 clickable | | Learn to Fail Well If you want to be a successful painter, you will at first fail on numerous canvases. And if you want to be a successful mathematician, you will at first fail in solving the equations. If you want to be a successful writer, your manuscripts will be rejected endlessly until one of them isn't. But there will never come a point when you stop failing, because that's what creativity is about. What works can only be known against the backdrop of what doesn't—and if you're too afraid to ever risk establishing that backdrop, personally and professionally, then you'll never know what success is like. In the Hebrew Bible, we have the beautiful images in Jeremiah, for example, in the potter's house where he comes to understand that even as Israel screws everything up over and over again, God—like a potter with clay in hand—is patient and allows the remodeling to take place, allows us to try again, to become the beautiful creation intended from the beginning. If we cannot live because we fear failure, then we cannot be good Christians because it is a faith predicated on being often diametrically opposed to worldly success. If you want to be successful, you need to learn to fail well. —from the book God Is Not Fair, and Other Reasons for Gratitude by Daniel P. Horan, OFM |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote "To put into practice the teachings of our holy faith, it is not enough to convince ourselves that they are true; we must love them. Love united to faith makes us practise our religion."
— St. Alphonsus Liguori † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"I do not wish the soul to consider her sins, either in general or in particular, without also remembering the Blood and the broadness of My mercy, for fear that otherwise she should be brought to confusion. And together with confusion would come the Devil, who has caused it, under colour of contrition and displeasure of sin, and so she would arrive at eternal damnation, not only on account of her confusion, but also through the despair which would come to her, because she did not seize the arm of My mercy. This is one of the subtle devices with which the Devil deludes My servants, and, in order to escape from his deceit, and to be pleasing to Me, you must enlarge your hearts and affections in My boundless mercy, with true humility. Thou knowest that the pride of the devil cannot resist the humble mind, nor can any confusion of spirit be greater than the broadness of My good mercy, if the soul will only truly hope therein."
— St. Catherine Of Siena, p. 94
AN EXCERPT FROM
Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena † VERSE OF THE DAY
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Acts 1:8 SAINT OF THE DAY |  click to read more | | Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe (January 8, 1894 – August 14, 1941) "I don't know what's going to become of you!" How many parents have said that? Maximilian Mary Kolbe's reaction was, "I prayed very hard to Our Lady to tell me what would happen to me. She appeared, holding in her hands two crowns, one white, one red. She asked if I would like to have them—one was for purity, the other for martyrdom. I said, 'I choose both.' She smiled and disappeared." After that he was not the same. He entered the minor seminary of the Conventual Franciscans in Lvív–then Poland, now Ukraine– near his birthplace, and at 16 became a novice. Though Maximilian later achieved doctorates in philosophy and theology, he was deeply interested in science, even drawing plans for rocket ships. Ordained at 24, Maximilian saw religious indifference as the deadliest poison of the day. His mission was to combat it. He had already founded the Militia of the Immaculata, whose aim was to fight evil with the witness of the good life, prayer, work, and suffering. He dreamed of and then founded Knight of the Immaculata, a religious magazine under Mary's protection to preach the Good News to all nations. For the work of publication he established a "City of the Immaculata"—Niepokalanow—which housed 700 of his Franciscan brothers. He later founded another one in Nagasaki, Japan. Both the Militia and the magazine ultimately reached the one-million mark in members and subscribers. His love of God was daily filtered through devotion to Mary. In 1939, the Nazi panzers overran Poland with deadly speed. Niepokalanow was severely bombed. Kolbe and his friars were arrested, then released in less than three months, on the feast of the Immaculate Conception. In 1941, Fr. Kolbe was arrested again. The Nazis' purpose was to liquidate the select ones, the leaders. The end came quickly, three months later in Auschwitz, after terrible beatings and humiliations. A prisoner had escaped. The commandant announced that 10 men would die. He relished walking along the ranks. "This one. That one." As they were being marched away to the starvation bunkers, Number 16670 dared to step from the line. "I would like to take that man's place. He has a wife and children."
"Who are you?"
"A priest." No name, no mention of fame. Silence. The commandant, dumbfounded, perhaps with a fleeting thought of history, kicked Sergeant Francis Gajowniczek out of line and ordered Fr. Kolbe to go with the nine. In the "block of death" they were ordered to strip naked, and their slow starvation began in darkness. But there was no screaming—the prisoners sang. By the eve of the Assumption, four were left alive. The jailer came to finish Kolbe off as he sat in a corner praying. He lifted his fleshless arm to receive the bite of the hypodermic needle. It was filled with carbolic acid. They burned his body with all the others. Fr. Kolbe was beatified in 1971 and canonized in 1982.
