 clickable | | How Can We Make the Best of this Season? How can we make the best of this season? Commit more generously and absolutely to twice-daily meditation. Also embrace two other realistic yet hope-filled practices to develop self-control as a way to personal liberty and freedom from anxiety, compulsiveness and fear. One should involve moderation and the other, exertion. Reduce (or drop) something you do excessively—like alcohol or time-wasting. Add something you don't do enough—like a daily nonjudgmental act of kindness to someone in need or simply being nice to people when they annoy you. —from the book Sensing God: Learning to Meditate during Lent by Laurence Freeman, OSB |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote "O Sacred Heart of Jesus, fountain of eternal life, Your Heart is a glowing furnace of Love. You are my refuge and my sanctuary."
— St. Gertrude the Great †MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"The Eucharist is alive. If a stranger who knew nothing about the Eucharist were to watch the way we receive, would he know this? When you and I approach the Eucharist, does it look like we believe we are about to take into our bodies the living person, Jesus Christ, true God and true man? How many times, Lord, have I forgotten that the Eucharist is alive! As I wait in line to receive you each day, am I thinking about how much you want to unite yourself with me? Am I seeing your hands filled with the graces you want to give me? Am I filled with awe and gratitude that you love me so much as to actually want to come to me in this incredibly intimate way? Or am I distracted, busy with other thoughts, preoccupied with myself and my agendas for the day? How many times, Jesus, have I made you sad, mindlessly receiving you into my body, into my heart, with no love and no recognition of your love? How many times have I treated you as a dead object? The Host that we receive is not a thing! It's not a wafer! It's not bread! It's a person – He's alive!"
— Vinny Flynn, p. 8
AN EXCERPT FROM
7 Secrets of the Eucharist ⛪ TODAY'S FEAST DAY
ASH WEDNESDAY
In biblical times it was common to sprinkle ashes on the head as a sign of repentance and humility. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, which is the time we contemplate our relationship with God and identify the areas in our spiritual life that need work. The ashes are a physical reminder of our Lenten journey; by receiving the ashes on our heads and keeping them on through the day, we are recognizing that life passes away on earth. Therefore we strive during Lent to turn away from sin, refocus our lives on following God's commandments, and look towards the Kingdom of Heaven. †VERSE OF THE DAY
"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love."
1 Corinthians 13:12-13 |  click to read more | | ST. PORPHYRY St. Porphyry (Porphyrius) of Gaza (c. 347-420 A.D.) was born in Thessalonica in present-day Greece. Although a wealthy man, at the age of 25 he went to live in Egypt as a desert hermit. He later moved to Palestine near the Jordan River, then to Jerusalem itself. He did great penances and would often visit the holy places where Jesus lived and walked, despite his poor health. He then renounced all material goods and his inheritance and became a priest in Jerusalem at the age of 40. The relics of the True Cross in Jerusalem were entrusted to his care. Despite his protests he was ordained Bishop of Gaza, a pagan stronghold with an insignificant Christian community. Gaza's pagans were hostile, and St. Porphyry appealed to the emperor for protection and for the destruction of pagan temples, which he obtained. St. Porphyry built a Christian church on the site of the most important pagan temple dedicated to the chief god, so that he could say Mass in the place where the devil was previously most honored. St. Porphyry labored for his flock and won many converts through his miracles, though pagan opposition continued throughout his life. He was successful in spreading the Christian faith across his diocese. His feast day is February 26. | Saint Maria Bertilla Boscardin (October 6, 1888 – October 20, 1922) If anyone knew rejection, ridicule and disappointment, it was today's saint. But such trials only brought Maria Bertilla Boscardin closer to God and more determined to serve him. Born in Italy in 1888, the young girl lived in fear of her father, a violent man prone to jealousy and drunkenness. Her schooling was limited so that she could spend more time helping at home and working in the fields. She showed few talents and was often the butt of jokes. In 1904, she joined the Sisters of Saint Dorothy and was assigned to work in the kitchen, bakery and laundry. After some time Maria received nurses' training and began working in a hospital with children suffering from diphtheria. There the young nun seemed to find her true vocation: nursing very ill and disturbed children. Later, when the hospital was taken over by the military in World War I, Sister Maria Bertilla fearlessly cared for patients amidst the threat of constant air raids and bombings. She died in 1922 after suffering for many years from a painful tumor. Some of the patients she had nursed many years before were present at her canonization in 1961.
Reflection This fairly recent saint knew the hardships of living in an abusive situation. Let us pray to her to help all those who are suffering from any form of spiritual, mental, or physical abuse | Ash Wednesday
Lectionary: 219
Reading 1 Jl 2:12-18 Even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;
Rend your hearts, not your garments,
and return to the LORD, your God.
For gracious and merciful is he,
slow to anger, rich in kindness,
and relenting in punishment.
Perhaps he will again relent
and leave behind him a blessing,
Offerings and libations
for the LORD, your God. Blow the trumpet in Zion!
proclaim a fast,
call an assembly;
Gather the people,
notify the congregation;
Assemble the elders,
gather the children
and the infants at the breast;
Let the bridegroom quit his room
and the bride her chamber.
Between the porch and the altar
let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep,
And say, "Spare, O LORD, your people,
and make not your heritage a reproach,
with the nations ruling over them!
Why should they say among the peoples,
'Where is their God?'" Then the LORD was stirred to concern for his land
and took pity on his people. Responsorial Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 12-13, 14 and 17 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.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned. Reading 2 2 Cor 5:20—6:2 Brothers and sisters:
We are ambassadors for Christ,
as if God were appealing through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
be reconciled to God.
For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin,
so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Working together, then,
we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.
