 |  clickable | | Live Outside the Systems of Power Jesus does not directly take on social reform. Instead, he preaches a life of simplicity and nonviolence that is simply outside the system of power, money, and control. More than directly fighting the system, he ignores it and builds an alternative worldview where power, prestige, and possessions are not sought or even admired. Such withdrawal of allegiance is finally the most subversive act possible because the powers that be can no longer control us, either positively or negatively (by getting us to react against them). We are no longer inside their reward-and-punishment system. Maybe that is why mystics, saints, and hermits so infuriate the body politic. They ignore the whole thing and build an alternative set of loyalties. —from The Wisdom Pattern: Order, Disorder, Reorder by Richard Rohr, OFM |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"If you are suffering from a bad man's injustice, forgive him—lest there be two bad men."
— St. Augustine † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"My God, you know infinitely better than I how little I love you. I would not love you at all except for your grace. It is your grace that has opened the eyes of my mind and enabled them to see your glory. It is your grace that has touched my heart and brought upon it the influence of what is so wonderfully beautiful and fair . . . O my God, whatever is nearer to me than you, things of this earth, and things more naturally pleasing to me, will be sure to interrupt the sight of you, unless your grace interferes. Keep my eyes, my ears, my heart from any such miserable tyranny. Break my bonds—raise my heart. Keep my whole being fixed on you. Let me never lose sight of you; and, while I gaze on you, let my love of you grow more and more everyday."
— St.. John Henry Cardinal Newman, p. 44-5
AN EXCERPT FROM
Everyday Meditations † VERSE OF THE DAY
"How can young people keep their way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; do not let me stray from your commandments. I treasure your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against you."
Psalm 119:9-11 |  click to read more | | ST. BARNABAS St. Barnabas (1st c.) was a Jew from the island of Cyprus who was given the name Joseph at birth. He is mentioned by name in the New Testament. A convert to the Christian faith in Jerusalem, he sold his property and preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles alongside St. Paul the Apostle and St. Mark the Evangelist. He was given the surname Barnabas, meaning 'Son of Exhortation' and was highly esteemed among the Christian leaders at Jerusalem and Antioch, almost ranked among the twelve Apostles themselves. St. Luke said of him, "...for he was a good man, full of the Holy Ghost and of Faith." It was Barnabas who vouched for the genuineness of St. Paul's conversion and had him accepted as a Christian by the other Apostles. Barnabas was the cousin of St. Mark, and Barnabas famously disputed with St. Paul over bringing Mark along on their missionary journey, which caused the two famed preachers to part ways and travel separately as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. They were later reconciled. Barnabas was eventually stoned to death around the year 61 A.D. His feast day is celebrated on June 11. | Memorial of Saint Barnabas, Apostle
Lectionary: 580/362
Reading 1 Acts 11:21b-26; 13:1-3 In those days a great number who believed turned to the Lord.
The news about them reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem,
and they sent Barnabas to go to Antioch.
When he arrived and saw the grace of God,
he rejoiced and encouraged them all
to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart,
for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith.
And a large number of people was added to the Lord.
Then he went to Tarsus to look for Saul,
and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch.
For a whole year they met with the Church
and taught a large number of people,
and it was in Antioch that the disciples
were first called Christians. Now there were in the Church at Antioch prophets and teachers:
Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger,
Lucius of Cyrene,
Manaen who was a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,
"Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul
for the work to which I have called them."
Then, completing their fasting and prayer,
they laid hands on them and sent them off. Responsorial Psalm 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6 R. (see 2b) The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power. Alleluia Jn 13:34 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I give you a new commandment:
love one another as I have loved you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 5:20-26 Jesus said to his disciples:
"I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that
of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven. "You have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.
But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother
will be liable to judgment,
and whoever says to his brother, Raqa,
will be answerable to the Sanhedrin,
and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar,
and there recall that your brother
has anything against you,
leave your gift there at the altar,
go first and be reconciled with your brother,
and then come and offer your gift.
Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him.
Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge,
and the judge will hand you over to the guard,
and you will be thrown into prison.
