† Saint QuoteO my God, teach me to be generous, to serve you as you deserve to be served, to give without counting the cost, to fight without fear of being wounded, to work without seeking rest, and to spend myself without expecting any reward, but the knowledge that I am doing your holy will. Amen. ▪ St. Ignatius of Loyola
Today's Meditation“Our Lord, by descending into hell, planted (if I may thus express myself), in the spiritual garden of the Church, a mysterious tree, the fruits of which—namely, His merits—are destined for the constant relief of the Poor Souls in Purgatory. The Church Militant must cultivate the tree, and gather its fruits, in order to present them to that suffering portion of the Church which can do nothing for itself. Thus it is with all the merits of Christ; we must labor with Him if we wish to obtain our share of them; we must gain our bread by the sweat of our brow. Everything which Our Lord has done for us in time must produce fruit for eternity; but we must gather these fruits in time, without which we cannot possess them in eternity. The Church is the most prudent and thoughtful of mothers; the ecclesiastical year is an immense and magnificent garden, in which all those fruits for eternity are gathered together, that we may make use of them in time. Each year contains sufficient to supply the wants of all; but woe be to that careless or dishonest gardener who allows any of the fruit committed to his care to perish; if he fails to turn to a proper account those grace which would restore health to the sick, strength to the weak, or furnish food to the hungry! When the Day of Judgment arrives, the Master of the garden will demand a strict account, not only of every tree, but also of all the fruit produced in the garden.” —Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich, p. 351-352
- - - Daily Verse †'Be still, and know that I am God. I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth!' The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. ▪ Psalm 46:10-11
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EWTN Daily Saint
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St. Martin De PorresPatron Saint of: Racial harmony, barbers, and public health workers
Feast Day: November 3 St. Martin de Porres (1569-1639) was born in Lima, Peru. He was the illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman and a freed slave woman from Panama, of either African or Native American descent. His parents never married. For the first eight years of his life his father did not acknowledge him, and abandoned the family after Martin’s sister was born. St. Martin de Porres was raised in poverty with the societal stigma of being mix-raced. As a young man he served as an assistant to a barber-surgeon where he learned medicine and the care of the sick. When he was 15 he joined the Dominican friars as a helper, eventually becoming a Lay Brother which at the time was forbidden for the children of slaves by Peruvian law. He took on the work of nursing the sick in the Dominican infirmary as well as the sick among the townspeople, even giving a sick man his own bed. He was also made almoner, and begged money to assist his work with the poor and sick. He founded an orphanage, tended to slaves brought from Africa, and dispensed alms to the needy. His prayers and penances were so great that he soon demonstrated miraculous powers. In addition to healing the sick, his other miracles were bi-location, levitation, hidden knowledge, and the ability to communicate with animals. Word of his sanctity spread and people from all walks of life came to him for spiritual direction. St. Martin de Porres is the patron saint of social justice, bi-racial people, African-Americans, hairdressers, barbers, public education, public health, and the poor. His feast day is November 3rd.
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Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary TimeLectionary: 486 Reading 1Philippians 2:5-11 Brothers and sisters:
Have among yourselves the same attitude
that is also yours in Christ Jesus,
Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and, found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. Responsorial PsalmPsalm 22:26b-27, 28-30ab, 30e, 31-32 R. (26a) I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
I will fulfill my vows before those who fear him.
The lowly shall eat their fill;
they who seek the LORD shall praise him:
“May your hearts be ever merry!”
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
All the ends of the earth
shall remember and turn to the LORD;
All the families of the nations
shall bow down before him.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
For dominion is the LORD’s, and he rules the nations.
To him alone shall bow down
all who sleep in the earth.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
To him my soul shall live;
my descendants shall serve him.
Let the coming generation be told of the LORD
that they may proclaim to a people yet to be born
the justice he has shown.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people. AlleluiaMatthew 11:28 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. GospelLuke 14:15-24 One of those at table with Jesus said to him,
“Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.”
He replied to him,
“A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many.
When the time for the dinner came,
he dispatched his servant to say to those invited,
‘Come, everything is now ready.’
But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves.
The first said to him,
‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it;
I ask you, consider me excused.’
And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen
and am on my way to evaluate them;
I ask you, consider me excused.’
And another said, ‘I have just married a woman,
and therefore I cannot come.’
The servant went and reported this to his master.
Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant,
‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town
and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.’
The servant reported, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out
and still there is room.’
The master then ordered the servant,
‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows
and make people come in that my home may be filled.
For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.’”
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Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ!
