| "Make friends with the angels, who though invisible are always with you. Often invoke them, constantly praise them, and make good use of their help an | | "Make friends with the angels, who though invisible are always with you. Often invoke them, constantly praise them, and make good use of their help and assistance in all your temporal and spiritual affairs."
— St. Francis de Sales MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"Great things are done through grace, and one attribute of the great things which grace enables the soul to do is their lastingness, their continuance, their permanent life and strength, as years roll past. I say, the works of grace are permanent."
— Bl. John Henry Newman, p. 184
AN EXCERPT FROM
The Quotable Newman |
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Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary Saint of the Day for September 12 The Story of the Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary This feast is a counterpart to the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus; both have the possibility of uniting people easily divided on other matters. The feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary began in Spain in 1513 and in 1671 was extended to all of Spain and the Kingdom of Naples. In 1683, John Sobieski, king of Poland, brought an army to the outskirts of Vienna to stop the advance of Muslim armies loyal to Mohammed IV of Constantinople. After Sobieski entrusted himself to the Blessed Virgin Mary, he and his soldiers thoroughly defeated the Muslims. Pope Innocent XI extended this feast to the entire Church.
Reflection Mary always points us to God, reminding us of God's infinite goodness. She helps us to open our hearts to God's ways, wherever those may lead us. Honored under the title "Queen of Peace," Mary encourages us to cooperate with Jesus in building a peace based on justice, a peace that respects the fundamental human rights of all peoples. |
Sacred Space
Daily Prayer - 2016-09-12 Presence As I begin this prayer, God is here.
Around me, in my sensations, in my thoughts and deep within me.
I pause for a moment, and become aware
of God's life-giving presence. Freedom It is so easy to get caught up
with the trappings of wealth in this life.
Grant, O Lord, that I may be free
from greed and selfishness.
Remind me that the best things in life are free.
Love, laughter, caring and sharing. Consciousness My soul longs for your presence, Lord.
When I turn my thoughts to you,
I find peace and contentment. The Word of God Monday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
readings audio Reading 1 1 Cor 11:17-26, 33 Brothers and sisters:
In giving this instruction, I do not praise the fact
that your meetings are doing more harm than good.
First of all, I hear that when you meet as a Church
there are divisions among you,
and to a degree I believe it;
there have to be factions among you
in order that also those who are approved among you
may become known.
When you meet in one place, then,
it is not to eat the Lord's supper,
for in eating, each one goes ahead with his own supper,
and one goes hungry while another gets drunk.
Do you not have houses in which you can eat and drink?
Or do you show contempt for the Church of God
and make those who have nothing feel ashamed?
What can I say to you? Shall I praise you?
In this matter I do not praise you. For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,
that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over,
took bread and, after he had given thanks,
broke it and said, "This is my Body that is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me."
In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying,
"This cup is the new covenant in my Blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes. Therefore, my brothers and sisters,
when you come together to eat, wait for one another. Responsorial Psalm Ps 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 17
R. (1 Cor 11:26b) Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Burnt offerings or sin offerings you sought not;
then said I, "Behold I come." R. Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again.
"In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!" R. Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know. R. Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again.
May all who seek you
exult and be glad in you
And may those who love your salvation
say ever, "The LORD be glorified."
R. Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again. Alleluia Jn 3:16
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 7:1-10 When Jesus had finished all his words to the people,
he entered Capernaum.
A centurion there had a slave who was ill and about to die,
and he was valuable to him.
When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him,
asking him to come and save the life of his slave.
They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying,
"He deserves to have you do this for him,
for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us."
And Jesus went with them,
but when he was only a short distance from the house,
the centurion sent friends to tell him,
"Lord, do not trouble yourself,
for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof.
Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you;
but say the word and let my servant be healed.
For I too am a person subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me.
And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes;
and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes;
and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it."
When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him
and, turning, said to the crowd following him,
"I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith."
When the messengers returned to the house,
they found the slave in good health.
Some thoughts on today's scripture ▪ What kind of faith had the centurion? We would like to have a strong trust in God that he will make all things well. Speak to the Lord about your trust, what strengthens it and what undermines it. .
Conversation Lord, I know that when I turn to you there is no need for words.
You can see into my heart.
You know my desires and you know my needs.
