What Do We Do With This Great Love? Francis's own song defined love for him. It was to live and be in God's most holy will. And Francis has learned from Christ's own words in the Gospels what God's will is for those who love him. They are to feed the hungry, give drink to those who thirst, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, visit the sick and those in prison. And they are to do all that for love of his love who did the same for us when he walked among us. He remembered when he was hungry and thirsty, and a stranger, and naked, sick and in prison. And there were those who gave him food and water, and welcomed him and the brothers when they were on the road, and those who visited him when he was sick, and wanted to visit him in prison and could not. Love is of the heart, Francis thought, but loving is about acting and living out God's will revealed in Jesus Christ and in those who love him. How simple it all was if you loved the Lord. And it was good, and now he had done what was his to do. He prayed the brothers would do now what was theirs to do. —from Surrounded by Love: Seven Teachings from Saint Francis | †Quote
"A man who governs his passions is master of his world. We must either command them or be enslaved by them. It is better to be a hammer than an anvil."
— St. Dominic † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"Each of us must come to the evening of life. Each of us must enter on eternity. Each of us must come to that quiet, awful time, when we will appear before the Lord of the vineyard, and answer for the deeds done in the body, whether they be good or bad. That, my dear brethren, you will have to undergo. ... It will be the dread moment of expectation when your fate for eternity is in the balance, and when you are about to be sent forth as the companion of either saints or devils, without possibility of change. There can be no change; there can be no reversal. As that judgment decides it, so it will be for ever and ever. Such is the particular judgment. ... when we find ourselves by ourselves, one by one, in his presence, and have brought before us most vividly all the thoughts, words, and deeds of this past life. Who will be able to bear the sight of himself? And yet we shall be obliged steadily to confront ourselves and to see ourselves. In this life we shrink from knowing our real selves. We do not like to know how sinful we are. We love those who prophecy smooth things to us, and we are angry with those who tell us of our faults. But on that day, not one fault only, but all the secret, as well as evident, defects of our character will be clearly brought out. We shall see what we feared to see here, and much more. And then, when the full sight of ourselves comes to us, who will not wish that he had known more of himself here, rather than leaving it for the inevitable day to reveal it all to him!"
— Blessed John Henry Newman, p.101
AN EXCERPT FROM
A Year with the Saints † VERSE OF THE DAY
"Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom."
James 3:13 |  click to read more | | Saints Cyril and Methodius (Cyril: c. 827 – February 14, 869; Methodius: c. 815 – April 6, 884) Because their father was an officer in a part of Greece inhabited by many Slavs, these two Greek brothers ultimately became missionaries, teachers, and patrons of the Slavic peoples. After a brilliant course of studies, Cyril (called Constantine until he became a monk shortly before his death) refused the governorship of a district such as his brother had accepted among the Slavic-speaking population. Cyril withdrew to a monastery where his brother Methodius had become a monk after some years in a governmental post. A decisive change in their lives occurred when the Duke of Moravia asked the Eastern Emperor Michael for political independence from German rule and ecclesiastical autonomy (having their own clergy and liturgy). Cyril and Methodius undertook the missionary task. Cyril's first work was to invent an alphabet, still used in some Eastern liturgies. His followers probably formed the Cyrillic alphabet. Together they translated the Gospels, the psalter, Paul's letters and the liturgical books into Slavonic, and composed a Slavonic liturgy, highly irregular then. That and their free use of the vernacular in preaching led to opposition from the German clergy. The bishop refused to consecrate Slavic bishops and priests, and Cyril was forced to appeal to Rome. On the visit to Rome, he and Methodius had the joy of seeing their new liturgy approved by Pope Adrian II. Cyril, long an invalid, died in Rome 50 days after taking the monastic habit. Methodius continued mission work for 16 more years. He was papal legate for all the Slavic peoples, consecrated a bishop and then given an ancient see (now in the Czech Republic). When much of their former territory was removed from their jurisdiction, the Bavarian bishops retaliated with a violent storm of accusation against Methodius. As a result, Emperor Louis the German exiled Methodius for three years. Pope John VIII secured his release. Because the Frankish clergy, still smarting, continued their accusations, Methodius had to go to Rome to defend himself against charges of heresy and uphold his use of the Slavonic liturgy. He was again vindicated. Legend has it that in a feverish period of activity, Methodius translated the whole Bible into Slavonic in eight months. He died on Tuesday of Holy Week, surrounded by his disciples, in his cathedral church. Opposition continued after his death, and the work of the brothers in Moravia was brought to an end and their disciples scattered. But the expulsions had the beneficial effect of spreading the spiritual, liturgical, and cultural work of the brothers to Bulgaria, Bohemia and southern Poland. Patrons of Moravia, and specially venerated by Catholic Czechs, Slovaks, Croatians, Orthodox Serbians and Bulgarians, Cyril and Methodius are eminently fitted to guard the long-desired unity of East and West. In 1980, Pope John Paul II named them additional co-patrons of Europe (with Benedict).
