† Quote of the Day "Can there be a more fitting pursuit in youth or a more valuable possession in old age than a knowledge of Holy Scripture? In the midst of storms it will preserve you from the dangers of shipwreck and guide you to the shore of an enchanting paradise and the ever-lasting bliss of the angels." — St. Boniface Today's Meditation "Know that our faith is strengthened by the resurrection of Christ. The passion of Christ represents the misery of our present life, while the resurrection of Christ gives us a brilliant glimpse of the happiness of the future life. Let us apply ourselves energetically in the present life, and hope in the future. Now is the time for painful struggle; then will come the recompense. Those who are lazy about carrying out their work will be brazenly impudent if they expect the recompense." —St. Augustine, p. 61
An excerpt from Augustine Day by Day Daily Verse "Therefore, from the day we heard this, we do not cease praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding to live in a manner worthy of the Lord, so as to be fully pleasing, in every good work bearing fruit and growing in the knowledge of God." — Colossians 1:9-10 | Bl Maria Fortunata Viti Blessed Maria Fortunata Viti (1827–1922) was born in Italy, the eldest daughter of nine children. Her father had a gambling and alcohol addiction, and her mother died when she was 14 years old. Maria then cared for her younger siblings and worked as a housekeeper to earn money for the family as her father sunk deeper into his addiction. Maria rejected an offer for marriage, deciding instead to become a Benedictine nun at the age of 24. Sr. Maria Fortunata, illiterate her entire life, spent more than seventy years in the monastery as a housekeeper attending to the washing, sewing, and other simple tasks, which was her path to holiness. She was admired for her great simplicity of heart, and her confessor testified that she was often accosted by the devil with threats, physical attacks, and vile insults in attempts to break her virtue. She had great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and made frequent visits to the chapel tabernacle as she carried out her daily tasks. She died at the age of 95, and after her death miracles were reported at her grave. She is a patron saint against poverty, temptations, loss of parents, and mental illness. Her feast day is November 20th. | Wednesday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Rv 4:1-11 I, John, had a vision of an open door to heaven,
and I heard the trumpetlike voice
that had spoken to me before, saying,
"Come up here and I will show you what must happen afterwards."
At once I was caught up in spirit.
A throne was there in heaven, and on the throne sat one
whose appearance sparkled like jasper and carnelian.
Around the throne was a halo as brilliant as an emerald.
Surrounding the throne I saw twenty-four other thrones
on which twenty-four elders sat,
dressed in white garments and with gold crowns on their heads.
From the throne came flashes of lightning,
rumblings, and peals of thunder.
Seven flaming torches burned in front of the throne,
which are the seven spirits of God.
In front of the throne was something that resembled
a sea of glass like crystal.
In the center and around the throne,
there were four living creatures
covered with eyes in front and in back.
The first creature resembled a lion, the second was like a calf,
the third had a face like that of a man,
and the fourth looked like an eagle in flight.
The four living creatures, each of them with six wings,
were covered with eyes inside and out.
Day and night they do not stop exclaiming:
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty,
who was, and who is, and who is to come."
Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks
to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,
the twenty-four elders fall down
before the one who sits on the throne
and worship him, who lives forever and ever.
They throw down their crowns before the throne, exclaiming:
"Worthy are you, Lord our God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things;
because of your will they came to be and were created." Responsorial Psalm 150:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6 R. (1b) Holy, holy, holy Lord, mighty God!
Praise the LORD in his sanctuary,
praise him in the firmament of his strength.
Praise him for his mighty deeds,
praise him for his sovereign majesty.
R. Holy, holy, holy Lord, mighty God!
Praise him with the blast of the trumpet,
praise him with lyre and harp,
Praise him with timbrel and dance,
praise him with strings and pipe.
R. Holy, holy, holy Lord, mighty God!
Praise him with sounding cymbals,
praise him with clanging cymbals.
Let everything that has breath
praise the LORD! Alleluia.
R. Holy, holy, holy Lord, mighty God! 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 19:11-28 While people were listening to Jesus speak,
he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem
and they thought that the Kingdom of God
would appear there immediately.
So he said,
"A nobleman went off to a distant country
to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return.
He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins
and told them, 'Engage in trade with these until I return.'
His fellow citizens, however, despised him
and sent a delegation after him to announce,
'We do not want this man to be our king.'
But when he returned after obtaining the kingship,
he had the servants called, to whom he had given the money,
to learn what they had gained by trading.
The first came forward and said,
'Sir, your gold coin has earned ten additional ones.'
He replied, 'Well done, good servant!
You have been faithful in this very small matter;
take charge of ten cities.'
Then the second came and reported,
'Your gold coin, sir, has earned five more.'
And to this servant too he said,
'You, take charge of five cities.'
Then the other servant came and said,
'Sir, here is your gold coin;
I kept it stored away in a handkerchief,
for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding man;
you take up what you did not lay down
and you harvest what you did not plant.'
He said to him,
'With your own words I shall condemn you,
you wicked servant.
You knew I was a demanding man,
taking up what I did not lay down
and harvesting what I did not plant;
why did you not put my money in a bank?
Then on my return I would have collected it with interest.'
And to those standing by he said,
'Take the gold coin from him
and give it to the servant who has ten.'
But they said to him,
'Sir, he has ten gold coins.'
