 clickable | | We Exist in a World of Gift When we exist in a world of gift, in which we ourselves are given, then our own labors must be gifts to those around us. To refuse that possibility is to refuse the thanksgiving to which we are properly called. Or, to put it another way, if we are not willing to see our lives and the creation as gifts, then we are not able to properly acknowledge our debts. Being so free, we then feel as though it is in our right to say that others owe us. Thus we can easily sell our labors, without any sense of obligation that perhaps we really owe them. That some should give their labors freely is then, properly, the response of those who owe what cannot be repaid—which includes us all. —from the book Wendell Berry and the Given Life by Ragan Sutterfield |  MorningOffering.com | † Saint Quote "If then we have angels, let us be sober, as though we were in the presence of tutors; for there is a demon present also."
— St. John Chrysostom † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"I never found anyone so religious and devout as not to have sometimes a subtraction of grace, or feel a diminution of fervor. No saint was ever so highly rapt and illuminated as not to be tempted sooner or later. For he is not worthy of the high contemplation of God who has not, for God's sake, been exercised with some tribulation. For temptation going before is usually a sign of ensuing consolation. For heavenly comfort is promised to such as have been proved by temptation. To him that overcometh, saith our Lord, I will give to eat of the tree of life."
— Thomas à Kempis, p. 65
AN EXCERPT FROM
Imitation of Christ † VERSE OF THE DAY
"For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength."
Isaiah 30:15a |  click to read more | | ST. ROSALIA St. Rosalia (1130–1166 A.D.) was born to a wealthy and noble Norman family, descendants of Charlemagne who had migrated to Sicily. From a young age Rosalia was strongly drawn to Christ, which caused her to leave her life of wealth and comfort to follow Him in complete solitude as a hermitess. Tradition holds that St. Rosalia was led by two angels to a cave near Palermo where she spent the rest of her life in prayer, complete solitude, and works of penance. On the cave wall she wrote "I, Rosalia, daughter of Sinibald, Lord of Roses, and Quisquina, have taken the resolution to live in this cave for the love of my Lord, Jesus Christ." Centuries later, when a plague was ravaging Palermo, her relics were discovered in the cave by a hunter to whom she had appeared in order to direct him to their location. Rosalia instructed the hunter to have her relics carried in procession three times around the city, after which the plague ceased. St. Rosalia was credited with saving the city, and a sanctuary was erected in her cave which remains a pilgrimage site to this day. St. Rosalia is the patron of Palermo and Sicily, Italy. Her feast day is September 4th. | Wednesday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Col1:1-8 Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
and Timothy our brother,
to the holy ones and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae:
grace to you and peace from God our Father. We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
when we pray for you,
for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus
and the love that you have for all the holy ones
because of the hope reserved for you in heaven.
Of this you have already heard
through the word of truth, the Gospel, that has come to you.
Just as in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing,
so also among you,
from the day you heard it and came to know the grace of God in truth,
as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow slave,
who is a trustworthy minister of Christ on your behalf
and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. Responsorial Psalm Ps 52:10, 11 R. (10) I trust in the mercy of God for ever.
I, like a green olive tree
in the house of God,
Trust in the mercy of God
forever and ever.
R. I trust in the mercy of God for ever.
I will thank you always for what you have done,
and proclaim the goodness of your name
before your faithful ones.
R. I trust in the mercy of God for ever. Alleluia Lk 4:18 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Lord sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor
and to proclaim liberty to captives.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 4:38-44 After Jesus left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon.
Simon's mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever,
and they interceded with him about her.
He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her.
She got up immediately and waited on them. At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to him.
He laid his hands on each of them and cured them.
And demons also came out from many, shouting, "You are the Son of God."
But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak
because they knew that he was the Christ. At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place.
The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him,
they tried to prevent him from leaving them.
But he said to them, "To the other towns also
I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God,
because for this purpose I have been sent."
And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.
| Meditation: Colossians 1:1-8
22nd Week in Ordinary Time We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you. (Colossians 1:3) Paul definitely had a lot to pray for when it came to the believers in Colossae. Epaphras, a fellow missionary and probably the one who founded the church there, had run into some problems. False teachers were beginning to lead some of the believers astray. They spoke of angels and cosmic powers, and they held that people could contact these beings if they practiced scrupulous self-discipline. Clearly, Paul needed to set the people straight. But how to begin his letter? Notice what Paul doesn't do: he doesn't begin by drawing attention to the problems or misunderstandings. He doesn't get embroiled in theological debate. Following his normal letter-writing custom, he begins by giving thanks for the Colossians. He thanks God for their authentic faith, which he has heard of. He thanks God for their genuine love of all "the holy ones" (Colossians 1:4). And he thanks God for the depth of their hope and trust in the Lord. By pointing out all that was going well for them, Paul was paving the way for the correction he would have to give them later. By focusing first on thanksgiving, Paul kept God's blessings in the forefront of his mind—and theirs as well. Like moistening or waxing the end of a thread to help it fit through the eye of a needle, thanksgiving can help us sharpen and focus our intercessory prayer. When we start praying for a situation by giving thanks for all the good that God is already doing there, our hope is built up. So is our trust in God's plan as well as our confidence that he will intervene according to his own wisdom and timing. The next time you face something that troubles your heart or a situation you want to pray for, remember St. Paul, and begin by giving thanks. Ask God to bring to light the good things that he is already doing, even the unexpected ways he is at work. Let him build your hope in him. Let him show you he is trustworthy. "Lord, you know the situations that weigh heavily on me. Open my eyes to the ways you are already at work, and help me be thankful." Psalm 52:10-11
Luke 4:38-44 |  clickable | Remember, God will meet you where you are, you just have to invite Him! He will do the rest.
