 clickable | | Becoming Truly Childlike A childlike person has a heart that is both uncomplicated and wise, loving, and trusting in God as Father. A childlike person feels sheltered and safe in God's love, with a sound faith and confidence in both God and in his own strength (which has been given to him by God). He lives his life peacefully and without worry about the past or future. A truly childlike person can cope with, and even overcome, anxiety. A child knows that whatever happens to him at every moment was foreseen for him by the Father and will contribute to his formation. The childlike person's only concern is to discover what God wants from him right now. —from Forgiving Mother: A Marian Novena of Healing and Peace | †Quote
"Start by doing what is necessary; then do what is possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible."
— St. Francis of Assisi †MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"No one denies what everyone knows, for nature herself teaches it: that God is the Creator of the universe, and that it is good, and that it belongs to humanity by the free gift of its Creator. But there is a vast difference between the corrupted state and the state of primal purity, just as there is a vast difference between Creator and the corruptor. ... We ourselves, though we're guilty of every sin, are not just a work of God: we're image. Yet we have cut ourselves off from our Creator in both soul and body. Did we get eyes to serve lust, the tongue to speak evil, ears to hear evil, a throat for gluttony, a stomach to be gluttony's ally, hands to do violence, genitals for unchaste excesses, feet for an erring life? Was the soul put in the body to think up traps, fraud, and injustice? I don't think so."
— Tertullian, p. 11
AN EXCERPT FROM
A Year with the Church Fathers † VERSE OF THE DAY
"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."
1 Peter 2:9 |  click to read more | | STS. FRANCISCO & JACINTA MARTO St. Francisco (1908-1919) and St. Jacinta Marto (1910–1920) were siblings and the youngest of the three shepherd children, who, along with their cousin, Lúcia Santos, witnessed three apparitions of an angel in 1916 and six apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1917 while tending sheep in the countryside of Fatima, Portugal. They were entrusted by Our Lady of Fatima with many messages and warnings for the world, and that they were to do penance and pray for the conversion of sinners. Both became prayerful mystics, much wiser than their age, on account of these visits. Although only young children, they faithfully offered up many sacrifices as Our Lady requested, by praying the rosary daily, giving their lunches to the poor, denying themselves water on hot days, wearing a rough rope next to her skin, calmly facing ridicule on account of the apparitions, and bravely enduring the suffering that ended in their deaths. The Blessed Mother told Francisco and Jacinta that they would die young and that she would soon come to take them to heaven. Francisco and Jacinta both fell sick from influenza in 1918. Francisco died first, and Jacinta the next year after a long illness and two hospitalizations. They were canonized by Pope Francis on May 13, 2017, the 100th anniversary of the first Apparition of Our Lady of Fátima. Their feast day is February 20th. | Wednesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Gn 8:6-13, 20-22 At the end of forty days Noah opened the hatch he had made in the ark,
and he sent out a raven,
to see if the waters had lessened on the earth.
It flew back and forth until the waters dried off from the earth.
Then he sent out a dove,
to see if the waters had lessened on the earth.
But the dove could find no place to alight and perch,
and it returned to him in the ark,
for there was water all over the earth.
Putting out his hand, he caught the dove
and drew it back to him inside the ark.
He waited seven days more and again sent the dove out from the ark.
In the evening the dove came back to him,
and there in its bill was a plucked-off olive leaf!
So Noah knew that the waters had lessened on the earth.
He waited still another seven days
and then released the dove once more;
and this time it did not come back. In the six hundred and first year of Noah's life,
in the first month, on the first day of the month,
the water began to dry up on the earth.
Noah then removed the covering of the ark
and saw that the surface of the ground was drying up. Noah built an altar to the LORD,
and choosing from every clean animal and every clean bird,
he offered burnt offerings on the altar.
When the LORD smelled the sweet odor, he said to himself:
"Never again will I doom the earth because of man
since the desires of man's heart are evil from the start;
nor will I ever again strike down all living beings, as I have done.
As long as the earth lasts,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
Summer and winter,
and day and night
shall not cease." Responsorial Psalm pS 116:12-13, 14-15, 18-19
R. (17a) To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
or:
R. Alleluia. How shall I make a return to the LORD
for all the good he has done for me?
The cup of salvation I will take up,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
R. To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
or:
R. Alleluia.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people.
Precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
R. To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
or:
R. Alleluia.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people,
In the courts of the house of the LORD,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
R. To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia See Eph 1:17-18
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our hearts,
that we may know what is the hope
that belongs to his call.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 8:22-26 When Jesus and his disciples arrived at Bethsaida,
people brought to him a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.
He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village.
Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on the man and asked,
"Do you see anything?"
Looking up the man replied, "I see people looking like trees and walking."
Then he laid hands on the man's eyes a second time and he saw clearly;
his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly.
