Lord, Speak to My Heart Dear Lord Jesus, help me to be more attentive to you in my life. Forgive me for the times I have neglected to listen to you speaking to my heart. Help me to make a more concerted effort to be prayerful. Please help me to be mindful about my responsibility in leading others to you and away from sin. Thank you for the gift of my guardian angel whom I desire to pray to more often. –from the book Our Lady of Fatima: 100 Years of Stories, Prayers, and Devotions by Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle
franciscan media | ✞Quote
"Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire."
— St. Catherine of Siena ✞MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"We do find, it is true, great battles to fight, and great hardships to master; but that good Mother makes herself so present and so near to her faithful servants, to enlighten them in their darknesses and their doubts, to strengthen them in their fears, and to sustain them in their struggles and their difficulties, that in truth this virginal path to find Jesus Christ is a path of roses and honey compared with other paths."
— St. Louis de Montfort, p. 82
AN EXCERPT FROM
True Devotion to Mary ✞ VERSE OF THE DAY
"May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light."
Colossians 1:11-12 |  click to read more | | Saint Colette (January 13, 1381 – March 6, 1447) Colette did not seek the limelight, but in doing God's will she certainly attracted a lot of attention. Colette was born in Corbie, France. At 21, she began to follow the Third Order Rule and became an anchoress, a woman walled into a room whose only opening was a window into a church. After four years of prayer and penance in this cell, she left it. With the approval and encouragement of the pope, she joined the Poor Clares and reintroduced the primitive Rule of St. Clare in the 17 monasteries she established. Her sisters were known for their poverty—they rejected any fixed income—and for their perpetual fast. Colette's reform movement spread to other countries and is still thriving today. Colette was canonized in 1807. Reflection
Colette began her reform during the time of the Great Western Schism (1378-1417) when three men claimed to be pope and thus divided Western Christianity. The 15th century in general was a very difficult one for the Western Church. Abuses long neglected cost the Church dearly in the following century. Colette's reform indicated the entire Church's need to follow Christ more closely. | Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 Kgs 10:1-10 The queen of Sheba, having heard of Solomon's fame,
came to test him with subtle questions.
She arrived in Jerusalem with a very numerous retinue,
and with camels bearing spices,
a large amount of gold, and precious stones.
She came to Solomon and questioned him on every subject
in which she was interested.
King Solomon explained everything she asked about,
and there remained nothing hidden from him
that he could not explain to her. When the queen of Sheba witnessed Solomon's great wisdom,
the palace he had built, the food at his table,
the seating of his ministers, the attendance and garb of his waiters,
his banquet service,
and the burnt offerings he offered in the temple of the LORD,
she was breathless.
"The report I heard in my country
about your deeds and your wisdom is true," she told the king.
"Though I did not believe the report until I came and saw with my own eyes,
I have discovered that they were not telling me the half.
Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report I heard.
Blessed are your men, blessed these servants of yours,
who stand before you always and listen to your wisdom.
Blessed be the LORD, your God,
whom it has pleased to place you on the throne of Israel.
In his enduring love for Israel,
the LORD has made you king to carry out judgment and justice."
Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty gold talents,
a very large quantity of spices, and precious stones.
Never again did anyone bring such an abundance of spices
as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. Responsorial Psalm PS 37:5-6, 30-31, 39-40
R. (30a) The mouth of the just murmurs wisdom.
Commit to the LORD your way;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will make justice dawn for you like the light;
bright as the noonday shall be your vindication.
R. The mouth of the just murmurs wisdom.
The mouth of the just man tells of wisdom
and his tongue utters what is right.
The law of his God is in his heart,
and his steps do not falter.
R. The mouth of the just murmurs wisdom.
The salvation of the just is from the LORD;
he is their refuge in time of distress.
And the LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
R. The mouth of the just murmurs wisdom. Alleluia See Jn 17:17b, 17a
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Your word, O Lord, is truth:
consecrate us in the truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 7:14-23 Jesus summoned the crowd again and said to them,
"Hear me, all of you, and understand.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile." When he got home away from the crowd
his disciples questioned him about the parable.
He said to them,
"Are even you likewise without understanding?
Do you not realize that everything
that goes into a person from outside cannot defile,
since it enters not the heart but the stomach
and passes out into the latrine?"
(Thus he declared all foods clean.)
"But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him.
