No One Can Separate You from God's Love Mistreatment by anyone, and especially by a parent, can leave us feeling worthless and unloved. When we feel unloved by human beings close to us, it can be difficult to feel loved by God. As you saw in my example, it can get to the point that it affects our life decisions and responses to the world around us. Rejection from others can cause us to reject ourselves. That is a natural reaction, but it is contrary to what our Lord has taught us. Even when we question ourselves, God does not question us. What I mean is this. God knows us. He knows he has given us each numerous gifts and that we are able, with his grace, to use those gifts to their full potential. I promise you that, no matter how badly you feel unsure, unloved, and unworthy, God loves you, and no one or nothing can separate you from his love. —from Forgiving Mother: A Marian Novena of Healing and Peace | †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 | | ST. RICHARD THE KING St. Richard the King (c. 720 A.D.), also known as Richard the Pilgrim, was a Saxon king born in Wessex, England, who was related by blood to the royal house of Kent. His brother-in-law was St. Boniface, and three of his children are numbered among the saints: St. Willibald, St. Winnebald, and St. Walburga. When Willibald was gravely ill as a child, Richard's prayers for his son are said to have saved his life. He wrapped his child in a blanket and took him to the foot of a large crucifix erected near their village, and the child recovered. When Willibald was grown, he convinced his father and brother to accompany him on a missionary pilgrimage to Rome and the Holy Land. St. Richard agreed, renounced his royal estate, and embarked on the journey with his two sons, while his daughter entered a convent. In Italy he became sick and died, and was buried in Tuscany at the Church of San Frediano. Numerous miracles are reported to have occurred at his tomb. Some of his relics were transported to Eichstatt, Germany, where his son Winnebald would become Bishop. His feast day is celebrated on February 7th. | Thursday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Heb 12:18-19, 21-24 Brothers and sisters:
You have not approached that which could be touched
and a blazing fire and gloomy darkness
and storm and a trumpet blast
and a voice speaking words such that those who heard
begged that no message be further addressed to them.
Indeed, so fearful was the spectacle that Moses said,
"I am terrified and trembling."
No, you have approached Mount Zion
and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,
and countless angels in festal gathering,
and the assembly of the firstborn enrolled in heaven,
and God the judge of all,
and the spirits of the just made perfect,
and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant,
and the sprinkled Blood that speaks more eloquently
than that of Abel. Responsorial Psalm Ps 48:2-3ab, 3cd-4, 9, 10-11
R. (see 10) O God, we ponder your mercy within your temple.
Great is the LORD and wholly to be praised
in the city of our God.
His holy mountain, fairest of heights,
is the joy of all the earth.
R. O God, we ponder your mercy within your temple.
Mount Zion, "the recesses of the North,"
the city of the great King.
God is with her castles;
renowned is he as a stronghold.
R. O God, we ponder your mercy within your temple.
As we had heard, so have we seen
in the city of the LORD of hosts,
In the city of our God;
God makes it firm forever.
R. O God, we ponder your mercy within your temple.
O God, we ponder your mercy
within your temple.
As your name, O God, so also your praise
reaches to the ends of the earth.
Of justice your right hand is full.
R. O God, we ponder your mercy within your temple. Alleluia Mk 1:15
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Kingdom of God is at hand;
repent and believe in the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 6:7-13 Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two
and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick
–no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic.
He said to them,
"Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there.
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,
leave there and shake the dust off your feet
in testimony against them."
So they went off and preached repentance.
The Twelve drove out many demons,
and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
| Meditation: Mark 6:7-13 4th Week in Ordinary Time He instructed them to take nothing for the journey. (Mark 6:8) Excited but vulnerable. That's how the apostles must have felt. Jesus was sending them out to preach and to heal with his authority! But he was also sending them without food, money, or an extra tunic. They must have wondered, How are we supposed to do this? Why is Jesus making this so hard for us? Jesus wasn't out to make it difficult for them. He had confidence—both in his heavenly Father and in his apostles. He knew that they were ready to experience the ways God would provide for them with all the wisdom, power, and practical support they needed. He knew that this experience would build their confidence in themselves and deepen their faith in God. And that's just what happened. Most of us can relate to the vulnerability the apostles felt. There are times when we feel ill equipped to share the gospel with people. We feel that we need more patience, more energy, better health, or more discipline. But like the apostles, we can trust God to provide what we need to do the job at hand. He's just waiting for us to take that first step! What is Jesus sending you out to do today? Start with the people closest to you. Care for your family, and in doing so, show them the love of God. Bring peace into your workplace by upholding the dignity of your coworkers, especially when conversations fall into gossip. But don't stop with the "normal" life that's comfortable to you. Let the Holy Spirit call you a bit further today, to a place where you will need to rely on God's provision. Maybe that means joining some friends in prayer in front of an abortion clinic or offering a meal and some companionship to a neighbor struggling with financial problems. Maybe it means finally telling a friend about how God helped you through a difficult situation. Whatever it is, go ahead and take that step. Every step you take will make you more confident. It will make you bolder the next time an opportunity to share the gospel presents itself. Take a step today, and see how God shows up to help! "Jesus, help me step out with trust and confidence in you!" Hebrews 12:18-19, 21-24
Psalm 48:2-4, 9-11 | 2cents:
