† Quote of the Day "I know now that true charity consists in bearing all of our neighbors defects not being surprised at their weakness, but edified at their smallest virtues." -St. Therese of Lisieux - The Little Flower Today's Meditation "For those that devote themselves to mental work, reading can be one of the most habitual forms of laziness. How many people forbid themselves to think, to reflect, to compose—to work hard or to produce something, in whatever field it might be—because they find a journal, a magazine, or sometimes, but more rarely, a book, and they do not resist the temptation to take it and spend their time with it, quite often without much profit. They have the illusion of being occupied. Occupation is the counterpoint to real work. There are many people who are occupied and even busy, but there are few persons who really work, that is, produce. This in turn means to put their soul, or something of their soul, energetically and, if possible, powerfully into the activity which their duty assigns them." —Raoul Lus, S.J., p. 50-51
An excerpt from Uncommon Virtue Daily Verse For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears turned to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against evildoers. -1 Peter 3:12 | St Raymond Of Penafort St. Raymond of Penafort (1175–1275) was born in Spain to the noble family of Aragon. As a child he received an excellent education and displayed a great love for the Blessed Mother. After studying and teaching philosophy and law he entered the Order of Preachers. He preached the Crusades and encouraged the faithful to defend their civilization from foreign threats. To aid his preaching, Raymond requested that his fellow Dominican, St. Thomas Aquinas, write his epic Summa Contra Gentiles for the conversion of non-Catholics, especially Muslims. It is said that at least 10,000 Muslims were converted to the Catholic faith as a result of Raymond's evangelistic labors. Together with King James of Aragon and St. Peter Nolasco he founded the Order of Our Lady of Ransom (Mercedarians), a group that worked to free Christians enslaved by the Moors. Known for his great mind and great sanctity, St. Raymond was the Pope's personal confessor and close adviser. As a trained lawyer, he was also chosen to compile the Church's legal documents into one source of canon law which was then used for centuries. He also wrote a manual of moral theology for confessors. St. Raymond is famous for the miracle of sailing from the island of Majorca to Barcelona using his cape for a raft, in protest of the King of Aragon's refusal to dismiss his mistress. St. Raymond of Penafort is the patron of lawyers and canon lawyers. His feast day is January 7. | Wednesday after Epiphany Reading 1 1 John 4:11-18 Beloved, if God so loved us,
we also must love one another.
No one has ever seen God.
Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us,
and his love is brought to perfection in us.
This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us,
that he has given us of his Spirit.
Moreover, we have seen and testify
that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world.
Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,
God remains in him and he in God.
We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.
God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.
In this is love brought to perfection among us,
that we have confidence on the day of judgment
because as he is, so are we in this world.
There is no fear in love,
but perfect love drives out fear
because fear has to do with punishment,
and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 72:1-2, 10, 12-13 R. (see 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you. O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king's son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment. R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you. The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts;
the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute. R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save. R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you. Alleluia 1 Timothy 3:16 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory to you, O Christ, proclaimed to the Gentiles.
Glory to you, O Christ, believed in throughout the world.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mark 6:45-52 After the five thousand had eaten and were satisfied,
Jesus made his disciples get into the boat
and precede him to the other side toward Bethsaida,
while he dismissed the crowd.
And when he had taken leave of them,
he went off to the mountain to pray.
When it was evening,
the boat was far out on the sea and he was alone on shore.
Then he saw that they were tossed about while rowing,
for the wind was against them.
About the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them walking on the sea.
He meant to pass by them.
But when they saw him walking on the sea,
they thought it was a ghost and cried out.
They had all seen him and were terrified.
But at once he spoke with them,
"Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!"
He got into the boat with them and the wind died down.
They were completely astounded.
They had not understood the incident of the loaves.
