 clickable | | Become Like Little Children Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli never left his roots as a northern Italian farmer's son; it's just that the places where he planted and sowed changed. His grandest sowing opportunity came when he was nearly seventy-eight years old, and was elected pope. As John XXIII, he brought a sort of gentle, jolly acceptability to the papacy and convened Vatican II, the first ecumenical council in nearly one hundred years. John XXIII is remembered for poking fun at himself and at overformality. He reminds us that while we need to take our faith seriously, God is pleased when we come as little children, with hands, hearts, and souls open. We should be impressed with God, not with ourselves. Laugh at one of your shortcomings today, then pray for the strength to use that shortcoming as God desires. — from Brotherhood of Saints: Daily Guidance and Inspiration, by Melanie Rigney |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"Is it not a wonderful thing, that he that is the Lord and author of all liberty, would thus be bound with ropes and nailed hand and foot unto the Cross?"
— St. John Fisher
† MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"We frequently need other people's help to figure out what God wants of us. It is relatively easy to sort out what is bad from what is good, but it is much more difficult to sort out what is good from what is better and what is bad from what is worse. The Holy Spirit gives us the counsel we need through external and internal signs of grace."
— Rev. Jude Winkler, p. 35
AN EXCERPT FROM
Daily Meditations Holy Spirit † VERSE OF THE DAY
"In fact, all who want to live religiously in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But wicked people and charlatans will go from bad to worse, deceivers and deceived. But you, remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom you learned it, and that from infancy you have known [the] sacred scriptures, which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus."
2 Timothy 3:12-15 |  click to read more | | ST. JOHN OF CAPISTRANO St. John of Capistrano (1385-1456) was born in Capistrano, Italy. After the death of his father, his mother sent him to study law in Perugia where he rose to prominence. He achieved great success as a lawyer and was appointed governor of Perugia. He was an upright leader who refused bribes and corruption. While attempting to negotiate a peace treaty he was imprisoned, which gave him opportunity to assess the direction of his life and the state of his soul. After having a vision of St. Francis of Assisi, John left the world and entered religious life as a Franciscan friar. He was taught theology by St. Bernardine of Siena, and together the two worked to reform the Franciscan order. St. John traveled throughout Italy preaching for the salvation of souls, combating the heresies of his day, and winning many souls away from schism and heresy. Merchants would suspend their business as great crowds gathered to hear him preach in the public squares. He was also known as a healer, and many of the sick were brought to him to be cured. St. John was frequently used as an ambassador by the Holy See which allowed him to preach across the Holy Roman Empire, earning him the name "Apostle of Europe." He also preached a crusade against the Muslim Turks for the emancipation of Hungary. He was present at the Battle of Belgrade and led the charge of the Christian army under a banner monogrammed with the Holy Name of Jesus, to which he had a great devotion, urging the crusaders to invoke the name of Jesus for success in battle. The victory of the Christian army was attributed to his efforts. St. John of Capistrano is the patron of judges, military chaplains, lawyers, and jurists. His feast day is October 23rd. | Friday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 477
Reading 1 Eph 4:1-6 Brothers and sisters:
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the spirit
through the bond of peace;
one Body and one Spirit,
as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all. Responsorial Psalm 24:1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6 R. (see 6) Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
The LORD's are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks for him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face. Alleluia See Mt 11:25 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel LK 12:54-59 Jesus said to the crowds,
"When you see a cloud rising in the west
you say immediately that it is going to rain–and so it does;
and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south
you say that it is going to be hot–and so it is.
You hypocrites!
You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky;
why do you not know how to interpret the present time? "Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?
If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate,
make an effort to settle the matter on the way;
otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge,
and the judge hand you over to the constable,
and the constable throw you into prison.
I say to you, you will not be released
until you have paid the last penny." | Daily Meditation: Psalm 24:1-6 Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face. (Psalm Response) Lord, we want to see your face so that we can gaze on your goodness and holiness and reflect it to the people we encounter each day. And so, in the spirit of today's readings, we offer you this prayer: "Lord, we long to live in a manner worthy of the calling you have given us (Ephesians 4:1). We long to walk all our days in humility and gentleness. Let those virtues accompany us as we go about our daily tasks. May we humbly accept correction and, yes, even criticism that seems unwarranted. May we humbly prefer your plans for our day to our own so that we can live and move and have our being in you. "Lord, we long to bear with each other patiently and in love (Ephesians 4:2). May we do so even when those 'others' are too loud, too slow, or too far off on another track. May we patiently wait for you to work miracles in their hearts and minds. May we patiently pray and care for them and assume the best even when we think we see the worst in them. Lord, they dwell on this earth too, so they are yours. Help us to see and believe today that you love all whom you have made. "Lord, we long to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3). You preach peace to those who are far off and those who are near (2:17). Help us to preach it today too, first and foremost by the witness of the peace that fills our hearts and minds. Move us to seek your peace continually, to pursue it, and to follow after it where we sense it. "Lord, we are one body, a people who live in the hope of our call (Ephesians 4:4). We believe there is one Lord through whom we exist and through whom all things were created. It is you, Lord! You have called us into one faith and one baptism, to know and love and serve you. May we always live in the unity that exists among us, which overcomes all differences and divisions." "Lord, help us to be a people who always longs for you. " Ephesians 4:1-6
Luke 12:54-59 |  clickable | Pope John Paul II was one of the most famous people in the world. He was one of the most influential world figures. He was a great playwright, an actor, an athlete, a bestselling author, he had two multi-platinum CDs, and he was the most traveled person in human history. He has been seen by more people than anyone else in history. The population of Rome doubled for his funeral, which was attended by 75 heads of state.