Reflection Holiness means reacting to human life with God's love: human life as it is, crisscrossed with the political and the cultural, the beautiful and the ugly, the selfish and the saintly. For Cyril and Methodius much of their daily cross had to do with the language of the liturgy. They are not saints because they got the liturgy into Slavonic, but because they did so with the courage and humility of Christ.
Saints Cyril and Methodius are the Patron Saints of: Slavic Peoples
Ecumenism | Memorial of Saints Cyril, Monk, and Methodius, Bishop Reading 1 Gn 2:18-25 The LORD God said:
"It is not good for the man to be alone.
I will make a suitable partner for him."
So the LORD God formed out of the ground
various wild animals and various birds of the air,
and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them;
whatever the man called each of them would be its name.
The man gave names to all the cattle,
all the birds of the air, and all the wild animals;
but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man. So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man,
and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs
and closed up its place with flesh.
The LORD God then built up into a woman
the rib that he had taken from the man.
When he brought her to the man, the man said: "This one, at last, is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
this one shall be called 'woman,'
for out of 'her man' this one has been taken." That is why a man leaves his father and mother
and clings to his wife,
and the two of them become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame. Responsorial Psalm Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5
R. (see 1a) Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork; blessed shall you be, and favored.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
Your children like olive plants
around your table.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord. Alleluia Jas 1:21bc
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you
and is able to save your souls.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 7:24-30 Jesus went to the district of Tyre.
He entered a house and wanted no one to know about it,
but he could not escape notice.
Soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him.
She came and fell at his feet.
The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth,
and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter.
He said to her, "Let the children be fed first.
For it is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs."
She replied and said to him,
"Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children's scraps."
Then he said to her, "For saying this, you may go.
The demon has gone out of your daughter."
When the woman went home, she found the child lying in bed
and the demon gone. | Meditation: Genesis 2:18-25 Saints Cyril, Monk, and Methodius, Bishop (Memorial) It is not good for the man to be alone. (Genesis 2:18) If you love a good romance story, especially on St. Valentine's Day, you'll appreciate today's first reading. When God creates a woman out of the first man's rib and presents her to him, the man reacts with pure delight and satisfaction. Finally he has found his soul mate, the "suitable partner" he had been searching for (Genesis 2:18). This passage is clearly about God's plan for marriage, but there's another truth here that applies to everyone—married, single, divorced, widowed, priests, and religious. God never designed any of us to be alone. He created us in such a way that we thrive on the love and support of other people. We need those special people in our lives who will care for us, listen to us, and help us to grow in faith. Yet too many people today feel lonely and isolated. Studies have shown that isolation affects us emotionally and spiritually. It can cause us to magnify our problems. It can leave us open to feelings of self-pity and self-doubt. It can even cause sickness. And it just plain hurts. It's very easy to become so busy and preoccupied that we lose sight of the people who might need some of our time and attention. We all know someone who suffers from loneliness; it could be a member of our extended family or even someone in our own home. A simple visit, phone call, or invitation to dinner can make a huge difference in that person's life. It can tell them that they are valued. It can help lift them out of any sadness or fear they might be feeling. It can encourage them to reach out and form new relationships. If you're feeling lonely yourself, think about the people you know who might be in a similar situation. Don't wait for someone to reach out to you; reach out to them instead. Even if you are housebound, a phone call can be a source of great blessing and comfort—and it will probably help you as well. It's not good for any of us to be alone. God wants us to be one body in Christ. We can be Christ's presence today to someone who might be feeling isolated, lonely, or forgotten. "Lord, help me to reach out in love to one lonely person today." Psalm 128:1-5
Mark 7:24-30 |  clickable | Nothing in this world is of value until offered or dedicated to a higher end. What is the worth of land unless we do something with it? What is the worth of our body unless it is spent for Christ?
