 clickable | | Food for Our Souls Food freely given exacts from us a promise to go beyond its selfish reception to the unselfish realm of deep gratitude. There we commit ourselves to give to others what we have received. My food mentors— grandmother and mother—cooked not because their sense of dignity depended on others' opinions of them but because they knew that treating tablemates to the best they could offer was the backbone of every family and nation. Though ingratitude and indifference might have come to their table, it disappeared when they left it. Poured forth from previously pursed lips was a litany of gratitude complemented by what these good souls always wanted to see: sighs and smiles of contentment. —from the book Table of Plenty: Good Food for Body and Spirit by Susan Muto |  MorningOffering.com | † Saint Quote
"If you do not hope, you will not find what is beyond your hopes."
— St. Clement of Alexandria † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"Nothing is sweeter than love; nothing stronger, nothing higher, nothing more generous, nothing more pleasant, nothing fuller or better in Heaven or on earth; for love proceeds from God and cannot rest but in God above all things created."
— Thomas a' Kempis, p. 87
AN EXCERPT FROM
Imitation of Christ † VERSE OF THE DAY
"We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh."
2 Corinthians 4:8-11 |  click to read more | | OUR LADY OF THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL On November 27, 1830, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St. Catherine Laboure in Paris, France and gave her a vision of an image, with instructions to strike the image, front and back, onto a medal. With this medal Our Lady promised that, "All those who wear it will receive great graces; these graces will be abundant for those who wear it with faith." The medal bears an image of Our Lady standing on the world, the serpent crushed under her feet, with arms extended and graces pouring forth from her hands. On the reverse is a cross surmounted by the letter 'M', and beneath it the side-by-side symbols of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary, all encircled by twelve stars. The medal symbolizes Mary's perfect spiritual union with Jesus' redemptive mission, and, consequently, her intercessory role in salvation history as the mediatrix of God's graces to mankind through her Son. The medal spread widely and became a source of many graces and miracles for its wearers, earning the name "Miraculous Medal." It is traditionally worn around the neck and has become a treasured sacramental of the Catholic Church. Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal's feast day is November 27th. | Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Dn 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28 King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his lords,
with whom he drank.
Under the influence of the wine,
he ordered the gold and silver vessels
which Nebuchadnezzar, his father,
had taken from the temple in Jerusalem,
to be brought in so that the king, his lords,
his wives and his entertainers might drink from them.
When the gold and silver vessels
taken from the house of God in Jerusalem had been brought in,
and while the king, his lords, his wives and his entertainers
were drinking wine from them,
they praised their gods of gold and silver,
bronze and iron, wood and stone. Suddenly, opposite the lampstand,
the fingers of a human hand appeared,
writing on the plaster of the wall in the king's palace.
When the king saw the wrist and hand that wrote, his face blanched;
his thoughts terrified him, his hip joints shook,
and his knees knocked. Then Daniel was brought into the presence of the king.
The king asked him, "Are you the Daniel, the Jewish exile,
whom my father, the king, brought from Judah?
I have heard that the Spirit of God is in you,
that you possess brilliant knowledge and extraordinary wisdom.
I have heard that you can interpret dreams and solve difficulties;
if you are able to read the writing and tell me what it means,
you shall be clothed in purple,
wear a gold collar about your neck,
and be third in the government of the kingdom." Daniel answered the king:
"You may keep your gifts, or give your presents to someone else;
but the writing I will read for you, O king,
and tell you what it means.
You have rebelled against the Lord of heaven.
You had the vessels of his temple brought before you,
so that you and your nobles, your wives and your entertainers,
might drink wine from them;
and you praised the gods of silver and gold,
bronze and iron, wood and stone,
that neither see nor hear nor have intelligence.
But the God in whose hand is your life breath
and the whole course of your life, you did not glorify.
By him were the wrist and hand sent, and the writing set down. "This is the writing that was inscribed:
MENE, TEKEL, and PERES.
These words mean:
MENE, God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it;
TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting;
PERES, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians." Responsorial Psalm Daniel 3:62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67 R.(59b) Give glory and eternal praise to him.
"Sun and moon, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
"Stars of heaven, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
"Every shower and dew, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
"All you winds, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
"Fire and heat, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
"Cold and chill, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him. Alleluia Rv 2:10c R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Remain faithful until death,
and I will give you the crown of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 21:12-19 Jesus said to the crowd:
"They will seize and persecute you,
they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons,
and they will have you led before kings and governors
because of my name.
It will lead to your giving testimony.
Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,
for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking
that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.