Reflection Father Kolbe's death was not a sudden, last-minute act of heroism. His whole life had been a preparation. His holiness was a limitless, passionate desire to convert the whole world to God. And his beloved Immaculata was his inspiration.
Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe is the Patron Saint of: Addicts
Drug addiction | Memorial of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr Reading 1 Dt 34:1-12 Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo,
the headland of Pisgah which faces Jericho,
and the LORD showed him all the land—
Gilead, and as far as Dan, all Naphtali,
the land of Ephraim and Manasseh,
all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea,
the Negeb, the circuit of the Jordan
with the lowlands at Jericho, city of palms,
and as far as Zoar.
The LORD then said to him,
"This is the land
which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
that I would give to their descendants.
I have let you feast your eyes upon it, but you shall not cross over."
So there, in the land of Moab, Moses, the servant of the LORD,
died as the LORD had said; and he was buried in the ravine
opposite Beth-peor in the land of Moab,
but to this day no one knows the place of his burial.
Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died,
yet his eyes were undimmed and his vigor unabated.
For thirty days the children of Israel wept for Moses
in the plains of Moab, till they had completed
the period of grief and mourning for Moses. Now Joshua, son of Nun, was filled with the spirit of wisdom,
since Moses had laid his hands upon him;
and so the children of Israel gave him their obedience,
thus carrying out the LORD's command to Moses. Since then no prophet has arisen in Israel like Moses,
whom the LORD knew face to face.
He had no equal in all the signs and wonders
the LORD sent him to perform in the land of Egypt
against Pharaoh and all his servants and against all his land,
and for the might and the terrifying power
that Moses exhibited in the sight of all Israel. Responsorial Psalm Ps 66:1-3a, 5 and 8, 16-17 R.(see 20a and 10b) Blessed be God who filled my soul with fire!
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;
sing praise to the glory of his name;
proclaim his glorious praise.
Say to God: "How tremendous are your deeds!"
R. Blessed be God who filled my soul with fire!
Come and see the works of God,
his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.
Bless our God, you peoples;
loudly sound his praise.
R. Blessed be God who filled my soul with fire!
Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare
what he has done for me.
When I appealed to him in words,
praise was on the tip of my tongue.
R. Blessed be God who filled my soul with fire! Alleluia 2 Cor 5:19 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 18:15-20 Jesus said to his disciples:
"If your brother sins against you,
go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.
If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.
If he does not listen,
take one or two others along with you,
so that every fact may be established
on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
If he refuses to listen to them, tell the Church.
If he refuses to listen even to the Church,
then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.
Amen, I say to you,
whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth
about anything for which they are to pray,
it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them."
| Meditation: Matthew 18:15-2 Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr (Memorial) Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:20) We often associate today's Gospel reading with intercession. We find great comfort in knowing that Jesus is with us even when only a few of us gather to pray for people! But there is more going on here than intercession. If you look at the stories that surround this passage, you can see that Jesus is talking about another particular time when he is present with us: when we come together to repair relationships. You can imagine Jesus needing to teach his followers about how to handle wounded relationships. After all, they were ordinary human beings like us. They bickered over who was the greatest, they disagreed about who did the most work, and they surely rubbed each other the wrong way at times. So Jesus wanted to teach them how to get reconciled. It's hard to talk about what we've done wrong. It's even harder to bring up a wrong done to us and do it in a loving and humble way. And it's hardest of all to forgive and start anew. We need God's grace to begin this process at all, and we really need his help to do it well. That's why Jesus promised to be with his disciples—with us—whenever we gather to do the hard work of rebuilding a relationship wounded by sin or weakness. You can probably think of a relationship in your life that could use some fixing right now. Maybe you feel that it's time to take the first step and reach out. That might well be the Holy Spirit. Jesus longs to see his children forgiving one another just as he forgave us. He is so dedicated to our reconciliation that he promises to be with us every step of the way. When you're holding the phone and trying to muster up the courage to call, he is there to help you do it. When you're sitting down together for that difficult conversation, he is there to give you loving words and grace to listen well. When things get tense, he is there to give you self-control and compassion. He is there to work miracles every time we try to choose unity over division! "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace and reconciliation." Deuteronomy 34:1-12
Psalm 66:1-3, 5, 8, 16-17 |  clickable | Always remain close to the Catholic Church, because it alone can give you true peace, since it alone possesses Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, the true Prince of Peace.
—Saint Padre Pio
from Purity 365 | my2cents:
"...so the children of Israel gave him their obedience,
thus carrying out the LORD's command to Moses."
