 clickable | | When Your Prayer Time Is Over When your prayer time here is over and you go on your way, how do you experience your own strengths and weaknesses? What opportunities are there to work with others to improve society's attitudes toward people who can't speak up for themselves? Look for ways to stretch across religious differences to make this a safer world for all. Thank God for the goodness in human nature that wants to lift up children and others who can't take care of themselves. —from the book Eucharistic Adoration: Reflections in the Franciscan Tradition by the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"The ordinary acts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest."
— St. Thomas More † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"God wishes us to be meek even toward ourselves. When a person commits a fault, God certainly wishes him to humble himself, to be sorry for his sin, and to purpose never to fall into it again; but he does not wish him to be indignant with himself, and give way to trouble and agitation of mind; for, while the soul is agitated, a man is incapable of doing good."
— St. Alphonsus De Liguori, p. 259
AN EXCERPT FROM
The Sermons of St. Alphonsus Liguori † VERSE OF THE DAY
"Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the faithful. Let Israel be glad in its Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King. Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre. For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with victory."
Psalm 149: 1-4 |  click to read more | | ST. DOMINIC HENARES St. Dominic Henares (1764-1838) was born to a poor family in Spain. He joined the Dominican Order and was ordained a priest in 1790. Ten years later he was sent as a missionary to the Far East. He went from Mexico to the Philippines, and finally to North Vietnam. He became Bishop of Phunhay, Vietnam, in 1803. In 1831 the Vietnamese emperor officially prohibited Catholicism and severely persecuted the Church. Whole villages were sent into exile; priests were arrested and subjected to the most terrible tortures before they were killed. Those who helped capture them were richly rewarded. Bishop Henares was arrested and beheaded in Nam Dinh on June 25, 1838; the soldiers and villagers who participated in his arrest received generous compensation. St. Dominic Henares is one of an estimated 130,000 to 300,000 Catholics martyred for the faith in Vietnam between the 15th and 20th centuries. They were canonized together by Pope St. John Paul II in 1988. St. Dominic Henares' feast day is June 25, and the collective memorial for 117 of the Vietnamese Martyrs is November 24. | Tuesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Gn 13:2, 5-18 Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold. Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents,
so that the land could not support them if they stayed together;
their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together.
There were quarrels between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock
and those of Lot's.
(At this time the Canaanites and the Perizzites
were occupying the land.) So Abram said to Lot:
"Let there be no strife between you and me,
or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are kinsmen.
Is not the whole land at your disposal?
Please separate from me.
If you prefer the left, I will go to the right;
if you prefer the right, I will go to the left."
Lot looked about and saw how well watered
the whole Jordan Plain was as far as Zoar,
like the LORD's own garden, or like Egypt.
(This was before the LORD had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)
Lot, therefore, chose for himself the whole Jordan Plain
and set out eastward.
Thus they separated from each other;
Abram stayed in the land of Canaan,
while Lot settled among the cities of the Plain,
pitching his tents near Sodom.
Now the inhabitants of Sodom were very wicked
in the sins they committed against the LORD. After Lot had left, the LORD said to Abram:
"Look about you, and from where you are,
gaze to the north and south, east and west;
all the land that you see I will give to you
and your descendants forever.
I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth;
if anyone could count the dust of the earth,
your descendants too might be counted.
Set forth and walk about in the land, through its length and breadth,
for to you I will give it."
Abram moved his tents and went on to settle
near the terebinth of Mamre, which is at Hebron.
There he built an altar to the LORD. Responsorial Psalm Ps 15:2-3a, 3bc-4ab, 5 R. (1b) He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
He who walks blamelessly and does justice;
who thinks the truth in his heart
and slanders not with his tongue.
R. He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
Who harms not his fellow man,
nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;
By whom the reprobate is despised,
while he honors those who fear the LORD.
R. He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
Who lends not his money at usury
and accepts no bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things
shall never be disturbed.
R. He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord. Alleluia Jn 8:12 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 7:6, 12-14 Jesus said to his disciples:
"Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine,
lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces. "Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.
This is the Law and the Prophets. "Enter through the narrow gate;
for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction,
and those who enter through it are many.
How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life.
And those who find it are few."
| Meditation: Matthew 7:6, 12-14 12th Week in Ordinary Time How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. (Matthew 7:14) In C. S. Lewis' book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, a young girl named Lucy stumbles into a big wardrobe crowded with fur coats. She scrambles to the back of it, only to find that she has stepped into the land of Narnia. As she is about to enter this new land, Lucy looks back for a moment and considers returning to the safety of the wardrobe. Narnia is a strange place, and she is alone. Should she really be doing this? Lucy decides to keep moving forward instead of back, and it makes a huge difference in her life. Not only does she meet new friends, but her courage and character are tested through dangerous adventures, and she grows in maturity and wisdom. We might feel a similar hesitation at different points in our spiritual journey. The path of repentance, for instance, can be narrow, and we won't always see a lot of other people walking it. The same is true when it comes to purity or compassion or generosity. We see the risks involved, and we fear that it will be too costly. We may sense that it will test our courage and character, but we don't know exactly how—or how much. Like Lucy, we ask if we really should stay on this "narrow" and "constricted" road (Matthew 7:14). But this is the road that leads to life—both now and forever! Yes, it can be difficult at times. Yes, it is costly. And no, it doesn't guarantee a problem-free life. But Jesus knows this, and still he asks you to keep moving forward. He promises to be your Savior and guide when you face obstacles or temptations along the way. He has given you his Church and the sacraments to strengthen you if you should stumble along the path. And he has given you traveling companions who can help you and encourage you when life gets difficult. Whatever adventures (or misadventures) befall you on the path, you can be sure of one thing: Jesus is there to help you. So don't look back. Keep looking ahead to all the blessings God has in store for you. "Come, Holy Spirit! Help me to stay on the path that leads to life." Genesis 13:2, 5-18
Psalm 15:2-5 |  clickable | At this point, it is extremely important to keep in mind that a person is not bad because he has a temptation. Many believe, because they have a temptation to pride, to avarice, to hate, to lust, that there is something wrong with them. There is nothing wrong with you if you are tempted. You are not tempted because you are evil; you are tempted because you are human. There is nothing intrinsically evil about human nature just because a little devil knocks at the door. Evil begins only when we open the door and consent to the temptation. Scripture praises the man who suffers temptations. When we resist temptations, we strengthen our character.
