No not despise

Minute Meditations Christian Joy Christian joy, like hope, is founded on God's fidelity, on the certainty that he always keeps his promises. All those who have encountered Jesus along the way experience a serenity and joy in their hearts which nothing and no one can take away. Our joy is Jesus Christ, his faithful love is inexhaustible! — from The Spirit of Saint Francis Feast of the Guardian Angels Perhaps no aspect of Catholic piety is as comforting to parents as the belief that an angel protects their little ones from dangers real and imagined. Yet guardian angels are not only for children. Their role is to represent individuals before God, to watch over them always, to aid their prayer and to present their souls to God at death. The concept of an angel assigned to guide and nurture each human being is a development of Catholic doctrine and piety based on Scripture but not directly drawn from it. Jesus' words in Matthew 18:10 best support the belief: "See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father." Devotion to the angels began to develop with the birth of the monastic tradition. St. Benedict gave it impetus and Bernard of Clairvaux, the great 12th-century reformer, was such an eloquent spokesman for the guardian angels that angelic devotion assumed its current form in his day. A feast in honor of the guardian angels was first observed in the 16th century. In 1615, Pope Paul V added it to the Roman calendar. Comment: Devotion to the angels is, at base, an expression of faith in God's enduring love and providential care extended to each person day in and day out until life's end. Quote: "May the angels lead you into paradise; may the martyrs come to welcome you and take you to the holy city, the new and eternal Jerusalem." (Rite for Christian Burial) Daily Prayer - 2015-10-02 Presence God is with me, but more, God is within me, giving me existence. Let me dwell for a moment on God's life-giving presence in my body, my mind, my heart and in the whole of my life. Freedom "In these days, God taught me as a schoolteacher teaches a pupil" (Saint Ignatius). I remind myself that there are things God has to teach me yet, and ask for the grace to hear them and let them change me. Consciousness To be conscious about something is to be aware of it. Dear Lord help me to remember that You gave me life. Thank you for the gift of life. Teach me to slow down, to be still and enjoy the pleasures created for me. To be aware of the beauty that surrounds me. The marvel of mountains, the calmness of lakes, the fragility of a flower petal. I need to remember that all these things come from you. The Word of God Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels Reading 1 Bar 1:15-22 During the Babylonian captivity, the exiles prayed: "Justice is with the Lord, our God; and we today are flushed with shame, we men of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem, that we, with our kings and rulers and priests and prophets, and with our ancestors, have sinned in the Lord's sight and disobeyed him. We have neither heeded the voice of the Lord, our God, nor followed the precepts which the Lord set before us. From the time the Lord led our ancestors out of the land of Egypt until the present day, we have been disobedient to the Lord, our God, and only too ready to disregard his voice. And the evils and the curse that the Lord enjoined upon Moses, his servant, at the time he led our ancestors forth from the land of Egypt to give us the land flowing with milk and honey, cling to us even today. For we did not heed the voice of the Lord, our God, in all the words of the prophets whom he sent us, but each one of us went off after the devices of his own wicked heart, served other gods, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, our God." Responsorial Psalm PS 79:1b-2, 3-5, 8, 9 R. (9) For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us. O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple, they have laid Jerusalem in ruins. They have given the corpses of your servants as food to the birds of heaven, the flesh of your faithful ones to the beasts of the earth. R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us. They have poured out their blood like water round about Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury them. We have become the reproach of our neighbors, the scorn and derision of those around us. O LORD, how long? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy burn like fire? R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us. Remember not against us the iniquities of the past; may your compassion quickly come to us, for we are brought very low. R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us. Help us, O God our savior, because of the glory of your name; Deliver us and pardon our sins for your name's sake. R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us. Alleluia Ps 103:21 R. Alleluia, alleluia. Bless the LORD, all you angels, you ministers, who do his will. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 18:1-5, 10 The disciples approached Jesus and said, "Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?" He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, "Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me. "See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father." Some thoughts on today's scripture Jesus cares for us individually through our guardian angel. Do I believe that I am personally cared for by God? To believe this is a great gift of faith. We are asked to trust God like little children, whose nature is to trust. I can thank God for his care -- observing the signs of it in my life, and ask him to help me develop a deeper relationship with him. Conversation Sometimes I wonder what I might say if I were to meet you in person Lord. I think I might say "Thank You Lord" for always being there for me. I know with certainty there were times when you carried me, Lord. When it was through your strength I got through the dark times in my life. Conclusion I thank God for these few moments we have spent alone together and for any insights I may have been given concerning the text. Meditation: Matthew 18:1-5, 10 View NAB Reading at USCCB.org Subscriber? Login to view archives. The Holy Guardian Angels (Memorial) Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:4) Have you ever seen a child jump fearlessly into a pool toward the outstretched arms of her father or mother? Blissfully trusting in her parent's protection, she knows no fear! What a wonderful image this can be for us as children of God—joyful, faithfully delighting in the protection of One so much stronger than us. When Jesus called us to become like little children, he was inviting us to regain our childhood innocence. When we are young, we are all ready to believe in a good God who watches over us and sends angels to guide our way. But as we grow older, these comforting images can lose their power. Life can wear us down and make us cynical. We may begin to doubt God's desire to remain close to us. We may begin to question the reality of his angelic guardians. Faced with the inevitable pressures of life, we may