 clickable | | Walking in the Divine Footprints Francis went about the world following the footprints of Christ, not so he could look like Christ, but because they were the footprints of divine humility. He discovered that God descends in love to meet us where we are and he found God in the most unexpected forms: the disfigured flesh of a leper, the complaints of a brother, the radiance of the sun, in short, the cloister of the universe. The wisdom of Francis makes us realize that God loves us in our incomplete humanity even though we are always running away trying to rid ourselves of defects, wounds and brokenness. If we could only see that God is there in the cracks of our splintered human lives we would already be healed. —from the book The Humility of God: A Franciscan Perspective by Ilia Delio, OSF |  MorningOffering.com | † Saint quote
"You change your life by changing your heart."
— St. Benedict of Nursia † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."
— C. S. Lewis, p. 205
AN EXCERPT FROM
Mere Christianity † VERSE OF THE DAY
"And he said to them, 'Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.The one who believes and is baptized will be saved; but the one who does not believe will be condemned.'"
Mark 16:15-16 |  click to read more | | ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI St. Francis (1181-1226) was born in Assisi, Italy, to a wealthy cloth merchant. He was a spoiled child given to pleasure, fine dress, liberal spending, and worldliness. Handsome and courteous, he was a favorite among the nobility. As a chivalrous young knight he took part in a battle between the Italian city-states and became a prisoner of war in Perugia. After his release he became seriously ill, and while reflecting on his wanton life he had a profound conversion experience. He gave up his frivolous life, cut off his family ties, and embraced a life of extreme penance and poverty in such a dramatic manner that it caused many to think he had gone mad. While praying before a crucifix in the church of San Damiano in Assisi he received a call from Christ to rebuild the Church, "which had fallen into ruin." St. Francis followed Christ in a radical manner by patterning his new life after the example of the Apostles in the most literal way possible: he dressed as a poor peasant, worked odd jobs for food, and went through the countryside preaching repentance, love of Jesus, and peace. His joyful, radical way of life attracted followers, and with them he founded the Order of Friars Minor and the Poor Clares. His order was approved by the Holy See in 1210 and grew rapidly. Two years before his death he became the first known saint to receive the stigmata. His holiness was so widely attested that only two years after his death the Church proclaimed him a saint. | He must have suspected a deeper meaning to "build up my house." But he would have been content to be for the rest of his life the poor "nothing" man actually putting brick on brick in abandoned chapels. He gave up all his possessions, piling even his clothes before his earthly father—who was demanding restitution for Francis' "gifts" to the poor—so that he would be totally free to say, "Our Father in heaven." He was, for a time, considered to be a religious fanatic, begging from door to door when he could not get money for his work, evoking sadness or disgust to the hearts of his former friends, ridicule from the unthinking. St. Francis of Assisi But genuineness will tell. A few people began to realize that this man was actually trying to be Christian. He really believed what Jesus said: "Announce the kingdom! Possess no gold or silver or copper in your purses, no traveling bag, no sandals, no staff" (Luke 9:1-3). Francis' first rule for his followers was a collection of texts from the Gospels. He had no intention of founding an order, but once it began he protected it and accepted all the legal structures needed to support it. His devotion and loyalty to the Church were absolute and highly exemplary at a time when various movements of reform tended to break the Church's unity. Francis was torn between a life devoted entirely to prayer and a life of active preaching of the Good News. He decided in favor of the latter, but always returned to solitude when he could. He wanted to be a missionary in Syria or in Africa, but was prevented by shipwreck and illness in both cases. He did try to convert the sultan of Egypt during the Fifth Crusade. During the last years of his relatively short life, he died at 44, Francis was half blind and seriously ill. Two years before his death he received the stigmata, the real and painful wounds of Christ in his hands, feet and side. On his deathbed, Francis said over and over again the last addition to his Canticle of the Sun, "Be praised, O Lord, for our Sister Death." He sang Psalm 141, and at the end asked his superior's permission to have his clothes removed when the last hour came in order that he could expire lying naked on the earth, in imitation of his Lord.