Amen, I say to you,
you will not be released until you have paid the last penny." | Daily Meditation: Matthew 5:20-26 Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees . . . (Matthew 5:20) Think about your favorite athletes. They were probably young when they first played their sport, and they weren't always great. But gradually they got better, and their commitment grew. They played in more competitive leagues, and the game became their life's passion. Our journey toward Jesus develops in much the same way. Perhaps our knowledge of Jesus is basic at first, and we think of faith as only a set of practices. For some people, it never becomes more than that—like the kids who start a sport but don't progress very far. But Jesus wants our faith to mature and surpass the faith we once knew (Matthew 5:20). He wants us to think like a dedicated athlete and develop regular habits like prayer, Scripture reading, and Mass attendance. He wants our faith to become second nature to us, just as an athlete eats, drinks, and lives his sport. What an appropriate passage for today's feast of St. Barnabas! According to the Church Fathers, Barnabas was one of the seventy disciples Jesus sent out to proclaim the kingdom (Luke 10:1). So by the time we first meet him in the Scriptures, he is already a seasoned disciple. He has sold some of his land and donated the proceeds to the struggling Church (Acts 4:37). As impressive as that act of generosity was, Barnabas kept training and developing his faith. He became a leader in the church in Antioch. He took St. Paul under his wing. And together with his cousin John Mark and Paul, he launched one of the Church's first missionary journeys. He persevered in his mission after enduring a painful falling-out with Paul. In the end, Barnabas died a martyr's death, faithful to the end. Barnabas shows us that Jesus never stops coaching; he never stops helping us grow and deepen our faith. And just as a coach knows his athletes will not always win, Jesus knows that we will sometimes fall short. But we need to be like the athlete who doesn't give up—like Barnabas. Our efforts will pay off. And when they do, all of heaven will celebrate! "Jesus, thank you for giving me such a high calling—and for giving me the grace to accomplish it!" Acts 11:21-26; 13:1-3
Psalm 98:1-6 |  clickable | Man is willed by the Creator as a relational being, as someone who is not sufficient unto himself but, rather, needs relationship, who is supposed to live with another and for another. Only in this relatedness to the other and for the other can he fulfill God's will.
— Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI)
from Signs of New Life | my2cents:
""Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Then, completing their fasting and prayer, they laid hands on them and sent them off."
Set apart, means holy. Work means evangelization. It is a Holy Evangelization. The calling came after much fasting and prayer, and laying of hands...Confirmation...the Holy Spirit sends forth. Me and you have had the Holy Spirit anoint our souls. We have a special calling. We are sent forth, to be Holy emissaries, co-missioned in the work of the Lord our God and Father. | We pray today: "The LORD has made his salvation known: in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice. He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel."
God came and became one with us...ultimately in the Holy Spirit. He built a house that would house an unfathomable being. Lord, come make your dwelling place within me. And the Lord remembers, and is kind, and lives and moves among us, especially the faithful and the faithfully departed. Think Holy Communion. This being that surpasses and passes through every living being of every kind. | Our Lord speaks: ""I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven."
This would be like telling you to surpass your parish priests and bishop in righteousness. You have to do what they do...and more. Do what they say, but more. For they too need to see Christ, and they must see it in the laity, the people not ordained, we make up about 96% of this Church, this body of Christ. We need the head and the head needs the body and the both need a connection that is Christ. Holy. Set apart. Set upon a mission. A co-mission, yolked with the almighty. Our Lord says: " if you bring your gift to the altar,
and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift." What is the gift you bring to the altar? It is yourself you bring. It is your heart. And if your heart is defective, should you present that as a gift? Would you present a dirty dish to the King? No. Go reconcile. Clean the inside of the cup. Because what is about to be poured into the cup is Precious Blood from Heaven. An Eternal and unblemished font. Mercy received into a rejecting heart does not work. Must God remake this clay, this earthen dish? How do you re-mold something that has been baked? Only way is to pulverize, turn into dust. But spiritually? Pulverize, make known His great love by demonstrating great susceptibility to His will...the will that you follow commands with great love...of the Author of Life.
