 clickable | | Is Your Work a Vocation? It doesn't take much looking in our economy to see that in fact there is a great deal of work that doesn't pray, work that disconnects us from our sources of life rather than moves us toward wholeness. For work to pray, it must have a sense of vocation attached to it—we must feel some calling toward that work and the wholeness of which it is a part, that there is something holy in good work. Vocation is a calling and prayer is a call and response, deep calling to deep. For work to pray, to be vocation, it must be brought into a larger conversation. "The idea of vocation attaches to work a cluster of other ideas, including devotion, skill, pride, pleasure, the good stewardship of means and materials," Wendell Berry writes. It is these "intangibles of economic value" that keep us from viewing work as "something good only to escape: 'Thank God it's Friday.'" —from the book Wendell Berry and the Given Life by Ragan Sutterfield |  MorningOffering.com | † Saint Quote
"Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee."
— St. Augustine † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"The invitation to lift up our hearts at the most important part of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is an invitation by Jesus through the voice of the priest to give our hearts to the Father, as He gave His life for us. We prepare to make our hearts and lives a total self-gift to the Father as Jesus made Himself a total gift to the Father for us on the Cross."
— Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila
AN EXCERPT FROM
Meditations Before Mass † VERSE OF THE DAY
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
Hebrews 11:1 |  click to read more | | Blessed Claudio Granzotto Saint of the Day for September 6
(August 23, 1900 – August 15, 1947)
Born in Santa Lucia del Piave near Venice, Claudio was the youngest of nine children and was accustomed to hard work in the fields. At the age of 9, he lost his father. Six years later, he was drafted into the Italian army, where he served more than three years. His artistic abilities, especially in sculpture, led to studies at Venice's Academy of Fine Arts, which awarded him a diploma with the highest marks in 1929. Even then he was especially interested in religious art. When Claudio entered the Friars Minor four years later, his parish priest wrote, "The Order is receiving not only an artist but a saint." Prayer, charity to the poor, and artistic work characterized his life which was cut short by a brain tumor. He died on the feast of the Assumption, August 15, 1947, and was beatified in 1994. His Liturgical Feast Day is March 23.
Reflection Claudio developed into such an excellent sculptor that his work still turns people toward God. No stranger to adversity, he met every obstacle courageously, reflecting the generosity, faith, and joy that he learned from Francis of Assisi. | Friday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Col 1:15-20 Brothers and sisters:
Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
all things were created through him and for him.
He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the Body, the Church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile all things for him,
making peace by the Blood of his cross
through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven. Responsorial Psalm Ps 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5 R. (2b) Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise;
Give thanks to him; bless his name.
R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
For he is good,
the LORD, whose kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.
R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord. Alleluia Jn 8:12 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 5:33-39 The scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus,
"The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers,
and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same;
but yours eat and drink."
Jesus answered them, "Can you make the wedding guests fast
while the bridegroom is with them?
But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
then they will fast in those days."
And he also told them a parable.
"No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one.
Otherwise, he will tear the new
and the piece from it will not match the old cloak.
Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins,
and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined.
Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins.
And no one who has been drinking old wine desires new,
for he says, 'The old is good.'"