Reflection Francis of Assisi was poor only that he might be Christ-like. He recognized creation as another manifestation of the beauty of God. In 1979, he was named patron of ecology. He did great penance—apologizing to "Brother Body" later in life—that he might be totally disciplined for the will of God. Francis' poverty had a sister, Humility, by which he meant total dependence on the good God. But all this was, as it were, preliminary to the heart of his spirituality: living the gospel life, summed up in the charity of Jesus and perfectly expressed in the Eucharist.
Saint Francis of Assisi is the Patron Saint of: Animals
Archaeologists
Ecology
Italy
Merchants
Messengers
Metal Workers | Memorial of Saint Francis of Assisi
Lectionary: 459
Reading 1 Bar 1:15-22 During the Babylonian captivity, the exiles prayed:
"Justice is with the Lord, our God;
and we today are flushed with shame,
we men of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem,
that we, with our kings and rulers
and priests and prophets, and with our ancestors,
have sinned in the Lord's sight and disobeyed him.
We have neither heeded the voice of the Lord, our God,
nor followed the precepts which the Lord set before us.
From the time the Lord led our ancestors out of the land of Egypt
until the present day,
we have been disobedient to the Lord, our God,
and only too ready to disregard his voice.
And the evils and the curse that the Lord enjoined upon Moses, his servant,
at the time he led our ancestors forth from the land of Egypt
to give us the land flowing with milk and honey,
cling to us even today.
For we did not heed the voice of the Lord, our God,
in all the words of the prophets whom he sent us,
but each one of us went off
after the devices of his own wicked heart,
served other gods,
and did evil in the sight of the Lord, our God." Responsorial Psalm Ps 79:1b-2, 3-5, 8, 9 R.(9) For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy temple,
they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
They have given the corpses of your servants
as food to the birds of heaven,
the flesh of your faithful ones to the beasts of the earth.
R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
They have poured out their blood like water
round about Jerusalem,
and there is no one to bury them.
We have become the reproach of our neighbors,
the scorn and derision of those around us.
O LORD, how long? Will you be angry forever?
Will your jealousy burn like fire?
R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
Remember not against us the iniquities of the past;
may your compassion quickly come to us,
for we are brought very low.
R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
Help us, O God our savior,
because of the glory of your name;
Deliver us and pardon our sins
for your name's sake.
R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us. Alleluia Ps 95:8 R. Alleluia, alleluia
If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 10:13-16 Jesus said to them,
"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!
For if the mighty deeds done in your midst
had been done in Tyre and Sidon,
they would long ago have repented,
sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon
at the judgment than for you.
And as for you, Capernaum, 'Will you be exalted to heaven?
You will go down to the netherworld.'
Whoever listens to you listens to me.
Whoever rejects you rejects me.
And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me." | Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Baruch 1:15-22 Saint Francis of Assisi (Memorial) We today are flushed with shame. (Baruch 1:15) We can all probably relate to the Israelites in today's first reading. Who hasn't felt red-faced with embarrassment at making a mistake? Who hasn't had the humbling experience of admitting we have done something truly wrong? We can all feel ashamed at times—and it goes beyond embarrassment or remorse. Guilt is something we feel when we realize we have done something wrong. Shame, however, is something more. It's what we feel when we let our wrongdoings cling to us and define us. It's the feeling that comes when we think there is something disgraceful and unacceptable about who we are, not just what we have done. It can make us feel unlovable, and it can prevent us from turning to God for help. That is where the Israelites found themselves in exile in Babylon. They realized that their sin had brought about the destruction of Jerusalem. Holding tightly to their faith, they still met to read God's word and offer heartfelt prayers, but they were burdened with shame. They mourned the death of so many people, and they bemoaned the fact that they could have prevented the sack of Jerusalem if only they had obeyed God's word. But rather than remaining mired in shame, they turned to God in repentance. "Not on . . . just deeds . . . do we base our plea for mercy" (Baruch 2:19). They trusted that God would keep his covenant with them despite all their sins (2:27, 35). And he did. In time, their exile ended, and they came home to rebuild Jerusalem once more. When he sent Jesus, God removed our guilt and our shame. Jesus took all our sins and "endured the cross, despising its shame" (Hebrews 12:2). Now he assures us that he doesn't condemn us. We don't need to be burdened by shame any longer. If you, like the Israelites, are feeling burdened by shame, perhaps God is inviting you to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Unburden yourself. Confess whatever is weighing you down. Then ask God to remove your guilt and lift your shame. And breathe a sigh of relief and gratitude as you hear the priest say, "May God give you pardon and peace." "Lord, I come to you for healing and forgiveness. Help me to live free from shame." Psalm 79:1-5, 8-9
Luke 10:13-16 |  clickable | This is why Catholics genuflect when they come to church. They know that this is a holy place, and to be found on one's knee is a very good posture in such precincts. It says, ceremonially, not verbally, 'I am a creature and thou art my Creator. I am thy child and thou art my Father. I am a subject and thou art my Sovereign. And, alas, I am a sinner, and thou art holy.' To kneel, only briefly, in this fashion is to order one's body as well as one's mind to what is true.