— Dr. Michael Barber
from The Legacy of John Paul II | my2cents:
"I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness,
with patience,
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the spirit
through the bond of peace..."
The things of love will go much further with humility and gentleness and patience.
What does humility look like? It looks like someone who has lost. Look at the cross, the crucifix, the crux of the very matter. Care to lose yourself?
What does gentleness look like? It is how our Lord treated His persecutors. He always spoke the truth, even warning them like in today's Gospel, but that's as far as it went. There's an old cowboy adage I heard that said something like "you can be strict all you want, but you don't have to be mean". Think gentleness, and what it will take to convert one soul. It takes much. Just look at the cross and our Lord.
And so we bear all things if we love. If you do not love, you will not bear all things, you will not take all things, and soon, hatred shows up at the door. But we are called to be children of light, and light is love, and light gives itself until the end. Think of the stars in the heavens. Think how light goes and gives itself never making a return.
And until the world sees this love light, it will not experience true peace, only the peace man offers, one thing for another. But to give, is to give without making a return. Think how you have loved. As I prepared today, to work, a thought hit me "what thankless act should I deserve today?" How many thankless prayers have gone. Have you ever thanked our Lord for not giving all you want? I don't know that I have yet cared to be that thankful. | "Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face." Our Lord ascended that mountain, that holy place. He was chosen among all God's children. He Himself mounted that throne for what ? For being found worthy. Worthy of such a feat, on Mt. Calvary, the place of the skull, the place of death, the place He'd turn into the place of life. And so another thought struck as I meditated before writing, "true love goes beyond the temporal". Our earthly desires and loves are whimsical. They can change like flavors. We do not see things and judge things with right judgement. That is why our Lord speaks today about discernment. | "You hypocrites!
You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky;
why do you not know how to interpret the present time?"
There have been outstanding theoretical physicists, and cosmologists in our time, they could make theories about the world, where it came from, and where it is going, and looking at what they have said, it does not conflict with what we know of the world. But it speaks nothing about the Spirit. It speaks of worldly things, but nothing about eternity in terms of God. It is like math problems, and science, you found out this works with that, and that's it, it is empty...devoid of the essence of being. And so that is left to philosophers, who speculate on the meaning of life, and the latest worldly philosophers have been worldly psychologists in the social realms. They ultimately say, 'life has no other meaning than to satisfy yourself. ' | How can we bring this down to our level, as if it doesn't already apply?
It is like when they play the flute and children won't dance, they sing a dirge and you won't cry.
It is like the call of the Lord and we run with a thousand excuses to answer the call.
What call? Wouldn't you like to know.
If you sincerely would like to know, the call has been made today, to humility, to faith, to believing and trusting what He has said.
To move and to act upon the Word that no other man on earth has declared.
He says "you have heard this, but now follow Me".
In other words, He embodies everything in Holy Scripture.
And He gives meaning to life. We would be wise to take Him at His every beckoning call. The call of humility hurts. It hurts your ego, your pride, your so called "self esteem", but it will not hurt your dignity of knowing you are a child of God. Another Christ, they called St. Francis. And he set forth a real life Christ. He made peace where peace was not possible. He made life in Christ real by abandoning his own will.
We know so much about this and that, and I am amazed at how how little people know Christ, truly. Why is that my child?
"They say he's this and that". But the deep question is "WHO AM I" to you?
Because He wants to know how we stand in our love relation with Him.
If you say he's some leader, or some great guy from long ago, then we show how far we are from Him, Himself.
But if you declare something like "You are our Savior", then you are well on your way to the truth. Because then, we know we need Him.
Have you discerned by now what He is calling you to? It's not about what you do, but how you do what you do. If I am a janitor, or if I am a corporate owner, it is how you live your life for the Lord. It is possible to give in the same degree and percentage, and it is easier for the poor one to give much more. And I speak of the poor in Spirit.
How much can you afford in sin? As a stupid youth, a complete fool, you think you can do so much and get away with it. And so they say carelessly whatever they want, and even jump off a cliff.
If you have read this far, know this: we cannot afford even a venial sin.
If you only know how far your cursing goes. One bad word. One bad act against charity. If you knew how damaging your pride is. If you only knew, if you truly knew what God sees, you'd be afraid to take the next breath without asking for mercy.
But we think we know better. Atheists have the god thing all figured out.
There is no humility there.
But you know more. You know more now. What I have presented to you is nothing more than the terrible truth. What's wrong with the world? Forget philosophy, forget social theories, and physicists' theoretical knowledge, and realize heretical knowledge. Realize the truth speaking to you through Jesus the Holy Spirit.
What's wrong with the world then? Watch out for the leaven of the 'know it alls'. What's wrong with the world? Listen here and realize what this means, "I am what's wrong", and this is a calling to rectify, to reconcile, to make true amends, atonement, and peace. How often do you say to the others in a fight "you know what? ok, let's have it your way" and let them win. Jesus did this on the cross. If you know what this means, blessed are you. The greatest saints know how to lose arguments. The knew how to discern the times. There is a time for everything.
And the times that God is calling for today is a great calling to Himself, to render to the world what is the world's and to God what is HIS! Lord, there is nothing in existence that is not yours.
Then what can I give? Let it be the very Love you desire back.
Help us Lord, to love you more and more in truth and light... | Random Bible verse from online generator: Jn 14:18 "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | |
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