 clickable | | A Prayer of Thanksgiving Thanksgiving focuses on God's gifts. Our challenge is to take nothing for granted, but to appreciate every blessing. Thanksgiving is a way of life. Indeed, the prayer of thanksgiving characterizes a eucharistic people. Our gratitude centers on the greatest gift of all—Jesus. This gift, and all the other gifts through God's providence, are expressions of God's love. How fitting and just it is that we always and everywhere express our gratitude to the Lord. —from the book Living Prayer: A Simple Guide to Everyday Enlightenment by Robert F. Mourneau |  MorningOffering.com | † Saint Quote
"Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the most tender of friends with souls who seek to please Him. His goodness knows how to proportion itself to the smallest of His creatures as to the greatest of them. Be not afraid then in your solitary conversations, to tell Him of your miseries, fears, worries, of those who are dear to you, of your projects, and of your hopes. Do so with confidence and with an open heart."
— St. Damien of Molokai † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"The fullness of wisdom is fear of the Lord, she is present with the faithful in the womb (Sirach 1:14). Fear of the Lord does not mean to be afraid of God. It means to stand in awe and wonder before the greatness of the Lord. When we recognize that God is God and we are creatures, we develop a healthy sense of humility. We acknowledge our need for wisdom and grace, which are both gifts of the Holy Spirit."
— Rev. Jude Winkler, p. 9
AN EXCERPT FROM
Daily Meditations Holy Spirit † VERSE OF THE DAY
"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.'"
John 8:12 |  click to read more | | BLESSED DENIS OF THE NATIVITY Blessed Denis of the Nativity (1600-1638) was born as Pierre Berthelotin in France and became a sailor at the age of twelve. He had a successful career as pilot-in-chief and cartographer in service to the Kings of France and Portugal, even being knighted for bravery. He later chose the religious life and became a Carmelite friar, taking the name Dionysius (Denis) of the Nativity. He was sent by his superiors on a diplomatic and missionary mission to the Sultan of Aceh (Sumatra). Once there, all the members of his party were seized at the instigation of the Dutch authorities. They were tortured by their Islamic captors and were told to renounce their Catholic faith and become Muslims. They refused and were martyred. St Denis was martyred last, as he desired, in order to be able to strengthen the others. He was killed by a scimitar blow that split his head in two. His last words were: "Jesus, Mary." | Friday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 507
Reading 1 Dn 7:2-14 In a vision I, Daniel, saw during the night,
the four winds of heaven stirred up the great sea,
from which emerged four immense beasts,
each different from the others.
The first was like a lion, but with eagle's wings.
While I watched, the wings were plucked;
it was raised from the ground to stand on two feet
like a man, and given a human mind.
The second was like a bear; it was raised up on one side,
and among the teeth in its mouth were three tusks.
It was given the order, "Up, devour much flesh."
After this I looked and saw another beast, like a leopard;
on its back were four wings like those of a bird,
and it had four heads.
To this beast dominion was given.
After this, in the visions of the night I saw the fourth beast,
different from all the others,
terrifying, horrible, and of extraordinary strength;
it had great iron teeth with which it devoured and crushed,
and what was left it trampled with its feet.
I was considering the ten horns it had,
when suddenly another, a little horn, sprang out of their midst,
and three of the previous horns were torn away to make room for it.
This horn had eyes like a man,
and a mouth that spoke arrogantly.
As I watched, Thrones were set up
and the Ancient One took his throne.
His clothing was snow bright,
and the hair on his head as white as wool;
His throne was flames of fire,
with wheels of burning fire.
A surging stream of fire
flowed out from where he sat;
Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,
and myriads upon myriads attended him. The court was convened, and the books were opened.
I watched, then, from the first of the arrogant words
which the horn spoke, until the beast was slain
and its body thrown into the fire to be burnt up.
The other beasts, which also lost their dominion,
were granted a prolongation of life for a time and a season.
As the visions during the night continued, I saw One like a son of man coming,
on the clouds of heaven;
When he reached the Ancient One
and was presented before him,
He received dominion, glory, and kingship;
nations and peoples of every language serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not be taken away,
his kingship shall not be destroyed. Responsorial Psalm Daniel 3:75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81 R. Give glory and eternal praise to him!
"Mountains and hills, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him!
"Everything growing from the earth, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him!"
"You springs, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him!
"Seas and rivers, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him!
"You dolphins and all water creatures, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him!
"All you birds of the air, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him!
"All you beasts, wild and tame, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him! Alleluia Lk 21:28 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Stand erect and raise your heads
because your redemption is at hand.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 21:29-33 Jesus told his disciples a parable.
"Consider the fig tree and all the other trees.