—Kendra Von Esh
from Am I Catholic? | my2cents:
"We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the holy ones..."
Thankful souls are holy souls. It is key for the life of a faithful follower, and a true Catholic. | Let us pray today: " I trust in the mercy of God for ever. I will thank you always for what you have done, and proclaim the goodness of your name before your faithful ones." This is a loaded prayer. Trusting in God's mercy. Thanking Him ALWAYS. Proclaiming to...His faithful ones? Yes, I'm proclaiming to you my dear! You are being faithful and God sees this. A couple days ago, at a funeral vigil rosary I led for an elderly and most beautiful soul, I told them at the end that what I saw before us was a holy person, this child of God that bore 12 children. Not all were there at the rosary, some had already passed away and some did not come to the rosary. But some were there. And not one of them was Catholic from what I understood. Regardless, we prayed. But before so, they spoke about their mom, after I had asked for them to explain to me who Rita was. After they spoke of their lively mother, and grandmother, and great grandmother, I got up and summarized their relationship by saying "thank you for your living testimonies, as you all are the living testimony of Rita...and I found a common denominator in all of you...the love...that love Rita touched everyone with, that very love I sensed when I shook her hand in the nursing home Mass". The common denominator was what I already suspected and knew of this beautiful soul, the love of God that was sent. | In the Holy Gospel, our Lord was sent to heal the wounded, the scorned, and the forgotten. We heard "He laid his hands on each of them and cured them.
And demons also came out from many, shouting, "You are the Son of God." Why did Jesus silence the demons from saying this? If it was truth, why silence it? Keep in mind he is speaking to demons, commanding demons. When St. Peter says "you are the Christ, the Son of the living God" our Lord did not silence him, but instead, praised him and told him that He would set His church upon Him. Why the difference? Because this is for whom He came. To the few chosen. Is it fair? I look to my loved ones, and some seem to have lost faith, some I don't know ever had faith to begin with. No faith, no grace? No faith, no salvation? What is faith my friend? Our connection to Him, right? Often I've equated it with love. That bond that can turn everlasting. | Then we heard "...they tried to prevent him from leaving them. But he said to them, "To the other towns also I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God, because for this purpose I have been sent." Someone said "you can't keep a good man down". It's true, right? The truth will always succeed. In this case, I have an interesting que from our Lord; we were just told that our Lord Jesus was healing, everyone that would come would be healed, and the next day He said "I must proclaim the Good News" also to other towns. So He was performing proclamations...in the form of healing? For this purpose He came, right? Most people reach out to Jesus, when they need something, especially healing. Right? What brought me to my sister in law's bedside at the hospital yesterday was that very reason. To bring glad tidings and hope and all things related to our Lord...and we prayed for her healing. You see? When I was injured and in the hospital, I prayed, and I remember people showing up. I never told people this, but even in the shower, Jesus came. It was my dad, on his hands and knees wiping my feet dry. There was Jesus again. LOL, He sure is relentless in Love. That common denominator in all. I got choked up but didn't let him see. You see, I had broke my hip racing motorcycles, I was blasting through the course because I thought for the first time in my life he'd come to see me racing. Turn to find out, he wasn't even there. It was all for show and all for nothing. I hung my racing boots. My boy wants to race, but I don't want to help him either. You see, my dad pushes me for positive things, not negative. "But I want him to be proud of me in what I like" is the sentiment. But He doesn't stick around for that. He moves on.
Love is an action. Love is on the move. They say Love covers a multitude of sins. And Jesus loves to the end and beyond. You can't keep a good man down.
And for this we shall always give thanks and praise. Thank You Lord for being relentless in your love.
Thank You Lord for the gift of faith.
Thank You Lord for coming to us each and every day.
Thank You, and I pray that I can reach you in the sick and forgotten too.
I pray that I can proclaim your infinite goodness with actions, proclaiming by word and deed, actions proving words, one hand and another.... |  hear it read | adrian Random Bible Verse1
Isaiah 50:7 (Listen) 7 But the Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like a flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame. Thank You Jesus | |
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