By far the most catching verse this day has been the encounter with God and Moses, "Indeed, so fearful was the spectacle that Moses said, "I am terrified and trembling." What an honor, that Moses was left in fear and trembling. Yet, one day Moses would fail to obey God to the letter, and was held liable for that. And this a great chosen Prophet of the Most High!! What hope have we? We have much hope, because everything Moses worked for, we have been given, the fulfillment of the promises, the Messiah, and what an honor to live this day and not then, when suffering was worse! Or was it? They were slaves. Slaves of their own passions. They were bought with lures, brought about by sin and laziness. It was hard to break them from this dulling and mortifying lifestyle. It took decades of wandering in the desert, and it took much heartache for Moses. Moses was given the law. The laws were meant to train us for the promised land. To behold the land, to choose life, so that "your descendants might live" said the Holy Word in Deuteronomy 30 " This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life | Let us pray "O God, we ponder your mercy within your temple. As your name, O God, so also your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. Of justice your right hand is full." I believe I learned in a University, in marketing, that one of the most powerful ways to get the word out was by word of mouth. So how did His praise reach to the ends of the earth? And how does it survive through dark times? Word of mouth. Your word will carry on, believe it or not, as it has for thousands of years in the old Covenant to the new. In today's Holy Gospel, our Lord sends out His disciples 2 by 2, in pairs, just as the first covenant was set with Adam and Eve. By all means, Adam and Eve were Holy souls, one tainted by temptation later but that doesn't mean God can not reconcile our fallenness. Moses even had a pair, a cousin to help him speak, and so on down the centuries, to Joseph and Mary, Zechariah and Elizabeth, and the list goes on. The word goes out to the ends of the earth. But Jesus did something particular with these men, for He had given them something like never before...Authority. In exorcisms, the worst ones are always left to the Catholic Church where true authority resides. There demons recognize, are forced to recognize the authority. The authority to save souls. The authority to liberate one from darkness and therefore death. I absolutely love the bible timelines that Ascension Press provides, I'm on my 3rd version, this time with teens. I learn every single time. You don't just learn the bible, you live the bible, the Holy Word of God. Last night, I learned that man was to be the guardian and protector of the garden. But he let his guard down once, and that's all it took. It is a formidable lesson for us this day. We can not let our guard down, or else, slavery will ensue.
How does the devil thrive today? We sell ourselves, and our souls. To work. To recreation, distractions, diversions, for many excursions are just diversions, ways to divert your attention from God. I'd say that most students that are heavily involved in school, are mostly involved with extra-curricular activities, not so much academics. The same is with adults. Most are not so much involved with work, so much as other ideals supposedly based on work.
We must be on guard. We must protect the important. Our Love of God.
+ And so the Disciples followed orders:
"So they went off and preached repentance." Are you preaching repentance and are you practicing what you preach? I dare say, not many. +And so the Disciples: "... drove out many demons". Are you driving out demons? Or are you letting them takeover your household and your church? So many times I hear bad things happening in church groups and people turn their backs on the group, up and leave, and to them I say "why did you leave the group with the devil to divide and destroy?" ▪ And so the Disciples: "... anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them." Does your priest or Bishop anoint with oil? You betcha! Is Baptism like confession or exorcism? You betcha! Is there oil in baptism? You betcha! Lots of anointing going in here, and that's just in the first Holy Sacrament. Then there is confirmation, and anointing of the sick and Holy Orders, and boy, we could just go off on this tangent on anointing for books and books. But the point is, we are to be anointed, and we are called to anoint, with authority, cure the sick. So many infirmities could be healed by visiting a priest and by lay people in prayer and using blessed sacramentals. But it is rare. It is rare to find Catholic Charismatics. It is rare to find Catholics seeking anointing after Baptism. Repentance. The most necessary part of the two part command "preach and heal". That is the duty of the Holy Catholic Church. Bring in sinners and convert them into saints. Saints spawn saints. I will always say this. I had a choice of several saints of the day today; I chose this one to share because (it was optional) it shows how many saints were involved with each other and influenced the lives of future saints.
| ▪ | And so the Disciples: "... anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them." Does your priest or Bishop anoint with oil? You betcha! Is Baptism like confession or exorcism? You betcha! Is there oil in baptism? You betcha! Lots of anointing going in here, and that's just in the first Holy Sacrament. Then there is confirmation, and anointing of the sick and Holy Orders, and boy, we could just go off on this tangent on anointing for books and books. But the point is, we are to be anointed, and we are called to anoint, with authority, cure the sick. So many infirmities could be healed by visiting a priest and by lay people in prayer and using blessed sacramentals. But it is rare. It is rare to find Catholic Charismatics. It is rare to find Catholics seeking anointing after Baptism. Repentance. The most necessary part of the two part command "preach and heal". That is the duty of the Holy Catholic Church. Bring in sinners and convert them into saints. Saints spawn saints. I will always say this. I had a choice of several saints of the day today; I chose this one to share because (it was optional) it shows how many saints were involved with each other and influenced the lives of future saints. | My loved one, we need saints now more than ever. In the future, people will look at our times as dark times, whence people would rip out the unborn from the wombs and throw them away. Whence people didn't care much about what God said. Whence people were too distracted. Whence people were not desiring holiness.
But, in the darkest of times, there light is formed. That's when Jesus comes in the picture.
Think Christmas.
Think Creation.
Think of how light emerges out of darkness.
Think how you are being called to be the light of the world.
Typically I don't get any responses, and I can't feel or gauge how my works are affecting people, but the one or two rare ones I get, I see hope in a hopeless world, light in dark, and this is cause for great joy in this vast world.
Keep it up. Hold those hands high. Give praise, honor, glory, and thanks always, let it be every other word that falls out of your mouth.
Soon, it will be the language of the world. Your world.
The language of God.
Love. |  an audible random bible verse | adrian | |
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