And the laying of hands continues to this day, for Moses had lay his precious hands on Joshua. To this day, it happens with every Pope and Bishop and Priest and....even YOU! Ahh, that fire. | Let us Pray: "Blessed be God who filled my soul with fire! Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare what he has done for me. When I appealed to him in words, praise was on the tip of my tongue. Blessed be God who filled my soul with fire!"
Ahh that fire. How can we live with that fire from above? That fire that gives energy, strength, to give life... | Let us turn to the Son that gives light to the world:
"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you..." and He goes on to say to take it to the Church. If that person does not repent.
First problem: who dares tell people theirs sins? "Uh, hey, you are sinning against me sir". Who does that? And how do people sin against me? Personal insults? Ehh, maybe. Adulterous affairs? Now we are getting warmer. Stealing? Well yeah. But how about the sins of the hatred of God? That seems to be a popular one nowadays.
"For reals?" How can I say that in a nation that claims to be around 80% believers in a God?
Truth is, we can all say we believe, but that is as far as it goes...it doesn't show.
Who then will call out sin? Who then will take 2 or 3 with you to try to make the sinner repent? That is, who will help save a soul? Who will take the sick on a mat to Jesus and through the roof? Who believes in mercy? And who LOVES Mercy? | Our Lord said "whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father." Again with the 2 or 3 thing! Why is it so important? To be in triplets or at least twos? Because He is Trinity and is the 3rd. The solid stability of Trinity. The tripod stands.
He continues "For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them."
Amazing. Do you believe? Or have you felt your prayers as if spitting in the wind? Wasted air? Have you lost faith? Let me fix your eyes back on Jesus.
Let us turn to a real life St. Maximilian Kolbe.
Toady ChurchPop (click to see) shared a story about a 15 year old boy that blocked a LGBT pride parade. He held up a crucifix and a rosary that he got from a priest. All the rainbow flags were marching towards him and he stood his ground. They arrived to him and the police hauled him away. He said he was afraid at first to do it, but what pushed him over the edge? He,Baryła, said "However, after seeing a blasphemous image of Our Lady of Częstochowa depicted with rainbow halos, "I decided that I had to go back to my idea".
He then said ""I directed my prayer to the Mother of God, the ideal of purity.
"Policemen came and asked me to stand up. I said I couldn't do it because the participants of the march are destroying my Catholic faith and profaning the Polish flag by placing a rainbow on it."
This man did today's scripture. This is not a 15 yr. old boy. This is a man of God. He brings up sin to the sinner. In a loving and peaceful way. Not with violence. Not armed. Only armed with a rosary. And they trampled over him and had him hauled off. The beat of worldly music and rainbow flags took over, all things feelings, all things sentiment, all things temporal, all things selfish, a take over is the war game.
My loved ones that are saying they are gay, they know where I stand on this, as if it were not obvious. And they also know more importantly, that I love them. I love them so much that I tell the truth. The truth that God wants us to be explosive powers, not implosive. To be givers of light and life, not to take life and block life and light. "Dar Luz" in Spanish means Give Light/Birth.
There is something quite demonic about Protestantism, divisions upon divisions, and something demonic in the Homosexual movement that causes division and destruction and death. Hatred they spit, pointing fingers saying "accept me or else you hate me", in other words "let me do what I want, where I want, with whomever I want, all liberty, or else you are against me".
Sounds demonic and rebellious, doesn't it? Protestanism says "I have the keys" just like Mormons claim. They lie about keys, authority and rejecting the authority of the Holy ones that have had the hands of Moses and Joshua lay on them. For the Catholic is the direct laying of hands of the chosen ones of Israel. And what does the Catholic Church proclaim? Purity and mercy. Read the entire life of St. Maximillian Kolbe.
In a couple months, I will be a leader in a prison Kolbe retreat. I have to give up my life to be with them and for them. Are all prisoners saved? Are all drug addicts freed? No. But when St. Max died, he had a handful singing praises to God, they wouldn't die of starvation for a couple weeks until they injected them with carbolic acid in their veins, death against purity.
And it doesn't begin anywhere else but in your own little world.
This is how abortions began and became legal. Little by little. Evil works with permissions.
How permissive are you to darkness?
How much authority does God have to control your life? St. Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us, for our purity, and for our addictions to fall. Pray for us as the world needs the purity you proclaimed of the Immaculate Conception, she born without sin giving birth to purity, Jesus the Light. Pray for us because a fallen soul needs strength...all things faith Hail Mary full of grace...pray for us sinners |  hear it read | adrian Random Bible Verse1
Isaiah 41:10 (Listen) 10 Fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Thank You Jesus | |
