 clickable | | What prevents you from being fully immersed in this moment, the holy ground of "now"? Every grace-laden moment, is primed with possibilities for anyone who is wide open and ready to receive. The only limit to our Maker's abundance is our limited capacity to receive. Consider a time when you lost yourself and fell into fullness — fully alive, fully connected. —from the book Wandering and Welcome: Meditations for Finding Peace by Joseph Grant |  MorningOffering.com | † Saint Quote
"You will not see anyone who is truly striving after his spiritual advancement who is not given to spiritual reading."
— St. Athanasius of Alexandria † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"For us Christians, the first virtue of godliness is to honor our parents—to pay back the troubles of those who bore us, and to give them whatever comforts we can with all our strength. For if we repaid them as much as possible, we could still never pay them back for their gift of life. Then they will enjoy the comfort we provide, . . . And then won't our Father in heaven accept our good intentions, and judge us worthy to 'shine like the sun in the Kingdom of our Father' (Matthew 13:43)?"
— St. Cyril of Jerusalem, p. 190
AN EXCERPT FROM
Year with Church Fathers † VERSE OF THE DAY
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior."
Isaiah 43:2-3 |  click to read more | | ST. FRANCES XAVIER CABRINI St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850–1917) was the thirteenth child of a modest farming family born near Milan, Italy. Her father would often gather his children in the kitchen to hear him read from a book on the lives of the saints. St. Frances was endeared to the stories of missionaries working in the Orient and desired to become one herself, which in her day was a man's role. Turned away from being a nun twice due to poor health, she prayed before the relics of her patron, Francis Xavier, the great Jesuit missionary-saint, about founding a new religious order to evangelize the East just as he did. Pope Leo XIII approved of her order, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, but instead of sending her to China as she had desired since childhood, he sent her to the West, specifically to America to serve the growing European immigrant population which faced poverty and disenfranchisement. St. Frances Xavier Cabrini moved to New York in 1889 and went on to found 67 institutions—schools, orphanages, and hospitals—throughout the Western Hemisphere. She received American citizenship, and in 1946 became the first United States citizen to be canonized by the Catholic Church. Her ministry left a significant mark on the Americas, creating lasting institutions to educate and care for those in need. She is the patron saint of immigrants, orphans, and hospital administrators. Her feast day is November 13th. As a child, she was always frightened of water, unable to overcome her fear of drowning. Yet, despite this fear, she traveled across the Atlantic Ocean more than 30 times. She died of malaria in her own Columbus Hospital in Chicago.
Reflection The compassion and dedication of Mother Cabrini is still seen in hundreds of thousands of her fellow citizens who care for the sick in hospitals, nursing homes, and state institutions. We complain of increased medical costs in an affluent society, but the daily news shows us millions who have little or no medical care, and who are calling for new Mother Cabrinis to become citizen-servants of their land.
Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini is the Patron Saint of: Hospital Administrators
Immigrants
Impossible Causes
India Prayer
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, thank you for the gift of life, thank you for this day, and thank you for Your servant, Saint Frances Cabrini.
Fill us, O Lord, with the fire of Your love that our minds and hearts may be open to Your will for us today and every day. Root in us, her spirit, that we may represent the passion of Mother Cabrini to everyone we meet this day. Renew us that we may live as she lived, faithful to You and open to Your every prompting. Through the intercession of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. from Mother Cabrini Shrine Colorado | Memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin
Lectionary: 493
Reading 1 Wis 6:1-11 Hear, O kings, and understand;
learn, you magistrates of the earth's expanse!
Hearken, you who are in power over the multitude
and lord it over throngs of peoples!
Because authority was given you by the Lord
and sovereignty by the Most High,
who shall probe your works and scrutinize your counsels.
Because, though you were ministers of his kingdom, you judged not rightly,
and did not keep the law,
nor walk according to the will of God,
Terribly and swiftly shall he come against you,
because judgment is stern for the exalted–
For the lowly may be pardoned out of mercy
but the mighty shall be mightily put to the test.
For the Lord of all shows no partiality,
nor does he fear greatness,
Because he himself made the great as well as the small,
and he provides for all alike;
but for those in power a rigorous scrutiny impends.
To you, therefore, O princes, are my words addressed
that you may learn wisdom and that you may not sin.
For those who keep the holy precepts hallowed shall be found holy,
and those learned in them will have ready a response.
Desire therefore my words;
long for them and you shall be instructed. Responsorial Psalm Ps 82:3-4, 6-7 R. (8a) Rise up, O God, bring judgment to the earth.
Defend the lowly and the fatherless;
render justice to the afflicted and the destitute.
Rescue the lowly and the poor;
from the hand of the wicked deliver them.
R. Rise up, O God, bring judgment to the earth.
I said: "You are gods,
all of you sons of the Most High;
yet like men you shall die,
and fall like any prince."
R. Rise up, O God, bring judgment to the earth. Alleluia 1 Thes 5:18 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
In all circumstances, give thanks,
for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 17:11-19 As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem,
he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.
As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him.
They stood at a distance from him and raised their voice, saying,
"Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!"
And when he saw them, he said,
"Go show yourselves to the priests."
As they were going they were cleansed.
And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.
He was a Samaritan.
Jesus said in reply,
"Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?"
