 clickable | | Set an Intention Presence exacts its coin —
our dearly held desire for self-preoccupation,
and the fantasy of control that presumes to preside over and above.
Mystics, artists, and prophets exemplify
this surrender into solidarity;
letting the self be moved by suffering and inspired by imagining.
True spiritual practice harbors this same intention —
the hand-over of self, that places us on a collision-course with grace
and draws us into a deepened state of readiness.
This holy intention
leads to whole, undivided attention,
where we come to know life in its raw fullness! —from the book Wandering and Welcome: Meditations for Finding Peace by Joseph Grant |  MorningOffering.com | † Saint Quote
"When you sit down to eat, pray. When you eat bread, do so thanking Him for being so generous to you. If you drink wine, be mindful of Him who has given it to you for your pleasure and as a relief in sickness. When you dress, thank Him for His kindness in providing you with clothes. When you look at the sky and the beauty of the stars, throw yourself at God's feet and adore Him who in His wisdom has arranged things in this way. Similarly, when the sun goes down and when it rises, when you are asleep or awake, give thanks to God, who created and arranged all things for your benefit, to have you know, love and praise their Creator."
— St. Basil the Great † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"Prayer is more the work of the heart than of the head; it should, therefore, be simple, affective, and sincere. Let not the mind, then, weary itself in seeking for beautiful thoughts and sonorous phrases; we meditate not to prepare a finished sermon, nor to address God with fine rhetoric, but to nourish our soul with reflections which may enlighten and move us, and excite holy and generous resolutions; we make these reflections for ourselves alone, let them, then, be simple as well as pious. In affections, likewise, we seek for the practice of virtue, and not for the pleasures of a refined egotism. Let us never confound our sensible feelings with our will, or mere emotion with devotion. None of these acts need be made with a feverish ardour, nor in a tone of enthusiastic fervor . . . Above all, our prayers should be the faithful echo of our interior dispositions; our affections should express the sentiments which reign in our heart, or which we wish to form there; our petitions should proceed from a real desire; our every resolution should be a firm purpose of the will, and thus our whole soul will be upright and sincere before God."
— Rev. Dom Vitalis Lehodey, p. 99
AN EXCERPT FROM
The Ways of Mental Prayer † VERSE OF THE DAY
"All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth."
Hebrews 11:13 |  click to read more | | ST. ALBERT THE GREAT St. Albert the Great (1206-1280) was born in Bavaria, Germany, the eldest son of a powerful military count. As a youth he was sent to study at the University of Padua where he encountered and entered the newly-founded Dominican order as a mendicant friar, forsaking his inheritance against his family's wishes. He was the first Dominican to earn a Master of Theology degree and was sent as a lecturer to the University of Paris (which at that time was the intellectual center of Europe) before launching a Dominican house of studies in Cologne. He introduced the works of Aristotle to western thought which allowed his most brilliant student, St. Thomas Aquinas, to synthesize the Catholic faith with human reason, that is, the truths established through philosophy. St. Albert the Great was a renowned scholar and a pioneer in the field of natural science, keeping his own laboratory for scientific experiments. He is known as one of the greatest thinkers of his day, called by his contemporaries "the teacher of everything there is to know" for writing an encyclopedia of all human knowledge up to that point in history. St. Albert the Great was also one of the most famous preachers of his day and served as the papal theologian in Rome. He was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1931 by Pope Pius XI. St. Albert the Great is the patron saint of scientists and philosophers. His feast day is November 15th. | Friday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 495
Reading 1 Wis 13:1-9 All men were by nature foolish who were in ignorance of God,
and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing him who is,
and from studying the works did not discern the artisan;
But either fire, or wind, or the swift air,
or the circuit of the stars, or the mighty water,
or the luminaries of heaven, the governors of the world, they considered gods.
Now if out of joy in their beauty they thought them gods,
let them know how far more excellent is the Lord than these;
for the original source of beauty fashioned them.
Or if they were struck by their might and energy,
let them from these things realize how much more powerful is he who made them.
For from the greatness and the beauty of created things
their original author, by analogy, is seen.
But yet, for these the blame is less;
For they indeed have gone astray perhaps,
though they seek God and wish to find him.
For they search busily among his works,
but are distracted by what they see, because the things seen are fair.
But again, not even these are pardonable.
For if they so far succeeded in knowledge
that they could speculate about the world,
how did they not more quickly find its Lord? Responsorial Psalm Ps 19:2-3, 4-5ab R.(2a) The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day,
and night to night imparts knowledge.
R. The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.
R. The heavens proclaim the glory of God. Alleluia Lk 21:28 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Stand erect and raise your heads
because your redemption is at hand.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 17:26-37 Jesus said to his disciples:
"As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be in the days of the Son of Man;
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage up to the day
that Noah entered the ark,
and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot:
they were eating, drinking, buying,
selling, planting, building;
on the day when Lot left Sodom,
fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all.
