 | Mary, the Perfect Mother Mary's is the ultimate birth story. She walked through her life at Jesus' side, loving him with a real human love and at the same time understanding his divine purpose. She bore the tension of living in perfect joy and complete sorrow as she watched her baby boy become our Redeemer. Mary continues to offer herself as an example of what we can be if we too will open our hearts for him to draw near and dwell in us.
—from the book Who Does He Say You Are? Women Transformed by Christ in the Gospels by Colleen C. Mitchell | ✞ "Guard against anger. But if it cannot be averted, let it be kept within bounds. For indignation is a terrible incentive to sin. It disorders the mind to such an extent as to leave no room for reason."
— St. Ambrose ✞ MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"No creature ever loved Jesus Christ more ardently, nor showed more perfect submission to His will, than Mary, His mother. If then, this Savior, immolated for us sinners, gave His mother to us, an advocate and intercessor for all time, she cannot but comply with His request, and will not refuse us her assistance. Let us, then, not hesitate to implore her pity; let us have recourse to her with great confidence in all our necessities, as she is an inexhaustible source of blessing, bestowing her favors in proportion to the confidence placed in her."
— Dom Lorenzo Scupoli, p. 152
AN EXCERPT FROM
Spiritual Combat ✞ VERSE OF THE DAY
"This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day."
John 6:40 |  click to read more | | ST. LEONARD OF NOBLAC St. Leonard of Noblac (d. 559 A.D.) also known as St. Leonard of Limoges, was a French nobleman in the court of Clovis I, King of France. He was converted to the Christian faith, along with the King, by St. Remigius, Bishop of Rheims. After his conversion he abandoned his worldly pursuits, left the royal court, and followed St. Remigius as a disciple. He obtained special permission from the king to release any prisoners whom he deemed worthy of pardon. He declined an offer of a bishopric and entered the monastery at Orleans to live a life of prayer and penance. Desiring greater solitude and penance than what the monastery allowed, he withdrew into a forest to live as a hermit. He built a small cell and lived on herbs and fruits. He soon attracted followers who joined him in his ascetic life. In thanksgiving for his prayers that the Queen of France would safely deliver her child, St. Leonard was given a large tract of royal land in Noblac. There the saint built an abbey where he served as abbot until his death. A village grew around the abbey that still exists today, named Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat. Numerous shrines are dedicated to St. Leonard across Europe, and thousands of miracles are credited to his intercession. He is the patron saint of prisoners and women in labor. His feast day is November 6th. | Monday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Rom 11:29-36 Brothers and sisters:
The gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. Just as you once disobeyed God
but have now received mercy
because of their disobedience,
so they have now disobeyed in order that,
by virtue of the mercy shown to you,
they too may now receive mercy.
For God delivered all to disobedience,
that he might have mercy upon all. Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord
or who has been his counselor?
Or who has given him anything
that he may be repaid? For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To God be glory forever. Amen. Responsorial Psalm Ps 69:30-31, 33-34, 36
R. (14c) Lord, in your great love, answer me.
But I am afflicted and in pain;
let your saving help, O God, protect me.
I will praise the name of God in song,
and I will glorify him with thanksgiving.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
"See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
you who seek God, may your hearts revive!
For the LORD hears the poor,
and his own who are in bonds he spurns not."
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
For God will save Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah.
They shall dwell in the land and own it,
and the descendants of his servants shall inherit it,
and those who love his name shall inhabit it.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me. Alleluia Jn 8:31b-32
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples,
and you will know the truth, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 14:12-14 On a sabbath Jesus went to dine
at the home of one of the leading Pharisees.
He said to the host who invited him,
"When you hold a lunch or a dinner,
do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters
or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors,
in case they may invite you back and you have repayment.
Rather, when you hold a banquet,
invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind;
blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.
For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
| Meditation: Luke 14:12-14 . . . their inability to repay you. (Luke 14:14) One day, a father asked his daughter to join him on a trip to the inner-city, where he wanted to reach out to the homeless. On the way, they stopped off at McDonald's to buy some food to hand out. When they reached their destination, however, the girl became afraid and decided to stay in the car where it was safer. So she watched her dad walk up to perfect strangers, all of whom were struggling, and talk with them. She was touched by the way her father offered friendship to these people as well as food. Gathering her courage, she got out of the car and joined in. Within moments, she was laughing and sharing stories with people she had once feared. What a beautiful way to think of our heavenly Father's generosity toward us! Day after day, God gives us many gifts, freely and happily, without expecting anything in return. He knows we could never repay him, but that doesn't stop him. He loves us too much. He enjoys our company too much to remain aloof. Now, as generous as the girl's father was, he still had certain conditions on his love. He could give only so many hours, and he could afford only so many meals. After he was done, he and his daughter went back to the comfort of their home and the warmth of their family. By contrast, our heavenly Father's love is unlimited and unconditional. He reached out to us when we were lost in sin. He came to us in Christ and offered his very life to rescue us. He was so rich that he could afford to save each and every one of us. Just as the homeless people had to decide to trust the father and have lunch with him, we, too, have to trust that our God has only good things to give us. We, too, have to "come and eat." In today's second reading, Paul cries out, "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!" (Romans 11:33). Our Father has unlimited resources. He has unlimited love for us. His arms are always open. So let's run to him today and receive his gifts. "Father, thank you for your unconditional love." Romans 11:29-36
Psalm 69:30-31, 33-34, 36 | my2cents: Today the Holy Word begins and ends in the 1st Scripture: "The gifts and the call of God are irrevocable....For from him and through him and for him are all things.To God be glory forever. Amen."
