 clickable | | When Have You Met the Dark? The dark meets each person in unique ways, and our individual thresholds assume varying forms. Each one is significant. When a life experience calls into question the things you've formerly known and believed, the moment can be decisive. From my own journey, I vividly remember times of sheer confusion when I didn't know if I was being overcome by the dark, or by a great love. Then the wondering, too deep for words, if they were in fact the same. —from the book Stars at Night: When Darkness Unfolds As Light by Paula D'Arcy |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"Cast yourself into the arms of God and be very sure that if He wants anything of you, He will fit you for the work and give you strength."
— St. Philip Neri † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"Like a child who fears no danger in his father's protecting arms, we must cast ourselves into the arms of our Heavenly Father, confident that those Hands which sustain the heavens are all powerful to supply our necessities, to uphold us in temptation, and to turn all things to our profit. And why should we not have confidence in God? Is He not the most powerful as well as the most tender of fathers? ... Do not dwell upon your unworthiness or your failings, but raise your eyes to God and consider the infinite goodness and mercy with which He deigns to apply a remedy to all our miseries. Reflect upon the truth of His words, for He has promised to help and comfort all who humbly and confidently invoke His sacred name. Consider also the innumerable benefits which you have hitherto received from His paternal hand, and let His bounty in the past inspire you to trust the future to Him with renewed hope. Above all, consider the merits and sufferings of Christ, which are our principal title to God's grace and mercy, and which form the treasure whence the Church supplies the necessities of her children. It was from a confidence inspired by such motives that the saints drew that strength which rendered them as firm as Mount Sion, and established them in the holy city whence they never could be moved. (Cf. Ps.124:1)."
— Venerable Louis of Grenada, p. 404
AN EXCERPT FROM
The Sinner's Guide † VERSE OF THE DAY
"After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, 'Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!'"
Revelation 7:9-10 |  click to read more | | ST. JOSEPH THE HYMNOGRAPHER St. Joseph the Hymnographer (816-883 A.D.) was born in Sicily to a pious Christian family. When Muslims invaded the island, his family moved to Greece to escape persecution. At the age of 15 he entered a monastery and grew in holiness and virtue. St. Gregory the Dekapolite took Joseph with him to Constantinople to defend the traditional reverence of icons in opposition to the iconoclast heresy. Joseph was then chosen by the local clergy to be a messenger to Pope Leo III to obtain the Holy Father's assistance in battling the iconoclast heretics, who were gaining power and influence. On his way to Rome, Joseph was captured by Muslims who then delivered him into the hands of the iconoclast heretics. While held as a prisoner, St. Nicholas appeared to Joseph and asked him to sing in the name of God. After six years Joseph was freed from prison, and returned to Constantinople where he founded a monastery dedicated to his friend St. Gregory. He also dedicated a church in the name of St. Bartholomew, to whom he had a devotion. St. Bartholomew next appeared to Joseph in a dream and encouraged him to write hymns for the Church. After writing his first hymn in honor of St. Bartholomew, Joseph dedicated other hymns to St. Nicholas, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and other saints. During his life he composed nearly 1,000 hymns. When another wave of iconoclasm arose, he again stood steadfast against it and was exiled for eleven years as a result; he was later exiled a second time for defending orthodox Christian doctrine. He finally died full of years in Constantinople. His feast day is June 14. | Friday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 2 Cor 4:7-15 Brothers and sisters:
We hold this treasure in earthen vessels,
that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us.
We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained;
perplexed, but not driven to despair;
persecuted, but not abandoned;
struck down, but not destroyed;
always carrying about in the Body the dying of Jesus,
so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.
For we who live are constantly being given up to death
for the sake of Jesus,
so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.
Since, then, we have the same spirit of faith,
according to what is written, "I believed, therefore I spoke,"
we too believe and therefore speak,
knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus
will raise us also with Jesus
and place us with you in his presence.
Everything indeed is for you,
so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people
may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God. Responsorial Psalm Ps 116:10-11, 15-16, 17-18 R.(17a) To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I believed, even when I said,
"I am greatly afflicted";
I said in my alarm,
"No man is dependable."
R. To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
O LORD, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.
R. To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
or:
R. Alleluia.
To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people.