So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
On that day, someone who is on the housetop
and whose belongings are in the house
must not go down to get them,
and likewise one in the field
must not return to what was left behind.
Remember the wife of Lot.
Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it,
but whoever loses it will save it.
I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed;
one will be taken, the other left.
And there will be two women grinding meal together;
one will be taken, the other left."
They said to him in reply, "Where, Lord?"
He said to them, "Where the body is,
there also the vultures will gather." | Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Luke 17:26-37 Saint Albert the Great, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Optional Memorial) Whoever loses his life will save it. (Luke 17:33) What's the best thing you could do if you're ever caught in quicksand? Relax! It may sound illogical, but the last thing you want to do is fight frantically to get out. Because the more you struggle, the deeper you will sink. The key is to loosen up, lean back, and allow your body to float. Your legs will slowly rise to the surface, and you'll be able to gently pull yourself out and roll away. You just have to go against your instincts! Fear and worry about the future can affect us in a way that's similar to quicksand. Listening to reports of bad news, worrying about what might go wrong in our families, fear for our health—all those things can pull us down into a swamp of worry and apprehension. The more we focus on our anxious thoughts, the deeper we can sink. Jesus' approach to these chaotic thoughts might surprise you: don't panic. Use the quicksand strategy instead. Instead of fretting about the future, focus on the present reality: he is already here. Try to stay calm and surrender to him so that you won't sink. Take today's Gospel as a prime example. Jesus makes it clear that he doesn't want his followers to get stuck in the fear of wondering when the Second Coming will happen or what it will look like. He doesn't want them to fight in order to "save" their lives, especially in the face of fears about the future. He wants them to "lose" their lives by loosening their grip on anxiety. How about you? Where do you see anxiety dragging you down? The next time you feel like you're drowning in the quicksand of worry, try to relax and focus on Jesus and his plans for you today. His first coming launched a revolution of love and mercy. It built a solid foundation that can keep you from drowning. What's even better, this solid foundation will grow ever stronger with every act of faith and trust you make. So lean back into the Lord and let him draw you onto solid ground. "Lord, help me to rest in your presence today. I want to let go of fear and doubt." Wisdom 13:1-9
Psalm 19:2-5 |  clickable | | my2cents:
"For if they so far succeeded in knowledge that they could speculate about the world, how did they not more quickly find its Lord?"
Our Lord said in Luke12:55 "You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky. Why don't you know how to interpret the present time?"
Why don't you know what time it is? You know earthly time, you've got it down to a science and so sure of it, so why can't you figure out what time it is outside of time?
There is a time for everything, for joy, for sadness, for repentance...for joyful expectation. | Today we pray: "Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard; Through all the earth their voice resounds, and to the ends of the world, their message. The heavens proclaim the glory of God."
Ahh. To the ends of the earth. I say this because I recall our Lord's words "I've come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already ablaze!" And the Holy Spirit prayer calls for fire "enkindle in us the fire of your love" we pray. | Our Lord speaks a prophecy, and truth, from Heaven: "...on the day when Lot left Sodom,
fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all. So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed."
Jesus is the Son of Man. He revealed Himself then and He reveals Himself now. He appears and wants you either hot or cold, not lukewarm for He says to us today, "Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it." Jesus is calling down on fire on all of us. It is doomsday for your life as you know it and love it. This is the attitude of Baptism and Confirmation that should transpire in our lives: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20. One will be taken, one will be left behind. And don't fall behind by following protestant theories and their "left behind" series and "the rapture" they have concocted with "tribulations". I won't go off on that tangent today. Today we must realize, Jesus has set the world on fire. The end has come for death and sin. Jesus is the end of death and sin. That is the reason He mounted the throne we set for Him on Mt. Calvary, the place of the skull, and some say it was right on the skull of Adam. | "...one will be taken, the other left." They said to him in reply, "Where, Lord?"
He said to them, "Where the body is, there also the vultures will gather."
Now, who can understand this? So often, two are in bed, and one is taken. Two are working, and one is taken. Is this what happens when death comes? It can be, right? Therefore, let us recall scripture: James 2:26
For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. Luke 11
"The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness. Romans 6:6
knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 1Cor 6
Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. James 3:6
And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. 1 Corinthians 6:19
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? Heavenly Lord and Father,
You gave your precious body on a Friday, and the next day you rested. And then, you came back for us all to join you in your eternal love.
I can not fathom your records of a billion soul smile, I can't even imagine your love for a single lost soul, of what it is truly like. A wilting flower in the desert goes noticed by your powerful love.
Lord, let that fire of your love consume us, let us be light by being on fire. Let us do your will, let us follow you everywhere you go, and be yours alone and forever. |  hear it read | adrian Random Bible Verse 1
Proverbs 15:29 29 The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.
->Thank You Jesus<-
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