From within the man, from his heart,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile."
| Meditation: 1 Kings 10:1-10 She was breathless. (1 Kings 10:5) The splendor and depth of God's wisdom can be a powerful witness indeed! The Queen of Sheba was so taken by Solomon's insight and wisdom—not just by the grandeur of his palace and Temple—that she couldn't help but respond. Scripture tells us that it actually took her breath away. God had blessed Solomon so richly that the queen ended up glorifying God. It may be hard to believe, but using our gifts of insight and wisdom can also be a powerful witness to those around us. You probably don't live in a palace or don't have massive landholdings. But God has blessed you with his indwelling Spirit. And that sets you apart. You stand out! The way you live and the priorities you have can point onlookers to heaven. Your words and responses can demonstrate God's wisdom and gentleness in a critical or selfish setting. As you grow closer to the Lord and give more of your life to him, you become more open to his goodness and wisdom—and that becomes more evident to the people around you. It is this "evidence" that can lead onlookers to come seek out the Lord for themselves and, eventually, to glorify him. Put simply, they will want what you have: peace, confidence, assurance, and firmness of purpose. Jesus wants your light to shine out to other people (Matthew 5:16). This light shouldn't be restricted to the way you pray or to your ability to quote Scripture from memory. If it really is God's light, then it will naturally include his goodness shining through the most everyday aspects of your life. The more your heart is dedicated to God, the easier it is for people to see the Lord and his gifts in you. Think about the gifts that God has given to you. How is his goodness being displayed in your life? How has it increased over the past few years? As you identify these blessings, give thanks and praise to the Lord and dedicate yourself to him even more. Then watch what God does in you and through you. "Holy Spirit, open my eyes and the eyes of those around me to the wonder and majesty of your presence. May we all glorify you for your unbounded generosity." Psalm 37:5-6, 30-31, 39-40
Mark 7:14-23 | my2cents:
The Queen from the south said to the King: "Blessed are your men, blessed these servants of yours, who stand before you always and listen to your wisdom. Blessed be the LORD, your God". Think of Jesus. Think of our Lord's words in Mathew 13:16 "But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.…" Let us pray "The mouth of the just murmurs wisdom. Commit to the LORD your way; trust in him, and he will act. He will make justice dawn for you like the light; bright as the noonday shall be your vindication." There's something I've noticed about people, I was thinking yesterday, people follow other people's ways. You don't just come up with your way. Something sparked the way you live. You follow someone's way. Are we a big mixture of other's ways? Can we not focus on one particular way? Commit to the Lord your way...and He will act...and light will enter and you will be vindicated, truth shall shine! In today's Holy Gospel, our Lord speaks to the heart, "Do you not realize that everything that goes into a person from outside cannot defile... "But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him." In the times of Jesus, there were the Sadducee Jews, they believed in spirits and believed in following the law alone, (reminds me of those believing in bible alone). They were so bound up by the law that they were bound to Romans, basically in cahoots and cahoots had them, Romans were choosing their leaders! Talk about purity being defiled, pure faithfulness out the door, it was all about power and money. Then, you had the Pharisees. They were observants of the law but believed in sanctity, in purity. They tried to be pure but tried to be observants of the law. Then you had the Essenes. They shared property, they lived apart, even couples lived apart in striving hard to be pure, 100% pure. They lived chastely and purely for the coming of the Messiah(s) they awaited two Messiahs, one of Kingly Stature and one from Aaron, more of priestly stature. It is said that Mary was Essene, and perhaps even St. John the Baptist, but St. John was ousted or went outside their circle to preach repentance on the river...reaching out to purify God's temple, His people, preparing the way for the Messiah. He ate locusts, grasshoppers etc, because he was to be pure, nothing defiled touched by defiled hands could enter his mouth. Who do you identify with? Are you caught up in worldly fame, power, and money? No? Not that bad huh? What about those that believe in being hard working and successful in the world yet still try to be pure, and have faith? Lots of these folks around you know. Or are you purely devoted to God, in heart, mind, and soul, and in every single aspect of your life...purely His?
Today, there is the sad disposition that the world is utterly defiled and that it is not good. This is a lie from the devil, declaring that God is not good and therefore what He has created is not good (anymore). God came to set things straight "I did not create junk", "I created you". I read a scripture first thing when I woke up sent by my God-son: "15To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. 16They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed." Titus1:15. Jesus is pure. Jesus believes in the pure. He believes in the Sacred. He was chosen from Heaven, heart from heart, light from light to be the sacrificial lamb to save us lost in wretched sins. It cost Heaven a treasure that you can not measure...blood of love. A pure conscience is a mind at peace with God.
Jesus wants you to be pure. Purely His. Free from sin. He offers freedom. Today's scripture is all about the heart. Evil likes company, but God Loves you. There is a major difference. Do you like God, or do you love God? I think many of us like Him. I admire those whose lives show they love God. They care for the least. God is at work in the world. He loves it. He desires the best for it. He isn't like you and me, when we see something ain't working we give up. He believes and He keeps working it. Inventors fail thousand and thousands of times until they invent something....like electricity, like a spark that changes how we live. Faith is at work because God is at work. He believes in you, that is why you are still alive and reading this.
"Don't give up please
I AM With You
Always " | |