begin to believe—or resign ourselves to the belief—that we are alone in the universe, reluctant masters of our fate with no one to guide us. Jesus wants to free us from any sense of isolation or self-sufficiency that is holding us back. He wants to awaken in us that original joy and innocence we experienced when we first knew of his personal abiding love. True maturity as a Christian is not a matter of increased independence from God but a deeper dependence on him! After all, it is he who constantly provides for our health, our relationships, our finances, our very life and breath! Today, ask the Holy Spirit to do a special work in you. Ask him to help you view all the events of your day with the eyes of a child who knows the Father's intimate love. If this is difficult, ask him for healing so that you can open your heart to him. Your heavenly Father wants you to come to him with every concern, no matter how small, and trust that his angels are watching over you. Let him reassure you with his love and support. "Holy Spirit, help me become more like a child as I look to the Father for my strength. Open my heart to trust in your provision and heavenly protection." Baruch 1:15-22 Psalm 79:1-5, 8-9 Podcast Page: http://hipcast.com/podcast/HQjVSXkx my2cents: The other day, I noticed that one of the emails had a large "open" rate.  In other words, I can see the percentage of emails opened that I send.  Usually for years it was about 10%, now a little higher, but not much.  But the day I sent an email titled "Bury My Father", it spiked high like 17%.  Why?  Why does some drastic title cause someone to be sort of interested?  Because I know it was the title.  And where do I get titles from?  From the Gospel.  I don't make up a title, it's God's words.  And I did it on purpose, purposely chose those words because it should raise awareness of our lives with God.  Do you remember the prodigal son?  The story Jesus our King told?  It said the child wanted his inheritance already, which means "I wish you were dead" because all I care about it is me!  YIKES!  And so the day of "Bury My Father", those were the words a man told Jesus "I want to follow you but FIRST let me go bury my father".  Unknowingly, he was telling Jesus the King "my earthly father is more important" which is as good as saying "bury my Father" in Heaven.  YIKES!  Do you think I'm being harsh or is it the truth?  Listen to some words from today's first Holy Scripture "we have been disobedient to the Lord, our God, and only too ready to disregard his voice."  It's the TRUTH!  We are wayyy too ready to disregard His voice.  We drown out His voice, we play something "else" on the radio than hearing His word or learn about Him.  We put something "else" on TV than Catholic TV or learning about God.  We drown out the time we could afford to Him by spending on something "else".  And I really mean "WE" because I do it too.  So am I a complainer?  Pssh, probably, but listen to the message, "we can do better".  The people in captivity cried today "we should've listened" and not had other gods, and we make gods of anything and anyone else. The Psalms want to inspire a new song in my soul "Help us, O God our savior,  because of the glory of your name;  Deliver us and pardon our sins for your name's sake.  R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us."  Wow.  For the glory of Your Name Lord.  I don't like to say the name of the Lord without reverance, I even type it, if you notice, by adding reverance like "Jesus our Lord" or "Jesus our King" or "our Master" or "King of the Universe".  For the glory of your name, the Christ.  The self sacrifice, the giving of love...one way...out.  And there is only one way out of this world...death.  God, my Savior, I love it then when we pray today "Help us, O God our Savior, because of the glory of Your name."! Oh wow, we get to read the Word of our Lord today, can't you wait to hear His words from Heaven again?  Jesus our beautiful King says things that are crazy...crazy love and backwards to our world.  He grabs a child suddenly and hugs it in front of everyone " "Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me. "See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father." Where do we begin on this lesson of love?  Be humble like a child?  I have kids, I notice their humility.  If my wife gets on to them, they don't get their feelings all hurt, they just keep loving.  Are they not listening then? LOL, it's more than that.  Being humble like them calls out for a love like no other.  My kids are my servants.  Therefore, surely, back in the day, they were servants, or even more, probably raised strict to have no voice.  Nowadays, kids are given too much voice and freedom.  There has to be a loving restraint.  No is good, and what if your Father tells you no?  Will you rebel?  Will you turn to other gods?  Will you turn your back on your Father?  Will you want to bury your Father?  Who can be like a child that is pure and humble?  Who can be like a child that knows no wrong in an evil sense?  This is a call to more...holiness!  Ahh, that is not a line that will make people open emails! LOL.  Yet Jesus says be Holy, just like your angels are.  Despising a child is to despise an angel.  How is it that we have angels looking upon the face of our Father?  We are dealing with a spirit then when we are dealing with one another.  So next time you despise someone in gossip, or "put them in their place", know that their angels were affected...hurt.  But if you welcome a child and revive their soul...Our Lord takes notice.  We are an edifying edifice.  A church building itself up with Him.  The saddest words you'll hear in hell will be "I should've listened" and "I should've known".  This is the time to be lifted up, even if on a cross, better said, especially on a cross.  This child of God...our Lord, the Christ, He took the love to the extent that most of us would run away from.  Literally He is opened up for you on that cross and we eat of Him in Holy Mass.  What kind of souls are feasting?  Ungrateful savages?  Or people on their way to holiness?  All of the above because they are all God's children.  Now, you are reading this for a purpose.  Your eyes are feasting on a message of tenacity, of vigor, of reliance and striving for grace, a true gift from God.  With this gift, you CAN be like a child...a true child of God, pure, and holy and wholly His.  Those last couple words remind me of a song I wrote, which reminds me, you can catch them at www.going4th.com, new songs for this year are now available. The CD is called Sanctify Me.  And He does, and He will.  So long as you find yourself at His service, in ministry, and ministering to one another...serving the Love of God to God, because we are made in His image.  Now, the lowly are exalted.  Look at the Blessed Mother.  Look at the saints.  Look at the angels among you.  Now is the time to live Heaven on Earth, light into darkness, being sent forth now means being blessed.  Angels of God, let us take souls to Heaven!!!!!!!! YES LORD YOU ARE AMAZING adrian Subscribe to the Going4th mailing list.

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