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Minute Meditations W olfgang was born in Swabia, Germany, and was educated at a school located at the abbey of Reichenau. There he encountered Henry, a young noble who went on to become Archbishop of Trier. Meanwhile, Wolfgang remained in close contact with the archbishop, teaching in his cathedral school and supporting his efforts to reform the clergy. At the death of the archbishop, Wolfgang chose to become a Benedictine monk and moved to an abbey in Einsiedeln, now part of Switzerland. Ordained a priest, he was appointed director of the monastery school there. Later he was sent to Hungary as a missionary, though his zeal and good will yielded limited results. Emperor Otto II appointed him Bishop of Regensburg near Munich. He immediately initiated reform of the clergy and of religious life, preaching with vigor and effectiveness and always demonstrating special concern for the poor. He wore the habit of a monk and lived an austere life. The draw to monastic life never left him, including the desire for a life of solitude. At one point he left his diocese so that he could devote himself to prayer, but his responsibilities as bishop called him back. In 994 Wolfgang became ill while on a journey; he died in Puppingen near Linz, Austria. He was canonized in 1052. His feast day is celebrated widely in much of central Europe. Presence At any time of the day or night we can call on Jesus. Lord, you granted me the great gift of freedom. Help me Lord to be more conscious of your presence. Teach me to recognise your presence in others. Fill my heart with gratitude for the times Your love has been shown to me through the care of others. Reading 1 phil 1:1-11Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus, Responsorial Psalm ps 111:1-2, 3-4, 5-6R. (2) How great are the works of the Lord! Gospel lk 14:1-6On a sabbath Jesus went to dine Listen to audio of this reading Watch a video reflection Conversation How has God's Word moved me? Has it left me cold? Has it consoled me or moved me to act in a new way? Conclusion Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.
30th Week in Ordinary Time This is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more. (Philippians 1:9)
Have you smiled today? Research shows that something as simple as smiling can help improve marriages and reduce stress. It's amazing that something we usually don't think about can have such a big impact, but it does. Judging from his Letter to the Philippians, Paul probably wished that the believers in this cosmopolitan city would have smiled more! Throughout this friendly but pointed letter, Paul tackles the issue of unity from many different angles. While we aren't certain, it's likely that Paul saw the beginnings of division in the church there—"sparks" amongst the Philippians that had the potential to burst into flame. Perhaps he was thinking of Euodia and Syntyche, two leading women in the community who were at odds with each other (Philippians 4:2). So rather than face another fractious community like the Corinthians, he sought to put out the sparks as soon as he could. We don't know for sure how things worked out for the Philippians, but we can still apply Paul's wise words to our own lives. First, identify any sparks of disunity in your relationships. Perhaps you have let small resentments linger in your heart or you have let small divisions simmer at home. Maybe you could be a little kinder to the person sitting next to you at work or to your children and spouse in the morning. Once you know where those sparks are, there are a number of ways to put them out. A quick, one-sentence e-mail to a family member or friend; being the first one to make the coffee in the morning; being patient with the driver ahead of you in traffic; smiling at a co-worker or the cashier at the grocery store you see every day—all of these small things can go a long way. As Mother Teresa once said, "Every time you smile at someone, it is an act of love." And we know that love can cover a multitude of sins! You don't have to invest in big, grand gestures. You just need to try, and trust that God will bear the "fruit of righteousness" through whatever you do (Philippians 1:11). "Lord, guide the little things I do each day so that I can help build up the people around me. May these small things bear the fruit of righteousness."
Psalm 111:1-6; Luke 14:1-6
my2cents: LOL, I noticed the cleaning person once again put this american flag I have in my office in front of this crucifix I have in my office. I just moved it so I could see my crucifix with the Benedict medal. Why is this important? Because we have to do physical things that impress on the spiritual things. That's why we have Holy Sacraments. That's why Saint Paul says today to do what is Holy. That's why the Psalms today pray "How great are the works of the Lord", and then Jesus our King comes in to do a great work, not just the healing of a man, but the opening of hearts to what is truly important, God comes first, not country. God comes first, not your local laws. God comes first, not your family. God comes first in Church, not what the people want, but what God wants. God comes first when temptation arises, not what you really want. Let's take some words from more saints today, since tomorrow, on All Hallows (Holies) Saints day is all about saints: "Remember how the crown was attained by those whose sufferings gave new radiance to their faith. The whole company of saints bears witness to the unfailing truth that without real effort no one wins the crown." -St. Thomas Becket. Take it from a saint that was murdered in his own church. Now a quote from another Saint, this time St. Philip Neri, "Never say, 'What great things the saints do,' but, 'What great things God does in His saints.' Take this from a man that devoted his heart to God, and dealt with the youth. Philip understood that it wasn't enough to tell young people not to do something -- you had to give them something to do in its place. So at Carnival time, when the worst excesses were encouraged, Philip organized a pilgrimage to the Seven Churches with a picnic accompanied by instrumental music for the mid-day break. After walking twelve miles in one day everyone was too tired to be tempted! Last night, I set up a booth at a local community gathering called a "safe spot" for trick or treaters, in an indoor arena. I setup our banner with our company logo and the words below that say "In God We Trust" and below that an FYI about All Saints Day coming November 1st. We gave candy, my wife handed out candy with scriptures wrapping it. I dressed as a robot, transformer, kids loved it as I tried to walk on stilts. The droves of hundreds and hundreds had to have read that sign I put up, they were in line to read it. The message was there. It will ALWAYS be there with the saints like me! LOL. "Oh, did Adrian just call himself a saint!? OMG!" Truth is, we're all saints, we just don't act it or want it. Let me give a quick example. When we were unloading stuff after the event last night, my brother in law who is in RCIA said that he was telling his co-worker he needs to come closer to God. I told him "you know what Pablo (Paul), it is God working through you in that young 19 yr. old's life asking him personally to come closer to Him". In the end, it is always the allowance, or degree we let God do His thing through us. Scare the bogus bogies away, scare evil away with Holiness, that beautiful unity with God, and how? Just let yourself. Yesterday we went to a funeral for my wife's niece who died in her 40's with MS. I took my guitar, something led me to it. I knew the deceased dad would sing with his church band but I took it anyway. Turns out nobody was singing at the burial site, and that's when I came in, with the permission of the pastor there. I sang "I can only imagine". Afterwards the family thanked me, even though I thought I done a not so good job singing. One young man asked me if I was a preacher. I thought "this is weird, all I did was sing one song", I hand't preached like the other 2 pastors before me, I just let God do his Thing. What is His Thing? His WILL. ANd His Will is for you to be HIS SAINT YES LORD YES LORD YESS YESS LORD  adrian
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Going4th,
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