| Meditation: Colossians 1:15-20 22nd Week in Ordinary Time He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead. (Colossians 1:18) Paul couldn't have known: a few years after the believers in Colossae received this letter, their city would be decimated by a powerful earthquake. Historians tell us that the city never fully recovered. It's possible that some of the Colossian believers grieved the loss of a spouse or a child in the quake. Others, seeing their livelihoods buried in the rubble, uprooted their families and sought refuge elsewhere. Disasters have a way of confronting us head-on with the problem of suffering, don't they? Whether it's recent stories of major flooding or something more localized, like a family member's death, suffering can shake a person's faith, undermine their resolve, and leave behind emotional wounds that don't easily heal. In short, suffering threatens to drain us of hope. That's why this passage is so relevant for those who are in the midst of suffering. Not because it's a treatise on grief or pain—it doesn't mention them—but because it reveals Jesus as the source of our hope in every situation. Try to use your imagination as you think about the hope Paul talks about. Think about how the Colossians might have clung to Paul's words here in the aftermath of the quake. And of course, consider how Jesus is the basis for your hope too. Because Jesus is the head of the Church, we have hope (Colossians 1:18). Jesus would never abandon his people at the first sight of danger. He demonstrated his commitment to us by enduring the cross, preferring to shed his blood than leave us at the mercy of sin. Even in the thick of our suffering, our good Shepherd stands with us, ready to give us peace. Because Jesus rose from the dead, we have hope (Colossians 1:18). Death wasn't the end for Jesus; he overcame it. Death isn't the end for us either. We are looking forward to eternal life with the Lord. Our loved ones who have died in Christ are already with him, eagerly waiting to see us again. Because Jesus is reconciling all things, we have hope (Colossians 1:20). Right now, Jesus is reconciling everything, even our pain and grief, with his plan for us. From the "rubble" of our suffering, he's producing the fruit of maturity in our lives. "Jesus, you are the firstborn of all creation! I place all my hope in you." Psalm 100:1-5
Luke 5:33-39 |  clickable | Give me grace, O my Father, to be utterly ashamed of my own reluctance! Rouse me from sloth and coldness, and make me desire Thee with my whole heart. Teach me to love meditation, sacred reading, and prayer. Teach me to love that which must engage my mind for all eternity.
—John Henry Newman
from Prayers, Verses, and Devotions | my2cents: "For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things for him, making peace by the Blood of his cross through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven".
Peace by blood. That means it costs something to have peace. I look at pictures of the thousands of crosses at a memorial. Countless lives given for the cause...of your freedom. The cross represents a price then. Sacrifice. We are shaped like a cross. It costs something to be free, and so it is not really free...right? How can we pay back for the priceless gift? Be righteous, be holy, just, and faithful to the causation of our life and freedom. Now we are talking about the love of Christ...the very love of GOD. Let us reconcile with the love of God, in order to be reconciled with Heaven. | Let us pray: "Come with joy into the presence of the Lord. Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands; serve the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful song."
Gratefulness is atonement. Love covers a multitude of sins. How can we give thanks to the Lord? Simply follow His lead. And His lead leads to the path of righteousness. Is it hard to love GOD? It is when things aren't going your way, right away. It is hard to love Him when you can't hear Him or see Him. It is hard when you don't feel the love. So, I propose a remedy. Take the first step in love. Come see Him and hear Him. Come feel His love in abundance. And I pray you make the world make His love known. | In the Holy Gospel, our Lord says today " Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?". What is God talking about? What is He saying? He is talking about a love story. A wedding, a bride, and a bridegroom. Who is He going to marry? Because, as some theologians say, it is the Church, the very wedding guests that are with Him. That is the insinuation that persists. Yet, these scribes and Pharisees wind up killing Him before He gets married, seemingly, right? But that Crucifixion winds up being the very wedding feast He spoke about! WHAT? Yes. God speaks in terms of true love. He died for you and for me, so we could be free....to Love Him in return however we wish. And so He speaks about the first miracle He ever did through the intercession of His Blessed Mother...the story about wine. Wine is always introduced at weddings. And God's wine is His very blood. He provides. It is the sacrifice of the Mass re-lived in real-time when it happened that one time. | "...new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins. And no one who has been drinking old wine desires new, for he says, 'The old is good.'"
Our Lord speaks about New Wind and Old Wine. Nobody drinking old wine wants new because it (the old) is good. Yes it is good, but the new wine is what turns into old wine. You see? I am thinking of life, how the old ushers in the new. We must give way to life.
And Jesus says He is the Life! The Truth! The Way! Amen? |  hear it read | adrian Random Bible Verse1
Psalm 23:1 (Listen)
A Psalm of David. 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Thank You Jesus | |
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