 clickable | | Friendship in Prayer Inspires Boldness Prayer is about love, not insight. It is meant to establish friendship. Friendship, as we know, is not as much a question of having insight into each other's lives as it is of mutually touching each other in affection and understanding. Friendship, as John of the Cross puts it, is a question of attaining "boldness with each other." When we have touched each other's lives deeply, we can be bold with each other. We can then ask each other for help, ask each other to be present without needing an excuse, or share our deepest feelings. Good friendship inspires boldness. The object of prayer is precisely to try to attain this kind of "boldness" with God, to try to reach a point where we are comfortable enough with God to ask for help, just as we would a trusted friend. But to reach this kind of trust we first must let God touch us in the heart, and not just in insight. —from Prayer: Our Deepest Longing |  MorningOffering.com | † Saint Quote
"There are in truth three states of the converted: the beginning, the middle, and the perfection. In the beginning they experience the charms of sweetness; in the middle the contests of temptation; and in the end the fullness of perfection."
— Pope St. Gregory the Great † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"For want of contrition, innumerable Confessions are either sacrilegious or invalid; the penitent so often breaks his promises to God, and falls again so easily into the same faults, and many souls are eternally lost. Contrition is that true and lively sorrow which the soul has for all the sins it has committed, with a firm determination never to commit them any more . . . Many Christians spend a long time in examining their consciences, and in making long and often unnecessary narrations to the confessor, and then bestow little or no time upon considering the malice of their sins, and upon bewailing and detesting them. Christians such as these, says St. Gregory, act like a wounded man who shows his wounds to the doctor with the utmost anxiety and care, and then will not make use of the remedies prescribed. It is not so much thinking, nor so much speaking of your sins that will procure their pardon, but heartfelt sorrow and detestation of them."
— Fr. Ignatius of the Side of Jesus, p. 289
AN EXCERPT FROM
The School of Jesus Crucified † VERSE OF THE DAY
"For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?"
Romans 8:29-31 |  click to read more | | POPE ST. GREGORY THE GREAT Pope St. Gregory the Great (540-604 A.D.) was the son of a wealthy Roman senator. His mother and two of his aunts are also saints, which provided him with a strong and devout religious upbringing. His skill in grammar and rhetoric were exceptional, and he followed in his father's political footsteps by serving in public office as the prefect of Rome. Discerning a call to the religious life, he sold all of his possessions and converted his home into a Benedictine monastery. He used his liquidated assets to build six other monasteries. Because of his talent and intelligence he was unanimously chosen to become the Roman Pontiff, the first monk to become Pope. During his lifetime Rome was sacked by invading barbarian hordes, and the city also suffered severe damage from floods and pestilence, causing his pontificate to be an important one. He brought stability and order to the Church in a time of great societal and cultural upheaval. His profound influence on the doctrine, organization, and discipline of the Church cannot be underestimated, thus earning him the title "The Great" which he shares with only two other popes. For his abundant doctrinal and spiritual writings he is also considered to be one of the four great Doctors of the Latin Church. He is most commonly known for promoting and standardizing the sacred music of liturgical worship, now called "Gregorian Chant." Pope St. Gregory the Great is the patron of popes, masons, choir boys, singers, teachers, and musicians. His feast day is September 3rd. Reflection Gregory was content to be a monk, but he willingly served the Church in other ways when asked. He sacrificed his own preferences in many ways, especially when he was called to be Bishop of Rome. Once he was called to public service, Gregory gave his considerable energies completely to this work. Gregory's description of bishops as physicians fits in well with Pope Francis' description of the Church as a "field hospital."
Saint Gregory the Great is the Patron Saint of: England
Epilepsy
Musicians
Teachers | Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church Reading 1 1 Thes 5:1-6, 9-11 Concerning times and seasons, brothers and sisters,
you have no need for anything to be written to you.
For you yourselves know very well
that the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night.
When people are saying, "Peace and security,"
then sudden disaster comes upon them,
like labor pains upon a pregnant woman,
and they will not escape. But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness,
for that day to overtake you like a thief.
For all of you are children of the light
and children of the day.
We are not of the night or of darkness.
Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do,
but let us stay alert and sober.
For God did not destine us for wrath,
but to gain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep
we may live together with him.
Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up,
as indeed you do. Responsorial Psalm Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14 R. (13) I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life's refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living. Alleluia Lk 7:16 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
A great prophet has arisen in our midst
and God has visited his people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 4:31-37 Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee.
He taught them on the sabbath,
and they were astonished at his teaching
because he spoke with authority.
In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon,
and he cried out in a loud voice,
"What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are–the Holy One of God!"
Jesus rebuked him and said, "Be quiet! Come out of him!"
Then the demon threw the man down in front of them
and came out of him without doing him any harm.
They were all amazed and said to one another,
"What is there about his word?
For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits,
and they come out."
