 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
"Be patient, because the weaknesses of the body are given to us in this world by God for the salvation of the soul. So they are of great merit when they are borne patiently."
— St. Francis of Assisi † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"Your Lord is seated at the Father's right hand in heaven. How then is the bread His body? And the chalice, or rather its content, how is it His Blood? These elements are called Sacraments, because in them one thing is perceived by the sense and another thing by the mind. What is seen has a bodily appearance; what the mind perceives produces spiritual fruit. You hear the words, 'The Body of Christ', and you answer 'Amen.'"
— Saint Augustine, p. 91
AN EXCERPT FROM
Augustine Day by Day † VERSE OF THE DAY
"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you."
John 15:12-14 |  click to read more | | ST. BARBARA St. Barbara (3rd c.) was born in Nicomedia in modern day Turkey. According to tradition, after the death of her mother she was raised by her rich and tyrannical pagan father who, because of her beauty and intelligence, guarded her closely, keeping her locked away in a tower to protect her from the outside world. She was educated by tutors and came to reject the false gods she was taught to worship in favor of the true God for whom she yearned and wished to discover, dedicating her life and virginity to this purpose. She developed a prayer life and resisted her father's attempts to have her marry. Believing Barbara to be negatively affected by the seclusion, her father allowed her more freedom to associate with the world. She soon discovered Christians, and, recognizing the Creator she sought, and was baptized in secret. After informing her father that she was a Christian, he denounced her to the authorities under the persecution of Roman Emperor Maximian. She was imprisoned and cruelly tortured, but remained steadfast in her faith. During the night she would pray fervently, and her wounds would miraculously heal. This only subjected her to greater torments, followed by more miraculous interventions. She was finally beheaded by her own father, and afterward he was struck and killed by lightening as punishment. St. Barbara is the patron saint of firemen, armorers, artillerymen, military engineers, miners, and others who work with explosives. She is also the patron against storms, lightning, and fire, to name a few. St. Barbara's feast day is December 4th. | Wednesday of the First Week of Advent Reading 1 Is 25:6-10a On this mountain the LORD of hosts
will provide for all peoples
A feast of rich food and choice wines,
juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.
On this mountain he will destroy
the veil that veils all peoples,
The web that is woven over all nations;
he will destroy death forever.
The Lord GOD will wipe away
the tears from all faces;
The reproach of his people he will remove
from the whole earth; for the LORD has spoken. On that day it will be said:
"Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!
This is the LORD for whom we looked;
let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!"
For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain. Responsorial Psalm Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 R. (6cd) I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Behold, the Lord comes to save his people;
blessed are those prepared to meet him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 15:29-37 At that time:
Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee,
went up on the mountain, and sat down there.
Great crowds came to him,
having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute,
and many others.
They placed them at his feet, and he cured them.
The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking,
the deformed made whole,
the lame walking,
and the blind able to see,
and they glorified the God of Israel. Jesus summoned his disciples and said,
"My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,
for they have been with me now for three days
and have nothing to eat.
I do not want to send them away hungry,
for fear they may collapse on the way."
The disciples said to him,
"Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place
to satisfy such a crowd?"
Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?"
"Seven," they replied, "and a few fish."
He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground.
Then he took the seven loaves and the fish,
gave thanks, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied.
They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets full. | Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Matthew 15:29-37 Saint John Damascene, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Optional Memorial) They picked up the fragments left over—seven baskets full. (Matthew 15:37) It was time for the Friday food giveaway at a small church in Oroville, California. But the food bank volunteers had a problem: their supply was low. Usually they could fill 100 boxes of food for the needy. But this time they had only enough to make 50 boxes—and the line of hungry people stretched down the block! As the food started to run out, the volunteers prayed for a miracle—and God answered. They not only had enough, they had more than enough. They ended up filling 102 boxes! In today's Gospel, we see Jesus doing something similar. With only seven loaves, he feeds an entire crowd and still has bread to spare. But why were there leftovers? Surely Jesus could have given the crowd exactly the right amount of food. Actually, the loaves in the seven baskets weren't really "leftovers." They were a sign of God's abundance. He does not ration out his grace, his love, and his provision for us. In fact, he has a never-ending supply! Where do you see an overabundance of bread? At Mass. On the altar, Jesus gives himself to us completely. Here, in Communion, we can receive all the grace we need and more besides: spiritual "leftovers" to share with the people around us. Jesus wants to fill everyone with his grace—and he wants to use you to do it. This is especially true during Advent, a season when people can be more open to God and might consider coming to Mass at Christmas. And yet, it's ironic that at this time of year, we can feel like we're "running on empty" and have little to offer. If that describes you, don't worry. Just ask Jesus to fill you up again the next time you receive Communion. As you are coming up to receive, pray, "Jesus, I believe this is your Body and your Blood. Come, Lord, and give me your grace." Then, after Communion, spend a few moments silently thanking him for coming to you. Thank him for uniting himself to you. "Lord, I trust that you are at work now, filling me up. Thank you!" Keep this up every time you receive Communion, and you can't help but be filled to overflowing—with grace left over to share! "Thank you, Lord, for giving yourself to me in the Eucharist. Help me share your grace with people around me." Isaiah 25:6-10
Psalm 23:1-6 |  clickable | If I were to put all the love in the world into one heart it would be merely as a spark in comparison with the love the Heart of Jesus has for me.
