 clickable | | Love and Community God is love, light, truth, and beauty. God is like a mother, gently trying to coax another step out of a young child learning to walk, God exists as an infinite patience that endures all things. The cross of Christ reveals that God works far differently than do our imaginations. God never overpowers anyone. God's power to create love and community. —from the book The Passion and the Cross by Ronald Rolheiser |  clickable: The Following is from MorningOffering | †Saint Quote "I will simply counsel every man and woman to beware of even the very least speck of [pride], which seems to me to be the mere delight and liking of ourselves for anything whatsoever that either is in us or outwardly belongs to us."
— St. Thomas More † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"For it was while Eve was yet a virgin that the ensnaring word had crept into her ear which was to build the edifice of death. Into a virgin's soul, in like manner, must be introduced that Word of God which was to raise the fabric of life; so that what had been reduced to ruin by this sex might by the selfsame sex be recovered to salvation. As Eve believed the serpent, so Mary believed the angel. The delinquency which the one occasioned by believing, the other effaced by believing."
— Tertullian, p.44
AN EXCERPT FROM
Hail, Holy Queen † VERSE OF THE DAY
"The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore."
Psalm 121:5-8 |  click to read more | | ST. TERESA OF THE ANDES St. Teresa of Jesus (1900 - 1920), also known as St. Teresa of the Andes, was born in Chile to an upper class family. She was a pious child with a profound spirituality and a deep devotion to Jesus and Mary. Yet she was also stubborn and self-centered, defects which she diligently set herself to overcome in preparation for her First Holy Communion at the age of 10. Inspired by reading the autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux, and confirmed by prayer, at the age of 14 she decided to become a Carmelite nun. Five years later her desire was realized. In May of 1919, at the age of 19, she entered the Carmelite monastery of Los Andes where she lived a life of prayer and sacrifice. She also took to writing letters through which she shared her remarkable spiritual life with the outside world. It was revealed to her in prayer that she would die young, which she accepted with happiness and confidence. A few months after her entry she contracted typhoid fever, from which she died in April of 1920 during Holy Week. Before her death she was permitted to profess her vows. She was canonized by Pope St. John Paul II in 1993, the first Chilean and the first Discalced Carmelite nun outside of Europe to be declared a saint. Her feast day is April 12. | Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent Reading 1 Jer 20:10-13 I hear the whisperings of many:
"Terror on every side!
Denounce! let us denounce him!"
All those who were my friends
are on the watch for any misstep of mine.
"Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail,
and take our vengeance on him."
But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion:
my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.
In their failure they will be put to utter shame,
to lasting, unforgettable confusion.
O LORD of hosts, you who test the just,
who probe mind and heart,
Let me witness the vengeance you take on them,
for to you I have entrusted my cause.
Sing to the LORD,
praise the LORD,
For he has rescued the life of the poor
from the power of the wicked! Responsorial Psalm Ps 18:2-3a, 3bc-4, 5-6, 7
R. (see 7) In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
I love you, O LORD, my strength,
O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
My God, my rock of refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!
Praised be the LORD, I exclaim,
and I am safe from my enemies.
R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
The breakers of death surged round about me,
the destroying floods overwhelmed me;
The cords of the nether world enmeshed me,
the snares of death overtook me.
R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.
In my distress I called upon the LORD
and cried out to my God;
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
R. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice. Verse Before the Gospel See Jn 6:63c, 68c Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life;
you have the words of everlasting life. Gospel Jn 10:31-42 The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus.
Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from my Father.
For which of these are you trying to stone me?"
The Jews answered him,
"We are not stoning you for a good work but for blasphemy.
You, a man, are making yourself God."
Jesus answered them,
"Is it not written in your law, 'I said, 'You are gods"'?
If it calls them gods to whom the word of God came,
and Scripture cannot be set aside,
can you say that the one
whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world
blasphemes because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?
If I do not perform my Father's works, do not believe me;
but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me,
believe the works, so that you may realize and understand
that the Father is in me and I am in the Father."
Then they tried again to arrest him;
but he escaped from their power. He went back across the Jordan
to the place where John first baptized, and there he remained.
Many came to him and said,
"John performed no sign,
but everything John said about this man was true."