When their buds burst open,
you see for yourselves and know that summer is now near;
in the same way, when you see these things happening,
know that the Kingdom of God is near.
Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away
until all these things have taken place.
Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will not pass away." | 34th Week in Ordinary Time His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed. (Daniel 7:14) Fantastical characters, carnage and battle, unexpected plot twists—Hollywood blockbusters certainly have nothing on Daniel's vision! Movies use creative techniques and special effects, but at their core, they are still just trying to tell a story. And so is Daniel. So we should ask ourselves what he's saying. It can be tempting to try to dissect Daniel's story. What does the horn mean? Why does one beast have his feathers plucked? Why were the beasts, once defeated, granted a "prolongation of life" (Daniel 7:12)? And why, in the midst of the story of all those beasts, do we have descriptions of an "Ancient One" (7:9, 13)? Biblical scholars say Daniel's vision is a creative interpretation of Israel's past and present, ending with the promise that God's justice will prevail. But that doesn't keep us from wanting to look for predictions of the future in the cryptic symbolism Daniel uses. Jesus cuts through it all. In today's Gospel, after he himself has described the end times, he makes a simple but crucial point: when the tree buds, summer is coming. It's not mysterious; it's something we can see for ourselves. We don't need complicated tools to dissect scary prophesies. We know how the story ends—with Jesus' victory! Will we confront turbulence? Yes. Will natural disasters occur? Yes. Will people try to deceive the faithful? Yes. But don't forget: all of this has gone on since the fall of our first parents, and it will continue until Jesus comes again. But no matter what the future holds, Jesus is victorious. As Pope Francis proclaimed at the inaugural Mass for his first World Youth Day, "The 'dragon,' evil, is present in our history, but it does not have the upper hand. The One with the upper hand is God, and God is our hope!" Even Daniel's bizarre-sounding tale ends with the everlasting dominion of the Ancient One. That's what we have to hold on to in times of turmoil, confusion, and fear. Take heart; hold on. Christ is in you, and he is victorious! "Jesus, I believe that you have authority over all things. Help me not to take my eyes off of you." (Psalm) Daniel 3:75-81
Luke 21:29-33 |  clickable | When we choose the poor, we can always be sure of not going wrong. ... When we choose an ideology, we can never be sure of not being at least partly wrong. When we have complied with an ideology, we can never be sure of having taken the right course. When we choose the poor, we are always sure, doubly sure, of having made a good choice. We have chosen like Jesus. And we have chosen Jesus.
—Henri de Lubac
from Paradoxes of Faith | my2cents:
"His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed."
Thinking back, on the thousands of years of kingdoms, they have come and gone, and wouldn't you say that most have been some type of democracy, where the king suits the needs or desires of most? Lest they be a "dictator", someone completely opposed to being open. It is sad to see that in our Kingdom, in the modern country, to see the people call our Lord such a thing, someone "opposed" to them. But, even at that, does not make Him less of a King. The crown of thorns is proof. Proof of our poor King. And I don't say this in a bad tone, but in the most Holy of Holies, because being poor is what He set Himself to be...humility, meek, and leading the way to Heaven all the way. | Let us pray: "Give glory and eternal praise to him! "Everything growing from the earth, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever."
Bless the Lord. I was asked "Adrian, how can I show God that I love Him?" I talked about obedience and a few days later I asked him a question back "so how do you show your new wife that you love her?" He said things like gestures, communicating, talking, spending time. YES Exactly. That is exactly how we are to show love...but there is still more....think, and think hard with your heart: Sacrifice. | In the Holy Gospel, our Lord ends with: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." Things we know and love pass. They pass through and they pass away. But His word shall not pass. It does not pass away. And what He says goes. What He says lives. What He says shall be. What He says is everlasting dominion. We heard of a figure in Heaven with white hair, sitting on a throne of fire, pouring forth fire, purifying fire even, and we heard of beasts, and we heard of a lopping of one of them, its head cast into fire. And we heard of dominion. This was thousands of years ago proclaimed. And today? It is still proclaimed. The great King, is YOUR King...if you choose Him to be. | Lord, us people need a King to lead us on the right path, not only to security, but a security of Heaven for our own souls and the whole world.
I pray for the whole world Lord, for your light to become brighter in a time when things to get darker. We need a crusade of great love, not of physical wars, but one that can penetrate an unwilling soul and animate it with a pure burning fire of love for You above all in Heaven.
Because you are worthy, to be honored and adored, cherished, because you are MY Father, because you are the Father of all things, and you care for us so deeply. I am thankful, and I love you, and love so many gifts you pour out on us and on the whole world. Mercy Lord, Mercy.... |  hear it read | Random Bible Verse 1 Proverbs 27 5-6 Better is open rebuke than hidden love.
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy. Thank You Lord | |