His call is made. It won't be recalled. This is our once in a lifetime opportunity. To what? To answer the call. The time is now. The time is appropriate. Do what you intended to do now. This is the call. Move to light, or go to the darkness you lean to. You can not have it both ways any more, you can not "have your cake and eat it too" as they say. Yesterday, I saw a vehicle as I drove to Mass with two stickers, one was a common west Texas sticker of a kneeling cowboy before a cross, and the other was a football team and that logo was bigger than the other. Unknowingly we have "other loves". Other, if you will, deviations. The call of God is made, how will you be found? Yesterday at a little First Baptist Church, many were found answering the call...of seeking the Lord. May God rest their souls, for being witnesses to Christ's love. I always can agree, where there are wretched things happening, something good wants to happen, like in the instance of this tragedy, something good was happening. I'll give you more insight shortly. First though, we pray today "Lord, in your great love, answer me. But I am afflicted and in pain; let your saving help, O God, protect me. I will praise the name of God in song, and I will glorify him with thanksgiving". Glorify God. Be thankful. Be merciful, and in doing so...be a mercenary, a missionary for God's forces, reclaiming what is rightly His. Yesterday a young reader in church had a hard time pronouncing the word "martyr", and yesterday we hear of martyrs of faith. Religion doesn't kill people, nor guns, nor knives, it is evil spirits killing themselves and desiring to take others with them. This war is against principalities. I encourage you then to do something right now, fasting and prayer. Do this at least until Thanksgiving. I am. To give thanks is to give glory, we just prayed it! Humility needs to enter, and this is Jesus and Mary too shows us the way to HIM! In comes our Lord "Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you." Wait, I'm in a little town, there aren't that many "crippled, lame, and blind" to invite to my next banquet. And wait, how am I supposed to find these 'poor' people? Ah ha! Good question. Seek and ye will find. There are a few things I'm always on the watch for with eagle eyes:
* Bad Spirits
* Poor people
* and rattle snakes
Yesterday I was hanging things on my studio I built in my garage to make room for homeschooling in my previous room. I hung a couple of cursillo posters I had made by loved ones first, then a picture of a monstrance holding the Blessed Sacrament highest which I got from a local deacon and below that a cross made of various nails welded by another deacon friend, and below that I was hanging a glass picture frame that had the picture of Jesus and Mary sacred hearts. I put a screw in the wall, and hung it by its broken hanger and it immediately slipped and crashed on the floor breaking the glass. There was no remedy, I decided to take the glass to the trash can in my garage, I peeled the paper picture off the glass, the trash can was full, I decide to throw the trash in the dumpster. I walk back and decide to leave the can outside the garage and I spotted a large scaly body in a corner. It was a fat rattle snake. I got rid of it. In disbelief, I tried to correlate all the events. It happened with a bad thing, my picture, of faith, had been shattered. I was dismayed and confused. And in the clean up and trying to make salvation out of it, I found a snake in representation of evil trying to come in and harm.
In thanksgiving, I wrote a song, but really the composition is of two things:
*1st: I went to a retreat with my sons and my brother in law this weekend, and decided to record with my phone one song.
2nd: I found a prayer to the Sacred hearts of Jesus and Mary by St. John Eudes.
The 1st, the retreat was put on by Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, and it was at an event center, and they had a great setup with audio and visual and lighting effects to the music and prayers and talks. Within this last year, that church has been attacked, someone had broke into the church and busted all their statues and spray painted things on the walls. Remember? Good things come out of bad. Remember....the cross.
If you want to listen to the song, click here Sacred Hearts. You'll hear people singing, I can't really hear myself but I was singing too, and you can hear little boys laughing, it was my boys that couldn't sit still enjoying the moment in their own way. We had our hands in praise and the Holy Spirit was being invoked. With that note I'll leave you. The poor people aren't that hard to find. I have a blind friend, physically, but I have many more spiritually blind. The lame and the crippled in faith are everywhere. Unable to walk to church, to God. They need me. The world needs the light....JESUS.
Let it be through You.
This is the irrevocable call... | The Sacred Hearts prayer words: https://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/heart/salutation.htm adrian | | |
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