†Saint Quote of the DayMay the Holy Spirit enkindle you with the fire of His Love so that you may persevere, unfailingly, in the love of His service. Thus you may merit to become, at last, a living stone in the
celestial Jerusalem. ▪ St. Hildegard von Bingen
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St. Hildegard von Bingen |
Today's Meditation“You have never begrudged the martyrs their triumph but rather trained them for it. And so I am asking you to be consistent with the lessons you teach them. Just beg for me the courage and endurance not only to speak but also to will what is right, so that I may not only be called a Christian, but prove to be one. For if I prove myself to be a Christian by martyrdom, then people will call me one, and my loyalty to Christ will be apparent when the world sees me no more. Nothing you can see is truly good. For our Lord Jesus Christ, now that he has returned to his Father, has revealed himself more clearly. Our task is not one of producing persuasive propaganda; Christianity shows its greatness when it is hated by the world.” —St. Ignatius of Antioch, p. 194
Daily Verse †The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. ▪ Numbers 6:24-26
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EWTN Daily Saint
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St. Hildegard von BingenPatron Saint of: Musicians, writers, and against headaches
Feast Day: September 17 St. Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179) was born to a large and noble German family. She began to have mystical visions at the age of three which continued throughout her life. Her parents, promising her to the service of God, sent her to be educated at the Benedictine Abbey by an anchoress when she was about eight years of age. At the age of fourteen she became a consecrated nun attached to the Abbey, where she lived a quiet life of prayer for many years. At the age of 38, after the anchoress’ death, she was chosen as the new leader of a growing group of nuns. Hildegard led a remarkable and unusual life for a woman of her day. She was an avid composer of sacred music and liturgy, in addition to poems and plays. She also wrote heavily on theology, natural medicine, and natural science. At the age of 42, at the command of God, Hildegard began writing down what she saw in her visions. Her works were widely read, even by the Pope, and leaders around the world sought her council. Her fame as a mystic and prophetess grew, earning her the name “Sibyl of the Rhine.” More nuns flocked to join her, causing Hildegard to establish a new monastery at Rupertsberg. She wrote proficiently on the harmony of created nature and man’s need to live in balance with it, especially in virtue, morality, and the love of God, which led Pope Benedict XVI to declare her the fourth female Doctor of the Church in 2012 alongside Teresa of Avila, Catherine of Siena, and Thérèse of Lisieux. Because her works were far ahead of her time she is regarded as a historical phenomenon. Hildegard of Bingen is considered the founder of scientific natural history in Germany. Her feast day is September 17th.
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Thursday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary TimeLectionary: 446 Reading 11 Corinthians 15:1-11 I am reminding you, brothers and sisters,
of the Gospel I preached to you,
which you indeed received and in which you also stand.
Through it you are also being saved,
if you hold fast to the word I preached to you,
unless you believed in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received:
that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he was buried;
that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.
After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once,
most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
After that he appeared to James,
then to all the Apostles.
Last of all, as to one born abnormally,
he appeared to me.
For I am the least of the Apostles,
not fit to be called an Apostle,
because I persecuted the Church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am,
and his grace to me has not been ineffective.
Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them;
not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me.
Therefore, whether it be I or they,
so we preach and so you believed. Responsorial PsalmPsalm 118:1b-2, 16ab-17, 28 R. (1) Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever.
Let the house of Israel say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
“The right hand of the LORD is exalted;
the right hand of the Lord has struck with power.”
I shall not die, but live,
and declare the works of the LORD.
R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
You are my God, and I give thanks to you;
O my God, I extol you.
R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. 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 7:36-50 A certain Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him,
and he entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table.
Now there was a sinful woman in the city
who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee.
Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment,
she stood behind him at his feet weeping
and began to bathe his feet with her tears.
Then she wiped them with her hair,
kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself,
“If this man were a prophet,
he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him,
that she is a sinner.”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“Simon, I have something to say to you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
“Two people were in debt to a certain creditor;
one owed five hundred days’ wages and the other owed fifty.
Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both.
Which of them will love him more?”
Simon said in reply,
“The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven.”
He said to him, “You have judged rightly.”
Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon,
“Do you see this woman?
When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet,
but she has bathed them with her tears
and wiped them with her hair.
You did not give me a kiss,
but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered.
You did not anoint my head with oil,
but she anointed my feet with ointment.
So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven;
hence, she has shown great love.
But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.”
He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
The others at table said to themselves,
“Who is this who even forgives sins?”
