 clickable | | Let the Lord Enter Your Life Pope Francis has proven to be a trusted guide in dealing with the stress of the Christmas season and the anxiety of daily life in general. In his apostolic exhortation Rejoice and Be Glad, he puts his finger on the dangers of a frenetic quest for happiness: "The presence of constantly new gadgets, the excitement of travel and an endless array of consumer goods at times leave no room for God's voice to be heard. We are overwhelmed by words, by superficial pleasures and by an increasing din, filled not by joy but rather by the discontent of those whose lives have lost meaning. How can we fail to realize the need to stop this rat race and to recover the personal space needed to carry on a heartfelt dialogue with God? Finding that space may prove painful but it is always fruitful. Sooner or later, we have to face our true selves and let the Lord enter." —from the book Simple Gifts: Daily Reflections for Advent by Diane M. Houdek |  MorningOffering.com | † Saint Quote
"Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset."
— St. Francis de Sales † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"The experience of the Church and the saints demonstrates a general law: what comes from the Spirit of God brings with it joy, peace, tranquility of spirit, gentleness, simplicity, and light. On the other hand, what comes from the spirit of evil brings sadness, trouble, agitation, worry, confusion, and darkness. These marks of the good and the evil spirit are unmistakable signs in themselves."
— Fr. Jacques Philippe, p. 51
AN EXCERPT FROM
In the School of the Holy Spirit † VERSE OF THE DAY
"And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to everyone, an apt teacher, patient, correcting opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant that they will repent and come to know the truth, and that they may escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will."
2 Timothy 2:24-26 |  click to read more | | ST. FRANCIS XAVIER St. Francis Xavier (1506–1552) was born in his family castle in Navarre in what is today Spain. While studying in Paris he met St. Ignatius of Loyola and joined him in the foundation of the Society of Jesus. Instead of devoting himself to academic pursuits as he had planned, and in which he enjoyed great success, he became the first Jesuit missionary priest. His missionary activity began in Goa, India and extended across the Orient. St. Francis Xavier was known throughout the Far East for his humility, care of the poor, and miracles including healings, speaking in tongues, and prophetic powers. His passion for Christ and zeal for souls won him many converts to the faith. It is said that during his missionary journeys he baptized over 40,000 people. He is considered by many to be one of the Church's greatest missionaries since St. Paul the Apostle. In his travels he left behind flourishing churches that were the foundations of the Catholic Church in Asia. He is the patron saint of navigators, missionaries, African missions, India, Japan, China, and New Zealand. St. Francis Xavier's feast day is December 3rd. | Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, Priest Reading 1 Is 11:1-10 On that day,
A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud shall blossom.
The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:
a Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
A Spirit of counsel and of strength,
a Spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,
and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.
Not by appearance shall he judge,
nor by hearsay shall he decide,
But he shall judge the poor with justice,
and decide aright for the land's afflicted.
He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
Justice shall be the band around his waist,
and faithfulness a belt upon his hips. Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
The calf and the young lion shall browse together,
with a little child to guide them.
The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,
together their young shall rest;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
The baby shall play by the cobra's den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder's lair.
There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD,
as water covers the sea. On that day,
The root of Jesse,
set up as a signal for the nations,
The Gentiles shall seek out,
for his dwelling shall be glorious. Responsorial Psalm Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17 R.(see 7) Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king's son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
He shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
May his name be blessed forever;
as long as the sun his name shall remain.
