 clickable | | Inspiration to feed your spirit. Take Time to See Clearly In this world darkened by despair and deep division,
we fumble dimly,
to see past self-interest, fears, and endless feuding.
But even looking down we can see beyond,
like the pilgrim seeking clarity who found a limpid pool,
and bending down
glimpsed the Milky Way
mirrored in the deep.
Then gazing heavenward,
gaped and gasped
at the cosmic show above,
while awe-filled silence taught:
the stiller you become,
the clearer will your reflection be. —from the book Wandering and Welcome: Meditations for Finding Peace by Joseph Grant |  MorningOffering.com | † Saint Quote
"I ask you to consider that our Lord Jesus Christ is your true head and that you are a member of his body. He belongs to you as the head belongs to the body. All that is his is yours: breath, heart, body, soul and all his faculties. All of these you must use as if they belonged to you, so that in serving him you may give him praise, love and glory."
— St. John Eudes †MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"Since Jesus has gone to Heaven now, I can only follow the traces He has left behind. But how bright these traces are! How fragrant and divine! I have only to glance at the Gospels; at once this fragrance from the life of Jesus reaches me, and I know which way to run: to the lowest, not the highest place!"
— St. Therese of Lisieux, p. 153-4
AN EXCERPT FROM
Story of a Soul ⛪TODAY'S FEAST DAY PRESENTATION OF MARY
November 21st is the feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. According to tradition, the Blessed Virgin Mary was consecrated to God as a young child; when she reached three years of age her holy parents, St. Anne and St. Joachim, presented her before God in the Jerusalem temple where she was to be educated and raised. This dedication was a result of a promise St. Anne made to God while she suffered from many years of infertility. The liturgical celebration honoring this event appeared in the East much earlier then it did in the West. In the late Middle Ages it was promoted as a feast day for the universal Church. † VERSE OF THE DAY
"For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope."
Romans 15:4 | Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Saint of the Day for November 21 Mary's presentation was celebrated in Jerusalem in the sixth century. A church was built there in honor of this mystery. The Eastern Church was more interested in the feast, but it does appear in the West in the 11th century. Although the feast at times disappeared from the calendar, in the 16th century it became a feast of the universal Church. As with Mary's birth, we read of Mary's presentation in the temple only in apocryphal literature. In what is recognized as an unhistorical account, the Protoevangelium of James tells us that Anna and Joachim offered Mary to God in the Temple when she was 3 years old. This was to carry out a promise made to God when Anna was still childless. Though it cannot be proven historically, Mary's presentation has an important theological purpose. It continues the impact of the feasts of the Immaculate Conception and of the birth of Mary. It emphasizes that the holiness conferred on Mary from the beginning of her life on earth continued through her early childhood and beyond.
Reflection It is sometimes difficult for modern Westerners to appreciate a feast like this. The Eastern Church, however, was quite open to this feast and even somewhat insistent about celebrating it. Even though the feast has no basis in history, it stresses an important truth about Mary: From the beginning of her life, she was dedicated to God. She herself became a greater temple than any made by hands. God came to dwell in her in a marvelous manner and sanctified her for her unique role in God's saving work. At the same time, the magnificence of Mary enriches her children. They—we—too are temples of God and sanctified in order that we might enjoy and share in God's saving work |  click to read more | | BL. MARIA FRANCISZKA SIEDLISKA Bl. Maria Franciszka Siedliska (1842-1902) was born to a noble and wealthy family in Warsaw, Poland. When a Capuchin friar prepared her for her First Holy Communion, she began to desire the religious life and made a private act of consecration to God. Her father was greatly opposed and said he would rather see her dead then lost to the cloister. Her vocation was not deterred, and she went to Rome to obtain the Pope's blessing for founding an active apostolic Order modeled on the hidden virtues of the Holy Family. The Congregation of Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth was formed in 1875, and she took the name Mary of Jesus the Good Shepherd. In 1885 the Nazareth Sisters arrived in New York, eventually settling near Chicago where they made their first foundation in the U.S.A. She was beatified by Pope St. John Paul II in 1989. Her feast day is November 21. | Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Lectionary: 500
Reading 1 1 Mc 2:15-29 The officers of the king in charge of enforcing the apostasy
came to the city of Modein to organize the sacrifices.
Many of Israel joined them,
but Mattathias and his sons gathered in a group apart.
