his master's will
but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating
shall be beaten only lightly.
Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,
and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more." | Daily Meditation: Luke 12:39-48 . . . to distribute the food allowance at the proper time. (Luke 12:42) The master of the house will return at an unexpected time, Jesus warns. So a wise servant will make sure he is doing what he is supposed to be doing when his master gets home. Jesus uses this parable to help his disciples understand how to prepare for his own return in glory. But notice that the master in the parable praises "the faithful and prudent steward" who is working "to distribute the food allowance" when the master returns (Luke 12:42). The master is pleased because the steward is distributing food to the other servants. He is pleased to find his servant taking care of people. That's his job. Jesus told this parable only to his disciples, so it's likely meant to apply mainly to those in positions of ministry (Luke 12:41). Jesus expects them to be shepherds like himself, serving rather than dominating everyone. But in another sense, this parable is for you, no matter your position. God has given you a role to play in his household, and you, too, have been called to share the "food allowance" he has entrusted to you. So what might this food allowance be? Think about the grace that God has given to you—the gifts, the insights, the talents, even your possessions. That's what he's asking you to share. All around you there are hungry people. They may be hungry for physical food or hungry for love, yearning for God's mercy or longing for his presence. God has placed them in your life so that you can "feed [his] sheep" (John 21:17). He wants you to care for them as the steward in the parable does. He asks you to give generously: of your time, your love, your faith, and—yes—your resources. As he told his disciples at another time, "Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give" (Matthew 10:8). Do you want to know how to be ready for Jesus' return? It's simple: live a life of generosity in his name. Let the needs of others soften your heart so that you can give to them just as freely as Jesus has given to you. "Lord, show me how, when, and where to distribute the 'food' you have given me." Ephesians 3:2-12
Isaiah 12:2-6 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Click to hear Audio | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"That servant who knew his master's will
but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will
shall be beaten severely;
and the servant who was ignorant of his master's will
but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating
shall be beaten only lightly.
Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,
and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more......." end quote. | From a reflection in spanish ending with:
"It is a call to coherence: if we know what the Lord wants of us, we must act accordingly. It is not enough to have good intentions; our actions must reflect our faith and our commitment to God. In the end, we will be judged not only by what we have done, but also by what we have failed to do with the gifts and opportunities that God has given us.
This gospel invites us to a profound review of personal responsibility and vigilance. Let us be like the faithful steward, who works diligently and with love, knowing that one day the Lord will come, and it will be a great joy to be found fulfilling his will.........." end quote Edgardo Guzmรกn.
Our Lord said to end today's Gospel:
"Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,
and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more..." As baptized souls, we are all entrusted with much. We are entrusted with gifts in God's Kingdom.
And who are those entrusted with more? The keepers of the faith, the clergy, those who have laid down their life for the sake of God's kingdom.
If you are clergy, and you are reading this, you know what this means.
But let us not feel the weight of the responsibility, but the honor to serve in God's vineyard.
You know very well your call. Your call to be God's love.
And so, you will know very will our call to work and to stay awake in His vineyard.
Our Lord says: "You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come."
Every day we face random events, unexpected events, and these things coupled with the nature of things, we call the "accidents of life". These are the variants that make situations of our lives different every day.
And one of those variables is death itself.
Are you ready for that? Is your family ready for that? It is the one thing that is for certain, and how do we live? As if we can postpone it? As if it does not matter? Do we live like the atheist who does not believe in eternity? Or like the spiritualist who believes whatever they want about the afterlife? What about the message of the One who came from Heaven and has promised eternity with Him,and He says that the One who sent Him is His Father, and He is Love itself?
Everyone claims to dislike hatred in the world, but only the ones, the keepers of Love of God know what the truth is. We keep then, the truth, and love and love the truth, Jesus.
Those that are worldly, pagans, atheists, most do not know love, God Himself. Therefore, they allow hate...of God Himself in their ignorance of the truth. And what if we linked hatred with fear? With God there is no fear. You see how everything is interconnected?
And I've always equated faith with Love, faith is love. And self giving in the name of God is the greatest message of the greatest story ever told.
Remain in Him. Remain in God. Yesterday we said to remain with a pure heart in confession, in grace, the very oil of God's love, brought about by holy obedience.
The world is about to change for centuries and it is not what you think. A random accident brought about for the greater good. What does this prophecy mean? A cataclysmic event? One of them asteroids headed towards earth? Another world war to annihilate humanity? Or even worse, an atrocity in your loved ones or health?
Perfect love casts out all fear. Be ready at all moments to give witness to the love of God. They will know we are Christians by our love.
In the end, God wins.
Love wins.
The Truth Is Shining.
Let it shine in your heart...it is Jesus our Lord, the heart of God, who wants to shine in you now. |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Galatians 6:1 Bear One Another's Burdens
. Brothers,1 if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
