Quote: "No act is charitable if it is not just." -St. Bruno Today's Meditation "Man threw away everything he had—his right to speak freely, his communion with God, his time in Paradise, his unclouded life—and went out naked, like a survivor from a shipwreck. But God received him and immediately clothed him, and taking him by the hand gradually led him to heaven. And yet the shipwreck was quite unforgivable. For this tempest was entirely due, not to the force of the winds, but to the carelessness of the sailor. Yet God did not look at this, but had compassion for such a great disaster. … Why? Because, when no sadness or care or labor or toil or countless waves of desire assaulted our nature, it was overturned and fell. And just as criminals who sail the sea often drill through the ship with a small iron tool, and let the whole sea into the ship from below, so when the devil saw the ship of Adam (by which I mean his soul) filled with many good things, he came and drilled through it with his voice alone, as if it were an iron tool, and stole all his wealth and sank the ship itself. But God made the gain greater than the loss, and brought our nature to the royal throne." —St. John Chrysostom, p. 19
An excerpt from A Year with the Church Fathers Daily Verse "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." -1 Corinthians 15:58 |  EWTN Daily Saint | | St Agatha St. Agatha (231-251 A.D.) was born in Sicily into an affluent family. At a young age she made the decision to devote herself to Christ, resisting every offer of marriage. Struck by her beauty and wealth, a magistrate named Quintian desired to marry her. He plotted to use his political power to force her hand, and threatened to prosecute her for the crime of Christianity unless she accepted his sexual advances. When she refused, he forced her into a brothel. Even there, she refused to relinquish her chastity. Furious, Quintian imprisoned and tortured Agatha, ordering her breasts to be cut off. Upon this barbaric treatment, God sent St. Peter the Apostle to Agatha in a vision, and he healed her wounds. St. Agatha's torture continued until an earthquake caused her captors to flee, and she died shortly after. St. Agatha is the patroness of rape victims, torture victims, martyrs, nurses, and against breast cancer. She is one of the seven women, besides the Virgin Mary, mentioned by name in the Roman Canon of the Mass. Her feast day is February 5th. | Memorial of Saint Agatha, Virgin and Martyr Lectionary: 326 Reading 1 1 Kings 2:1-4, 10-12 When the time of David's death drew near,
he gave these instructions to his son Solomon:
"I am going the way of all flesh.
Take courage and be a man.
Keep the mandate of the LORD, your God, following his ways
and observing his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees
as they are written in the law of Moses,
that you may succeed in whatever you do,
wherever you turn, and the LORD may fulfill
the promise he made on my behalf when he said,
'If your sons so conduct themselves
that they remain faithful to me with their whole heart
and with their whole soul,
you shall always have someone of your line
on the throne of Israel.'" David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David.
The length of David's reign over Israel was forty years:
he reigned seven years in Hebron
and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. Solomon was seated on the throne of his father David,
with his sovereignty firmly established. Responsorial Psalm 1 Chronicles 29:10, 11ab, 11d-12a, 12bcd R. (12b) Lord, you are exalted over all.
"Blessed may you be, O LORD,
God of Israel our father,
from eternity to eternity."
R. Lord, you are exalted over all.
"Yours, O LORD, are grandeur and power,
majesty, splendor, and glory."
R. Lord, you are exalted over all.
"LORD, you are exalted over all.
Yours, O LORD, is the sovereignty;
you are exalted as head over all.
Riches and honor are from you."
R. Lord, you are exalted over all.
"In your hand are power and might;
it is yours to give grandeur and strength to all."
R. Lord, you are exalted over all. Alleluia Mark 1:15 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Kingdom of God is at hand;
repent and believe in the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mark 6:7-13 Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two
and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick
–no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic.
He said to them,
"Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there.
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,
leave there and shake the dust off your feet
in testimony against them."
So they went off and preached repentance.
The Twelve drove out many demons,
and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them. | Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! |  click to see website | |  wau.org | Daily Meditation: 1 Kings 2:1-4, 10-12 Keep the mandate of the Lord your God. (1 Kings 2:3) If you could give only one piece of advice to your loved ones before you pass on, what would it be? What is the most important legacy you could leave for them? Questions like these have resounded through the ages. Today's first reading describes King David's last words to his son Solomon. In that conversation—not all of which is in today's reading—David gives a lot of directions, including some violent strategies for holding onto the kingdom. But today we read only the first and most important piece of advice he gave: "Keep the mandate of the Lord" (1 Kings 2:3). Because the most significant gift he could bequeath to his son wasn't wealth or dominion. Rather, it was the reward of cultivating a faithful relationship with the Lord. Taken together, David's advice was a mixed bag. Then again, so was his life. He wasn't a perfect king or a perfect father. We know about his sins with Bathsheba and Uriah (2 Samuel 11–12) and the ways he didn't trust the Lord as he should have (24:1-10). But David remained a man after God's own heart. He wasn't perfect, but he loved the Lord all through his life. So when it came to handing on his kingdom, David knew that Solomon's relationship with God was far more important than what he owned or whom he commanded. That relationship would be the foundation on which his kingdom would be built. The same goes for you. Even if you've had your ups and downs, like David, you can still invite the people you care about to follow the Lord. You can leave them the legacy of the way you related to the Lord during your life and how that affected the way you related to other people. They can learn from the example of how you received mercy from God, how you did your best to serve him and trust him, and how you intend to love him to the end. These are the priorities that will leave a priceless inheritance for your loved ones. Because the best legacy you can leave your family is the example of a life surrendered to the Lord. "Father, help me to love you better so that my life can be a lasting example for everyone who knows me." (Psalm) 1 Chronicles 29:10-12
Mark 6:7-1 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Audio of 2 Cents | From today's Holy Gospel: "... He said to them,
"Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there.