Then the officers of the king addressed Mattathias:
"You are a leader, an honorable and great man in this city,
supported by sons and kin.
Come now, be the first to obey the king's command,
as all the Gentiles and the men of Judah
and those who are left in Jerusalem have done.
Then you and your sons shall be numbered among the King's Friends,
and shall be enriched with silver and gold and many gifts."
But Mattathias answered in a loud voice:
"Although all the Gentiles in the king's realm obey him,
so that each forsakes the religion of his fathers
and consents to the king's orders,
yet I and my sons and my kin
will keep to the covenant of our fathers.
God forbid that we should forsake the law and the commandments.
We will not obey the words of the king
nor depart from our religion in the slightest degree." As he finished saying these words,
a certain Jew came forward in the sight of all
to offer sacrifice on the altar in Modein
according to the king's order.
When Mattathias saw him, he was filled with zeal;
his heart was moved and his just fury was aroused;
he sprang forward and killed him upon the altar.
At the same time, he also killed the messenger of the king
who was forcing them to sacrifice,
and he tore down the altar.
Thus he showed his zeal for the law,
just as Phinehas did with Zimri, son of Salu. Then Mattathias went through the city shouting,
"Let everyone who is zealous for the law
and who stands by the covenant follow after me!"
Thereupon he fled to the mountains with his sons,
leaving behind in the city all their possessions.
Many who sought to live according to righteousness and religious custom
went out into the desert to settle there. Responsorial Psalm Ps 50:1b-2, 5-6, 14-15 R.(23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
God the LORD has spoken and summoned the earth,
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
From Zion, perfect in beauty,
God shines forth.
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"Gather my faithful ones before me,
those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice."
And the heavens proclaim his justice;
for God himself is the judge.
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"Offer to God praise as your sacrifice
and fulfill your vows to the Most High;
Then call upon me in time of distress;
I will rescue you, and you shall glorify me."
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God. Alleluia Ps 95:8 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 19:41-44 As Jesus drew near Jerusalem,
he saw the city and wept over it, saying,
"If this day you only knew what makes for peace–
but now it is hidden from your eyes.
For the days are coming upon you
when your enemies will raise a palisade against you;
they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides.
They will smash you to the ground and your children within you,
and they will not leave one stone upon another within you
because you did not recognize the time of your visitation." | Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Luke 19:41-44 The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Memorial) He saw the city and wept over it. (Luke 19:41) Today's Gospel makes it clear that Jesus experienced the full range of human emotions. He didn't just comment on Jerusalem's lack of faith, and he didn't just make his disapproval known by reciting a list of indictments. He shed tears of deep sadness over the state of the holy city. Many of his own people wouldn't accept him as the Messiah. Jesus had come to share with them "what makes for peace," but they rejected him (Luke 19:42). He could see that by remaining in their sin, they were bringing disaster upon themselves and their Temple. And that made him weep. In his mourning over Jerusalem, Jesus joined a long line of prophets who also lamented over God's people. Elisha wept when he saw that the king of Aram would destroy Israel (2 Kings 8:11-12). Nehemiah wept when news reached him of the desperate state of his people in a burned-out Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:4). And Jeremiah, known as "the weeping prophet," shed bitter tears "over the great destruction which overwhelms . . . my people" (Jeremiah 14:17). It's not just Jesus or the ancient prophets though. Many of us have wept over someone who has lost their faith. Maybe they see no need for God, or doubt his mercy, or are angry with him. Whatever the cause, their suffering pierces our hearts, and we grieve for them. We want nothing more than for them to taste the peace and mercy that we know. How comforting to know that Jesus weeps with us! He longs for their healing and reunion even more than we do. That's who Jesus is. Look what happened after his lament of Jerusalem. He continued to preach and teach and offer his mercy to every person who was willing to accept him. Then he gave his very life on the cross for our salvation. Day after day, God continues to reach out to his children. Every day is a new day of his visitation. Every moment, he offers your loved ones—and you—a fresh opportunity to return to him. And he will never stop. "Thank you, Lord, that you love __________ even more than I do. Draw them closer to you today." 1 Maccabees 2:15-29
Psalm 50:1-2, 5-6, 14-15 |  clickable | Relativism about truth limits salvation to earthly joys, sensual pleasure, and emotional contentment. What is lost sight of, then, is the fact that God is the origin and goal of human beings. He himself is the goal of our infinite quest for truth and happiness. Forgetting God, we miss our true being.
