 |  clickable | | Don't Lose Sight of What Matters Amid all the disaster and distress that wheels around and swirls within us in chaotic times, there are also always marvels to behold. Let neither fear nor preoccupation keep you from being touched by wonderfully wounded life. May you find a way in every day, to share your great-fullness for all that touches your eyes. May you refuse to be crushed but rather, look lovingly upon all with tear-washed eyes, trained on woundedness, straining for wonder. As you savor the sweet brevity of your days, may passion puncture you, letting out joy, till warmly you are welcomed; a sight for sore eyes. —from the book Wandering and Welcome: Meditations for Finding Peace by Joseph Grant |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"It is part of the discipline of God to make His loved ones perfect through trial and suffering. Only by carrying the Cross can one reach the Resurrection."
— Archbishop Fulton Sheen † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"The heart cannot exist without love; it will love either God or creatures. If it does not love creatures, it certainly will love God. In order to become holy, we must therefore banish from our heart all that is not for God. When anyone came to the Fathers of the desert and desired to be received by them he was asked: 'Do you bring an empty heart that it may be filled by the Holy Ghost?' And they were right, for a heart that is filled with the things of earth has no room for the love of God. He who brings a vessel filled with earth to the spring will never be able to fill it with water until he empties it of the earth with which it is filled. How does it happen that so many pray and go frequently to Holy Communion and still make no considerable progress in the love of God? The reason is doubtless because the heart is full of self-esteem, of vanity, of self-will, and of attachment to creatures. He, therefore, who wishes to arrive at the perfect love of God must practice poverty in spirit. He must be detached from worldly possessions, from temporal honors, from his fellow creatures, and from himself."
— St. Alphonsus Liguori, p. 114-5
AN EXCERPT FROM
12 Steps to Holiness and Salvation † VERSE OF THE DAY
"Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground."
Ephesians 6:13 |  click to read more | | ST. URSULA & HER 11,000 COMPANIONS St. Ursula (4th c.) was a pious Christian princess from Britain, perhaps Wales. According to the 13th century Golden Legend she set sail and embarked on a pilgrimage to Rome with a large court of handmaids prior to settling in what is today western France, where she was to be joined in marriage to a local governor. Along her pilgrimage route she attracted many followers who were influenced by her holy example. On the return journey St. Ursula and her traveling maidens fell into the hands of the Huns, violent nomads from the East, who had invaded large swaths of Europe. St. Ursula and her company of virgins and other followers, which numbered 11,000, were tortured in an effort to have them renounce their faith. Steadfastly refusing, they were massacred in Cologne, Germany and buried together in a mass grave over which was built the Basilica of St. Ursula. Due to the varying accounts of her martyrdom and the difficulty of separating fact from legend, her feast day was suppressed in modern times. St. Ursula is the patroness of the Ursulines, a female religious order founded in 1535 by St. Angela Merici for the education of young girls. St. Ursula is also the patron of students, teachers, Catholic education, and of a holy death. Her feast day is October 21st. | Wednesday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 475
Reading 1 EPH 3:2-12 Brothers and sisters:
You have heard of the stewardship of God's grace
that was given to me for your benefit,
namely, that the mystery was made known to me by revelation,
as I have written briefly earlier.
When you read this
you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,
which was not made known to human beings in other generations
as it has now been revealed
to his holy Apostles and prophets by the Spirit,
that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same Body,
and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel. Of this I became a minister by the gift of God's grace
that was granted me in accord with the exercise of his power.
To me, the very least of all the holy ones, this grace was given,
to preach to the Gentiles the inscrutable riches of Christ,
and to bring to light for all what is the plan of the mystery
hidden from ages past in God who created all things,
so that the manifold wisdom of God
might now be made known through the Church
to the principalities and authorities in the heavens.
This was according to the eternal purpose
that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,
in whom we have boldness of speech
and confidence of access through faith in him. Responsorial Psalm IS 12:2-3, 4BCD, 5-6 R. (see 3) You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
God indeed is my savior;
I am confident and unafraid.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water
at the fountain of salvation.
