 clickable | | Our Life in Christ Sustains Us Whether we consciously admit to it or not, our faith—our life in Christ—has sustained us throughout the ups and downs of our lives. It has sustained us in moments of new life and in death, at times of sickness, and at those times when we struggle to give meaning to painful situations. We believe because the Lord Jesus has first seen us, singled us out, and breathed on us his life-giving Spirit. –from the book Meeting God in the Upper Room by Monsignor Peter Vaghi |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe."
— St. Augustine † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"If you are thinking of becoming a Christian, I warn you, you are embarking on something which is going to take the whole of you, brains and all. But, fortunately, it works the other way around. Anyone who is honestly trying to be a Christian will soon find his intelligence being sharpened: one of the reasons why it needs no special education to be a Christian is that Christianity is an education itself."
— C. S. Lewis, p. 78
AN EXCERPT FROM
Mere Christianity † VERSE OF THE DAY
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body."
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 |  click to read more | | Saint Oliver Plunkett (November 1, 1629 – July 1, 1681) The name of today's saint is especially familiar to the Irish and the English—and with good reason. The English martyred Oliver Plunkett for defending the faith in his native Ireland during a period of severe persecution. Born in County Meath in 1629, Oliver studied for the priesthood in Rome and was ordained there in 1654. After some years of teaching and service to the poor of Rome he was appointed Archbishop of Armagh in Ireland. Four years later, in 1673, a new wave of anti-Catholic persecution began, forcing Archbishop Plunkett to do his pastoral work in secrecy and disguise and to live in hiding. Meanwhile, many of his priests were sent into exile, schools were closed, Church services had to be held in secret, and convents and seminaries were suppressed. As archbishop, Plunkett was viewed as ultimately responsible for any rebellion or political activity among his parishioners. Archbishop Plunkett was arrested and imprisoned in Dublin Castle in 1679, but his trial was moved to London. After deliberating for 15 minutes, a jury found him guilty of fomenting revolt. He was hanged, drawn, and quartered in July 1681. Pope Paul VI canonized Oliver Plunkett in 1975.
Reflection Stories like that of Oliver Plunkett seem to fit history. "Things like that don't happen today" is often our thought. But they do. False accusations, prejudice, anti-Catholic sentiments, racism, sexism, etc. are still an active reality in our day. Maybe a prayer to Saint Oliver for peace and justice may be appropriate. | Tuesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Gn 19:15-29 As dawn was breaking, the angels urged Lot on, saying, "On your way!
Take with you your wife and your two daughters who are here,
or you will be swept away in the punishment of Sodom."
When he hesitated, the men, by the LORD's mercy,
seized his hand and the hands of his wife and his two daughters
and led them to safety outside the city.
As soon as they had been brought outside, he was told:
"Flee for your life!
Don't look back or stop anywhere on the Plain.
Get off to the hills at once, or you will be swept away."
"Oh, no, my lord!" Lot replied,
"You have already thought enough of your servant
to do me the great kindness of intervening to save my life.
But I cannot flee to the hills to keep the disaster from overtaking me,
and so I shall die.
Look, this town ahead is near enough to escape to.
It's only a small place.
Let me flee there–it's a small place, is it not?–
that my life may be saved."
"Well, then," he replied,
"I will also grant you the favor you now ask.
I will not overthrow the town you speak of.
Hurry, escape there!
I cannot do anything until you arrive there."
That is why the town is called Zoar. The sun was just rising over the earth as Lot arrived in Zoar;
at the same time the LORD rained down sulphurous fire
upon Sodom and Gomorrah
from the LORD out of heaven.
He overthrew those cities and the whole Plain,
together with the inhabitants of the cities
and the produce of the soil.
But Lot's wife looked back, and she was turned into a pillar of salt. Early the next morning Abraham went to the place
where he had stood in the LORD's presence.
As he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah
and the whole region of the Plain,
he saw dense smoke over the land rising like fumes from a furnace. Thus it came to pass: when God destroyed the Cities of the Plain,
he was mindful of Abraham by sending Lot away from the upheaval
by which God overthrew the cities where Lot had been living. Responsorial Psalm Ps 26:2-3, 9-10, 11-12 R.(3a) O Lord, your mercy is before my eyes.
Search me, O LORD, and try me;
test my soul and my heart.
For your mercy is before my eyes,
and I walk in your truth.
R. O Lord, your mercy is before my eyes.
Gather not my soul with those of sinners,
nor with men of blood my life.
On their hands are crimes,
and their right hands are full of bribes.
R. O Lord, your mercy is before my eyes.
But I walk in integrity;
redeem me, and have mercy on me.
My foot stands on level ground;
in the assemblies I will bless the LORD.
R. O Lord, your mercy is before my eyes. Alleluia Ps 130:5 R. Alleluia, alleluia
I trust in the LORD;
my soul trusts in his word.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 8:23-27 As Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him.
Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea,
so that the boat was being swamped by waves;
but he was asleep.
They came and woke him, saying,
"Lord, save us! We are perishing!"
He said to them, "Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?"
Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea,
and there was great calm.
