The Other Left

Minute Meditations Be at Peace Be at peace in all things, because the enemy, who always fishes in troubled waters, takes advantage of our discouragement to achieve intentions more readily. — from Padre Pio's Spiritual Direction for Every Day St. Homobonus Confessor and a patron of tailors and cloth workers. He was born in Cremona, Italy, where he became a merchant. Married, he was a model of virtue beloved by all. Homobonus died on November 13 while attending Mass at St. Giles Church in Cremona. His fellow citizens petitioned the Holy See for his canonization, which was performed in 1199. Patron Saint of: Businessmen Tailors Daily Prayer - 2015-11-13 Presence The more we call on the Lord the more we can feel his Presence. Day by day he draws us closer to his loving heart. Freedom I try to let go of concerns and worries that may be dragging me down at this present moment. I place any concerns I have in Gods hands - at least for these few minutes of prayer. Consciousness In the presence of my loving Creator, I look honestly at my feelings over the last day, the highs, the lows and the level ground. Can I see where the Lord has been present? The Word of God Reading 1 Wis 13:1-9 All men were by nature foolish who were in ignorance of God, and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing him who is, and from studying the works did not discern the artisan; But either fire, or wind, or the swift air, or the circuit of the stars, or the mighty water, or the luminaries of heaven, the governors of the world, they considered gods. Now if out of joy in their beauty they thought them gods, let them know how far more excellent is the Lord than these; for the original source of beauty fashioned them. Or if they were struck by their might and energy, let them from these things realize how much more powerful is he who made them. For from the greatness and the beauty of created things their original author, by analogy, is seen. But yet, for these the blame is less; For they indeed have gone astray perhaps, though they seek God and wish to find him. For they search busily among his works, but are distracted by what they see, because the things seen are fair. But again, not even these are pardonable. For if they so far succeeded in knowledge that they could speculate about the world, how did they not more quickly find its Lord? Responsorial Psalm Ps 19:2-3, 4-5ab R. (2a) The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day pours out the word to day, and night to night imparts knowledge. R. The heavens proclaim the glory of God. Not a word nor a discourse whose voice is not heard; Through all the earth their voice resounds, and to the ends of the world, their message. R. The heavens proclaim the glory of God. Alleluia Lk 21:28 R. Alleluia, alleluia. Stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 17:26-37 Jesus said to his disciples: "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man; they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all. So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, someone who is on the housetop and whose belongings are in the house must not go down to get them, and likewise one in the field must not return to what was left behind. Remember the wife of Lot. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it. I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. And there will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken, the other left." They said to him in reply, "Where, Lord?" He said to them, "Where the body is, there also the vultures will gather." - - - Some thoughts on today's scripture The stories of Noah and the flood, of Lot and the destruction of Sodom, were part of the folk memory of Israel. Jesus wants his listeners to notice how life was going on normally, people engaging in their everyday activities, when the disaster struck. No warning, no premonition, no time to plan an escape! So too the Son of Man will come suddenly and unexpectedly. The only way to be prepared is to live a good life, one based on love. Then the coming of the Son of Man will not be a disaster but our final liberation. Conversation Dear Lord, stay by my side always. Gain for me a trusting heart. Thank you for loving me. 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: Wisdom 13:1-9 View NAB Reading at USCCB.org Subscriber? Login to view archives. Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin (Memorial) They indeed have gone astray . . . distracted by what they see, because the things seen are fair. (Wisdom 13:6, 7) Have you ever been steering a boat when you suddenly realize that somehow you're off your original course? Maybe you've been just a degree or two off, but it's been awhile, and now you've lost your bearings. Thankfully, with just a slight adjustment or two, you can get the boat pointed back in the right direction. In the spiritual life, our "course," our destination, is God. We want him to be at the center of our lives, with everything in our lives pointed toward him. But just like a distracted sailor, we can get off course—and even getting just a bit off course can have a big impact. What can distract us? Ironically, some of our greatest blessings! "Fair" things such as our families, friends, hobbies, health, maybe even the beauty of creation. None of these are bad in and of themselves. On the contrary, they're some of God's greatest gifts to us. But when we let these gifts consume our attention to the point at which we forget the Giver, we end up off course. So how do we get back on track? It's simple. By making just a few slight but definitive adjustments. Maybe that means recommitting ourselves to daily prayer or daily Mass. Nothing redirects us better than taking the "helm" of our wills and fixing our attention on the Lord. Maybe it means stopping a few times each day and turning our hearts to the Lord, acknowledging the One who gives us all that is "fair." For example, if the sunset is particularly attractive one evening, don't just admire its beauty. Go one step further, and look to the Lord, who made the sun. Or if a difficult conversation turns out unexpectedly well, take a moment to not only acknowledge how smoothly it went but to also praise the Lord for his grace in it. These small nudges toward God can make a big difference. So let's choose to stay the course by focusing our attention on God—and refocusing ourselves as the day unfolds. That way, we will surely reach our destination! "Father, thank you for all your blessings! Help me to focus on you and see you more and more in my life." Psalm 19:2-5 Luke 17:26-37 Podcast Page: http://hipcast.com/podcast/HQtlPlDk my2cents: Human wisdom is very limited, we go by what we know.  