Quote: "Put up willingly with the faults of others if you wish others to put up with yours." -St. John Bosco Today's Meditation "We trust ourselves to a doctor because we suppose he knows his business. He orders an operation which involves cutting away part of our body and we accept it. We are grateful to him and pay him a large fee because we judge he would not act as he does unless the remedy were necessary, and we must rely on his skill. Yet we are unwilling to treat God in the same way! It looks as if we do not trust His wisdom and are afraid He cannot do His job properly. We allow ourselves to be operated on by a man who may easily make a mistake—a mistake which may cost us our life—and protest when God sets to work on us. If we could see all He sees we would unhesitatingly wish all He wishes." —Fr. Jean Baptiste Saint-Jure, p. 90
An excerpt from Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence Daily Verse "Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to thee, when my heart is faint. Lead thou me to the rock that is higher than I; for thou art my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. Let me dwell in thy tent for ever! Oh to be safe under the shelter of thy wings!" -Psalm 61:1-4 |  EWTN Daily Saint | | Blessed Alvarez Of Cordova Bl. Alvarez of (Córdoba) Cordova (1350-1430) was born to a noble family in Zamora, Spain. He joined the Dominican Order and preached throughout Spain, and served at the court of Queen Catherine. He went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and upon his return preached the crusades against the Muslims. He founded the famous priory of Scala Caeli (Ladder of Heaven) at Cordova, a convent of strict observance, and it is said that angels helped provide its building materials. He erected pictures of the holy places in Jerusalem in its gardens, popularizing the custom of the Stations of the Cross. He lived a life of great austerity and begged for alms even though he could easily obtain what he needed from the royal court. Numerous miracles are attributed to him. It is told that he once found a dying beggar, wrapped him in a blanket, and carried him back to the convent. Upon unwrapping the cloth he found only a crucifix. Blessed Alvarez was dedicated to Christ's Passion and helped spread devotion to the Way of the Cross throughout western Europe. He also successfully led a resistance against the anti-pope and brought Spain under allegiance to the true pope in Rome. His feast day is February 19. | Thursday after Ash Wednesday Lectionary: 220 Reading 1 Deuteronomy 30:15-20 Moses said to the people:
"Today I have set before you
life and prosperity, death and doom.
If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God,
which I enjoin on you today,
loving him, and walking in his ways,
and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees,
you will live and grow numerous,
and the LORD, your God,
will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy.
If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen,
but are led astray and adore and serve other gods,
I tell you now that you will certainly perish;
you will not have a long life
on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and occupy.
I call heaven and earth today to witness against you:
I have set before you life and death,
the blessing and the curse.
Choose life, then,
that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God,
heeding his voice, and holding fast to him.
For that will mean life for you,
a long life for you to live on the land that the LORD swore
he would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." Responsorial Psalm Psalm 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6 R. (40:5a) Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord. Verse Before the Gospel Matthew 4:17 Repent, says the Lord;
the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. Gospel Luke 9:22-25 Jesus said to his disciples:
"The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected
by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised." Then he said to all,
"If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
yet lose or forfeit himself?" | Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! |  wau.org | Daily Meditation: Luke 9:22-25 If anyone wishes to come after me, he must . . . take up his cross daily. (Luke 9:23) "Lord, I hear this Scripture verse and I sometimes think it means I have to grit my teeth and push my way through my struggles and pain. It's true that you suffered when you bore your cross, but help me also to see the freedom that you won for me as you embraced your suffering for our sake. Help me to see that I can experience that freedom as I embrace my own cross and offer my challenges for the needs of others. "Jesus, when you took up your cross, you took upon yourself my every sin. You bore them so that I might die to sin and live to righteousness. By your wounds I have been healed (1 Peter 2:24). Your suffering cleansed me from sin and broke its power over me. Help me to take up my cross as I learn how to let go of my sin. May your life grow in me as I take up the cross of repentance and obedience to your ways. "Jesus, as you walked the long way to Calvary, you fixed the gaze of your heart not on yourself but on your Father and on us. By emptying yourself, you, the selfless One, broke the grip of self-centeredness that can keep me bound. Help me now to set aside my worries and shift my gaze off myself, so that I can freely serve the people around me. "Jesus, when you took up your cross, you showed me how to love. You loved me first, before I even reached out to you. Help me today to take up the cross of loving someone even if they are hard to love. Help me to take the first step toward that other person. As I embrace this challenge, may your joy spill out of me. "Jesus, as you hung on the cross, you asked your Father why he had abandoned you. But your death opened the gates of heaven for me! Every barrier between me and your Father has been removed. When you offer me the cross of physical or emotional suffering, help me to embrace it. Help me to trust that even when I'm suffering or feel abandoned, you are always close to me, pouring your love into my heart. As I surrender to your will, let me know the freedom of relying on you. Let me know the freedom and joy that flow from knowing you are walking beside me. "Lord Jesus, thank you for all you have done on the cross! Help me to take up my own cross and know the freedom you have won for me." Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Psalm 1:1-4, 6 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Audio of 2 Cents | From today's Holy Gospel: "...Then he said to all,
"If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
yet lose or forfeit himself?"..." Word of the Lord.
| From Bishop Barron: "Jesus offered a teaching that must have been gut-wrenching to his first-century audience: "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." His listeners knew what the cross meant: a death in utter agony, nakedness, and humiliation. They didn't think of the cross automatically in religious terms, as we do. They knew it in all of its awful power. Unless you crucify your ego, you cannot be my follower, Jesus says. This move—this terrible move—has to be the foundation of the spiritual life." end quote.
Wow. Can you imagine our Lord speaking to them as if to say "I'm about to get crucified, and if you want to be My follower, then follow me with your cross". What would their reaction be? What would yours be today?
Are there modern crucifixions? Public killings?
In our country, no. In other countries...there are, but not so public. Many are silent killers. For what reason? Speaking truth? Speaking Jesus? Speaking against what the world wants? For expressing God's holy will.
Are you ashamed of your cross? Of your calling? Of your duty? Are you embarrassed about what people will say about you?
My dear, this life is not about you. We are on borrowed time. If you want to go with the mantra of the world saying "this is my body", you are free to do so, but, your soul, that animates the body, it belongs truly to God. Would that He desire it.
They say people are attracted because of similarities. Guess what...so is God. If there is a pure person, Jesus is attracted to that. If there is a humble and obedient person, our God loves that person. But if there is a person living all out for themselves and only caring for themselves...there is no attraction, but the inverse, a repulsive repugnance is seen. Very unattractive. Inhospitable. God cannot do His will in that person.
In Heaven, the citizens are so honored to do God's will.
And we live daily perplexed, "am I doing God's will ?".
Well, have you accepted your cross? Maybe you are locked up. Some in a hospital. Some at work. Chained. Some moms slaving away for the kids. What a cross! Would that you would work for the Lord in these chains. He is the boss. He sees your complaints...or the gratitude for your situation.
Perhaps for lent, we can give up complaining and crying.
Perhaps for lent, we can embrace suffering.
Perhaps for lent, bind our cross to the Lord. Let Him suffer with you.
And watch what happens when you bind yourself to the God of Love. |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse
Psalm 55:17
"Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice."
. . . Word of the Lord! | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