But he said to the woman,
“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
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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: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11By the grace of God I am what I am. (1 Corinthians 15:10) In four different places in his letters, Paul admits that he once persecuted the Church. That’s why he considers himself the “foremost” of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). He isn’t being falsely humble or exposing a self-image problem; he is bold enough to say, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). But by his reckoning, he did the worst thing possible by persecuting Christ in his brethren. And so, in today’s first reading, he calls himself the “least” of the apostles (15:9). In addition, Paul describes himself as an “abnormally born” apostle (1 Corinthians 15:8). Unlike the Twelve, who accompanied Jesus throughout his earthly ministry, he was a latecomer. Not only that, but he experienced Jesus calling him to repentance and to apostolic service at the same time (Acts 9:1-16). “By the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Corinthians 15:10). What an exclamation! Paul sees his whole life as a manifestation of God’s grace. Even his former sinful life reflects that grace. Whatever sins lie in the past now serve to magnify how merciful God has been toward him, and his grace is at work in and through him in the present. He works hard as an apostle to the Gentiles because God has given him a heavy burden of service and suffering. And even this heroic labor shows the grace of God working through him. Can you say with boldness, “By the grace of God I am what I am”? If you are like most people, you might veer between extremes when you reflect on your life: debilitating regret for the past and self-doubt in the present; or rationalizing your past and taking pride in the present. You might heap scorn on yourself as you replay some past sin. Or you might congratulate yourself on your clean, well-ordered life, as if you had achieved it on your own. But the Lord sees and loves you as you are, cleansed of past sin and empowered by his grace for his service. Like Paul, thank God for his past mercies and present grace, and place your future in his powerful and gracious hands. “Thank you, Lord, for your grace at work in me!” Psalm 118:1-2, 16-17, 28
Luke 7:36-50
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Reflections with Brother Adrian:
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From today's Holy Gospel: "You did not anoint my head with oil,
but she anointed my feet with ointment.
So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven;
hence, she has shown great love.
But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.”
He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
The others at table said to themselves,
“Who is this who even forgives sins?”
But he said to the woman,
“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
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From Roberto Juarez: "Let us ask the Lord today to give us a heart like that woman's: a humble heart, capable of recognizing its need for God; a grateful heart, capable of recognizing the forgiveness received; and a loving heart, capable of transforming that forgiveness into service and mercy. And when we return home, let us take with us this phrase from the Gospel: "Your sins are forgiven." Not because sin does not matter, but because God's love is greater than our sin. May we never forget that, when we sincerely return to Christ, our past does not have the last word. Mercy has the last word". end of quote from Roberto.
Bishop Barron said on this: "There are several aspects to Simon’s reaction, each one reflective of a dimension of the religiously toned pusilla anima (small soul). Simon is, first of all, dismayed at the social upset this woman’s appearance has caused. Secondly, Simon notices—and undoubtedly rejoices in—Jesus’s apparent inability to read the heart of the intruder. Jesus clearly is not as religiously careful as Simon himself. How does all of this constitute a judgment on Simon’s religiosity? The Pharisee is so concerned with propriety and cultic purity that he simply doesn’t see the presence of grace around him. Simon’s religion presupposes the fundamentally egotistic conviction that divine favor is won through human achievement. Jesus punctures this illusion of the pusilla anima." end quote.
From Brother Adrian: Our Lord told the woman that her faith had saved her.
Our Lord had told her in front of all that her sins were forgiven.
And this shocked everyone. Why? Because they thought "who but God can forgive sins?".
It means more than we can say.
It means God has entered our world.
And He rocked the world.
A direct confrontation exists.
Evil has been confronted. And the battle is now more clearer than ever.
Once the light enters…things happen. Darkness scatters, and things grow.
How about you? This sinful woman has much to teach us, about faith.
She has much to teach us about God's mercy.
She has much to teach us about gratitude.
She has much to teach us about remorse.
She has much to teach us about pride.
We are so good at spotting the sinner…and doing nothing about it.
And when it comes to your own sins? How do we approach…our LORD!!
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Random Bible Verse
Romans 8:37 "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."
Word of the Lord!
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Month of Our Lady of Sorrows (Mater Dolorosa)
Devotion of the Month Opening prayer of Novena to Our Lady of Sorrows: O, Mother most holy and sorrowful, Queen of Martyrs, you who stood by your Son as He agonized on the cross; by the sufferings of your life, by that sword of pain that pierced your heart, by your perfect joy in heaven, look down on me kindly as I kneel before you, sympathizing with your sorrows and offering you my petition with childlike trust. Dear Mother, since your Son refuses you nothing, ask of His Sacred Heart to mercifully grant what I ask, through the merits of His sacred passion, along with those of your sufferings at the foot of the cross. Mother most merciful, to whom shall I go in my misery if not to you who pities us poor, sinful exiles in this valley of tears? In our name, offer Jesus but one drop of His most precious blood, but one pang of His loving heart. Remind Him that you are our sweetness, our life, and our hope, and your prayer will be heard. Amen.
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God Bless You! Peace
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