 clickable | | Leisure Is a Virtue We tend to think that the opposite of work is leisure. Leisure is not the opposite of work; play is the opposite of work, if you have to have a polarity like that. And leisure is precisely the bridging of this gap between the two. Leisure is precisely doing your work with the attitude of play. That means putting into your work what is most important about playing, namely, that you do it for its own sake and not only to accomplish a particular purpose. And that means that you have to give it time. Leisure is not a privilege for those who can take time for leisure. Leisure is a virtue. It is the virtue of those who give time to whatever takes time, and give as much time as it deserves, and so work leisurely and find meaning in their work and come fully alive. If we have a strict work mentality we are only half alive. —from the book The Way of Silence: Engaging the Sacred in Daily Life by Brother David Steindl-Rast |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"When we go to confession, we ought to persuade ourselves to find Jesus Christ in the person of our confessor."
— St. Philip Neri † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"Our Lord's love shines out just as much through a little soul who yields completely to His Grace as it does through the greatest . . . Just as the sun shines equally on the cedar and the little flower, so the Divine Sun shines equally on everyone, great and small. Everything is ordered for their good, just as in nature the seasons are so ordered that the smallest daisy comes to bloom at its appointed time."
— St. Therese of Lisieux, p. 4-5
AN EXCERPT FROM
Story of a Soul † VERSE OF THE DAY
"Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple."
Luke 14:27 |  click to read more | | POPE ST. SIXTUS II Pope St. Sixtus II (d. 258 A.D.) became the Roman Pontiff in the year 257 A.D. His early life is uncertain, and he is mentioned by name in the Roman Canon of the Mass. He helped mend the relationship between Rome and the Eastern and African churches over the problem of the rebaptism of converted heretics, a controversy which threatened schism. St. Sixtus II, a peaceful man, restored friendly relations and maintained unity. However, he served as Holy Father for only one year due to the persecution of Christians by Roman Emperor Valerian. As a result, Pope St. Sixtus II was suppressed and forbidden to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. He continued to worship in secret in defiance to the unjust law, and while offering Mass in a cemetery chapel he was ambushed and beheaded by Roman soldiers. His feast day is August 7th. | Friday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 NA 2:1, 3; 3:1-3, 6-7 See, upon the mountains there advances
the bearer of good news,
announcing peace!
Celebrate your feasts, O Judah,
fulfill your vows!
For nevermore shall you be invaded
by the scoundrel; he is completely destroyed.
The LORD will restore the vine of Jacob,
the pride of Israel,
Though ravagers have ravaged them
and ruined the tendrils.Woe to the bloody city, all lies,
full of plunder, whose looting never stops!
The crack of the whip, the rumbling sounds of wheels;
horses a-gallop, chariots bounding,
Cavalry charging, the flame of the sword, the flash of the spear,
the many slain, the heaping corpses,
the endless bodies to stumble upon!
I will cast filth upon you,
disgrace you and put you to shame;
Till everyone who sees you runs from you, saying,
"Nineveh is destroyed; who can pity her?
Where can one find any to console her?" Responsorial Psalm DEUTERONOMY 32:35CD-36AB, 39ABCD, 41 R. (39c) It is I who deal death and give life.
Close at hand is the day of their disaster,
and their doom is rushing upon them!
Surely, the LORD shall do justice for his people;
on his servants he shall have pity.
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
"Learn then that I, I alone, am God,
and there is no god besides me.
It is I who bring both death and life,
I who inflict wounds and heal them."
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
I will sharpen my flashing sword,
and my hand shall lay hold of my quiver,
"With vengeance I will repay my foes
and requite those who hate me."
R. It is I who deal death and give life. Alleluia MATTHEW 5:10 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness;
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel MT 16:24-28 Jesus said to his disciples,
"Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?
Or what can one give in exchange for his life?
For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father's glory,
and then he will repay each according to his conduct.
Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here
who will not taste death
until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom." | Daily Meditation: Nahum 2:1, 3; 3:1-3, 6-7 See, upon the mountain there advances the bearer of good news. (Nahum 2:1) What is the "good news" Nahum is proclaiming? The defeat of Judah's archenemy, Assyria. We may have trouble understanding why the prophet is so happy about "the many slain, the heaping corpses, the endless bodies to stumble upon." For centuries, however, this "bloody city" had terrorized the Middle East, building its empire through deliberate cruelty and violence (Nahum 3:1, 3). In its wake, the Assyrian army left mounds of dead bodies, untold enslaved natives, and anxious, greedy looters. Through Nahum, God promised to destroy Assyria and restore what this enemy had ravaged. Similarly, God promises to defeat our worst enemies and restore us. As St. Paul wrote, Jesus "must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. . . . Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:25, 57). But if we want to experience this promise of victory, we need to identify our enemies. What is the real evil in each situation? Is my real enemy the person who slighted me when I expected praise? Or is it my resentment as I hold on to the insult? Is my real enemy a challenging circumstance, such as illness, unemployment, or loneliness? Or is it the anxiety that makes it impossible for me to entrust these situations to God and experience the comfort of his presence? In every circumstance, God promises to act on our behalf—but our enemy, the devil, uses these circumstances to entice us to give up and slip away from God. You have two choices when you feel weak or "ravaged" like Judah (Nahum 2:3). You can let the difficulty weigh you down, or you can run into the arms of your Savior, who promises to hold you close and give you his guidance and his peace. So cling to him, no matter the situation, and watch him change your heart and defeat your real enemies: Satan, sin, and death. "Jesus, I believe that you have conquered every enemy that rises up against me. Help me to love you and to trust you." (Psalm) Deuteronomy 32:35-36, 39, 41
Matthew 16:24-28 |  clickable | All of us will have to render an account of our lives when we die. God will not be interested in who or what we were. No, only in this: how did we live? That will be the sole matter for judgment. A company director won't be able to pull rank on a waiter, and a fisherman's wife will be on a par with a millionaire's wife. Ships' officers will receive no preference over ships' cooks. All will be judged by exactly the same measure: did we use our talents well and for His glory?
— Takashi Nagai
from the book A Song for Nagasaki | my2cents:
"The LORD will restore the vine of Jacob..."
Our Lord King Jesus said "I Am the vine" and we are the branches.
God restored in the time He saw fit.
And He continues to restore...in His time. Because the word "until" changes nothing, but can be ongoing. | We pray today: ""Learn then that I, I alone, am God, and there is no god besides me. It is I who bring both death and life, I who inflict wounds and heal them." It is I who deal death and give life."
People often blame God for what seems like punishments, and they also blame Him for unjust punishments. People will always blame others. People will always point the finger. There are two things wrong with this picture. First, nobody knows God and His innermost thoughts of creation. Secondly, we don't truly know ourselves. Thirdly, to know ourselves better, we must know God better. Suddenly, you may realize the answers to many confusions caused in the world. | Our Lord said today:
""Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself..."
Let's stop and digest, chew on this for a moment. If you choose Christ, you must deny yourself other things and people and interests. I've been on that grace force fasting, and I find myself challenged daily to abstain from sweets and fasting. I have to deny myself what would pleasure me. I have to abstain and be restrained. I do it for God. I do it for the Nation. The cost and worth of pleasure then means this is nothing in comparison to what I really care for. Can we abstain from sin? That is what is within. Deny yourself the pleasure of gossip, the pleasure of drugs/alcohol, deny yourself being a couch potato, deny yourself the next pleasurable thing, like yesterday evening, before taking a sip of cold water on a hot afternoon, I sought to give it to someone else first. Sacrifice then becomes a pleasure...the act of love is greater than all material goods. And the greatest act is to God, giving to Him. When I deny myself something, I give it to Him in a sense, an offering, not of material goods, but a heart. "...take up his cross, and follow me."
What is your cross? Many call it burdens that God has laid on them, i.e., sickness, distress, troubles. But is that it? Surely those are things to carry...but for His sake. You see, suffering for self is not the same as suffering for Him. You can turn your troubles into offerings, involve God in them, bind the yoke. The cross is also made up of obedience. When the people forced the cross on Jesus, the Humble, He went the extra mile. What have people handed you? What did you do with that? Did you deny the cross of humility? Did you deny the cross of obedience? "You don't tell me what to do" is the cry of anarchy. They want freedom, from what? God? What about the cross? | He continues: "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."
A powerful socialist became a famous dictator, and was at the heart of a revolutionary war that he started. He was in essence, battling with God. World War 1 came and then as Mother Mary warned, World War 2 came. Millions upon millions of innocent lives were brutally killed. Many gave their lives to his cause. In the end, he found himself in a hole, literally in the ground, where he was found, and shot, like a creature of the earth. He wished to save his life, but he lost it. Had he simply gave his life truly to Christ, millions of lives would've been spared. But when you are at the heart of matters, the world faces catastrophes. When God isn't first, neither is any person worth anything. Take abortion as an example, which leads to euthanasia, which now is a prejudice against any sick person, people are valued less and less. Simply because God is valued less. I apologize for the late writing, but I write to you now, having gone to Mass, and visited our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament in Adoration. It is First Friday. Friday's are important to Christians. Let us fast and abstain. Sacrifice takes place. Little sacrifices. We are called to take up our cross and what?
Follow Him.
Who is HE?
Come find out....taste and see... | Random Bible verse from online generator:
Hebrews 10:24-25
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. | 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 | |