—Thomas Howard
from On Being Catholic | my2cents:
"For we did not heed the voice of the Lord, our God, in all the words of the prophets whom he sent us, but each one of us went off after the devices of his own wicked heart, served other gods, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, our God."
Here's a quote to ponder " I See You"- God.
He sees all. Always. They say your angel can be very sensitive. Padre Pio wrote: "Be always afraid of offending the purity of his gaze. Know this, and keep it well present in your mind. He is easily offended, very sensitive. Turn to him in moments of supreme anguish and you will experience his beneficent help." Eyes are watching you, both on earth and in Heaven. Always. I See You, says the Lord. And notes have been taken on the times you turned away. Modern day protestants detest the message that this entails. But we should remember the Lord's mercy always. Take note. Do not live as if you have never sinned. Live as if you are supremely grateful for God's gift. Otherwise, the devil will take the message and twist it and be aware. For souls are caught up in lies introduced to modern theologies. | "O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple,
they have laid Jerusalem in ruins. They have given the corpses of your servants as food to the birds of heaven, the flesh of your faithful ones to the beasts of the earth.. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us."
They defiled the temple. Ok? But what about today? That temple is you! Would you defile where He desires to be? What if one day He suddenly decided to enter your place? Would it be ready? Or would it be dirty, filthy, even disgusting? What do I mean? I mean, at any given moment, He could do marvelous things through you, but...if we are not disposed to Him always, that opportunity could pass us by. And Woe to us who are not found ready for His seed. Ready to give fruit. God doesn't want to be alone. This is why you exist, to fulfill His desire. | "And as for you, Capernaum, 'Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.' Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me."
This parable is called "Reproaches to Unrepentant Towns." Whole towns are condemned for having been found wanton, lacking in all things just, all things open to the rule of the King and the Law He has set forth. Isaiah 14:20 "...You will never be together with them in the grave, For you have ruined your land, you have slain your people! Let him never be named, that offshoot of evil! 21Make ready to slaughter his sons for the guilt of their fathers;
Lest they rise and possess the earth, and fill the breadth of the world with cities. 22 I will rise up against them..." | As hard as the message has been pronounced, it is in of itself, a call to repentance. The kind of message that is lacking in today's world. To lay it down and tell it like it is. To tell of fire and brimstone, to pronounce what is to be and what is to come. That is why we heard the prayer in pleading "If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts." Take the message to heart and share it. This means many things too. It means that Heaven and hell are real. It means many are going the ways of hell. Why? They have been lied to and have been told "nobody is going to hell" and even worse, they've been told "hell is not real, nor is the devil". And so they do whatever they want. They become their own boss. They become their own king. We are leading to Advent. And right before it starts, we celebrate The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Who celebrates this Solemnity? There are more that celebrate Hallow's Eve than All Hallow's Day, our day! All saints day. So who will celebrate The King's day? Those who say He is Our King.
Your King.
My King.
Jesus. It is an honor to know Him, to Love Him, and to serve Him.... To spread the word, always, repent! And believe...and it begins with you and me... |  hear it read | adrian Random Bible Verse 1
Psalm 130:5 5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; Thank You Jesus | |
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