 | God, Our Protector God knows the dangers that surround our souls. He doesn't want anything to impede the goal of our spiritual life: union with him. God knows our every weakness and our need for continuous, loving guidance to avoid the dangers that threaten our chances of spending eternity with him in heaven. God longs to be in relationship with us. As a loving parent, he protects us and shields us from harm. Through Jesus, our Savior, he calls us his friends. His Holy Spirit moves in us, with us, through us.
—from the book Created to Relate: God's Design for Peace and Joy by Kelly M. Wahlquist | ✞ "In this life our lot is not to enjoy God, but to do his holy will."
— St. Teresa of Avila ✞ MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"I desire that you know more profoundly the love that burns in My Heart for souls, and you will understand this when you meditate upon My Passion. Call upon My mercy on behalf of sinners; I desire their salvation. When you say this prayer, with a contrite heart and with faith on behalf of some sinner, I will give him the grace of conversion. This is the prayer: 'O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You.' "
— St. Faustina Kowalska, p. 186-7
AN EXCERPT FROM
Diary of St. Faustina ✞ VERSE OF THE DAY
"For it is written, 'As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.' So then, each of us will be accountable to God."
Romans 14:11-12 |  click to read more | | Saint Didacus Didacus is living proof that God "chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong." As a young man in Spain, Didacus joined the Secular Franciscan Order and lived for some time as a hermit. After Didacus became a Franciscan brother, he developed a reputation for great insight into God's ways. His penances were heroic. He was so generous with the poor that the friars sometimes grew uneasy about his charity. Didacus volunteered for the missions in the Canary Islands and labored there energetically and profitably. He was also the superior of a friary there. In 1450, he was sent to Rome to attend the canonization of Saint Bernardine of Siena. When many of the friars gathered for that celebration fell ill, Didacus stayed in Rome for three months to nurse them. After he returned to Spain, he pursued a life of contemplation full-time. He showed the friars the wisdom of God's ways. As he was dying, Didacus looked at a crucifix and said: "O faithful wood, O precious nails! You have borne an exceedingly sweet burden, for you have been judged worthy to bear the Lord and King of heaven" (Marion A. Habig, O.F.M., The Franciscan Book of Saints, p. 834). San Diego, California, is named for this Franciscan, who was canonized in 1588. Reflection We cannot be neutral about genuinely holy people. We either admire them or we consider them foolish. Didacus is a saint because he used his life to serve God and God's people. Can we say the same for ourselves? | Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 486 Reading 1 ROM 12:5-16AB Brothers and sisters:
We, though many, are one Body in Christ
and individually parts of one another.
Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us,
let us exercise them:
if prophecy, in proportion to the faith;
if ministry, in ministering;
if one is a teacher, in teaching;
if one exhorts, in exhortation;
if one contributes, in generosity;
if one is over others, with diligence;
if one does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be sincere;
hate what is evil,
hold on to what is good;
love one another with mutual affection;
anticipate one another in showing honor.
Do not grow slack in zeal,
be fervent in spirit,
serve the Lord.
Rejoice in hope,
endure in affliction,
persevere in prayer.
Contribute to the needs of the holy ones,
exercise hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you,
bless and do not curse them.
Rejoice with those who rejoice,
weep with those who weep.
Have the same regard for one another;
do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. Responsorial Psalm PS 131:1BCDE, 2, 3
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
O LORD, my heart is not proud,
nor are my eyes haughty;
I busy not myself with great things,
nor with things too sublime for me.
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted
my soul like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother's lap,
so is my soul within me.
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
O Israel, hope in the LORD,
both now and forever.
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace. Alleluia MT 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. Gospel LK 14:15-24 One of those at table with Jesus said to him,
"Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God."
He replied to him,
"A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many.
When the time for the dinner came,
he dispatched his servant to say to those invited,
'Come, everything is now ready.'
But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves.
The first said to him,
'I have purchased a field and must go to examine it;
I ask you, consider me excused.'
And another said, 'I have purchased five yoke of oxen
and am on my way to evaluate them;
I ask you, consider me excused.'
And another said, 'I have just married a woman,
and therefore I cannot come.'
The servant went and reported this to his master.
Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant,
'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town
and bring in here the poor and the crippled,
the blind and the lame.'
The servant reported, 'Sir, your orders have been carried out
and still there is room.'
The master then ordered the servant,
'Go out to the highways and hedgerows
and make people come in that my home may be filled.
