 clickable | | Be Curious Albert was curious, and you know what curious people do: They ask questions. They do research. And, often, they love teaching as a means of sharing what they've learned. Albert's curiosity is breathtaking. He conducted research into virtually every known natural science, outdoors and in the laboratory, and took the same considered approach to questions about the life of the Blessed Virgin, to whom he was devoted. The Dominican was a respected instructor at numerous European colleges, and one of his students, Thomas Aquinas, would become a close friend. Like Thomas Aquinas, Albert is a Doctor of the Church. As happens far too often, Albert's intellect failed him in his later years; he may have suffered from Alzheimer's disease. Curiosity isn't a bad thing. Albert used his own wisely, and carefully noted what he had and had not been unable to prove. Asking questions often can lead us to a deeper understanding, not a rejection, of our faith. — from Brotherhood of Saints: Daily Guidance and Inspiration, by Melanie Rigney |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"Let all creation help you to praise God. Give yourself the rest you need. When you are walking alone, listen to the sermon preached to you by the flowers, the trees, the shrubs, the sky, the sun and the whole world. Notice how they preach to you a sermon full of love, of praise of God, and how they invite you to proclaim the greatness of the one who has given them being."
— St. Paul of the Cross † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"True devotion to Our Lady is constant. It confirms the soul in good, and does not let it easily abandon its spiritual exercises. It makes it courageous in opposing the world in its fashions and maxims, the flesh in its weariness and passions, and the devil in his temptations; so that a person truly devout to our Blessed Lady is neither changeable, irritable, scrupulous nor timid. It is not that such a person does not fall, or change sometimes in the sensible feeling of devotion. But when he falls, he rises again by stretching out his hand to his good Mother. When he loses the taste and relish of devotions, he does not become disturbed because of that; for the just and faithful client of Mary lives by the faith (Heb. 10:38) of Jesus and Mary, and not by natural sentiment."
— St. Louis De Montfort, p. 55
AN EXCERPT FROM
True Devotion to Mary † VERSE OF THE DAY
"Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.""
John 6:35 |  click to read more | | ST. NARCISSUS OF JERUSALEM St. Narcissus (c. 99 – c. 216 A.D.) was a holy and esteemed priest of Greek origin who became the 30th bishop of Jerusalem in the year 180 A.D., about a century after the city's destruction by the Romans. He was known as a miracle-worker, as well as for governing his diocese with vigor and discipline despite being in his 80th year when he was made bishop. Of his many miracles, the one for which he is most famous was turning water into oil on Holy Saturday, as recorded by the historian Eusebius: when the deacons had no oil to burn in the altar lamps for the Easter liturgy, St. Narcissus had them use water instead. After he prayed over the water and it was put into the lamps, it was miraculously converted into oil. In 195 A.D. St. Narcissus was part of a council of bishops who settled the date for the observance of Easter, deciding on Sunday and not the ancient Jewish Passover. Despite his reputation as a holy bishop, St. Narcissus drew opposition. Three enemies accused him of a serious crime and prayed that he might be cursed by God in punishment. This took a toll on the saint, and, forgiving his persecutors, he retired from public life and lived as a hermit for many years. His enemies meanwhile were struck by the calamities that they wished upon him. When St. Narcissus eventually returned to Jerusalem he was exuberantly welcomed by the faithful. He served the people of Jerusalem in many ways until his death at over 116 years old. His feast day is October 29th. | Thursday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 482
Reading 1 EPH 6:10-20 Brothers and sisters:
Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power.
Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm
against the tactics of the Devil.
For our struggle is not with flesh and blood
but with the principalities, with the powers,
with the world rulers of this present darkness,
with the evil spirits in the heavens.
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.
So stand fast with your loins girded in truth,
clothed with righteousness as a breastplate,
and your feet shod in readiness for the Gospel of peace.
In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield,
to quench all the flaming arrows of the Evil One.
And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God. With all prayer and supplication,
pray at every opportunity in the Spirit.
To that end, be watchful with all perseverance and supplication
for all the holy ones and also for me,
that speech may be given me to open my mouth,
to make known with boldness the mystery of the Gospel
for which I am an ambassador in chains,
so that I may have the courage to speak as I must. Responsorial Psalm 144:1B, 2, 9-10 R. (1b) Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
Blessed be the LORD, my rock,
who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war.
R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
My mercy and my fortress,
my stronghold, my deliverer,
My shield, in whom I trust,
who subdues my people under me.
R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
O God, I will sing a new song to you;
with a ten-stringed lyre I will chant your praise,
You who give victory to kings,
and deliver David, your servant from the evil sword.
R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock! Alleluia See LK 19:38; 2:14 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord.
Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel LK 13:31-35 Some Pharisees came to Jesus and said,
"Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you."
He replied, "Go and tell that fox,
'Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow,
and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.
Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day,
for it is impossible that a prophet should die
outside of Jerusalem.' "Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
how many times I yearned to gather your children together
as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,
but you were unwilling!
Behold, your house will be abandoned.
But I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say,
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." | Daily Meditation: Ephesians 6:10-20 Put on the armor of God. (Ephesians 6:11) Are you ready to put on the armor of God to defend yourself from . . . yourself?