R. You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name;
among the nations make known his deeds,
proclaim how exalted is his name.
R. You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement;
let this be known throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,
for great in your midst
is the Holy One of Israel!
R. You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation. Alleluia MT 24:42A, 44 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Stay awake!
For you do not know when the Son of Man will come.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel LK 12:39-48 Jesus said to his disciples:
"Be sure of this:
if the master of the house had known the hour
when the thief was coming,
he would not have let his house be broken into.
You also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come." Then Peter said,
"Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?"
And the Lord replied,
"Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward
whom the master will put in charge of his servants
to distribute the food allowance at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.
Truly, I say to you, he will put him
in charge of all his property.
But if that servant says to himself,
'My master is delayed in coming,'
and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants,
to eat and drink and get drunk,
then that servant's master will come
on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour
and will punish the servant severely
and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
That servant who knew his master's will
but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will
shall be beaten severely;
and the servant who was ignorant of his master's will
but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating
shall be beaten only lightly.
Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,
and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more." | Daily Meditation: Luke 12:39-48 At an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come. (Luke 12:40) You unlock the door of your home after a long day at work. A million things are on your mind—paying the bills, fixing the crack in the ceiling, taking the dog for a walk. Then as you step through the door, you are completely stunned. Your friends are in the living room, with big smiles on their faces. In a split second, you realize what's going on as they all call out, "Surprise!" at the top of their lungs. They're throwing you a surprise birthday party. The experience of a surprise party seems like quite a contrast to the "surprise" that Jesus is talking about here. Obviously, Jesus is talking about a very serious event, one with eternal consequences. He wants us to be prepared for his coming and to greet him with joy. He wants us to be busy about his work and living our lives for him. He realizes our human tendency to "slack off," and he warns us of the consequences if we do. Let's return to the idea of a surprise party for a moment. The reason Jesus warns us about being prepared is that he wants us to be pleasantly surprised when he returns. None of us can avoid this surprise. None of us know when Jesus will come—it could be tomorrow, next week, or five minutes from now. But if we are ready for his coming, it will be a wonderful, joyful event for us. In fact, it should be something we are looking forward to every day! Imagine that you are in on the surprise and know when Jesus is going to return. What would you do to get ready for him? What would you add—or subtract—from your life? You know the answers to these questions. Whatever you need to do, don't put it off. But don't act out of fear. Act as if you were preparing for the most exciting day of your life—because you are! Just think of how pleased the Lord is with each step you take and each decision that you make for him. He has a glorious crown waiting for you when he comes (2 Timothy 4:8). So keep living for him, and get ready for that awesome day! "Lord, I long for your coming! Help me to be ready to meet you." Ephesians 3:2-12
(Psalm) Isaiah 12:2-6 |  clickable | It takes only a moment for Our Lord to change a heart and to secure it to himself forever.
— Élisabeth Leseur
from Salt and Light: The Spiritual Journey of Élisabeth and Félix Leseur | my2cents:
"You have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for your benefit...".
Have you received grace? If you don't know, let me answer it for you, the answer is yes. Therefore, you are a steward of God's grace. How does Mother Mary's grace work? She is a giver of grace. And in such a manner, each of us is called to give grace. What does grace look like? What is grace? Theologians have said much of this, but in a nutshell, it is a gift. You may have heard of actual grace, habitual grace, and so forth. What is the difference? The possibility of living the divine life is achieved through Habitual Grace. Think holiness, all day, every day. Think Mary Mother of Grace. And she was cut, that is, set apart, that is, she was afflicted by the infliction of the cross. Think of joy that is holy, and not happiness that is temporal. And that leads us to Actual grace. The divine life is possible only through the gift of Actual Grace, which we find in the Sacraments, our ongoing contact with God. The Holy Sacraments are availed. Among my encounters with Christ when healing from an accident, a deacon brought a Passionist missionary priest to my house for the Sacraments to be brought to me. It is strange. That in my vision of Christ, it was at the passion, and a passionist, of all the priests, came to my house to minister Himself to me. I would say, that habitual grace leads to actual grace and the same goes back. Actual grace lived, becomes habitual grace. And we are leading to what we do with our lives in stewardship. | We pray today: "God indeed is my savior;
I am confident and unafraid. My strength and my courage is the LORD, and he has been my savior. With joy you will draw water
at the fountain of salvation. You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation."