Then he said to him, "Stand up and go;
your faith has saved you." | Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Luke 17:11-19 Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin (Memorial) One of them, realizing he had been healed, returned. (Luke 17:15) Why do humans everywhere give gifts to each other? Probably for two reasons. First, we give gifts to one another as a sign of our love and affection. We are grateful for their role in our lives, and we want to show them how much they mean to us. Second, gifts are also a way to cement or deepen our relationships with our loved ones. A woman wears the necklace her husband bought her because it reminds her of his love, and it endears him to her even more. In today's Gospel, Jesus gives a valuable gift to ten people who have a devastating disease—the gift of healing. He healed them because he loved them, and he wanted to do something good for them—the first reason for any gift. But it seems that only one of these ten grasped the second reason for this gift; he's the only one who came back to thank Jesus and offer him worship. Out of all of these people, only this fellow understood that Jesus was inviting him to a closer relationship with him. The same holds true today. God has given us many, many gifts: friends, family, a unique set of talents and abilities, his Church, and various signs of his love and presence in our lives. God has given all of them to us freely, out of love and a desire to draw us closer to his heart. Each and every one of these gifts contains within it a special invitation for us to learn more about him and to deepen our relationship with him. His gift of family reveals his commitment to us; friends show us the joy we can have by just being with him; our talents move us to want to serve him; the Church provides a home for us to live with him. And the list goes on. Today, think of the gifts that God has given to you. It can be something as small as a little answered prayer or as big as a miraculous healing. Take a moment to thank him for loving you in this way. Now, how can you love him in return? "Lord, I thank you for all you have done in my life." Wisdom 6:1-11
Psalm 82:3-4, 6-7 |  clickable | When I saw Mother Teresa pray, often pressing her hands right into her face, pressing her nose upward in her profound absorption, it reminded me of the words of Jesus' disciples who saw the Lord praying and asked him, 'Lord, teach us also to pray.' And then Jesus taught them the Our Father. ... When asked what prayer was for her, Mother Teresa answered: 'God speaks to me—and I speak to Him. It's that simple. That is prayer.'
—Msgr. Leo Maasburg
from Mother Teresa of Calcutta: A Personal Portrait | my2cents:
"Because he himself made the great as well as the small,
and he provides for all alike..."
This Holy Scripture is from the Book of Wisdom.
It reminds me of Mt 5:45 "...that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."
It is a good fit, because the next line speaks about giving "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even tax collectors do the same?" Wisdom continues today "For those who keep the holy precepts hallowed shall be found holy, and those learned in them will have ready a response." | Let us pray: "Defend the lowly and the fatherless;
render justice to the afflicted and the destitute.
Rescue the lowly and the poor; from the hand of the wicked deliver them. Rise up, O God, bring judgment to the earth". This prayer was probably written a few hundred years before Christ walked the earth we live in. It was a prayer for God to come and help the poor. So...He came. Was it a delayed response? Did God never come before? Of course. But He sent Himself...therefore...served Himself. | They approached our Lord ""Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!"
Lord Have Mercy. Don't we all pray that? I know I do, day in and day out as I see and hear of people that need prayer.
And this is a prayer during Mass, an utmost important prayer, so we say it all Mass long.
Yet what transpires when God DOES have mercy on us? What happens in this interaction? He gives. He gives and He gives. And how do we leave Mass? | A Spanish reflection said today . St. Augustine left the following sentence: "Thank God": there is nothing one can say more quickly (...) or do more usefully than these words. Therefore, we, how do we thank Jesus for the great gift of life, our own and of the family; the grace of faith, the holy Eucharist, the forgiveness of sins ...? Doesn't it ever happen to us that we don't thank him for the Eucharist, even though he frequently participates in it? The Eucharist is — we do not doubt it — our best daily experience." P. Conrad J. MARTÍ i Martí OFM Yet, how do we leave Mass? Unthankful? I used to laugh inside timagining how people rush at the end of Mass, imagining cars peeling out, knocking each other down trying to evacuate the building, in such a mad rush to leave...but shouldn't we come back? I am often one of the last to go, not the last, because I still see one or two there, some chit chatting, which is good (community), but every once in a while, I'll see someone lagging behind in the pews, still praying on their knees, or at the Blessed Sacrament praying quietly, on their own. It is a moving scene.
And so today, we are reminded of the "good" Samaritan. Amen? What did the good Samaritan do to the injured man? He went to, tended, and served a stranger. Is God a stranger to you? Is God asking "too much" of you? What will it cost to serve Him?
It doesn't cost a thing if love don't cost a thing. It didn't cost God all the suffering that could be offered...costs only matter when you want something in return.
Jesus asks about the other 9. He cared for them, but didn't send for them, or exact punishment on them. No, that is on us. He gives and He gives and gives.
Think about this when you are weighing the costs of discipleship...that of being His true follower.
9 out of 10 were physically healed. One could be said for sure, was eternally Saved. For He gave thanks. He was Eucharist.
"Then he said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you."
I watched a video yesterday from Ascension presents by Father Mark Mary. Click to see. In the video called "Chasing Away the Grumpies" he winds up explaining what he does to get rid of the grumpy attitude we fall into. He makes it sound easy, but it was really hard for me to try...why? What did it call for? Thanksgiving.
How can you give thanks when you are so mad, or just in a bad mood?
How can you give thanks when everything seems wrong?
How can I get rid of this nasty state of being?
It was hard to do.
But I did it. Being thankful changes everything.
Being truly thankful winds up making you a holy person.
Wisdom ends today rightly so:
"For those who keep the holy precepts hallowed shall be found holy,
and those learned in them will have ready a response.
Desire therefore my words; long for them and you shall be instructed." Desire what is from Heaven.
Jesus.
My Lord, I pray to desire only what is righteous in your Holy Eyes. I desire to fall at your feet, bathing your feet with tears of exuberant thankfulness...indeed, a turning around, a life surrendering, the kind that says, now that I am with You, I'll follow you wherever you lead...Lead the way my Lord and my God...Jesus My King! |  hear it read | adrian Random Bible Verse 1
For in it is revealed the righteousness of God from faith to faith;* as it is written, "The one who is righteous by faith will live."
Romans 1:16
->Thank You Jesus<-
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