The men were amazed and said, "What sort of man is this,
whom even the winds and the sea obey?"
| Meditation: Matthew 8:23-27 13th Week in Ordinary Time What sort of man is this? (Matthew 8:27) In today's Gospel, Jesus and his disciples get caught in a storm at sea. Not just a little cloudburst, mind you, but a "violent storm" (Matthew 8:24). The word that Matthew uses to describe the storm comes from the Greek seismos, literally, "earthquake." Matthew uses seismos four times in his Gospel, and each time, it signals a deeper revelation about the identity of Jesus. It's as if Matthew were saying, "Pay attention! God is unveiling something important here!" Let's see what God is showing us through these earthquakes. In today's passage, Jesus is fast asleep in the boat amid the tumult while the disciples panic. When they rouse him, it takes only one command to calm the wind and the waves. Matthew is telling us that Jesus is no ordinary rabbi. He is Lord over creation, even when he appears to be asleep. Surely this comforted Matthew's first-century readers when persecution came their way. In Matthew 24:7, Jesus describes his Second Coming by saying that earthquakes will precede it as a sign that he is near. Then, after the earthquake comes the revelation: all mankind "will see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven" (24:30). Here God reveals that Jesus is the powerful Son of Man (Daniel 7:13), the Lord who will reign over all of history. Matthew's next reference to an earthquake occurs during Jesus' passion at his death. In chapter 27, when Jesus gave up his spirit, "the earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised" (27:51-52). This time the revelation comes through the Roman centurion and his men: "When they saw the earthquake . . . , they said, 'Truly, this was the Son of God!'" (27:54). Matthew's final earthquake occurs at Jesus' resurrection: "There was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it" (28:2) What is this revelation? Jesus is risen. He is God, sovereign over death itself. Lord over creation. Lord over history. Victor over death. True Son of God. Surely Jesus can help you in your personal "earthquakes"! "Jesus, I trust that you will help me find you whenever I feel shaken." Genesis 19:15-29
Psalm 26:2-3, 9-12 |  clickable | The Family is at the root of all society, and the Family Spirit is a special quality that feeds the Family with vigor and vitality. When that spirit is present, there is a desire to cling together in time of crisis, to sacrifice in time of need and strength to face the demands of communal living.
—Mother Angelica
from Mother Angelica on Prayer & Living for the Kingdom | my2cents:
""Flee for your life! Don't look back or stop anywhere on the Plain."
1 Corinthians 6:18 says:
But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with Him in spirit. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;…"
Sodom was destroyed. They were lost in a sexual world. In our culture, sexualism dominates the air waves. It is the worst of pollutions. People worry about the air or water, or dirt, but not about what is inside, what is going inside and ruining...souls. That's where you and me come in the picture.
Flee from sin, as if it were a plague, a deadly plague. Saints have said it. Our Lord is calling us to it. Angels are helping us lead away from it. But what if you look back and take to it? Can it be that you may not see your loved one in Heaven...in salvation? Nobody wants to think this, and nobody wants to lift a finger for salvation. A doubt can kill. A doubt rouses suspicion. Eve took that first doubt and destruction came.
On the other hand, faith can save. | Let us pray:
"O Lord, your mercy is before my eyes. But I walk in integrity; redeem me, and have mercy on me. My foot stands on level ground; in the assemblies I will bless the LORD. O Lord, your mercy is before my eyes"
God can test whoever He wishes. He tested the most faithful of souls...Job, and even Adam was tested. Job proved righteousness through the test. That's what we hear of now. We hear of the tests our Lord endured. He proves His love is true. Love for God and love for you. The message of the cross is loud and clear. | In the Holy Gospel, our Lord is found sound asleep while everyone is worried for their lives, so afraid of the waters. How can the Lord sleep through something so horrific? People still ask today "where is God!!?" | He is right there.
He is right there with you.
He is with us. He is Emmanuel, the one who was to come, and to be forever.
Where is He now? In Heaven. Yes. But what about here and now? Yes too!
This is the absolute beauty of the Holy Spirit! It is AMAZING. Pentecost came to give us the Holy Spirit of God...His very self.
His being is being with us.
They call upon the Lord, they pray "Save us!" and for good reason, for His name is "He Saves".
He wakes up, rebukes their unfaithfulness, and He rebukes the elements.
What is unfaithfulness? What is it made of? Sin, right? Doubt perhaps? What else is it made of? Fear? When it gets dark, things can get scary, but our Lord can bring light, and make the dark clouds disappear. How? His message of Hope makes light appear. "I am with you, always" He said as He was ascending into Heaven. Do you believe?
So far, since Sunday, Holy Scripture, the Words from our Lord, are calling on faithfulness, a metanoia, a decision to be made, a transformative decision. The kind that says "no looking back".
How often do I look back with fondness to infidelity? To doubt?
Maybe it is time to not look back, ever again.
We are now with Jesus. Are my loved ones being saved? Well, are you praying? Good. Are you joining yourselves to the ones you are praying for with an intense and true love?
Now Jesus begins to shine the light.... |  hear it read | adrian Random Bible Verse1
Philippians 1:21 (Listen) 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Thank You Jesus | |
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