You will even be handed over by parents,
brothers, relatives, and friends,
and they will put some of you to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives." | Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Daniel 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28 34th Week in Ordinary Time I have heard that the Spirit of God is in you. (Daniel 5:14) One of the unbreakable rules of advertising is that in order to sell a product, you have to show attractive models enjoying it. So a sports hero is photographed wearing the latest athletic shoe. A slender, beautiful actress is shown drinking a diet soda. Or a respected former politician becomes a spokesperson for a new drug. The subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) message is "If you want to be successful like this person, then imitate them by using this product!" Imagine you were asked to develop an advertising campaign to encourage people to stand fast in their faith. You would be hard-pressed to find a better model than Daniel, the hero of today's first reading. According to the story, Daniel, a young man from a royal family, was taken to Babylon when Jerusalem was sacked in the sixth century BC. There he was pressed into service to King Nebuchadnezzar. Surrounded by pagans, Daniel worked hard and took big risks to keep his Jewish traditions. He refused to eat food that was considered impure, he refused to bow down to a false idol, and he continued to follow his religion despite several edicts banning Judaism. And in each instance, no matter how much danger his faith put him in, Daniel came out on top. Throughout all of his trials, Daniel is depicted as a humble, wise, and righteous man. There is no stain on his character, unlike King David, who committed adultery, or King Solomon, who worshipped false gods. From the day his stories were written, Daniel has stood as the best of the best, a hero's hero, someone every eager young believer should aspire to be like. We will never face a den of lions or a fiery furnace, but we do face cultural pressure to become like everyone else, even if it means denying our faith. Daniel's example reminds us that God will reward and protect us if we stay strong and hold fast to what we know is right and good. "Lord, help me to stay strong in my faith like Daniel. Give me Daniel's courage and wisdom to follow you, no matter what." (Psalm) Daniel 3:62-67
Luke 21:12-19 |  clickable | The desire of the human heart, what we were born for and created for, is to see God face-to-face.
—RALPH MARTIN
from Transformation in Christ | my2cents:
"MENE, God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it".
Do you remember another time we heard about the finger of God writing in the Bible? It was when Jesus wrote when the adulterous woman was caught. She was about to be stoned, and they took a detour to make our Lord decide on the matter of death to the sinner. How many people were stoned and crucified prior to this encounter? That number, only our Lord in Heaven knows. What we have though, is the message, and it is clear. The old Kingdom has been put to an end, and a new one was ushered in, the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom Jesus laid at hand, the very one me and you are living in today. | Let us pray: " Give glory and eternal praise to him. "Sun and moon, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever."
Praise and Exalt Him Above ALL FOREVER. How can we exalt Him? And praise Him? Simply place Him at the top of the list of all your things to do and say today. That's how. Easier said than done? Not if you truly hold Him in Highest esteem, and truly love Him above all. | In the Holy Gospel, our Lord said "You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives." How is it, that if a martyr is killed, they saved themselves? What eyes see, God sees more. How is it that in Heaven there is a feast, without a mortal body? What God knows, we will never know. How is it that those in the next life are either suffering, or are in eternal bliss? The knowledge and memories pervade. | Bishop Barron says today: "Friends, today's Gospel passage describes the persecution Christians face before the end of the world. When will the Church stop being persecuted? When the Lord returns, but not before.
From the earliest days until the present, the community of Jesus Christ has been the focus of the world's violence. The old principle of "killing the messenger" applies here. The Church will announce, until the end of time, that the old world is passing away, that a new world of love, nonviolence, and life is emerging. This announcement always infuriates the world of sin, which explains why the twentieth century was the bloodiest on record—and the one with the most martyrs.
What do we do in the meantime? We maintain a detachment from the world that is passing away, our eyes fixed on the world that will never end. And we speak confidently, boldly, provocatively the message of the Gospel, the dying and rising of the Lord." Let us think of every day, the thousands of days God has given us, let us think of each one as a new life. How will you offer your life to God? How many lives would you offer to God? Because to Him, a day is like a thousand years to us. What would the end of life look like for you? Having looked back, a beautiful life would've been the giving to God what is His.
We heard about a king and their great celebration of themselves, making themselves equal to or greater than God Himself. That was the real issue at hand, real evil. Are there still pagan gods? Yes. Are there secular gods? Yes. Are there other gods in the world? Yes, all sorts of false idols, and gods...and hopes.
I write to you so that you will set your eyes on what is at hand. The Hand of God. The finger of God.
Other Scripture about the finger of God: Exodus 8:19
"Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." But Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had said." Exodus 31:18
"When He had finished speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger of God." Luke 11:20
"But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you."-Jesus Lord, your finger lays out the law, and it is a law to be loved and followed. It is then, a treasure because it is a love letter from Heaven. You have written the law in our hearts. Help us then, open up the letter and live the law you have prescribed. We want to be yours and yours eternally.
O Help us love thee more and more.... |  hear it read | Random Bible Verse 1 Romans 12:11
11 "Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit,1 serve the Lord." Thank You Lord | |