What are you afraid of today? There's much we can be afraid of. Fear today causes anxiety. There is much anxiety, and many anxious souls become depressed. And we are in a time where there is a great depression. Suicides are on the increase, and much contemplation of euthanasia is on the rise, which is murder. There is much fear of...the unknown. What drives people to such a state? What drives us there? Fear of the wrong things. Instead of fearing God, we fear the world, and we try to escape the world with pleasures but that is exactly what the world offers. What drives a martyr for Christ? That is what we should seek, that drive. And we've already spoken about it. It is Actual grace brought about in habitual grace. The environment. There are many obstacles we have said, to a life of grace. And those obstacles make you turn away from God and face fear of darkness. We should fear turning from God, and that is the proper holy fear that also is a gift that we should ask for, and as we all know, He cannot refuse to give us the good...of Himself. | Our Lord mentioned about the master of his house: "You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come." In protestant thought, this verse speaks of the end times. But this eschatology is happening every day. For in the world outside of our world, time does not exist. Time only exists on the earth that counts the revolutions of the sun. And so our Lord brings up the talk about prudence, another gift of the Holy Spirit. The gifts of understanding and knowledge correspond to the virtue of faith. The gift of counsel (right judgment) corresponds to the virtue of prudence. How do these gifts appear in your life? It is like the farmer who tills the ground, watches over it and prays and hopes, and hope becomes evident of another gift. The gift of fear of the Lord corresponds to the virtue of hope. Here is where faith takes action. You leave your fears, and you trust in God, and we pray night and day "Jesus, I trust in You". Right now, you may be facing terrible news, or anxiety, or a complexion issue with faith, or despondence, that is laxity and is related to acedia, that laziness in faith...and what is the solution to these problems? Holy fear that brings one to their knees. Prayer time. Stewardship with time. | And then our Lord begins to talk about beatings. In protestant theology, this makes no sense because they don't believe in these words of Christ. As Catholics, we know what this means...purgatory. People aren't normally beaten nowadays, physically. Stoned to death, or whipped, or flogged publicly. And even worse, people do not mortify themselves with self mortification. Mortification is "the deliberate restraint that one places on natural impulses in order to make them increasingly subject to sanctification through obedience to reason illumined by faith." How can we put this in understandable senses? I'll give a true example. I went to a Caremelite Monastery, and the abbot laid it thick on us men on retreat when he said "if you are having problems with lust then stop eating". Stop eating? LOL. That is mortification and the means to an end is what is the goal. It means an end to lust. When we are full we are full of it. When we are hungry we have big puppy eyes of starvation. We must be hungry for God. It then becomes an ascetic lifestyle, and I would say even a life of habitual grace. In the pandemics we suffer, there is less pleasure seeking, and much more inner seeking. Truths are being revealed, and the truth about how people think is being revealed on all levels, local, state, and nationwide. Because idols are lowered, now who do you look to for guidance and to spend your time? There are no more new movies. There are no good shows anymore. And so, I've been forced to spend time outdoors with my family. More family time. More prayer time. A habitual lifestyle that seemed harder before pandemics. And this leads to hope. God's hope. The hope that He has for all of us to turn from ourselves to Him, inside out. That is an exposition. Turn your fears inside out, and let God handle them. I have prayed for you before the Blessed Sacrament. I have prayed for your faith. We are to manage our time, talents, and treasures wisely. I'm here to propose an eternal investment. Lord, may we become eternally vested in your Sacred Heart. | Random Bible verse from online generator:
Dt 7:9
Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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