For there to be a wisdom outside of ours is unfathomable, especially to those stuck on our wisdom alone.  I send daily texts to a group of select people.  They are other quotes and messages than the ones you read here, and sometimes and almost never there is a response.  Yesterday, an old friend responded "I sit there and when I pray to God when I'm in need and hurt.  I think to my self I do not know how you do it God.  So many people on earth and you still stand strong and tall."  I wrote back "For Him nothing is impossible".  He replied back to me "Yup but we can help my God and be one less burden for him :) ".  I wrote back "Yes, and bring others to him..." and the final reply was "Yup. Be close to him and not cause him more pain".  I liked the conversation, and I like how he knew where I was getting at...it starts right here, and right now, with yourself, you do not make the message for others, but for self, take the truth.  This friend has made some bad decisions in his life, that caused him a divorce, lost his family, and strayed from the faith, to which I am calling him back to.  He is a business owner, and I've sparatically touched base with him over the last years.  Only now have I had an appropriate response.  I wrote one time "I don't know why I'm saying this to you, must be the Lord, He loves you".  Yesterday I told someone about a mistake at work.  It seemed they were more ready to get on the defensive and then try to get back at me than to simply say "sorry, I'll try to do better".  The common denominator between this worker and my friend?  We need God.  We need His wisdom to get on the right track.  Because we live for what is right in front of us.  We can not see the beauty within, and this is what God wants you to see.  I took a worker to eat, and he joked "I don't want that tattooed gangster to cook my food" (I'm paraphrasing), and I laughed, you're all tattooed too, so what are you talking about?  He knew what I meant...that "cholo" was his brother...in Christ.  What we have before us...the beauty within...is Christ.  It is said that that person you love the least in the world...that's how much you love Jesus our Lord, the most.  Wisdom is taking on a whole new view. The Psalms pray today "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day pours out the word to day, and night to night imparts knowledge." This Psalm can sum up today's 1st Holy Scripture.  Scienctific atheists and believers in God can agree that this universe came from nothing, and when asked, where did nothing come from, the atheists theorize that it must've come from another universe, but that is simply saying "I refuse to believe in God, therefore I will substitute Him with something else" like a whole other world.  And this then is night to impart night, spreading a dark message of hopelessness.  Because to believe not in Eternity with God is to say there is no hope.  Realize then, day pours out the WORD to day, that is to say, today.  And the Word in the beginning was God, for by a single Word, the world came into existence, and there was light, the light of day, the reason we walk, the reason we breathe...a soul inside. Our Lord speaks about "the end times" LOL, I kind of laugh because so many, especially protestants have made movies and theories about the end of the world.   I've sat with protestant brothers in several bible workshops and everything seems so in the air when we studied Revelation.  Lots of ideas, the rapture, the Queen, the seven hills, and some even said that Rome was evil.  Yup, the devil, the divider that caused all the division in Christianity has protestants fooled, to the point that they say the Holy Church founded by Jesus Christ was founded by...something else.  That's crazy.  What they don't know is that we are the most extreme Jesus freaks in the world.  We who truly believe in the faith, truly believe that we are consuming the very real prescense of Jesus, blood, body, and soul in the Eucharist.  We worship Him, all saints and the Mother lead us to Him.  The more holy they are, the more Holy He is, yet...darkness persists.  You remember that when something "bad happens" in your life.  I read somewhere today that the devil likes to fish in troubled waters.  We can not ever let up on our striving for the good of our faith.  I write this to you so that you are encouraged.  Because the day the Lord will come will be like lightning, before you know it, we're taken.  Taken where?  That is up to you, and the degree you've made yourself available to Him.  Life is very interesting.  Life is very good.  Life, is radiant.  Life wins, has persisted for millions of years.  Life then is spectacular and formidable.  Life is to be respected.  When that guy was bashing me this week about my faith, I told Him why Catholics defend life and don't use contraceptives "..because they are abortifacients" I said "they kill the fertilized egg, conception" that is why they are called contra-ception.  Against life.  Life is in the family, that is why we make the holy family of God so very important in our faith.  Life is unity and life is made strong when struggled.  Learn what this means and know what I mean when I'm speaking about life, because it's not what I mean, but WHO I mean, and life is all about HIM. I AM THE WAY I AM THE TRUTH I AM THE LIFE -  JESUS. adrian Subscribe to the www.Going4th.com mailing list.

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