 clickable | | The Only Self We Bring to Christ Despite being a finite creature in the midst of an all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present Being—an absolute nothing next to God, in every way dependent and with no reason to boast—I never feel insignificant or unwanted. I am God's child, chosen and adopted out of love, called to love and serve in his kingdom. What could ever matter more than knowing this? Truly, everything else is straw. Everything else is the working of a false self, an ego that knows nothing of reality. It is why in his admonitions St. Francis writes, "As much as [one] is before God, that much he is and nothing more." Nothing in all of existence matters at all except what God thinks of us. What we say about ourselves, what others think of us, who we wish were are—these are all useless questions, false selves that keep us from who we truly are before God, and prevent us from following after Christ with our whole hearts. If we want to be his disciples, the only self we can bring is the one that he created and redeemed. Everything else, we must let go. —from the book Let Go: Seven Stumbling Blocks to Christian Discipleship by Casey Cole, OFM |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"If you become Christ's you will stumble upon wonder upon wonder, and every one of them true."
— St. Brendan of Birr † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"Prayer and fasting, worship and adoration, Scripture and sacraments and sacramentals all provide the weapons of our spiritual warfare. With them we go on the offensive against the Evil One. But the virtues provide our defense armor. As Blessed Pope Paul VI once observed, St. Paul 'used the armor of a soldier as a symbol for the virtues that can make a Christian invulnerable.' They are our best defense against his attacks, for they guard our minds and hearts from his deceptions and temptations. A lapse in virtue is in fact a chink in our armor that makes us vulnerable."
— Paul Thigpen, p. 57-8
AN EXCERPT FROM
Manual for Spiritual Warfare † VERSE OF THE DAY
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult."
Psalm 46: 1-3 |  click to read more | | ST. JOHN (DON) BOSCO St. John Bosco (1815–1888) was born in Italy to a poor farming family. His father died when he was two, leaving his religious instruction to his pious mother. At the age of nine he had his first of many powerful visions which would come throughout his life. In it Jesus and the Virgin Mary showed him that he was to instruct poor, wayward boys and bring them back to God. John eventually joined the priesthood, paying his way through school with odd jobs. As a priest he began ministering to the poor and neglected boys of Turin, Italy, who were driven to desperate conditions in the wake of the Industrial Revolution. Many of these street boys ended up in prison as teenagers. Don Bosco became a mentor and spiritual director to them, helping them to live a life of virtue and saving many from a future of crime and poverty. He met with them as a group - called the Oratory of St. Francis de Sales - and catechized them as a kindly spiritual father. He also established the Salesians of Don Bosco, priests and brothers who minister to and educate boys under the patronage of the great spiritual director, St. Francis de Sales. Don Bosco is the patron saint of boys, laborers, young people, students, and Mexican young people. His feast day is January 31st. | Friday of the Third Week of Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 321
Reading 1 2 Sm 11:1-4a, 5-10a, 13-17 At the turn of the year, when kings go out on campaign,
David sent out Joab along with his officers
and the army of Israel,
and they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah.
David, however, remained in Jerusalem.
One evening David rose from his siesta
and strolled about on the roof of the palace.
From the roof he saw a woman bathing, who was very beautiful.
David had inquiries made about the woman and was told,
"She is Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam,
and wife of Joab's armor bearer Uriah the Hittite."
Then David sent messengers and took her.
When she came to him, he had relations with her.
She then returned to her house.
But the woman had conceived,
and sent the information to David, "I am with child." David therefore sent a message to Joab,
"Send me Uriah the Hittite."
So Joab sent Uriah to David.
When he came, David questioned him about Joab, the soldiers,
and how the war was going, and Uriah answered that all was well.
David then said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and bathe your feet."
Uriah left the palace,
and a portion was sent out after him from the king's table.
But Uriah slept at the entrance of the royal palace
with the other officers of his lord, and did not go down
to his own house.
David was told that Uriah had not gone home.
On the day following, David summoned him,
and he ate and drank with David, who made him drunk.
But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his bed
among his lord's servants, and did not go down to his home.
The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab
which he sent by Uriah.
In it he directed:
"Place Uriah up front, where the fighting is fierce.
Then pull back and leave him to be struck down dead."
So while Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah
to a place where he knew the defenders were strong.
