 clickable | | The Chasm that Divides Us We live continuously with a chasm between the haves and the have-nots, the healthy and the sick, the smart and the dull, the gorgeous and the ugly, the slim and the fat, the lucky and the cursed. It's what we mean by "the world." The question is how deep and wide this chasm should be allowed to become. The wider it is, the more unreal we become; the deeper, the more painful is the chasm. If we don't work now to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor it will increase exponentially and we will be irreparably divided. In Gospel wisdom, the end is always a beginning. A change of heart, in the hard of heart, is the beginning of compassion, of active concern for the needs of others. When the spring of compassion is released, the human chasm, the ego, the isolated self, is reconnected. In reconnection (the literal meaning of the word religion), the great healing happens. —from the book Sensing God: Learning to Meditate during Lent by Laurence Freeman, OSB |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"Force yourself, if necessary, always to forgive those who offend you, from the very first moment. For the greatest injury or offense you can suffer from them is nothing compared to what God has forgiven you."
— St. Josemaria Escriva † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"Like an hourglass with a certain number of grains of sand within it, God has appointed your life to last only a certain number of days, and you have absolutely no idea how many there are. ... In God's presence, consider: I have no idea when my life will end. All I know is that death will come for me eventually. Am I doing anything to prepare for the real possibility that God may call me, sooner rather than later? If he called me into eternity today, would I be ready?"
— Patrick Madrid, p. 190
AN EXCERPT FROM
A Year with the Bible † VERSE OF THE DAY
"For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."
2 Peter 1:5-8 |  click to read more | | ST. LUIGI ORIONE St. Luigi Orione (1872-1940) was born in northern Italy and entered a Franciscan friary at the age of 13, but had to leave due to poor health. He became a pupil of St. John Bosco at his Turin oratory for boys, and later entered the diocesan seminary. While still a seminarian he opened his own oratory and boarding school to provide for the Christian training and education of boys. This institution became a well-spring for new vocations to the priesthood. He also traveled and founded many other pious congregations for clergy and lay people alike, including two religious orders. The ideal of St. Luigi's life was to provide for the spiritual welfare of others and to serve Jesus Christ and his Church. Many people were attracted to him and his work, and he cared in a special way for the sick, the disabled, and the poor. He was a preacher and confessor, as well as an organizer of pilgrimages, missions, processions, and other public celebrations of the faith. He loved Our Lady deeply and fostered devotion to her among his seminarians. Today his apostolate encompasses about 300 foundations, including schools, hospitals, assisted living facilities, and learning centers on nearly every continent. His body is incorrupt, and he was canonized in 2004. St. Luigi Orione's feast day is March 12th. | Thursday of the Second Week of Lent
Lectionary: 233
Reading 1 Jer 17:5-10 Thus says the LORD:
Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings,
who seeks his strength in flesh,
whose heart turns away from the LORD.
He is like a barren bush in the desert
that enjoys no change of season,
But stands in a lava waste,
a salt and empty earth.
Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose hope is the LORD.
He is like a tree planted beside the waters
that stretches out its roots to the stream:
It fears not the heat when it comes,
its leaves stay green;
In the year of drought it shows no distress,
but still bears fruit.
More tortuous than all else is the human heart,
beyond remedy; who can understand it?
I, the LORD, alone probe the mind
and test the heart,
To reward everyone according to his ways,
according to the merit of his deeds. Responsorial Psalm 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6 R. (40:5a) Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Not so, the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord. Verse Before the Gospel Lk 8:15 Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart
and yield a harvest through perseverance. Gospel Lk 16:19-31 Jesus said to the Pharisees:
"There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen
and dined sumptuously each day.
And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,
who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps
that fell from the rich man's table.
Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.
When the poor man died,
he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham.
The rich man also died and was buried,
and from the netherworld, where he was in torment,
he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off
and Lazarus at his side.
And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me.
Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,
for I am suffering torment in these flames.'
Abraham replied, 'My child,
remember that you received what was good during your lifetime
while Lazarus likewise received what was bad;
but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.
Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established
to prevent anyone from crossing
who might wish to go from our side to yours
or from your side to ours.'
He said, 'Then I beg you, father, send him
to my father's house,
for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them,
lest they too come to this place of torment.'
But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets.
Let them listen to them.'
He said, 'Oh no, father Abraham,
but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
Then Abraham said,
'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded
if someone should rise from the dead.'" | Catholic Meditations
Meditation: Luke 16:19-31 2nd Week of Lent Lying at his door was a poor man. (Luke 16:20) After Mass one day, Margaret stayed longer to pray. As she left, she came across a young woman cleaning the church. Ordinarily, she would have smiled and walked past her, eager to get to work. But this time, something moved her to stop and say hello. She had seen this woman before, but she didn't know her name. In her conversation, Margaret got to know Olga's story. She learned that Olga had fled her home in Eastern Europe at age thirteen, when her father threatened her in a drunken stupor. In a foreign city, completely alone, she lived in constant danger on the streets, became pregnant, and had three children before she was seventeen. She lived and worked as an unpaid servant in the home of her in-laws, where she suffered much abuse. One day, her common-law husband and the family matriarch told her to leave and never return—and to leave her children behind. Miraculously, Olga found legal asylum in another country. Years later, she married a godly man and began working for a cleaning service. Every month, she sent money to her elderly mother, who lived as a widow in her native land. "God has been good to me," Olga said. "I don't understand why people do these things, but I know God wants me to love them and forgive." Margaret was stunned. Olga had been almost invisible to her for so long. But now it was as if her eyes were suddenly opened to this real person in her life. Olga reminded Margaret of poor Lazarus, lying unnoticed at the rich man's doorstep. Olga's story also caused Margaret to realize that she was preoccupied with her own comparatively small concerns and that she needed to make time for other people. The two women agreed to meet for coffee, and their friendship grew. Over time, Olga came to dinner so often that she became almost like a member of the family. Like the parable in today's Gospel, Olga shows us that the people who are unimportant by human standards are precious to God. He never forgets the invisible or abandoned ones, and he calls us to go and do likewise. "Jesus, help me to see you and love you in the distressing disguise of the poor." Jeremiah 17:5-10
Psalm 1:1-4, 6 |  clickable | In the Mass, the faithful reach outside the temporal sphere and re-present the event of Christ's death just the same as it occurred in the first century. Analogously, so it is with music…. What matters in music is the composition's universal and timeless qualities, or lack thereof, no matter when it was written.
— Michael Kurek
from The Sound of Beauty | my2cents:
"Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings,
who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the LORD."
This was the fall of Babylon. This was the fall of all, from the beginning in Creation in Genesis. A turning away from the Lord. Sin is a turning away. God says in Lent "Turn to Me". And we hear "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose hope is the LORD." During lunch yesterday, all I heard was bad news thats in the news, which is daily and routine. About deaths. About a falling economy. About a pandemic virus spreading all over the world. Sensationalism sells, things appealing to the senses, and this can become animalistic. And then I reflect on my reflections, am I also a negative Nancy? Because, I know I point out flaws and darkness, but do I spread the good news? How can I be an agent of change? If you read with eyes of the Holy Spirit, you will receive the message, but if you do not have eyes and ears, you will not receive, because I write with the power of the Holy Spirit. How do I know? Because, there have been a rare instance when someone responds to an email, and what they heard was not what I wrote, but I intended for them to receive. I digress. Blessed is the man who TRUSTS in the Lord, through thick and thin, He will be anchored, and this is what we must hold on to...Christ our Lord. | We pray today: "Blessed the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked Nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, But delights in the law of the LORD and meditates on his law day and night. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord."