He replied, 'I tell you,
to everyone who has, more will be given,
but from the one who has not,
even what he has will be taken away.
Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me as their king,
bring them here and slay them before me.'"
After he had said this,
he proceeded on his journey up to Jerusalem.
| Daily Meditation: Luke 19:11-28 Engage in trade with these until I return. (Luke 19:13) In today's Gospel, we hear Luke's twist on a familiar parable. It bears a lot of similarity to the parable of the talents in Matthew's Gospel (25:14-30), but it has one key difference. In Matthew's account, a wealthy man gives each of his servants a different amount of money (25:15). In Luke's version, however, the man gives each servant the same amount: one gold coin (19:13). There are many ways to interpret this, but Luke seems to be saying that God has given each of us the same heavenly deposit: salvation and new life in the Holy Spirit! No matter our social status, background, or abilities, we all have been saved by God's grace and filled with his Spirit. We now carry within us the promise of eternity with God! He has entrusted this treasure to us, and he wants us to "engage in trade" with it until he returns (Luke 19:13). He has commissioned us to join in his "business" of helping people come to know and love him so they can receive their own "deposit." In this way, we multiply God's investment in us by investing in the lives of people around us. We can do this in a variety of ways. Some people may "invest" through works of mercy and justice. Others may participate in a rosary group or Bible study. Each of us will discover our own path, "according to his kind and vocation," as St. Francis de Sales taught. And it may take time for us to discern our path. All God is looking for is our effort, for servants who are trying to be "faithful in this very small matter" (Luke 19:17). He doesn't punish imperfect attempts, either! The only response that doesn't seem to please him is to hide our deposit "in a handkerchief" (19:20). We need to share the treasure of our faith to make it grow. Reflect on your "gold coin" today. Ask yourself, "Am I hiding the new life Jesus has given me? How can I be more generous with the gifts I have received? Am I so afraid of doing the 'wrong thing' that I have defaulted to doing nothing?" Whatever the Lord reveals to you, take heart! Jesus delights in every attempt you make. He will guide you and make your investments bear fruit. "Jesus, thank you for trusting me with the work of your kingdom." Revelation 4:1-11
Psalm 150:1-6 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Click to hear Audio | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
" He said to him,
'With your own words I shall condemn you,
you wicked servant.
You knew I was a demanding man,
taking up what I did not lay down
and harvesting what I did not plant;
why did you not put my money in a bank?
Then on my return I would have collected it with interest.'
And to those standing by he said,
'Take the gold coin from him
and give it to the servant who has ten.'
But they said to him,
'Sir, he has ten gold coins.'
He replied, 'I tell you,
to everyone who has, more will be given,
but from the one who has not,
even what he has will be taken away.
Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me as their king,
bring them here and slay them before me.'"
After he had said this,
he proceeded on his journey up to Jerusalem.
- - -......." end Gospel quote, word of the Lord. | From Bishop Barron today:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus uses images drawn from the world of business to instruct us in Christian living. And he especially likes the dynamic of investment, risk, and return as a model of the spiritual life. The reason is clear. God exists in gift form. Therefore, if you want his life in you, you have to learn to give it away.
Think of the coins we read about today as everything that we've received from God—life, breath, being, powers, and so on. Because they come from God, they are meant to become gifts. If you cling to them, in the manner of the third servant, they don't grow; in fact, they wither away.
Notice that the first two servants doubled their wealth precisely in the measure that they risked it. This means that the one who truly has the divine life knows how to make it a gift, and that in turn will make the original gift increase. And the opposite holds: "From the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away." This means that if you try to cling to the divine life, you will, in short order, lose it....." end quote from Bishop Barron.
Perhaps this scriptures is for all those who say that our God is not good, usually people that don't believe in Him, or want to believe in Him for whatever reason.
They say like the man in the Gospel: "'Sir, here is your gold coin;
I kept it stored away in a handkerchief,
for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding man;
you take up what you did not lay down
and you harvest what you did not plant.'"
Why was this person afraid to do what was told, to go and invest?
If they were so afraid, why did they accept the coin?
Were they just lazy?
Were they too timid?
What is coming to my mind is something silly, like when we make raffle tickets to help the church.
First, we are asked if we will take the tickets. Some did take them to sell for the church. But some were just given them, like students.
Some did well selling. Some never sold any. Just like adults.
I would tell people from the pulpit, "all you have to do is tell people you have 18 chances to win thousands of dollars and the tickets will sell themselves!".
Some went on to sell tons of booklets. Some sold a few. Some sold none.
Those who did not sell, probably were afraid to go out of their way. There would've been at least one ticket sold!
And the story is for us now, with the word of God.
Can you share it? It would save lives! How many? God knows!
The story today then, asks us to consider the other ones that did, invest, have faith, see the returns come in! Our priest says "no cross, no crown". No guts, no glory. We have to spend money to make money. We have to exercise to lose weight. We have to read books to gain some knowledge. We have to live through things to gain wisdom.
Invest. Give to God, a chance, to believe, a chance to work in you, see what will happen? Forgive someone, see how God works.
Love someone that can't pay you back, that's how God works.
He wants us to invest in Him! Trust in Him!
I can assure you, you will NOT be wasting your time.
As a matter of fact, we have all the gains, for His Kingdom will come regardless, on earth as it is in Heaven. It is good for us to do as He says, the King Himself is coming as He has come. |  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 | | |