For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.'" | Meditation: Luke 14:15-24 Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town. (Luke 14:21) Imagine how time-consuming it must be to organize something like a state dinner or an occasion such as the Oscars. Everything from the menu to the decorations—and especially the guest list—has to be carefully chosen. Contrast this with the host in today's Gospel. He opens his doors to everyone! He goes so far as to send his servant out to invite as many people as possible! "Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town" (Luke 14:21). The guest list at a state dinner or a Hollywood event is limited; there is only so much money in the budget for such an event. But Jesus' guest list goes on and on. He wants his home to be filled; he wants every person he created to join him at his heavenly banquet table—not to mention, his riches cannot be exhausted. His grace is infinite! It reaches to everyone. In God's eyes, we are all worth every last penny. Jesus tells this parable to illustrate the kind of host God is: One who seeks to gather people, all kinds of people, into his kingdom, One who spares no expense or effort to welcome every man and woman into his family. Not a single person is too far gone. Think of Peter: after he denied knowing Jesus, the Lord reached out to him and restored him (John 21:15-19). Or think of the Samaritan woman at the well: ashamed of her sin and fearing rejection, she waited until the heat of the day to draw water so that she could avoid everyone else. But Jesus freely engaged her in conversation and offered her his own living water (4:4-30). Just like the forgiving father who pleaded with both the prodigal son and his older brother, God wants to bring everyone into his home. Don't forget that God is pursuing you too! You may feel as if you are on a spiritual street or in an alley rather than inside his warm, loving home. Or you may be already walking with Jesus on the way to his banquet. No matter how near or far from God you may feel, he is always seeking you. "Jesus, thank you for seeking after me! Bring me closer to you." Romans 12:5-16
Psalm 131:1-3 | my2cents:
The Holy Word of our Lord said to us in the beginning Scripture today: "Let love be sincere; hate what is evil,
hold on to what is good; love one another with mutual affection;
anticipate one another in showing honor. Do not grow slack in zeal,
be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord."
Again:
¤ Be sincere. With Him. No falseness, no duplicity.
¤ Hate evil. Hate what you love that God does not.
¤ Hold on to what is Good, and we say "God is Good" ...all the time
¤ Love on another with mutual affection: anticipate one another in showing honor. This is crucial and hardly taken to heart. Who can out-serve one another? In honor, and grace, and love? That is the question.
¤ Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit: We say "not to move is the same as taking steps backwards". It is true in the life of the spirit. To stop, to slow down, to take it easy, is the same as going backwards. In spanish we say "puro pa delante, nada para tras". Pure forwardness nothing backwards.
¤ Serve the Lord. With cheer and honor and zeal and a true love. We pray today "In you, O Lord, I have found my peace. O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor are my eyes haughty; I busy not myself with great things, nor with things too sublime for me." Take these words into consideration, as a true prayer, for the Gospel we read today. My heart is not proud (full of oneself), nor are my eyes haughty "full of pomp, seeing blindly". I busy not myself with.... In comes our Lord ""Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God." And the parable, the true story unfolds before us. All those invited, and all those who said no, and "sorry" and "forgive me" and they do whatever they please instead of pleasing the king. They say "I got work" sorry. They say "I got things to take care of " forgive us. And they say "I am too busy, I got no time". And this is true...in eternity. You will have no time there either....for and with the Lord. Time is a fleeting thing while we live on earth. It is then...precious, and something to invest in....and so God reaches out to the poor who may have time to give to Him. And these poor wrecks fill the churches and those haughty say "church is full of hypocrites". True to say and one more still fits. But hypocrites in church learn to be less hypocrites. Those that remain true will eventually dine with the Lord. In the book of Revelation 19:9 the Word says "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!" And he added, "These are the true words of God."
Blessed for being invited. It is like this: It is an honor to be invited, to serve, to go to the feast, to get ready for the feast, to be totally immersed about HIS wedding feast. It is like this in prioritizing life:
First: GOD
Second: Family
Third: Work
4th: Everything else.
Not the other way around which is what I see most of the time in the world. And so, the ministries are filled in by misfits, because those good ones that would be perfect with talents and gifts have no time for the Lord. And so God takes them. That's all we have to offer!?
Lucky for me, a misfit, I am so honored to serve the Lord. Honestly, it isn't easy. But things that are worth it, are hard, not convenient. There is a price to pay for convenience. God is zealous and God is jealous. I can feel it. He loves like a person could never do and so He does it. He says this to you " I Love You So Much, I would Die For You". And held this to be true in a moment in history never to be forgotten. Frozen in time and for eternity, God gives us His all. He so loves His bride, the CHURCH, "I AM ALL YOURS", "I AM ALL IN".
And you? | | |
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