—Ven. Fulton J. Sheen
from Life is Worth Living | my2cents: "There he built an altar to the LORD."
Abram chose to be second. He let Lot have first call, dibs on the land he'd like. Lot saw how mesmerizing the lush the Jordan plain looked and went for it. He probably knew that Sodom was in there too, but hey, it's greener fields over there for his cows, which meant security...right?
Abram chose insecurity...that is, he would rely solely on faith. And God would reward this kind of choice. To trust not on earthly means, but in Him...totally. | Let us pray today:
"He who walks blamelessly and does justice; who thinks the truth in his heart
and slanders not with his tongue. He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord."
Wouldn't you like to walk blamelessly? They say Adam and Eve used to take a walk with the Lord in the Garden. This is a theological meaning. This means they were absolutely blameless. Walk with the Lord. Be of pure heart. Be so holy ...it shows. Haven't we read of so many stories of saints that have seen visions of our Lord or angels or our Blessed Mother? That is because they are of pure heart. Like the children at Fatima. Or even Juan Diego, a poor peasant Indian walking to daily Mass in the mountains. But in our day, hardly anybody wants to lift a finger...that is, of purity, of holiness, of being...blameless. | 3 commands our Lord says today. 1.) "Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine". Wow! Bow wow! LOL. Is this being stingy or mean? Remember when our Lord said to the Woman from Cana that it is not right to give food of the children to the dogs? How does this work with charity, in a culture that says "everyone is equal". Everyone, gays, and in the future pedophiles and beast lovers, everyone, and at the cost of what? If this keeps up, the church will be asked to pay up, dearly. All it has taken is a few decades of softening up God and the devil. And now to pay up dearly. The Holy Church could very well be asked to render rights to all those who want rights to marriage. Already many denominations have paid up. And it will cost you for looking at the land of Sodom so fondly, with false security. It will cost us what? Lives? Of course....souls that is. Because the end nature of an inward sexuality is a direct cutting off of future generations. Think of Eve not desiring Adom from which she came from, now Jesus is the Groom. And all this is not coming from homosexuals direct, it is not the ultimate root source! Say WHAT?? Nope. It has come at the cost of looking fondly at a contraceptive mentality. Am I hitting close to home now? Anti-conception, meaning, anti-life! Suddenly, giving to dogs is taking a real meaning...not people, but ideology. Making hogwash of something very precious....like God's laws, and His Will! Think Eucharist, should you receive pearls in a hog pen? | 2.) "Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the Law"
Ahh, the good ol' "golden rule " people love to use (but not really apply!). We love to be treated well and talked about well, but we don't truly treat others well, especially by the way we talk. Wouldn't you like others to treat you so awesome, like you were the most valuable and important person on earth? Well, why don't you treat everyone like that? That's a tall order, isn't it? Especially that person that is darn well doing you wrong right now! They say though, that love covers a multitude of sins...mercy starts showing its beautiful face...Jesus begins to appear, once we begin our blameless walk, and you know very well you will be judged by your love! And to top that note, let's believe Jesus could be in any given soul at any given point in time. How do we treat our Lord? Let's stop saying "the people are bad" for very well, our Lord could be thrown in the mix! 3.) "Enter through the narrow gate...How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few."
Ahhh, certainly things aren't getting any easier here! And for good reason. The Lord is good. The Lord is perfect. The Lord is righteous and holy. Think about how many righteous and holy people are in your lives leading you to God right now. You'd probably count them on one hand...if any, right? And I'm talking about living saints, I'm talking...just about blameless. The narrow gate is painted as a wide gate in the world. Especially in other denominations, it is painted wide open, not even partially closed, for they say "once saved ALWAYS saved". It is a distorted view of Christianity. Puritans washed down to the extreme. Some of them believe all Catholics are going to hell. I told my brother in Christ that told me this last week, "those people saying that are being absolutely merciless with those words". I wouldn't say that about them or anyone else. God knows who will be condemned. I am called to a saving message. God, yes, desires every soul in Heaven, but not every soul desires Heaven truly. What is Heaven? God is chosen to live among us in the Holy Spirit and nourishes us with Himself in Eucharist. God has decided that a bit of Heaven, will be in our very hearts. What a strange notion, right? Is he welcome in your heart? How wide open is the gate to Him? Not very, for very many. But what about you? When people think of you, do they see number 2? I am second. They should see and say "there goes a true servant of God...of Love" |  hear it read | adrian Random Bible Verse1
John 6:47 (Listen) 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. Thank You Jesus | |