On the contrary, their hearts were hardened. | Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! | Daily Meditation: 1 John 4:11-18 We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. (1 John 4:16) "You don't love me!" Nearly every parent has heard this accusation from a disgruntled child. Usually the subtext is, "If you really loved me, you'd let me do—or have—what I want right now." When an exchange reaches this point, it's usually pointless for the parent to disagree or argue. A list of examples of how much a parent does love that child will only fall on deaf ears. So how have St. John and his readers come to the ringing conviction about God's love that he expresses here? Some of them may have had a dramatic personal encounter with the Lord that stirred up strong feelings, but true conviction can't rest only on the memory of these feelings. After the initial glow of such an encounter fades, it's not uncommon for trials or challenges to tempt us to doubt God's love. It's not only trials, either. The passing of time can affect us. Think of how a husband and wife's romantic feelings may eventually cool. This can also happen in our relationship with God. Thank goodness that love is not judged by feelings alone! It's judged by giving, even when we don't feel like it. The old adage still holds true: love is a choice, not just an emotion. This is how we can be sure God loves us: he is always giving to us. And he is always giving us his best. Remember, "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son" (John 3:16). What God gives us may not be what we want at any given moment, but it is always exactly what we need: grace to forgive, wisdom in a tough situation, a helping hand from a friend, or even a prick of our conscience telling us to repent. Our heavenly Father holds back nothing. He may not always give us a pleasant experience, but he will always give us his Son. He will always work to release us from the grip of sin and to form us into his own image and likeness. He will always give himself to us every day, whether we are aware of his presence or not. Now that's a love you can count on! "Father, I believe in the love you have for me. Help me to live and act out of that assurance today." Psalm 72:1-2, 10, 12-13
Mark 6:45-52 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Audio of 2 Cents | From today's Holy Gospel: "... About the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them walking on the sea.
He meant to pass by them.
But when they saw him walking on the sea,
they thought it was a ghost and cried out.
They had all seen him and were terrified.
But at once he spoke with them,
"Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!"
He got into the boat with them and the wind died down.
They were completely astounded.
They had not understood the incident of the loaves.
On the contrary, their hearts were hardened. ...." Word of the Lord. | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, our Gospel today is the story of Jesus walking on the water. Water is, throughout the Scriptures, a symbol of danger. At the very beginning, the spirit of the Lord hovered over the surface of the waters. This signals God's lordship over all of the powers of disorder. In all four Gospels, there is a version of this story of Jesus mastering the waves. The boat, with Peter and the other disciples, is evocative of the Church. It moves through the waters as the Church will move through time. Storms—chaos, corruption, stupidity, danger, persecution—will inevitably arise. Now during the fourth watch of the night, which is to say the darkest time of the night, Jesus comes walking on the sea. This is meant to be an affirmation of his divinity: Just as the spirit of God hovered over the waters at the beginning, so Jesus hovers over them now. So he says to his terrified disciples: "Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!" end quote.
A quick search on the 4th watch:
"What is the 4th watch in the Bible?
The term fourth watch refers to the hours between 3:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. In biblical times those keeping watch over cities or armies would change guard every three hours, and the fourth watch was the last one." Our Lord comes at the 4th watch. How many times do you wake up at 3 in the morning?
It is said that this awakening is a good time to pray, for the 4th watch is your turn, to be on guard, to pray in vigil, to pray against the darkness that is most prevalent in the night.
And the disciples knew this. This is why they experienced and wrote about their experience in the 4th watch.
But, what they thought was something scary, was actually God working and walking among them. And this makes me wonder, what if it is God that scared you?
Our minds cannot fathom how He works, and why He does what He does. It would take a thousand years to explain what happened, for that one event to happen, that changed your life, or our lives as a whole! This thought is perplexing, and amazing.
Are you still scared about what's going on in your life? What if it is God trying to wake you up to something. Perhaps to take action...to welcome Him...into your boat, your life, your so called little world!
I see it all the time, horrible atrocities happen, and then people allow God inside...yet, He is eventually kicked out.
So is He in, or is He out of your life? Can He not steer the boat, the one who controls the seas, the winds, and the rains?
You see, when you want control, you want to be faithless. But faith is not about control, faith is about complete trust in God.
The disciples were brave...they invited God into their little boat. They had a hard time realizing He was the God who had just fed thousands a few hours earlier.
The book of Heaven told me that Jesus is God, and that by bi-location He came to the earth. Jesus, God, and the Holy spirit all at once. One is not separated from the other. This helps me realize everything, like why I experienced in my soul, the witnessing of Jesus on the cross, but my soul was seeing and knowing that it was OUR FATHER on that cross. And I was being held there because of the Holy Spirit.
Now what? I ask people if they need prayers, crowds at Posadas, or any classes I teach, and very few have very little to pray for. Very few know what to say to God among us. Very few, and very rarely, has anyone stepped up then...to give thanks. You see, a prayer doesn't have to be a plea for one's life, although, we should be daily, desiring the life with our Lord. But a prayer of thanksgiving can change everything, a surrendering happens in thanksgiving, a payment. And thank God the Eucharist is the ultimate Thanksgiving on earth as it is in Heaven. |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Proverbs 23:4–5 4 Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist.
5 When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven.
. . . . . . . . Word of the Lord! | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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