When the men of the city made a sortie against Joab,
some officers of David's army fell,
and among them Uriah the Hittite died. Responsorial Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6a, 6bcd-7, 10-11 R. (see 3a) Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
"Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight."
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
I have done such evil in your sight
that you are just in your sentence,
blameless when you condemn.
True, I was born guilty,
a sinner, even as my mother conceived me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Let me hear the sounds of joy and gladness;
the bones you have crushed shall rejoice.
Turn away your face from my sins,
and blot out all my guilt.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned. Alleluia Mt 11:25 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 4:26-34 Jesus said to the crowds:
"This is how it is with the Kingdom of God;
it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land
and would sleep and rise night and day
and the seed would sprout and grow,
he knows not how.
Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once,
for the harvest has come." He said,
"To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God,
or what parable can we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.
But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade."
With many such parables
he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.
Without parables he did not speak to them,
but to his own disciples he explained everything in private. | Catholic Meditations
Meditation: 2 Samuel 11:1-10, 13-17 Saint John Bosco, Priest (Memorial) He ate and drank with David, who made him drunk. (2 Samuel 11:13) King David was caught. He had had an affair with the wife of one of his soldiers, and she was now pregnant. After a couple of botched attempts to cover up his sin, he conspired to have the soldier be conveniently killed in battle. David probably knew he was doing wrong when he hatched this plot, but he couldn't see any other way out. So to his sin of adultery, he added the sins of murder and deception. The transgressions kept piling up, and as we'll see in future readings, the result was a string of tragedies for David and his family. This story is probably one of the earliest examples of the age-old saying "The cover-up is worse than the crime." From political scandals to family squabbles, we see this truth play out over and over again—and we see more and more people who end up feeling hurt and betrayed. The answer sounds simple, doesn't it? Just come clean. Admit the wrong you did, and try to make amends. But we know how hard this can be. We worry about how people will react. Will we lose our friends? Will the offended party find a way to forgive us? Or maybe we just want to avoid facing up to the real hurt we have caused people. You may be afraid of people's reactions, but you never have to fear how God will react. For one thing, he already knows what you have done! But beyond that, he has promised to forgive your every sin, to heal your wounded conscience, and to keep you in the palm of his hand. That's why the Sacrament of Reconciliation is so valuable. Through the priest, God will treat you with deep compassion and understanding as you pour out your sins, and he will forgive you. Then, freed from guilt and restored to God's love, you will find the courage to go back and make things right. You will find the grace to do what even King David couldn't bring himself to do—try to make things right again. And you will be doing it with Jesus by your side. "Holy Spirit, give me a repentant heart. Help me to confess my sin and seek reconciliation and healing." Psalm 51:3-7, 10-11
Mark 4:26-34 |  clickable | No woman of the secular world can measure up to the greatness of a Hildegard von Bingen, a Joan of Orleans, a Catherine of Siena. From this it is conceivable that the very Church which has made man the exclusive carrier of her hierarchy should acknowledge the feminine charisma.
— Gertrud von le Fort
from The Eternal Woman | my2cents:
"But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his bed
among his lord's servants, and did not go down to his home."
In the days of old, Uriah, was a warrior for the King. You were not allowed back into your home without proper cleansing. There were in fact, a certain number of days to stay away from home for cleansing. Uriah then...was faithful more to God than even earthly kings. | Today we pray: "Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned" | Our Lord said in a parable today about the plant that was planted "Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear." Things are out of our control. We do our part, and God does the rest.
In the second and perhaps the smallest parable, we heard about the seed: " | "But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade."
I heard from the mouth of a student say what this meant to him: "its about how the birds took refuge in that tree".
It was a point I've never heard of. What was the plant they took refuge in?
The seed is the Word, and so the plant is a "Word Plant" and this Word is Jesus. The reason it should grow through all of us is so others can take refuge in Christ through us. Easier said than done. Pray for me, I'm a ball of stress and anxieties. Pray for me, I'm a work in progress. Pray for me, for I do not want the anxieties to choke this plant. Pray for me, because I'm striving to grow to Heaven, like you. I pray for you to grow and give shade to those dying of exhaustion in faith.
We need each other, and this is the most important message from Christ.
I love you more than you care to imagine. |  click to hear a message | ->Random Bible Verse 1<
20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. Thank You Lord | If one day you don't receive these, just visit my website Going4th.com, surely you'll find me there. God Bless You! Share the Word!! Share this, share what is good! | |
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