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From Word Among Us WAU.org
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Daily Meditation: Luke 14:15-24Come, everything is now ready. (Luke 14:17) In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells a parable in which he describes a great dinner to which the master of the house invites a certain group of people. So his servant approaches the guests and tells them, “‘Come, everything is now ready.’ But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves” (Luke 14:17-18). The guests seem very busy taking care of their own affairs. One has purchased a field, and another one has purchased “five yoke of oxen” (Luke 14:19). They need to examine their recent acquisitions. The third has just gotten married and is caught up in beginning his new life. It seems that all three have their hearts set on everything except this great banquet. We, too, have been invited to a banquet—the heavenly feast that will last for all eternity. This is far more than a social event; this banquet is the goal of our lives! God wants us to give him the first place in our hearts so that we can join him in this feast. We can certainly be tempted to give in to earthly pleasures or get distracted by our jobs, our studies, or our dreams for the future. We can even be tempted to place our families and friends before the Lord. And when we fall to these temptations, we can start making excuses for ourselves and not take the time to deepen our relationship with him, to set our hearts on him, and to do the things that will prepare us to spend eternity with him. In the parable, the master sends out his servant again and again to invite other people until his house is filled. As a result, “None of those men who were invited will taste my dinner” (Luke 14:24). In other words, if we excuse ourselves when we receive the invitation, we might not be able to come in later. So let’s open our hearts in prayer today. Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to show us which relationships or concerns are occupying the first place in our lives or distracting us from preparing to join the banquet. Then we can offer them to the Lord and ask him to help us put them in their rightful place so that whenever we hear him calling, we can respond promptly. Jesus has invited you to his heavenly banquet, and he eagerly awaits your response. “Jesus, help me to hear your invitation and respond with an undivided heart!” Philippians 2:5-11
Psalm 22:26-32
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Reflections with Brother Adrian:
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“Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant,
‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town
and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.’
The servant reported, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out
and still there is room.’
The master then ordered the servant,
‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows
and make people come in that my home may be filled.
For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.’”
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From Bishop Barron: "Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of a man giving a great dinner. His sending out of servants to gather those invited parallels our call to be evangelizers. The risen Lord calls the apostles and us to go forth and to do the work of gathering in: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations”—that is, draw them into the very dynamics of the divine life. Hans Urs von Balthasar has noticed that, in the biblical context, mission and identity are tightly bound together. The heroes of Scripture don’t really know who they are until they have received a commission from God. Thus Saul of Tarsus, when he is radically reoriented as the apostle to the Gentiles, is given the name “Paul.” Being sent, he knows who he is. Paul is not pursuing his own happiness; rather, he is like a letter, written and posted by another. Announcing the risen Jesus is the beginning, middle, and end of Paul’s life, his raison d’etre, his morning refreshment and evening rest. Like his great biblical forebears and like his descendants in the Christian tradition, Paul is a messenger. Nothing more or less." end quote.
- - - Your Brother Adrian. Our Lord said "‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows
and make people come in that my home may be filled." Was this a forced invitation? I always recall to mind the painting by Michael Angelo of the finger of God as depicted in the Sistine Chapel. There, you have two figures, one is man, the other is God. God with all His might is reaching out to man (humanity) and man is almost seemingly disinterested and barely making any effort to touch the finger of God. Today, the Gospel speaks of a great feast, where all are invited. But nobody is interested.
We have another similar story our Lord said, about the story of a king inviting people to a wedding feast in the Parable of the Wedding Banquet (also called the Parable of the Great Banquet), told by Jesus in Matthew 22:1–14.
They are very similar. Maybe the 2 different accounts gives proof of 2 different authors trying to tell the same story.
Regardless, the point is the same: The disinterested people.
They have interests in other things.
Their loyalty is to whom? To self?
And this story applies to every people of every generation. But how do you know when God is calling you? Discernment can be hard…but only as hard as we want to make it! AMEN? People are just too busy for the Lord! Just see how it is to invite people to charity or ministry! The invitation from God comes from people. Sometimes it comes straight to the heart. But if it comes to the mind…then the consciousness takes effect. And this is where it becomes important…to become one with our Lord…and His will… what the Church calls a "well formed conscious". How? Tune in.
Tune into Catholic teaching. Apologetics, a defense of the faith. Tune into grace. What God offers from His Sacred Heart. Learn. Every day I attempt to give you what you are looking for. Nuggets. A great take-away per day. Something that will make our feeble finger attempt to touch the finger of God…and thus, connect to His Sacred Heart, and HIS holy will. This is a concerted effort though. It will take every bit of you to pull away from what YOU want, versus what God wants.
So many of us though, choose pleasure over treasure. I tell this to prisoners sometimes too.
And how do elderly affect others? Faith. It shows. It shines. What is God calling you to? To forget yourself? Sure!
What else? To tend His flock, bring them to salvation? Yes! The fruit of the spirit is how. What is the fruit? This will be your homework. For now, God is reaching out to souls, to yours, and from yours to others. Light imparts light. But remember the feast that is awaiting, for you, and everyone around you. Christ is counting on you.
And this my friend…is an absolute HONOR.
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Random Bible Verse 1
Matthew 23:12 "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."
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God Bless You! Peace
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