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,
leave there and shake the dust off your feet
in testimony against them."
So they went off and preached repentance.
The Twelve drove out many demons,
and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them. ....." Word of the Lord.
| From Bishop Barron: "Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus sends the Twelve on their mission to announce the nearness of the kingdom. I want to say a few things about embracing our mission and being equipped for it. What do you need for your mission? You need a keen sense of God as the absolute center of your life. In a word, you require the spiritual gifts of piety and fear of the Lord. I realize that these terms can sound fussy and puritanical, but they are actually naming something strong and essential. You need fear of the Lord, which does not mean that you are afraid of God. It means that nothing to you is more important than God, that everything in your life centers around and is subordinate to your love for God. And your equipping needs to include piety. That means that you honor God above everything else, that you worship him alone. These spiritual gifts enable you to find true balance; they allow you to know what your life is about. Equipped with these gifts, you are ready for mission. Having received the fire of the Holy Spirit, you are ready to set the world on fire." end quote.
From Roberto Juarez: Jesus also speaks to them of rejection: if you do not receive them, shake the dust from your feet. It is not a gesture of contempt, but of freedom. The Gospel is proposed, not imposed. The disciple proclaims faithfully and accepts that not everyone will accept the message. The shipment is always communal: "two by two". Faith is not lived or proclaimed alone. We need each other to sustain us, correct each other, encourage each other. Mission is a shared journey. This Gospel challenges us today as a Church. We are all sent through baptism. Not only priests or religious; Every Christian is a missionary in his own reality: in the family, at work, at school, in society. Proclaiming the Gospel is not only speaking of God, but making his love present with concrete gestures: healing wounds, freeing from fears, restoring hope. Mark tells us that the disciples anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. It is a sign of closeness and care.
Let us ask the Lord today for a heart available for mission. May we know how to live simply, trust in his providence and walk together. May we not be afraid to go out, to proclaim, to serve.
Like the Twelve, may we know how to respond to the call and be witnesses of the Kingdom.
Have you confirmed your faith? Have you been baptized? Have you been called?
All of these are combined. There is oil involved here. The oil for the lamps. Now, lamps need to be oiled and lit up.
We are to spread the Gospel, to pray for others, to heal them and have them anointed...to go and do the same.
It is then about a fire and light, and this Sunday we will also hear that it is about the salt.
Our Lord sends missionaries, people on a mission across the world even today as we speak it is going on.
And the call is for you as well. That you might do His will.
"But I can't travel!" some may think.
"I'm stuck at home, or at work!" some may say.
One of the most strangest books I've been listening to is the "Book of Heaven" with Louisa's life with Jesus...and she is bed ridden basically, since she was about 12 years old if I understand correctly. And our Lord is so involved in her life...that she might do His will.
So the matter is that we might join anything we do, to Him, and offer anything we can, to Him.
For Louisa, it was prayers, daily Eucharist, and all her suffering, physical, mental, and more.
And because of her and those that tended to her...now we have a movement of propagating the message of spreading His Divine Will.
Am I on a mission? I am constantly asking our Lord what He wants me to do.
They say most men show their affection with actions at home. They won't show the wife the affection they desire with time and words, but they show with acts. This has been a revelation to me. I am that actions person. I try my whole life to show with actions, because I am not good with words.
Even last night, my wife didn't know, but I was asking my son to help me find a special spray to clean a pair of my wife's running shoes, just to help in a small way and show her I love her, aside from other actions I do around the home when I get home from work.
And there, I don't think I do enough either.
And it is the same for God. I am always doing little actions to show Him we love Him as we all ought to be doing. But I guess Icould spend more quiet meditation prayer as well, and still in the actions I don't feel I do enough. The hunger, the desire is there. Lord help us.
How? Love Him in the people you encounter. I think my wife is catching on that I do talk with people, sometimes to dozens in a day, but in them all I try to hear God speaking and they need to hear God speaking through me. Like at the nursing homes, or out and about. The mission is right before your very eyes! It is truly at hand, His Kingdom.
I encourage you. The oil, you have been anointed, is the calling. Baptism is an anointing too! Light up the fire.
Last night we discussed the Sunday Gospel, and our Lord will ask us to be the salt and light! FOR HIM! With HIM. ANd in the end, for you, to feel the salvation of Souls including yours. Saving others, saves you! Helping others helps you! Loving others, loves YOU! |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Luke 6:37–38 "Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you." . . . . . . . . Word of the Lord! | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