In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;
all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever. Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Behold, our Lord shall come with power;
he will enlighten the eyes of his servants.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 10:21-24 Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said,
"I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows who the Son is except the Father,
and who the Father is except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him." Turning to the disciples in private he said,
"Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
For I say to you,
many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,
but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it." | Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Isaiah 11:1-10 Saint Francis Xavier, Priest (Memorial) From his roots a bud shall blossom. (Isaiah 11:1) Every year around this time, poinsettia growers are engaged in an elaborate regimen aimed at making their plants turn red at just the right time. By following a precise sequence of exposure to light and darkness, they "force" the poinsettia's green leaves to turn red. The plant must be kept in sunlight during the day, then in total darkness at least twelve hours a night for an entire month. Even a brief exposure to light during this period can interrupt the reddening process. It's a lot of work, but the results of these efforts are breathtaking. This is a good illustration of the blessings of the Advent season. For a whole month, the Church asks us to alter our environment so that we can enter into a time of quiet waiting. It asks us to step back from our everyday routines so that we can spend time in prayerful reflection. And by changing our natural routine in this way, we get the chance to grow and "bloom." If you want to bloom this Christmas, now is the time to change up your ordinary way of doing things. Try to unplug from the "bright light" of all the activities that encourage you to stay busy all the time. Set aside time for the "dormancy" of thoughtful solitude as you try to sit quietly with the Scriptures and hear God's voice in your heart. Making these kinds of changes in your routine will nurture your faith, even if you don't notice it. Remember the poinsettia! It doesn't know that it's turning red. It just does it by responding to the changes in its environment. Similarly, as you modify your routine and your environment, your heart will respond to the changes and something will happen inside of you. Maybe you will become less likely to snap at someone who annoys you. You might catch yourself smiling more often. Or you might slowly realize that something that tempted you in the past doesn't have as much power over you anymore. The people around you will be able to see it too. Don't be surprised, then, if your life has a ripple effect on them. "Lord, help me slow down during this special season." Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17
Luke 10:21-24 |  clickable | Wrong decisions of the heart and blindness of the mind curse the hands to wretched, destructive actions; and the opposite also holds true. The metanoia of the heart brings about the enlightenment of reflection and return to God, the consecration to healing and blessed work.
—Alfred Delp, S.J.
from Advent of the Heart | my2cents:
"A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom." Saint John the Baptist, the least in Heaven said "10The ax lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.". Now we are talking prophecies and fulfillment. He had called those Pharisees and Sadducees a brood of vipers. Why? Because, they carried the ax, the carried the law, and they mowed down the trees of fruit by the very laws they made for themselves, the laws that would chop down one more tree and mount our Lord the Christ on the tree. These were the ones that, instead of repenting, took offense at the prophet's words, and thus, led them to their crosses, their doom. But from the cross, from the stump of Jesse, Jesus blooms. This is the message of the darkness today. | Let us pray: "May his name be blessed forever;
as long as the sun his name shall remain. In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed; all the nations shall proclaim his happiness. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever." How many more years of sunlight do we have? Good question. The sun has used up about half of its hydrogen fuel in the last 4.6 billion years, since its birth. It still has enough hydrogen to last about another 5 billion years. That is BILLIONS of years we're talking here. Could you imagine if God gave you 1 million years? That'd be too much right? But God says BILLIONS of years of blessings. And that is for starters. So how many years of sunlight do you have? Half your time you'll spend in darkness. And the other half sheltering from the sun's rays that are so powerful. And this, just a one of billions of stars in the galaxy, and this galaxy of billions in the universe. Can you imagine now the immensity of God? That would give you an inkling for our feeble minds. | Let us turn to our Lord then and hang on His every Word: "I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will." And the 12 children, disciples were granted revelation. They were to behold what all the prophets desired to see with their own eyes. So our Lord says: "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
For I say to you,
many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,
but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it."
On that note, ChurchPop sent a video that I saw before writing to you. I got to say, it is a faith booster for believers and non believers. It is about an atheist that seen a vision, and two visions if you ask me. click to see. | Was this atheist a little and childlike person? We don't get to hear the full backdrop. I shared the video with an ex-Jew turned ex-protestant, and now studying to be Catholic. He said he's talked to that man in the video to share his mystical experience too.
Why do these non-Catholics get to have awesome Catholic mystical experiences?
Because. God said so.
If you watch the video to the end, the converted one says something very powerful..because he couldn't get over one thing, the whole hell thing, and a priest told him "but you got to believe, it is DOGMA" and that's when it hit the man, "my pride, like lucifer, was revealed to me" and said he knew at that point that although he didn't understand, he would now just believe. And if you watch carefully, that is the sum of the video. You got to believe, and then you will understand. Now we are talking faith. Now we are talking to be childlike. Now we are able to hear. I was very moved to hear his encounter with our blessed Mother, the part where her voice moves with grace.
I won't spoil it for you. But I want you to know that what is being said are revelations for a true believer.
Now we are entering a covenant ark. Lord, you are amazing. We don't understand ourselves, how could we understand anything else!
Lord, you are truly amazing. I fall down and you are there, how can you love me so much?
Lord, you are eternally amazing, your offering of an eternity of amazement amazes me.
Lord, I want to amaze you too. I want to surprise you with faith. I want to give you a gift like you gave me a gift. A life for a life.
Because you more than deserve everything, you are so amazing! |  hear it read | Random Bible Verse 1 Lamentations 3:22–23
22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;1 his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Thank You Lord | |