I place myself into your hands. 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. |
wau.org
Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Luke 7:1-10 The Most Holy Name of Mary (Optional Memorial) Lord . . . I am not worthy. (Luke 7:6) What faith! This centurion—a Gentile—makes a humble confession to Jesus, admitting that he is not worthy to have Jesus enter his home. He even sends Jewish elders to plead his case for him because he feels it would be inappropriate for him to approach so holy a man! Now contrast his words with the words of the elders who spoke up for him: "He deserves to have you do this for him," they urge, because of his generosity toward the Jews (Luke 7:4). Which of these two approaches is right? Is the centurion unworthy or deserving? Should he seek healing for his servant on the basis of his previous acts of kindness? Or should he throw himself at Jesus' feet and beg for mercy—for undeserved grace and favor? As in so many other situations, the answer isn't either-or. It's both-and. This is good news. It can be easy to forget that we depend on God's mercy for every breath we take. Every good attribute we have is a gift from his generous hand. It can also be easy to think that Jesus "owes" us a favor because of our faithfulness. But in reality, we owe him everything we are and everything we have. He is our Savior, not our business partner; he is our Lord, not our next-door neighbor. At the same time, God wants us to know that he sees every good thing that we do, and it pleases him. He sees every act of kindness, he hears every prayer of repentance and trust, and he feels all the compassion we have for the people around us. All of these actions move him to respond with love, healing, and grace. As we get closer to the Lord, we become both humble and bold at the same time. We know we are not worthy, but we also know how merciful our God is. The Church helps us learn this balance by placing the centurion's words on our lips at every Mass, just before we take the bold step of approaching the altar and receiving Jesus in Communion. May we all become like this centurion, filled with the humble confidence of faith! "Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof. Only say the word, and my soul will be healed." 1 Corinthians 11:17-26, 33
Psalm 40:7-10, 17 |
audio-2cents
my2cents: The Word of GOD: "This is my Body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." And for thousands of years as Catholics we do this, with His direct apostles to us this day, this is our whole of life, the Body of Christ. There are no politics for you to worry about here, there is no divisions for you to face here, because the Body of Christ is what is united, until He returns, and that day is one day closer than yesterday. And so, the Body that is for you, He gave His body for you. Question: Is your body for Him? If you say yes, then why is it shared with evil? Licentiousness, with greed, avarice, pride and arrogance, and a tongue that has two tips? One for good and one for evil. If this is His body, then this means the world to the world. This means He is alive and among us. This means, what enters us is for our salvation, or damnation. How can I go receive GOD in my soul without realizing my own judgement automatically, at the instant the EUCHARIST touches my tongue? That is why you can not receive the HOLY EUCHARIST with a dirty soul. I have seen it first hand, people leave Holy Mass worse than when they came in, and why? Because, they receive the Holy Eucharist with evil in the heart, and it explodes because it is enriched with the Body of Christ, but, for a humble heart, it leaves shining and pumping love of God, able to bear any load with grace unknown, and only known to angels. Angels would desire to be able to receive God the way humans do, because the power of this reality coupled with our belief could propel a soul to the Heavens, caught in a rapture of bliss like no other...if you only believe the WORD, and the Word was made flesh.... We prayed today "Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again." Sacrifice or oblation you wished not, but ears open to obedience you gave me. Burnt offerings or sin offerings you sought not; then said I, "Behold I come." It is a commandment from the Lord, to proclaim the death of the Lord until He returns and to offer the Holy Eucharist which only Catholic priests are able to turn into His blood, soul and divinity, therefore our spiritual fathers are one with the Father, aren't we with the Father? I can do so much for the church, but without a true, contrite, and sincere heart? That is not a true love, for you are not serving Love with love. I have yet to see a true atheist truly serve the poor with all their heart, mind, and soul. In the same way, I've yet to see us serve God to the point of resisting temptation with bloodshed, but He did, He did sacrifice, and it was natural and automatic, by way of a true obedience to Love. In the Holy Gospel we heard " I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him...". This is the part of the Gospel I am called at...amazing Christ. Aren't we? Do we not believe the Lord is amazed by us, by our love? Our Faith? Our faith called love? The words of the centurion today are the very words we say before receiving the Holy Eucharist into our souls "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter my roof, but only say the word...and my soul shall be healed". Two weddings are coming up, and both I've told the groom "it's not your wedding day, it's His wedding day, for this you should confess to receive the Lord". It's not about me. How soon we forget, like the prodigal son we heard about yesterday. How soon we wonder off, desiring fame and being free, and being happy...without our Father. And how soon we find ourselves in the slumps, down and out because of our so called freedom. How precious the moment of reuniting with the Lord in the Holy Sacraments, baptism, confession/reconciliation, Holy Communion, Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders, and anointing of the sick. These are intimate moments with eternity. I am not worthy. This is why we always pray "Lord have mercy". The Carmelite Abbot told us men "at the moment of temptations in your head, pray "Lord have mercy on me a poor sinner". Pray until your knees begin to bleed. The Lord did it, why shouldn't I? Why can't I? We have all the excuses, but the most honest is "I forgot". You forgot Him where? When? How? These are the questions you'll need to figure out now before we die.
This is why the Lord says "Do this in REMEMBERance of ME". The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the moment God opened up His heart forever, which blood and water poured out of His heart, mercy and love. Partake of it, drink of this chalice of suffering, REMEMBER how much HE LOVES us. Remember we are what we eat...HIS SACRED HEART |
adrian A Prayer by Charles de Foucauld Father,
I abandon myself into your hands; do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you:
I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only your will be done in me, and in all your creatures.
I wish no more than this, O Lord. Into your hands I commend my soul;
I offer it to you
with all the love of my heart,
for I love you, Lord,
and so need to give myself,
to surrender myself into your hands,
without reserve,
and with boundless confidence,
for you are my Father. |
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