—Mother Angelica
from Mother Angelica on Christ and Our Lady | my2cents:
"On this mountain he will destroy the veil that veils all peoples,
The web that is woven over all nations; he will destroy death forever." And the Prophet continues about this mountain: "On this mountain the LORD of hosts will provide for all peoples
A feast of rich food and choice wines".
What mountain? Where is this so-called mountain? What veil? What feast will God provide from this mountain?
The mountain means something and the feast means something.
Question is, does this all mean something to you? God is providing His Very Body, Blood, Soul, And Divinity.
Why to creatures like you and me? God knows why. God knows you. | Today we pray: "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life" By the time I met my wife, her father had already passed away, about a year prior. For some reason, every time I think about Psalm 23, I remember him though, because I heard it was his favorite Psalm. I will never know what it will feel like to have a father in law. But I know I have sensed him in a particular way through prayer. Will we be led to restful waters here and now, or then, later? Will our souls be refreshed now, or will they be refreshed later? Will I live in the house of the Lord now, or later? And what about those verdant pastures? What do they mean? Where are they? | Let us turn to our Lord then: "My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way."
One thing that came to me as I read and meditated today, was how things are micro and macrocosms. Things are in a little world, like the ones you are involved with day in and day out, and there are things on a bigger aspect, like a national level, and then a world level. So when God speaks, it is on all levels. Mount Zion comes to you on your level and it encompasses the world level at once. This is how His Kingship works. The decrees go out to the ends of the earth. I digress. Our Lord speaks:
† 'My heart is moved with pity for the crowd'. Hospitality. Love to move mountains.
†'they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat.
3 days with God changes lives. On the 3rd day He provides Himself to you. Ever been on a 3 day retreat? I suggest you go to one, every single year. They exist. To retreat with Him changes everything. You'll find verdant pastures. You'll be fed. You won't be sent away empty. Most, will then follow Him forever, once they do this.
†'I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way." | "Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down there. Great crowds came to him"
God walked by the Sea, and ascended up the mountain and mounted His throne. Crowds come to Him."
They brought them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute,
and many others. They placed them at his feet, and he cured them."
They left amazed. At the healings? At the preachings? Wait, there's more:
"Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place
to satisfy such a crowd?" They asked.
God proves He walked by the sea. Here it comes:
" "How many loaves do you have?"
"Seven," they replied, "and a few fish."
He said "Seven?" They said "Yes". God says "PERFECT".
You see, 7 in the ancient world was the perfect number. 10 was the covenant number.
So what does He do next? He takes what they got and gives thanks. He shows us how to be with the little we have.
" he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds."
Every day in Holy Mass we see how God raises up the bread, gives thanks and then gives them to...us...disciples? AMEN? Who in turn are to give to crowds what we received. JESUS. Amen?
Microcosm to the Macrocosm. From the smallest to the greatest. Our wars, you must know, aren't against other countries or other states or political parties. The war is against our enemy. Just as I was writing to you, a worker comes in saying his phone doesn't work, and that it dies real quick. I handle that among many other things here. I took it, told him I'd wipe it clean for him, master reset, and when I took it, the first things appearing where nude pictures of women. This is a spiritual attack. A message from the devil. It didn't say to me "I hate your guts and want you to die". No, it said "look, there are better things out there", and what does this mean? It means deviation. And I'm saying all this as it is happening in real time writing to you. The war of nudity is out there and nudity calls for violence. Violence on who? The innocent. The very ones our Lord comes for. The revolution that pornogaphy calls for today, is a war on all things against them. Darkness rises with neutrality.
If your world is like mine, you can see tons of people around you that are consumed by the world. The devil has them cinched, tied up, busy, and lusting for affairs (temporal), and the worst affair? The one against God. The one that keeps them from our true lover. Pornography has insisted since the time of the first fall. I've prayed for people to break free from this addiction even in daily masses, and to be freed from drugs which includes alcohol, and now I will say drugs people depend on period, for mental illnesses that are on the rise...Depression.
My little teenager nephew was just diagnosed with depression and just today he is to start on new drugs for it. I've seen people on these drugs pile on more drugs. One man used to take up to 22 different anti-depresseant pills per day.
Why do I say "used to"?
Because, he went to a 3 day retreat, and found our Lord who delivered him. Fast forward years later on this man's life...he is now our Deacon in my parish, and we haven't had a real Deacon in about 20 years!
Let's not look too far and blame all the bishops and presidents for our problems.
Look no further than yourself and your neighbor. This is where it begins my friend.
A friend is one who will lay down their life for you. In comes Jesus, walking along the sea... |  hear it read | Random Bible Verse 1 PS 51:4 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Thank You Lord | |