Then he sent him home and said, "Do not even go into the village."
| Meditation: Mark 8:22-26 6th Week in Ordinary Time He laid his hands on the man's eyes a second time and he saw clearly. (Mark 8:25) People who are blind often use guide dogs to "see" for them. But learning to work with a guide dog is not something that happens automatically. It can take weeks or even months for the blind person and the dog to learn how to trust each other and work together. But once that happens, the blind person often feels free to go almost anywhere. The blind man in this passage knew that Jesus was a miracle worker and healer. He wanted to see, but he must have been unsure about where Jesus was leading him and what he was doing. He had to trust in the Lord. How many times have you found yourself in a situation like this man, not knowing where you are going or how Jesus is going to work things out? You might have felt confused: Why is God letting this happen? How will he resolve this situation? When am I finally going to be able to see what he is up to? If you're feeling that way now, picture this blind man leaning on Jesus and letting Jesus lead him. Step-by-step he trusted in him, believing that Jesus could heal him. Now imagine yourself with Jesus instead. Imagine him taking you by the hand and guiding you. You don't know where he is leading you, but you trust that he knows what is best. You trust that even if you don't understand what's happening at the moment, you will someday. Like the trust that builds between a blind person and her guide dog, we need to build up our trust in the Lord over time. We do that by staying close to him and letting him guide us in those times when we aren't facing a crisis. As we learn to trust him with small things, we will be more peaceful when we are faced with serious challenges. We will know from experience that God is on our side, and we will grow in confidence that he will eventually help us to see our challenges through his eyes of love. What's on your mind today? Bring it to Jesus. Then lean on him and let him guide you. Trust that he will help you to see! "Jesus, you are always here for me. Give me the grace to trust you more and more." Genesis 8:6-13, 20-22
Psalm 116:12-15, 18-19 |  clickable | To claim the right to abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia, and to recognize that right in law, means to attribute to human freedom a perverse and evil significance: that of an absolute power over others and against others.
—Pope John Paul II
from Evangelium Vitae | 2cents:
"He waited seven days more and again sent the dove out from the ark. In the evening the dove came back to him, and there in its bill was a plucked-off olive leaf!" What does this mean? Peace. Peace returned. A piece of peace. A new hope. A new promise. God restores man. To Himself. A restoration took place after a devastation. What we don't know is the rest of the story, how did they restore? For sure, it began with a thanksgiving. Think Eucharist. A sacrifice of gratitude. For lent, will your sacrifice be of gratitude? For Thanksgiving? Yes. Giving will be the clue. | Let us pray: "To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise. How shall I make a return to the LORD for all the good he has done for me?
The cup of salvation I will take up,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD. " There was another time our Lord spoke about a cup and it was the moment of giving His life before His life was taken, as He wept and sweated blood, saying "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done." And at that moment, He gave up His life to God our Father. "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." This is the olive branch Jesus extends. A sanctification in the unification, true bread and true light into our night. How do we give thanks to our Lord? I'm always wondering how thankful we are. Who goes on their knees all the way to the altar? Only a soul that has realized a marvel, one that has been cut open, like the sacrifice of Noah, and this smelled so good in Heaven. | In the Holy Gospel, our Lord is found at the geographic location commonly known for miracles, Bethsaida. In Aramaic, Bethsaida means "house of mercy". This is where mercy works wonders. But. BUT! That is the kicker. Mercy won't force itself on you. Our Lord is not a forceful being. Mercy enters when we force ourselves to turn to Him...for mercy. Because our nature doesn't want to ask for forgiveness. Most of the time, we are like "what do I need mercy for? I have done no wrong!". Right? That my beloved, that is not humility. Humility is rare in humanity, and that is odd because we are designed for humility, out of humility, dust, dirt, earth's crust. Do you remember? | Jesus uses spittle to heal. "Do you see anything?" Now, you don't get to see Jesus for no reason...you have to seek Him. This blind man sought, and found. The man replied ""I see people looking like trees and walking." OOPS. Did our Lord not do it right? Trees planted by water live. Let us go to Job14:7 "For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease." Think Jesus. In the book of Daniel we hear: "The tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. " It is said of Jesus in Luke 2:52 "And the Child (Jesus) grew and became strong. He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him." He reached Heaven, visible to the whole earth.
"Then he laid hands on the man's eyes a second time and he saw clearly". What this man saw at first miracle, was the spiritual world. We are like trees that give fruit. And we will be known by our fruit. Not so much as what you said, but the fruit that you left. I encourage you to bear good fruit. And always. How? Tap into the water of eternity. | Do you want to know how?
I know you do. |  I got a random audio bible verse as I wrote to you today, click to hear it | adrian
Random Bible Verse:
Jude 1:20-21 (Listen) 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. Thank You Jesus | |
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