—Ven. Fulton J. Sheen
from The Priest is Not His Own | 2cents:
"It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him." Holy scripture can be right down confusing and dumbfounding and then...completely amazing. But at first all this confusion, right? How did God create everything out of nothing? How come? That's the most important theological question and for philosophers. Why? And so, the world proposes human reasoning. But God imposes His reason. Man was created for the Sabbath. To give Glory to God. And He saw that man had no "suitable" parnter. So He creates one in HIS image. Oh no, here we come, all of us created in HIS image....now things get amazing...amen? | Let us pray: "Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways! For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork; blessed shall you be, and favored." I fear. But what do I fear? Who do I fear? God you know what I fear and who I fear. I pray Lord, that I may fear You most..love You most, admire You most, honor You most, revere You most. Please Lord, I want to be blessed, and walk in Your ways and eat the fruit of my handiwork...blessed. | In comes our Lord, our Love, and He meets a woman, when He was trying not to be seen, but she found Him. Strange. How did she find Him? Determination. Persistence. The importance of her mission. Think Church. We must be persistent. Determined. Focused on our goal. For the betterment...Salvation. She finds Him, and begins pleading. Our Lord reprimands "... it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs." Why would He call her and her daughter dogs? I once heard that our wisdom is no match for God's wisdom, it'd be like taking your little dog to the huge library and the dog would never understand what you got to show him, never fully comprehend, because it is impossible. We are those dogs in that sense. Anyhow, this woman was not a follower, and was most likely a Pagan, and probably came from a family that worshiped idols and other false gods. Now, her daughter was severely infected with a demon. All other gods had failed her pleas. She'd now run to Jesus for help. | This should serve everyone as a lesson on many fronts. First, never leave God's side, for we were formed from His side, His Holy Church, to be His Divine image in the world. Second, if you do leave, COME BACK, the sooner the better, the better for our Soul and for true love. I watched a video yesterday and the priest said that a survey was done and the results were "From the report: "Almost half of Millennials (47%) agree at least somewhat that it is wrong to share one's personal beliefs with someone of a different faith in hopes that they will one day share the same faith." The young generation believes it is wrong to bring others to Christ. Unlike the Canaanite woman who believed bringing others to Jesus was salvation, nowadays, it is more Pagan than previous paganism. The millenials prefer silence. More and more are preferring silence. The world is telling you "make your beliefs personal, and then...keep them private". Meanwhile they are bringing out all private and personal things into Marriage, destroying the sacredness of Holy Matrimony. The word "matrimony" comes from the meaning "making a mother". A sacred Bond. Think Adam...from which comes Eve...the mother. Now think of real love. If I love you, I am concerned about your future, salvation. Honestly, I've been somewhat in the dumps for the last couple weeks. Why? It's not all the funerals, and I'm about to leave to help at another. No, it's the living. So many of my friends and family are like the Pagans. I hold out hope, because of today's Holy Gospel, the words of Jesus, for when she finally found Him, He says with so much mercy and love ""For saying this, you may go. The demon has gone out of your daughter."
Her intercessions delivered her loved one from a demon.
WOW.
I just got amazed again after typing WOW, I received a random bible verse that said: Random Bible Verse1
John 6:35 (Listen) Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." WOW WOW WOW!!! |  I got a random audio bible verse as I wrote to you today, click to hear it | adrian Thank You Jesus | |
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