 clickable | | Reality at the Cutting Edge We slice up experience into beginnings, middles and ends and draw lessons from the slices. We stock our mental shelves with these stories, often adding to or refreshing them according to what we sense our listeners would like. The Irish make a living from this. Reality at the cutting edge, however, is characterized by frayed ends and incomplete conclusions. Chaos is another word for it, one that we don't like to use about our lives. But we walk a very thin line between cosmos (order) and chaos, and most of the order we put into things has a tendency to unravel very quickly. Even when we get the key to understanding its meaning, like Jesus's poor parents, we don't understand it. But he went back and lived with them anyway which, for the time, was evidently enough. In the self-discipline of Lenten meditation, which sharpens our daily awareness, we get deeper and more piercing glimpses into this provisionality of life and, strangely, we even find it reassuring. —from the book Sensing God: Learning to Meditate during Lent by Laurence Freeman, OSB |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"O man, when the world hates you and is faithless toward you, think of your God, how he was struck and spat upon. You should not accuse your neighbor of guilt, but pray to God that he be merciful to you both."
— St. Nicholas of Flue † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"This world is filled with many vulgar and dishonorable things that will claw and tear at your Christian purity if you allow them to. Don't let them! Seek instead the things of God. He will purify you and free you from your slavery to profane and inconsequential things."
— Patrick Madrid, p.1
AN EXCERPT FROM
A Year with the Bible † VERSE OF THE DAY
"Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the Lord. Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off."
Proverbs 23:17-18 |  click to read more | | ST. MARGARET CLITHEROW St. Margaret Clitherow (1556-1586), also called Margaret of York, lived in York, England, the daughter of a candlemaker and wife of a wealthy Protestant butcher. She was raised Anglican just after the time that King Henry VIII severed the Church of England from communion with the Roman Catholic Church. A few years after her marriage, at the age of 18, she converted to the Catholic Church due to the work of covert missionary Catholic priests. While her husband remained Protestant, she aided persecuted Catholics by sheltering priests (which included her brother-in-law) and having Mass and Confessions said in her home, which became a safe house and hiding place for priests. Margaret witnessed the tortuous death of many of the priests she aided, and she would publicly pray on the spot of their martyrdom. Undaunted in her work, she was imprisoned numerous times. On her final arrest she was charged for harboring Catholic priests and was condemned to a public execution by being crushed to death, a martyrdom of which she considered herself unworthy. All three of her children entered the religious life, two priests and a nun. St. Margaret Clitherow, the "Pearl of York," is the patron saint of martyrs, businesswomen, and converts. Her feast day is March 26th. | Saint Catherine of Genoa (1447 – September 15, 1510) Going to confession one day was the turning point of Catherine's life. When Catherine was born, many Italian nobles were supporting Renaissance artists and writers. The needs of the poor and the sick were often overshadowed by a hunger for luxury and self-indulgence. Catherine's parents were members of the nobility in Genoa. At 13, she attempted to become a nun but failed because of her age. At 16, she married Julian, a nobleman who turned out to be selfish and unfaithful. For a while she tried to numb her disappointment by a life of selfish pleasure. One day in confession she had a new sense of her own sins and how much God loved her. She reformed her life and gave good example to Julian, who soon turned from his self-centered life of distraction. Julian's spending, however, had ruined them financially. He and Catherine decided to live in the Pammatone, a large hospital in Genoa, and to dedicate themselves to works of charity there. After Julian's death in 1497, Catherine took over management of the hospital. She wrote about purgatory which, she said, begins on earth for souls open to God. Life with God in heaven is a continuation and perfection of the life with God begun on earth. Exhausted by her life of self-sacrifice, Catherine died September 15, 1510, and was canonized in 1737.
Reflection Regular confession and frequent Communion can help us see the direction–or drift–of our life with God. People who have a realistic sense of their own sinfulness and of the greatness of God are often the ones who are most ready to meet the needs of their neighbors. Saint Catherine began her hospital work with enthusiasm and was faithful to it through difficult times because she was inspired by the love of God, a love which was renewed in her by the Scriptures and the sacraments. | Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Lectionary: 247
Reading 1 Ex 32:7-14 The LORD said to Moses,
"Go down at once to your people
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt,
for they have become depraved.
They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them,
making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it,
sacrificing to it and crying out,
'This is your God, O Israel,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt!'
The LORD said to Moses,
"I see how stiff-necked this people is.
Let me alone, then,
that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them.
Then I will make of you a great nation." But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying,
"Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people,
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt
with such great power and with so strong a hand?
Why should the Egyptians say,
'With evil intent he brought them out,
that he might kill them in the mountains
and exterminate them from the face of the earth'?
Let your blazing wrath die down;
relent in punishing your people.
Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel,
and how you swore to them by your own self, saying,
'I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky;
and all this land that I promised,
I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.'"
So the LORD relented in the punishment
he had threatened to inflict on his people. Responsorial Psalm 106:19-20, 21-22, 23 (4a) Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Our fathers made a calf in Horeb
and adored a molten image;
They exchanged their glory
for the image of a grass-eating bullock.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
They forgot the God who had saved them,
who had done great deeds in Egypt,
Wondrous deeds in the land of Ham,
terrible things at the Red Sea.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Then he spoke of exterminating them,
but Moses, his chosen one,
Withstood him in the breach
to turn back his destructive wrath.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people. Verse Before the Gospel Jn 3:16 God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life. Gospel Jn 5:31-47 Jesus said to the Jews:
"If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true.
But there is another who testifies on my behalf,
and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true.
You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.
I do not accept human testimony,
but I say this so that you may be saved.
He was a burning and shining lamp,
and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.
But I have testimony greater than John's.
The works that the Father gave me to accomplish,
these works that I perform testify on my behalf
that the Father has sent me.
Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf.
But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form,
and you do not have his word remaining in you,
because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.
You search the Scriptures,
because you think you have eternal life through them;
even they testify on my behalf.
But you do not want to come to me to have life. "I do not accept human praise;
moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you.
I came in the name of my Father,
but you do not accept me;
yet if another comes in his own name,
you will accept him.
How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another
and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?
Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father:
the one who will accuse you is Moses,
in whom you have placed your hope.
For if you had believed Moses,
you would have believed me,
because he wrote about me.
But if you do not believe his writings,
how will you believe my words?" | Today's Meditation: John 5:31-47 There is another who testifies on my behalf. (John 5:32) The religious leaders want to kill Jesus. Not only has he cured a man on the Sabbath, but by calling God his Father, he is "making himself equal to God" (John 5:18). Who is he to make such a claim? But Jesus points out that not only John the Baptist but the Scriptures and his own works testify to who he is (5:33, 36). Then, he says that his heavenly Father testifies on his behalf. The problem is that these religious leaders "have never heard his voice" (5:37). We have heard the voice of the Father testifying to who Jesus is, both through the Scriptures and the Church. But do we hear him testifying to who we are? In the course of our daily lives, his voice can get drowned out by other voices—perhaps by our own condemning thoughts, the demands of life, or the temptations of the devil. So let's take some time today to imagine our own heavenly Father speaking to us: "You are my beloved child; I love you unconditionally. Just as I called Jesus my 'beloved Son,' so too are you my beloved child (Matthew 3:17). I am pleased with you. I created you out of love, and you bring me much joy, simply because of who you are. "You are my redeemed child; I have saved you from sin. I know how you sometimes struggle to believe that I have forgiven you. I also know how easy it can be to remain locked in guilt or shame. But I want you to believe that my mercy is for you. So when you wonder if I have really forgiven you, remember that I died for love of you. "You are my treasured child; you have a future full of hope. It can be easy to slip into thinking that things will never change or to worry about your problems. I don't want you to be anxious. Believe that all things will work for your good, and continue to place your hope in me." These are truths that do not change. So especially when you're feeling unworthy, discouraged, or tempted to believe the devil's lies, let your Father testify to who you are and what he has done for you. Let his testimony be the truth that you cling to. "Father, I believe that I am who you say I am." Exodus 32:7-14
Psalm 106:19-23 |  clickable | To be consecrated to the Father through Jesus means to be set apart in the truth. What truth? The truth that the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus has made us sons and daughters of God our Father. It's the truth that the Father loves us with the same love with which he loves his eternal Son. It's the truth that the Father always wants to say to us, 'You are my beloved.'
—Fr. Michael Gaitley, MIC
from 33 Days to Greater Glory | my2cents:
"Go down at once to your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, for they have become depraved. They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them..."
How long was Moses gone before people started going spiritually berserk? Was it a matter of weeks? They had completely decided to go against God's will. They were left entrusted with His word...yet, they turned, for the worse. Moses comes back...pleading for mercy.
Jesus comes back being mercy. | We prayed today: "Then he spoke of exterminating them, but Moses, his chosen one,
Withstood him in the breach to turn back his destructive wrath. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people." I often dream of a new church building, and often I turn away from it. We are to build a new hall, but what about the new church? New churches pop up on every street corner, is that what God wants? Another split, another isolated church? No. He has always made a flock, from Abraham, until today. Your people O Lord, your flock, O God, mercy, lead us always. | In the Holy Gospel, our Lord spoke much. "The works that the Father gave me to accomplish,
these works that I perform testify on my behalf
that the Father has sent me." Works, God is about works, isn't He? And we are called to follow His Way, and Life, amen? Do you desire to accomplish His works? Then by all means, let HIM! Let Him be and do as He wishes with me, and with you. Let Him be God. And this was the problem, of abuse, and abuse of trust, for the leaders had become spiritually depraved. Instead of accepting, they sought to kill. | "You search the Scriptures, because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf. But you do not want to come to me to have life." Right now, the only remedy for the world's pandemonium and epidemics is the serpent on the seraph mounted on a wood pole, to see the abhorrent nature of sin, hung on the wood, to look at what was the culprit, and to repent, to turn back to the Lord. "You want to come to me to have life" says our Lord. Right now, you act like you don't want to. But deep inside, we all want that perfect heavenly union with Him.
""I do not accept human praise; moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you. I came in the name of my Father, but you do not accept me". Three times our Lord talks of human praise.
"How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another
and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?"
You worship other gods, you worship each other, and do not give praise as you rightly ought. I often receive flack, when I say certain things, like "Love God more than your family". Or "Abortion is wrong", or about contraception, and I get silence when I say "Love God above everything". If the Pharisees truly followed Moses they would know the first commandment, and the second, and the one about not killing. Nowadays, this whole argument is still among us, of authority over life. Abortion is a prime example. Who gets to say when life begins? It all becomes subjective in this subjective world of egocentrics. My body, my laws. And so if we have an authoritative figure in the Church speak against it, they are silenced in the name of the law. With the current crisis, they say that suicide hotlines are ringing off the hook. People are being tempted to death. Where is the life? Where is the admiration and following of life? Where is the life mentality? Where is the praise to be directed? No longer to self. God pours Himself out for us always, on the Altars and the love blood flows, and it courses in our veins. We are to be the light of the world. We are to defend life by loving life.
And Jesus is the Way.
Jesus is the Truth.
Jesus is The LIFE. Lord, lead us to right praise and worship, together with you.
We need you Christ our Lord! "...Believe My Words..."
'But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?" |  click to hear a message | Random Bible verse from an online generator: Proverbs 23:4–5
Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist.
5 When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings, flying like an eagle toward heaven. | 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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