† Quote of the Day " "Do you realize that Jesus is there in the tabernacle expressly for you - for you alone? He burns with the desire to come into your heart."" -St. Therese of Lisieux Today's Meditation ""In that blessed [Christmas] night also Joseph became the patron, the vicar, and the patriarch of the whole Catholic Church. It is certain, St. Athanasius tells us, that the stable where Jesus was born is 'a figure of the Church, whose altar is the manger, whose vicar is Joseph, whose ministers are the shepherds, whose priests are the angels, whose great High-Priest is Jesus Christ, and whose throne is the Blessed Virgin.'" —Edward Healy Thompson, p. 233
An excerpt from The Life and Glories of St. Joseph Daily Verse "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." -Hebrews 13:8 | St. Victoria (d. 250 A.D.) was a Christian noblewoman from Rome. She, together with her sister, St. Anatolia, were forced into arranged marriages with two pagan noblemen. Both Victoria and Anatolia desired to devote themselves entirely to God rather than marry. Upon this refusal, their suitors denounced the sisters as Christians to the authorities under the persecution of Roman Emperor Decius. The sisters were seized and put under house arrest in order to break their faith and convince them to marry. Instead of weakening, their faith in Christ became more resolute. While under house arrest they sold all of their belongings, gave their money to the poor, and converted the servants and guards who attended them to Christianity. Both St. Victoria and her sister were eventually killed for their faith; first Anatolia, and later Victoria. St. Victoria was stabbed through the heart at the request of her rejected suitor, Eugenius. Her feast day is December 23rd. | Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent Lectionary: 199
Reading 1 Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24 Thus says the Lord GOD:
Lo, I am sending my messenger
to prepare the way before me;
And suddenly there will come to the temple
the LORD whom you seek,
And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire.
Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.
But who will endure the day of his coming?
And who can stand when he appears?
For he is like the refiner's fire,
or like the fuller's lye.
He will sit refining and purifying silver,
and he will purify the sons of Levi,
Refining them like gold or like silver
that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD.
Then the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem
will please the LORD,
as in the days of old, as in years gone by. Lo, I will send you
Elijah, the prophet,
Before the day of the LORD comes,
the great and terrible day,
To turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,
and the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike
the land with doom. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 25:4-5ab, 8-9, 10 and 14 R. (see Luke 21:28) Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand. Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior. R. Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.
Good and upright is the LORD; thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
he teaches the humble his way. R. Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand. All the paths of the LORD are kindness and constancy
toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
The friendship of the LORD is with those who fear him,
and his covenant, for their instruction. R. Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.
Alleluia R. Alleluia, alleluia. O King of all nations and keystone of the Church;
come and save man, whom you formed from the dust! R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Luke 1:57-66 When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her,
and they rejoiced with her.
When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,
they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
but his mother said in reply,
"No. He will be called John."
But they answered her,
"There is no one among your relatives who has this name."
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote, "John is his name,"
and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors,
and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,
"What, then, will this child be?
For surely the hand of the Lord was with him." | Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! | Daily Meditation: Luke 1:57-66 John is his name. (Luke 1:63) Zechariah seems different, doesn't he? At least compared to how he appeared when the angel came to him in the Temple nine months earlier (Luke 1:5-20). When Gabriel told him that his wife, Elizabeth, would finally bear a child, Zechariah was filled with doubt. And because of his skeptical reaction to the news, God silenced him. But now, after his child is born, there is no doubt at all. Even when his relatives pressure him to give his son a more traditional name, Zechariah follows God's command and names him John. And immediately, his mouth is opened, his tongue is loosed, and he is free to speak again. It sounds like a happy ending for everyone, doesn't it? But still, does it strike you as at least a little unfair of God to have made Zechariah—a "righteous" and blameless man (Luke 1:6)—endure such a punishment? Maybe we should look at it less as a punishment and more as an act of mercy. To be father to the herald of the Messiah—that would require mature faith! It would also require someone with wisdom and deep spiritual insights, someone immersed in the Scriptures, who longed to see God's plan of salvation come to pass. And that's what Zechariah became. His inability to speak likely caused him to step away from his priestly duties, which gave him more time for prayer and contemplation. And with no voice, he was more open to listening to the Holy Spirit. What a blessing that was! We are often so busy talking—about ourselves, our desires, our needs, or our opinions—that we don't always pay attention to God and to the people around us. And that can lead us to overlook their own God-given wisdom and unique perspectives. It can also keep us from hearing the Spirit speaking to us through them! How are you doing at listening—to the Spirit or to other people? Especially this week, are there ways God is calling you to slow down and ponder his word and his promises? You don't need a major event like Zechariah's to silence you. You can choose to do it on your own. And as you'll see in tomorrow's Gospel, the blessings that will flow can be unimaginable! "Jesus, give me a listening heart!" Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24
Psalm 25:4-5, 8-10, 14 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Audio of 2 Cents | From today's Holy Gospel: "... He asked for a tablet and wrote, "John is his name,"
and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors,
and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,
"What, then, will this child be?