When we read this popular passage, we conjure up images of righteously defending ourselves, swords drawn, from the tactics of the devil, as if these attacks would come to us from the outside. There is an element of truth to this, but we should know that spiritual attacks may come from within us as well. The devil is very clever at using our own weaknesses—some that we don't even recognize—to his advantage. He is very good at disrupting our peace and confidence in Christ and replacing them with anger, impatience, or selfishness. How do we look for those weak spots in our spiritual armor and move to strengthen them? The most important thing we can do is monitor our thoughts. Look back over the past few days and see if you can identify the situations in which you were easily angered or quickly grew impatient. Perhaps you were set off when someone interrupted your favorite pastime or moved too slowly when you were in a hurry. Sometimes the devil can even use the things we love the most to his advantage—especially if they pull us away from the Lord. How can we defend against these subtle attacks? Each morning before you get out of bed, say a quick prayer that helps you put on the armor of God. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with the faith and confidence you need to stand firm against the devil's tactics. Maybe even read this passage! During the day, try to pay attention to your thoughts. Take note of those ideas or memories that threaten your peace, block your ability to love someone, or undermine your humility. Recognize them for what they are, and ask the Spirit to help you counter them with the truths about God's love and his grace. Recall God's past work in your life, and let those memories fill you with confidence and strength. Every day, the Holy Spirit stands ready to outfit you with his armor. So take it up, put it on—and put the devil to flight! "Holy Spirit, help me guard my thoughts so that I may grow to be more like Jesus." Psalm 114:1-2, 9-10
Luke 13:31-35 |  clickable | God is truth, and whoever seeks the truth is seeking God, whether he knows it or not.
— St. Edith Stein
from "Edith Stein" by Waltraud Herbstrith | my2cents:
"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."
Armor is to resist, isn't it? What kind of things are we to resist? Temptations. Attacks. Infiltration that could lead to manifestation. And it starts little by little, not always all at once. So how can we hold our ground among daily onslaughts? What armor did our Lord have on when He went to battle? There was no physical armor. He went and won, not the battle, but the War. He was able to defeat all temptations to not suffer. He had on the armor to defeat everything coming at Him. And He invites us to wear that armor too.
†loins girded in truth,
†righteousness as a breastplate,
† feet shod in readiness for the Gospel of peace.
†faith as a shield, to quench all the flaming arrows of the Evil One.
†helmet of salvation
†sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
What is it about the sword, the Word? It is so powerful. Authority my friend, to slay lies, to slay evil bubbles, right? Poison for souls. Use the sword my friend, Word, Scripture, prayer, fasting.
And this with Salvation on the mind, the helmet.
Your faith will shield you, have faith, believe above all. Ready to go and spread the Gospel of peace.
Your core protection is righteousness, think grace filled holiness. And your loins covered in truth, that what makes your essence, who you are. | "Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war."
How are hands trained for war? The Lord trains them. How do we fight in war? Hand to hand combat. Put one hand in the other, and pray. Fingers, all important have their role in serving one another. I think of how I use my fingers to play in the choir, instruments and such. I think of the battle it is to sing at times, to pray at times. And with the pandemics, churches are demanded to close down while all other business remains open. Choirs are silenced by the worldly, and what do I see? A struggle. Just like our Lord said we'd encounter. And that is what He calls the war. We are continuously struggling, us who find ourselves trying to do God's will. The battle within oneself, and then with the other...principalities against us. I often tell people not to think of people as enemies, but the evil spirits that manifest themselves in people. "QUIET. Come out of HIM!" demanded our Lord and saved a soul. You see? He never lost one physical body or soul under His eye and finger. We lose ourselves if we do not do as He says. | We heard in the Gospel: ""Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you."
That was an evil warning. It may have been masked as caring for the Lord, but our Lord stood His ground. Remember what is said about standing our ground? Not to be tempted. Right? I often notice how people speak, and I'm continuously scanning their words for an evil presence. Obvious evil speakings are false accusations. You must know this is coming from Satan. And other times, I notice a takeover spirit speaking when the person speaks on behalf of someone else. I remember a salesman working for our family business several years ago, and he had decided to take all the work we trusted him with, and even some of our good hands for himself. I remember how he'd speak to us, "the customer does not wish to speak to you, and he says...." and the lies spewed forth. And soon, he took our hands and our work, and we suffered, yes financially, but more emotionally, because we trusted all these people. Watch for an evil takeover. Watch how evil speaks to you and attacks you. Be mindful. | And so our Lord responds: ""Go and tell that fox,
'Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I accomplish my purpose."
What's with the name calling? Have you seen how foxes act? They are sly. They can be deceptive. They can get in to your chicken coop in ways you thought were not possible. And Herod was all about infiltration. Since the time our Lord was born, the Herods were after Him, trying to get at Him. And this time, our Lord stood His ground...for it was time to face the music straight on.
Our Lord continues: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were unwilling!"
Again with the chicken talk, and babe chicks! God wishes to gather us under His wing of loving protection.
And this in what He desires to be the new Jerusalem, the new city of peace. His peace. Not the world's peace.
Can't we all just get along?
Not with evil. Evil has a takeover mentality against our Lord.
You cannot have your cake and eat it too, they say. You cannot have it both ways. It's like modernists say, that all sexuality is allowable withing parameters. What parameter? The one you invented? What parameters are you devising? I see many false prophets, and the true ones get persecuted. The false ones are often lauded and applauded. The true ones are stoned. And some are killed. What does this mean? In our day in age, it means they are rejected, and shut out of our lives. Who is coming at you in the name of the Lord? These are the prophets we speak of.
I am at a complex at Mass when I hear us pray "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the Highest".
I often think of the priest who offers the Mass, who offers his life for the brood, the flock. I often think of those who I encounter speaking about our Lord. For they are instruments of God in this struggle. Lord, I pray that I have ears to hear, and eyes to see, your very presence entering into my life daily and especially in the most Holy Sacraments. | Random Bible verse from online generator:
WOW
Mt. 5:11
11 "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | |
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