You are the hope. You who are reading this are the hope of the Lord and in the Lord, so long as you remain in the Lord. The world does not need another negative Nancy, but a positive Paul. Turn the bad to good. How? Jesus is the answer. | In the Holy Gospel we heard today "'Father Abraham, have pity on me" but the rich man calling for mercy was dead...to the world. How can someone still cry for mercy once you are dead? The rich man's name was not recorded in the book of life. The rich man's name becomes anonymous and synonymous with all of us who are rich. All of us who are rich now, who throw away food. All of us who are rich who have money to spend on entertainment. All of us who are rich who have no time for the poor. Yikes! Am I turning negative? Or am I shining a light into the darkness? I still have a hard time with my kids throwing away their food. Even at restaurants, I ask them to pack it, and if we don't eat it, we take it for the dogs. Even the dogs get scraps...says the lady to Jesus. And the only ones tending to the wounds and sores of Lazarus were the dogs that got scraps. Now we are going deep, let those who have eyes and ears, see and obey. | Watch what the rich man says next: "Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.'
WHOA now, wait just a minute: did the rich man KNOW who Lazarus was? And never tended to him personally? Was Lazarus a servant of his? Or someone's servant? Because Lazarus was said to have slept at the door of the rich man. Now...we are getting deep again. The door? The door of his home? Jesus knocks. And Jesus is persistent. There is something about Jesus and perseverance. We need only to look at Him in His passion...for souls. And our Lord replies with justice and what we would perceive as injustice for the poor, all backwards "... between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing...". A chasm is an un-crossable objective. The rich man barks another command "... send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them...". He still wants Lazarus to do what he wants. But the suffering servant is in the Bosom of Abraham, the very embodiment of obedience. The rich man was disobedient, and the rich man wanted people to obey him and what he wanted, not what God wanted. And the disarray of the world is that unjust case. Recent Catholic polls say "the poll found that just 18% of Catholics indicate that they accept all of the Church's teachings and those are reflected in how they live their life. An additional 38% report that they accept 'most' teachings; while 29% do not accept some of the key teachings; 13% say Catholicism has only a minor influence on their lives; and 2% consider themselves former Catholics". So people are rejecting God's will. Rejecting Church teachings, they do not "believe" they need to follow. "It doesn't apply to me" is the mentality. At work, I ask people to do their written tickets one way, but there are several who think "that does not apply to me". In Church on Sunday "that does not apply to me" is the mentality. "That's for others". This mentality has to stop! That is pride and arrogance. That is to be closed off to...obedience. That is closed off to what the Master is asking, "Turn back to ME!". And it is still shocking to see a split on the question "do you believe abortion should be legal?". Has the church failed the people or has the people failed the Church? Who is to blame? Watch who you blame my friend. I know you are doing your part, but you know the many times you have preferred silence. You know the times you have decided not to tend to Lazarus.
Jesus knocks.
"Are you there?... I need you now....more than ever".
I've invited 4 men to a life changing retreat coming next week Lord willing and I ask for prayer, the Cursillo. Only one out of 4 has come to the door. Are the rest unfaithful? No. They go to church, that's why I invited them to more. But what if THIS is JESUS?
I'm extremely involved in ministries. I don't want to mention all I do anymore, it is worthless. But I can tell you something I'm learning...there is more. So much more...work....and grace. There is a missed connection between the fallen and Our Lord. Lazarus was on the floor...fallen, and nobody offered Him help. Lazarus had sores, and sores are caused by many things. Others tried to help Lazarus, and the rich man said "therefore I have no need to tend to him (personally)". Lies from the pits of hell. If you'd only see the abandoned in asylums.
Someone said when I brought up prisoners in conversation "some of them don't want you to call them" and of people who are sick and dying I heard one say "some of them don't want to be visited". WOW. Are we really that obstinate? And these words came out from some "faithful" people I deal with all the time. I'll never say who they were, because that doesn't matter. What matters is the opinion polls out there. The voice for the people.
My question I leave you with will be:
"Who is Lazarus in my life? And how can I tend to him?" Turn Back. |  click to hear a message | Random Bible verse from an online generator: Psalm 91:1–2
My Refuge and My Fortress 91 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say1 to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." | 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 | |