For surely the hand of the Lord was with him." ...." Word of the Lord. | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, today's Gospel celebrates the birth of John the Baptist. I think it's fair to say that you cannot really understand Jesus without understanding John, which is precisely why all four evangelists tell the story of the Baptist as a kind of overture to the story of Jesus. John did not draw attention to himself. Rather, he presented himself as a preparation, a forerunner, a prophet preparing the way of the Lord. He was summing up much of Israelite history, but stressing that this history was open-ended, unfinished. And therefore, how powerful it was when, upon spying Jesus coming to be baptized, he said, "Behold, the Lamb of God." No first-century Israelite would have missed the meaning of that: Behold the one who has come to be sacrificed. Behold the sacrifice, which will sum up, complete, and perfect the temple. Moreover, behold the Passover Lamb, who sums up the whole meaning of that event and brings it to fulfillment. And this is why John says, "He must increase; I must decrease." In other words, the overture is complete, and now the great opera begins. The preparatory work of Israel is over, and now the Messiah will reign." end quote.
We are remembering, yes, the birth of Saint John the Baptist, but right now, we are focused in the name. There is a purpose in the name. Do you know what your name means? Do you think it was by accident that you were named that?
I think of my name, and in some meaning it means fertile soil, and in other meanings it says cheerful.
I'll tell you what, it is true. I don't look like a smiley cheerful guy, but get to know me and you will get a daily dose of cheer, and my late daddy used to say as a youngster I used to make all the grown men laugh all the time, and it is true to this day. But the other one, fertile, yes, me and my wife have 8 kids, but personally, I don't believe that the name stops there, being fertile soil. I truly see and believe, that I help others grow, from me. We are all made of dirt, humus, but I do see how I propel others, launch them to greater things. Its who I am, it is who I was meant to be. And I pray that those who go higher to Heaven...to remember me.
And my wife's name means "crowned one". To me, it is a Cinderella story. I come from a family business, my dad, a sort of king, and as I was a single "prince", I was looking for the one I would crown as a queen with me. I never found a match, until I met her. Sure, i see it that way, but it goes deeper. God Himself has set a crown for this particular one too. She helps me, and helps guide our children to God, the King of Kings.
And so, today, we have the whole fiasco of the name of "John"
What does that name mean? A quick lookup says it means "Yahweh is gracious," or "Graced by God", "God has shown grace". Surely his mother and father, an elderly couple knew how much this name meant to them who felt disgraced by being childless all their adult lives.
But, once again, the name means so much more. "The Lord our God is gracious". And the grace that John bestowed is unheard of. Only with his kind of grace can we go out into the desert to turn hardened hearts to God with a message of repentance. How hard is it to convert the daily people you see no hope for?
We need grace, the more the better. I would say that Padre Pio had this type of grace too, being able to turn hardened sinners to God, but Saint John the Baptist had so much more so, that our Lord Himself would say no greater man born of women were on earth like John. But John would be called the least in Heaven.
That means, that in Heaven, this grace is many times more powerful.
So, how can we tap into this grace? A resolute life? Yes.
A grace filled life? Yes.
To live out what we preach? Yes, all the more, all the better.
But take a cue from me, do it with cheer, and let others be more than yourself, help others grow. Last night, an older lady said "God help us have Adrian for many more years of Posadas", I said "only God knows how long". I thought about that as I drove home, that house was totally full, full of people, full of the spirit, food, gifts, it was humble and loving, but those words got to me. After about 20 years of going on the streets in the cold, leading the way, I thought, maybe this attention is now focusing on me, as I try to focus it all on Christ's message. Time to find my replacement! Time to launch someone else greater than I.
I must decrease, He must increase.
It is the Nativity Message today from Saint John the Baptist. I want to help others grow. I have a brother in Christ that has had an amazing story, of growing up in the rough life, but is now perpetuating Christ's message. He asks for help getting his videos viewed and shared, so here is his link he says: Would you share this clip to everyone you can. There are two playlists that can help us gather the hours we still need to become monetized.
Click Here For Robin's Plea And on another help needed, a speaker we have booked is going through an ordeal, his son needs our prayers, Micah, Paul Kim's son. We pray that our Lord hears our prayers. We ask Venerable Fulton Sheen's intercession. Lord, hear our prayers. |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Isaiah 50:7 "But the Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame." . . . . . . . . Word of the Lord! | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