And many there began to believe in him.
| Meditation: John 10:31-42 5th Week of Lent The Father is in me and I am in the Father. (John 10:38) The Jewish leaders had to admit that there was actually something good about Jesus. He was awakening sincere faith in many people and was even helping sinners repent and return to God. But now he made a statement they just couldn't tolerate. He had already called himself the "Son of God," which was troubling enough (John 10:36). Now he claimed he was equal to God. Picking up rocks, they closed in on him, ready to silence his blasphemy once and for all. If we were in Jesus' situation, we might want to look for a way out. But Jesus responded directly: "I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of these are you trying to stone me?" (John 10:32). Jesus wasn't trying to intimidate them by reminding them of his power; he just wanted them to see that he was ministering his Father's love to his people. He wasn't trying to claim any glory for himself. All he wanted to do was give glory to his Father. The same holds true for us. How could we possibly keep quiet about God, our heavenly Father? He is the One who sent Jesus to redeem us. He is the One behind all the works of mercy that the Church does around the world. He is the One behind every word of love, reconciliation, and hope that we speak. It is his own Spirit who gives us our strength. It's only because he has touched our hearts, forgiven our sins, and filled us with his love that we can share that love with other people. If you want to stay strong as Jesus did when faced with opposition, stay connected to the Father. Strive to put your relationship with him above everything else. That way, you'll be able to receive his inspiration, his strength, and his grace. Then, when your faith is challenged, you can respond with the one thing that will convince any skeptical heart: the love of God. When people see your Father shining through your words and actions, they'll be drawn to him, and they'll come to know that he is the answer they've been looking for. "Lord, help me to keep your love in the forefront of my mind." Jeremiah 20:10-13
Psalm 18:2-7 |  clickable | You and I came into the world to live; He came into the world to offer His life for us.
—Archbishop Fulton Sheen
from A Voice from Calvary | 2cents:
"But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph." In some translations it says He is with me, like a mighty warrior. Regardless, in the end, Love wins. God has the final say. If we can agree to that end, how can we not agree to follow Him in unison with Christ this very moment, the forever now? | Let us pray "In my distress I called upon the LORD and cried out to my God;
From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears." What if I told you God hears the language of sincerity? Would you believe? Too many of our prayers are from teeth out, from mind forth, but not from within. I'm leading you to faith. | Our Lord Jesus said "...so that you may realize and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father." Believe at least the obvious, the works. The miracles. He raised several from death? Will you believe? He heals a multitude of sick people. Will you believe now? He freed demoniacs from a life of being used and abused. Can you believe now? What other works will He have to perform? The one of liberation that we do not desire....liberation from sin. The atrocity of sin has most locked in. | So, as they were blinded by sin, corroded by darkness, they aimed to arrest Him and have Him crucified. Sin is blinding. They say love is blind but sin is blinding. Drugs are a good analogy. Some "blackout" and don't know what they are doing in their right minds. One prisoner said he was so high on drugs that in a fight with a girlfriend he shot her. What do you do in your own fits of rage? Do you lash out?
Why do we not let the lashings strike us as they did the back of our Lord.
Can we not endure? Let pride be whipped out of us, let pride whip you.
It's not pretty. You are being humiliated. But can you offer it up for our Lord?
The mighty warrior enters the picture. I wrote a song a bout the Warrior, Jesus. In the song, it says that our Lord Hit His knees. The arrows were thrown all over Him and around Him. The devil through everything and the kitchen sink at Him. The song says "God has chosen me". Over and over the song says it, meaning you are a warrior too. (Listen here).
The song is ultimately about being humble and obedient.
Those two things are lacking in the world.
Christ needs to flourish, just like His precious blood and water that give life to our lives.
When you get up in the morning, do you hit your knees? During the day do you look up to our Warrior God and say "I love and honor you My Lord and Father". Do you hit your knees with your family day in and day out? I asked all my 9th graders this week, one by one, "do you pray with your family every single day?" Most said no, about 90%. I said "that is normal". Normally we don't hit our knees.
Humility is gained on our knees. It is to bow down before our Lord. God allows Himself to be punished. How's that?
Let's focus on that as Passion Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday.
Sure you'll cry when you serve the Lord, it is hard stuff. The cross is not made of feathers and sponges. It is made of splinters and weighs a ton. This is the Way God has chosen... |  click to hear the bible verse | adrian Random Bible Verse1
Matthew 12:36-37 (Listen) 36 "I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." Thank You Jesus | |
No comments:
Post a Comment