For he says: In an acceptable time I heard you,
and on the day of salvation I helped you. Behold, now is a very acceptable time;
behold, now is the day of salvation. Verse Before the Gospel Ps 95:8 If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts. Gospel Mt 6:1-6, 16-18 Jesus said to his disciples:
"Take care not to perform righteous deeds
in order that people may see them;
otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.
When you give alms,
do not blow a trumpet before you,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets
to win the praise of others.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you give alms,
do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
so that your almsgiving may be secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. "When you pray,
do not be like the hypocrites,
who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners
so that others may see them.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you pray, go to your inner room,
close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. "When you fast,
do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.
They neglect their appearance,
so that they may appear to others to be fasting.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you fast,
anoint your head and wash your face,
so that you may not appear to be fasting,
except to your Father who is hidden.
And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you." | Ash Wednesday Return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning. (Joel 2:12) Lent begins each year with this reading from the prophet Joel. It's clear that the Church chose this passage so that we too would return to God with our whole heart during Lent. For the Israelites, returning to God meant that everyone gathered together and begged the Lord to save them. Together they also fasted, including those usually exempt from fasting, such as the elderly, children, and newlyweds. As they turned to the Lord with heartfelt repentance—with their "whole heart"—God "was stirred to concern" and "took pity on his people" (Joel 2:12, 18). Just as sin is a turning away from God, this passage shows us that repentance is a turning toward him. And that is cause for hope. Why? Because the One we are turning to is the God who takes pity on us, just as he did on the Israelites. Because the One we are turning to created us in love and wants nothing more than for us to walk by his side. Because the One we are turning to is the all-merciful God who sent his Son into the world to redeem us so that we could have a relationship with him and abide with him forever. Because the One we are turning to knows everything about us—the good as well as the bad—and still calls us to follow him and become his disciples. So as you begin the season of Lent, don't hold anything back from the Lord. Come to him with honesty and humility and confess your sins. But remember that as you are turning away from sin, you are also turning toward God. Through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, keep turning to him. Believe that just as he did with the Israelites, he will respond to your heartfelt repentance—with forgiveness, mercy, and the grace to make lasting changes in your life. "Jesus, help me to keep turning toward you this Lent." Psalm 51:3-6, 12-14, 17
2 Corinthians 5:20–6:2
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 |  clickable | When we attend Mass, we must think of what Jesus voluntarily did for you and me in the Blood (and now without the Blood), so that when we hear the words of the Last Supper, we can be ready to say 'Thank you, Lord' with all of our heart, all of our gratitude, and everything we have in our entire being — without ever getting used to it — that it is new every time we do it — and say 'Thank you, Jesus, for this miracle.'
—Deacon Dr. Bob McDonald
from Meditations on the Passion of Christ | my2cents:
"Then the LORD was stirred to concern for his land and took pity on his people."
Do you have a real need to repent? Do you feel like repenting? Some do, and some do not. Some of us will make acts of atonement out of mere obligation. We will give up something. We will attempt to pray more. We will try to be more generous. But what about what's going on inside? These 40 days are a quest. One reflection I read today, called lent an adventure.
"Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God."
Used to be that people would tear their garments as a sign of what is supposed to happen in your heart and soul. But it just became an outward sign, and sometimes a sign of fury. What does rend mean? To tear something away with force, and violence. So do violence to yourself? I bet rarely we would do that for God. But we do certain acts that deprive us from the world, setting ourselves apart...for Him. And this is a call to Holiness. Time, Money, Talents, setting ourselves more apart for Him than ever before. | 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".
So is all we do in Lent then, an act of penance? In its totality of course it should be. We will do these acts to atone, to reconcile and to purify ourselves. There will be ample time if it is made, to pray, to give, and to do violence in a sense to our bodies, and why? The world will teach you that this is wrong. The world hates suffering. It hates suffering so much that it gives you death if it sees you suffering. That is the way "medical care" is going, integrating "death" as a means to treat "suffering". They see no value in suffering...but God chose something different to give value. A cleansing doesn't always feel good. But it is not about feeling good. A cleansing is much more, it is about being razed and then raised. God can cleanse you, and you can be cleansed if you so desire... | Our Lord said today: "But when you fast,
anoint your head and wash your face,
so that you may not appear to be fasting,
except to your Father who is hidden.
And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you."
When we were kids, we would tell each other what we were giving up for lent. To this day, many probably do. Our Lord says not to let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, and to not blow the trumpets. Was I disobedient when I was a kid? Inadvertently? Perhaps. Let's take these things into serious consideration.
"Take care not to perform righteous deeds
in order that people may see them;
otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father."
He asks for righteous deeds.
1.)" When you give alms,
do not blow a trumpet before you"
Give as if it was just meant to be, and you are giving to God what is rightly due to Him...in those who ask, in those who need.
2.) "When you pray,
do not be like the hypocrites"
Pray as if it is normal to talk with Your Father, who needs to see you speaking with Him? Why make a scene, when it should be something normal, and intimate too!
3.) "When you fast,
do not look gloomy like the hypocrites."
When fasting, why should the world know? "Why don't you want to eat? Why don't you want that chocolate or beer?" They don't need to know why, really. God our Father knows. Just say, not now. Just smile! You know what you are doing...offering to GOD! And God loves a cheerful giver, those doing things for Him with great love. For Love covers a multitude of sins. Lord, help us have a fruitful journey this lent, with a sincere rendering, tearing of myself, to be more like you...beautiful and perfect Love!!! |  click to hear a message | Random Bible verse from an online generator: Matthew 7:7–8
Ask, and It Will Be Given 7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
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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