—Gerhard Cardinal Müller
from The Power of Truth | my2cents:
"God forbid that we should forsake the law and the commandments. We will not obey the words of the king
nor depart from our religion in the slightest degree."
Nowadays, the word "religion" has almost a negative connotation. And so, it has been traded in for...but the king, is a hidden one, the worldly king is hidden one, and it guises as a king of peace, but it is a false peace. So what did this noble man and faithful man do? The Maccabean revolt began, a refusal to sin, no matter what it costs. How many of us can do that today? Do what? Stand up for what you believe in...do you believe? Many wear their hearts on their sleeves, and I see it. But what about the love of God? The noble Maccabeean, Mattathias, chose not to defile himself, chose to fight to the death, to counter the false king, because the evil one acts among people, it is not the people themselves,
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."Eph6:12. | Let us pray: "Offer to God praise as your sacrifice and fulfill your vows to the Most High;
Then call upon me in time of distress;
I will rescue you, and you shall glorify me. To the upright I will show the saving power of God." Amen.
First fulfill your vows, first sacrifice, and THEN call upon in time of distress. And THEN you will be given the grace for what is to come and what shall be. Grace then is faith, and faith and grace are a gift that is bestowed on us, something to be treasured, something to be held on to, and something to offer. Something that is our connection with our Lord and Father in Heaven. | Our Lord "...saw the city and wept over it, saying,
"If this day you only knew what makes for peace–
but now it is hidden from your eyes."
Again the talk on Peace. If you only knew what makes for peace. This coming from the true Prince of Peace. And He cried, and lamented. If you only knew what is hidden from your eyes. What was hidden now? My 3 year old just got potty broke this past week. Hooray! Thank God for answered prayers. Prior to that, we noticed that he'd get quiet, or go into hiding, when doing his business, and after that it was not nice being around him, for he was foul smelling. Why do I bring this up? As you know, sin makes us hide from God, staying away from Him, and when coming around the rest, there is a foul aura that doesn't match the rest. Peace is hidden, not because it was taken away, but because you have moved to a place where there is no peace, therefore you cannot see it, or hear it, or sense its presence. Now we are talking about Christ Himself, as when God asked in the Garden "WHERE ARE YOU?" | Our Lord says something that was hard to take: "...For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you". Little by little, the enemy is surrounding us. Taking one town by one town. How? Person by person. How? Through temptations. Temptations to give up on fidelity to God our Father. It is to the point that many schools have eradicated the name of Christ, and allowed an antichrist to be more important, in the name of sex (false idol? false god?), and this is to trump anything else, or so they say. Bow down to what they say, or else...little by little, the false king speaks through its servants, servants of evil, servants to make you defile, and how? By turning away from God, to where you can not see Him, or hear Him, and hide yourself from Him. The statistics, if true, of those who attend Mass regularly, are atrociously low. It is not a laughing matter, or something to scoff at, if people are truly falling left and right around you in this Spiritual War.
"O gee, thanks Mr. Adrian, so what is your solution, Mr. Gloom and doom Holy Roller?"
-Ahh, I'm glad you asked! The solution to infidelity, is fidelity. Solve unfaithfulness by faithfulness. Win soul by soul, your neighbor matters my friend. And who is my neighbor? See to it that you do not despise one of my little ones. You stop worrying so much about the other person, and worry about your holiness, your fidelity, your true love of God. Does that make sense? How will you ever experience God's peace if all you do is experience the opposite?
Our Lord finished today with "... they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation."
And it happened.
The "time of your visitation".
We have visitation rights you know? Did you know that you are allowed at least one visit PER DAY? (Think Blessed Sacrament). Yes! Visit Him, the more, the better. What happens in a visitation with our Lord in Heaven? If allowed, He visits you.
It is a time of reckoning. It is a time to realize who truly is your King and center of your universe.
There are many things vying for your soul right now, always "needing" your attention. How Do I remain? Always be conscious of our Lord.
Be aware, and be caught in prayer. The Lord Is With You |  hear it read | Random Bible Verse 1 Random Bible Verse 1
Mark 11:25 25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses."1
Footnotes [1] 11:25 Some manuscripts add verse 26: But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses Thank You Lord | |
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