R. To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Phil 2:15d, 16a R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Shine like lights in the world,
as you hold on to the word of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 5:27-32 Jesus said to his disciples:
"You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery.
But I say to you,
everyone who looks at a woman with lust
has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
If your right eye causes you to sin,
tear it out and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one of your members
than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.
And if your right hand causes you to sin,
cut it off and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one of your members
than to have your whole body go into Gehenna. "It was also said,
Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.
But I say to you,
whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful)
causes her to commit adultery,
and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery."
| Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Matthew 5:27-32 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. (Matthew 5:29) Pluck out an eye? Lop off a hand? Imagine how the disciples' jaws must have dropped when Jesus said this! His point, however, wasn't that self-mutilation is a necessary step to holiness. It's that God craves our holiness. The purity and faithfulness that he intends for us are worth more, even, than a sound, whole body. God has called you, after all, to be holy as he is holy (1 Peter 1:15). Jesus' life in you, his holiness, is a treasure you carry within yourself. And so, he says, if something threatens that holiness, get rid of it. Throw it away. It's better to do without something than to have it and to sin because you do. A book or magazine, a picture or movie—if lust rises up because of it, discard it. Thoughts that lead you to sin—turn away from them; don't entertain them. But holiness is not just about cutting things out of your life. There are other ways you can preserve and foster holiness. Pick up the Scriptures and read—maybe the story of Jesus' death or a passage that declares your worth in God's sight (Matthew 26–28; Psalm 139). Write a note to remind yourself that you are "created in God's way in righteousness and holiness of truth" (Ephesians 4:24). Sit quietly in prayer and ask the Lord to show you something about the depth of his love for you. Remember too that God earnestly desires you to be holy, and so he is intent on reaching out to help you. So when you are facing temptation and the allure of sin, cry out to him. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you his grace and to help you grow in the fruit of self-control. And if you do fall to temptation, don't despair. God still loves you. No distance, no depth of sin, is ever beyond his reach. He is always ready to forgive you, even if you commit the same sin again and again. Never hesitate to run to him. He will shower you with his mercy—and the grace to live a holy life. "Holy Spirit, help me to be holy as you are holy." 2 Corinthians 4:7-15
Psalm 116:10-11, 15-18 |  clickable | The dead, in fact, really live in God, and through death God's life is revealed more clearly to us. Since Christ's death, all eternal life springs from death.
—Adrienne von Speyr
from The Word: A Meditation on the Prologue to St. John's Gospel | my2cents: "For we who live are constantly being given up to death
for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh."
And for some of us, this must be a daily dying. We should then, practice dying. So that Christ may be manifested in our mortal flesh! Can we practice mortification? Would you practice mortification and penance daily? Hourly? At every moment? Would you offer sacrifice for sin? How about eradicating sin...by a Holy transformation? That is where we are leading. | We pray today: "Precious in the eyes of the LORD is the death of his faithful ones. O LORD, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your handmaid; you have loosed my bonds. To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise". Precious the death of a faithful one? Why? A sacrifice of praise as Jesus Himself is why! | Our Lord said twice today "It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna." Thy say that a bad apple can ruin a bunch. So, get rid of the bad apple. Right? What is that bad apple in your life? How about that serious tendency to sin? We all have concupiscence, but we all are called to perfection, right? So how can we look at the world with the eyes and hands of Jesus? With holiness and compassion.
It is in the daily dying. It is in denying sin. It is in applying the Holy Sacraments and dying to self completely. Once, I had a pervading vision of the climax of Heaven. At the highest level, it was to see God, and to be taken into His light so completely, that you would cease to exist ever again, for you would dive into this eternal light and never be again.
How strange is that? Or would you rather exist in a mediocre life? Because that is the lukewarm faith most choose to live in. Most want it both ways. To live how they want and to say they believe. But that is now what Jesus is calling us to. He wants us completely His. In the world, we are taught to be individualistic, to "be yourself" but Christ calls us to be one and to be one with Him and to be HIM!
Ahh, now we are called to a special death. No longer me, but Him must live...and that costs something don't it? Yes. It costs you...you. Yet losing yourself for Him brings something super special into the world....
That light |  hear it read | adrian Random Bible Verse1
Proverbs 21:17 (Listen)
17 Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man;
he who loves wine and oil will not be rich. Thank You Jesus | |
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