And news of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region. | Meditation: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6, 9-11 Saint Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church (Memorial) Therefore, encourage one another. (1 Thessalonians 5:11) Paul wrote his first letter to the Thessalonians around AD 51, only about twenty years after Jesus' resurrection. Like many believers at the time, the believers in Thessalonica were expecting Jesus to return very soon and usher in the kingdom in its fullness. Paul, however, set the record straight: don't worry about when Jesus comes again; concentrate on how ready you'll be. Stay sober and alert, and spend your energy encouraging one another and building one another up. Two thousand years later, Paul's advice is just as relevant. We don't know when Jesus will come again—it might even be today or tomorrow! So while we always need to be ready, we should focus on helping each other to stay faithful to the Lord. We often think of encouragement in terms of what we say to people. That's important, of course. But have you ever thought that you encourage others by what you do for them? Here are some examples: • Barbara was missing her regular quiet time with the Lord each morning. Her alarm would go off, but she just kept hitting the snooze button. Hearing this, her friend Claire promised to wake her up for the next two weeks with an early morning phone call. That helped Barbara to get back on track. • George's recuperation from surgery was taking longer than expected, and he felt useless and unproductive. So his wife, Jane, asked him to join her in intercessory prayer for other people's needs. George agreed and discovered that as he prayed for other people, his own trust in God deepened. • Jason, a college student, noticed that his friend Ryan had stopped attending Mass. So he offered to accompany Ryan to the evening Mass on campus and invited him to join his Bible study. That led Ryan to rediscover the Lord and become excited about his faith. Who might need your encouragement today? Perhaps you can think of something you can do to lift up that person. You can be sure that whatever you do will encourage you as well. Then both of you will be more ready to meet Jesus when he comes again in glory. "Lord, thank you for the people in my life who have encouraged me." Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14
Luke 4:31-37 |  clickable | Jesus will meet you where you are—no matter what type of life you are leading and no matter if you are even searching for Him or not.
—Kendra Von Esh
from Am I Catholic? | my2cents: "When people are saying, "Peace and security," then sudden disaster comes upon them, like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape." We hear of problems, instant problems, for some health, some accidents, and here lately shootings. Sudden disasters. Are you ready? The Lord asks us to stay awake. Do not fall asleep at the wheel. Do not let your guard down in faith. Be always attentive to our Master. | Let us pray:
"The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life's refuge; of whom should I be afraid? I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living." I am thinking of a funeral I am about to sing at. The little old lady, a "beautiful person", I could feel the love of her heart when I would greet her during Mass at the nursing home. The Lord is our refuge, amen? Of whom or what should you be afraid? | We heard in the Holy Gospel our Lord said: ""Be quiet! Come out of him!"
Then the demon threw the man down in front of them and came out of him without doing him any harm."
He rebukes evil. He silences evil. How I wish we could turn off the news for just one day. All we hear is evil, and most of it gossip. There is nothing said for the betterment of the world that hasn't already been said in the Word. Do monks need news to survive? No. They make the news. Like today's saint of the day. A monk that lived in a time of turmoil, invasions, wars, and pestilence. He was chosen as pope. Are things any better today? The other day, we went to a city to celebrate my mother in law's birthday. When we pulled up to the restaurant, I saw my godson on the phone outside smoking. He didn't really want to look our way, and right away I knew something strange was going on. We walked up to him and my kids were screaming his name and wanting his attention, but he was not even wanting to turn our way. He glimpsed. Normally he is the most fun loving guy, but lately I can see he gets inundated in his problems, so zoomed in and absorbed...self absorbed even? We walked in the restaurant and he would not let up on his cell phone texting. He seemed very distraught, sort of angry. It made for a weird feeling at the dinner table where we were waiting for our steak dinner. At one point I did say "stop paying attention to the devil". I think he dismissed my advise. | What is it about our world that we do not seem to have the power, the authority to speak to evil to leave? Are we afraid? Or are we caught up in the same darkness where people are afraid to speak truth to one another so we don't hurt their......pride? YIKES! Did I just step on a sensitive toe? LOL. Pride calls for silence. In the homsexual war on the church and in abortions, they want the church to be silent. They want "love" to win. But false loves call for death and silence. My truth calls for life and true Love, the salvation of souls. If you notice, the common denominator of abortions and homosexual relations...the end is the death to life. And there's one silent killer out there still not being spoken of too much...contraception. The quiet instigator. The lovely pill. The so loved convenience of contraception. But convenience calls for a high price. The death toll of women is so high, that nobody dares say. So many have died from this carcinogen. To the tune of millions I would say. And then we blast on the news the latest shooting, as if it were a deadly poison of our time, 7 killed in my backyard this weekend. Funny how the news is twisted in its reportings. Alas. Back the the good news. The true Authority. The last time my godson was engrossed in a problem, I prayed for him, and we prayed for his wife, going through a rough patch. He took off mad in his truck. I texted him. And then I found him praying at church. We took authority and power over the situation. We invoked the Holy Spirit. We invoked and called upon love. Love wins. Lord help us focus on faith, and remain awake, and true to you...Love |  hear it read | adrian Random Bible Verse1
John 11:25-26 (Listen) 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. [1] Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?"
Footnotes [1] 11:25 Some manuscripts omit and the life Thank You Jesus | |
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