Every little bad word, every name calling you do is being recorded in the book of life.
This does not stand well with protesting protestants, because they say once saved always saved.
But here we must continue the Catholic original message...Christ. Christ says we must not call each other fools, for there is a price to pay.
How much damage can one bad word cause?
I don't know about you, but when I was young, in High school, I wasn't who I am today, and I remember once I veered in traffic and an older high school student mouthed off in his vehicle looking at me with disdain saying "you are so (expletive) Stupid!". It's funny that I should remember that still over 20 years later, right? I remember as if it were yesterday, him looking at me with disdain (Raqa), him calling me names, and I hardly knew the guy! And you know what? I don't think I've reconciled. "WAIT WAIT Mr. Adrian, that guy should be saying sorry to you for cursing you!" LOL. Much has happened since then. Much life changing. When I'm hurt, I've learned, I must forgive. I must ask for forgiveness for being mad at him, and madness stems from hurtfulness. You see? When you are in a state of grace, there is nothing to forgive, it's already been forgiven, but if there is no state of grace, then reconciliation must be done.
I've told you about a time I was recording a song, last year or two ago, and Mother Mary took me to Heaven, hidden in her veil, there, in the visitation vision, she was so huge, I was caught up in a 100 ft. veil, semi translucent and awesome, like stars in space, and I was taken to a high place in what would seem a grand palace where the King was at His throne, and there, myriads and myriads, millions came to His throne of fire, but I couldn't see clearly behind the veil, but I could tell what was going on. People on earth, as it is in heaven, they were presenting their gift to God. I knew this was a supernatural gift. I can only equate it to love, and that is a feeble and meager attempt to explain what was happening. A real gift that was deposited before His throne of light and the deposit made for a huge, and bright light. I've not said much detail like this before, either because I've not been called to it, or it must've been a secret....until now. And I must say it for the times call for it. What is being said in Holy Scripture today is very true. And I can only equate this gift to Holy Mass, where we present the gift in Holy Communion.
Before you present your gift of self to Him, make amends, seek righteousness, and surpass your priests and fellow family in holiness. It is not a competition, but a calling to love more. | I leave you with a translation of a daily spanish reflection I read daily on scriptures: "Today we celebrate the apostle Joseph, "to whom the Apostles gave the nickname Barnabas, which means" son of consolation "" (Acts 4:36). From the beginning he was generous: "He had a field, he sold it, he brought the money and put it at the feet of the Apostles" (Acts 4:37). He took Saint Paul to the Apostles, when everyone was afraid of him, and with him he opened the apostolate to all peoples. First, in Antioch, where "he exhorted everyone to remain in the Lord with a firm heart, because he was a good man, full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. And a great crowd clung to the Lord »(Acts 11,23-24). His apostolic zeal was exemplary, putting into practice the Master's mandate: "Go proclaiming that the Kingdom of Heaven is near" (Mt 10,7).
"Separate Paul and Barnabas, for a task that I have assigned to them" (Acts 13,2), proclaimed the Holy Spirit: they went to Cyprus and Asia Minor, and suffered a lot for the Lord. They also had their differences and separated because of Marcos, who abandoned them halfway through the trip, and Pablo no longer accepted him on the following trip; but Barnabas knew how to trust him and we will later see Mark as a great collaborator of Peter and Paul.
Let's learn not to catalog people forever, that "souls, like good wine, get better with time" (Saint Josemaría), when they are held with confidence and loved, since "nobody can be known but when he is loved »(Saint Augustine).
When we see someone falter or back down, we will persevere as Barnabas, a nickname that also means "hard man", and "the one who encourages and excites". They are characteristics of which we are in need today. That is why we go to the Lord with the words of the collection: "Grant us to faithfully proclaim with word and deed the Gospel that he [Barnabas] boldly proclaimed." -Rev. D. Antoni CAROL i Hostench |  click to hear | Random bible verse from an online generator:
John 6 3:7
37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. | 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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