 clickable | | Ready to Make Things New Francis of Assisi was a master of making room for the new and letting go of that which was tired or empty. As his first biographer said, "He was always new, always fresh, always beginning again." Much of Francis's genius was that he was ready for absolute "newness" from God, and therefore could also trust fresh and new attitudes in himself. His God was not tired, and so he was never tired. His God was not old, so Francis remained forever young. —from the book Eager to Love: The Alternative Way of Francis of Assisi |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
AUGUST 27, 2020
"The harm that comes to souls from the lack of reading holy books makes me shudder . . . What power spiritual reading has to lead to a change of course, and to make even worldly people enter into the way of perfection."
— St. Padre Pio † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"Whenever we receive Communion, we enter into communion with the Holy Trinity. Did anybody ever tell you that? With each reception of Holy Communion, we experience, already here on earth, the same divine activity that we will one day experience in all its fullness in heaven—the divine activity of love eternally taking place within the Trinity . . . God wants to live his triune life in us. We are called to be dwelling places for the Holy Trinity and to enter into a personal relationship with each of the persons in God."
— Vinney Flynn, p. 27-8
AN EXCERPT FROM
7 Secrets of the Eucharist † VERSE OF THE DAY
"I have also created the ravager to destroy; no weapon that is fashioned against you shall prosper, and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, says the Lord."
Isaiah 54:17 |  click to read more | | ST. MONICA St. Monica (322-387 A.D.) was raised in a Christian home in Tagaste, North Africa. Early in life she struggled with alcoholism, sneaking draughts of wine from the family cellar, before being caught and overcoming the habit. She was later given in marriage to an ill-tempered and adulterous pagan Roman official. She suffered greatly on account of her husband, and that of her unkind mother-in-law with whom she lived, and she fervently prayed for their conversion over the course of many years. Her patience and kindness became a source of encouragement to other unhappy housewives with whom she came in contact. Monica gave birth to three children, and she was grieved that her husband would not allow them to be baptized. Her eldest son, Augustine, was a wayward child and caused her the most pain, and she prayed fervently for decades for him to become a Christian. Through her persistence in prayer and good example, her husband was converted shortly before his death. When Augustine became entrenched in heretical sects and moved to Milan, St. Monica followed him. Monica befriended the Bishop of Milan, St. Ambrose, who consoled her by saying, "The child of those tears shall never perish." Augustine was eventually brought into the Church by St. Ambrose. Everything we know of St. Monica's heroic virtue is from the writings of her son, who became the great St. Augustine of Hippo, one of the most influential saints in Church history. St. Monica is patron of housewives, difficult marriages, alcoholism, mothers, widows, abuse victims, victims of adultery, and disappointing children. Her feast day is August 27th. | The circumstances of Saint Monica's life could have made her a nagging wife, a bitter daughter-in-law, and a despairing parent, yet she did not give way to any of these temptations. Although she was a Christian, her parents gave her in marriage to a pagan, Patricius, who lived in her hometown of Tagaste in North Africa. Patricius had some redeeming features, but he had a violent temper and was licentious. Monica also had to bear with a cantankerous mother-in-law who lived in her home. Patricius criticized his wife because of her charity and piety, but always respected her. Monica's prayers and example finally won her husband and mother-in-law to Christianity. Her husband died in 371, one year after his baptism. Monica had at least three children who survived infancy. The oldest, Augustine, is the most famous. At the time of his father's death, Augustine was 17 and a rhetoric student in Carthage. Monica was distressed to learn that her son had accepted the Manichean heresy—"all flesh is evil"—and was living an immoral life. For a while, she refused to let him eat or sleep in her house. Then one night she had a vision that assured her Augustine would return to the faith. From that time on, she stayed close to her son, praying and fasting for him. In fact she often stayed much closer than Augustine wanted. When he was 29, Augustine decided to go to Rome to teach rhetoric. Monica was determined to go along. One night he told his mother that he was going to the dock to say goodbye to a friend. Instead he set sail for Rome. Monica was heartbroken when she learned of Augustine's trick, but she still followed him. She arrived in Rome only to find that he had left for Milan. Although travel was difficult, Monica pursued him to Milan. In Milan, Augustine came under the influence of the bishop, Saint Ambrose, who also became Monica's spiritual director. She accepted his advice in everything and had the humility to give up some practices that had become second nature to her. Monica became a leader of the devout women in Milan as she had been in Tagaste. She continued her prayers for Augustine during his years of instruction. At Easter 387, Saint Ambrose baptized Augustine and several of his friends. Soon after, his party left for Africa. Although no one else was aware of it, Monica knew her life was near the end. She told Augustine, "Son, nothing in this world now affords me delight. I do not know what there is now left for me to do or why I am still here, all my hopes in this world being now fulfilled." She became ill shortly after and suffered severely for nine days before her death. Almost all we know about St. Monica is in the writings of Saint Augustine, especially his Confessions.
Reflection Today, with Google searches, online shopping, text messages, tweets, and instant credit, we have little patience for things that take time. Likewise, we want instant answers to our prayers. Monica is a model of patience. Her long years of prayer, coupled with a strong, well-disciplined character, finally led to the conversion of her hot-tempered husband, her cantankerous mother-in-law and her brilliant but wayward son, Augustine.
Saint Monica is the Patron Saint of: Alcoholics
Conversion
Married Women
Mothers | Memorial of Saint Monica • Readings for the Memorial of Saint Monica Reading 1 1 COR 1:1-9 Paul, called to be an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
and Sosthenes our brother,
to the Church of God that is in Corinth,
to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy,
with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
their Lord and ours.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God always on your account
for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus,
that in him you were enriched in every way,
with all discourse and all knowledge,
as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you,
so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift
as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He will keep you firm to the end,
irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God is faithful,
and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Responsorial Psalm PS 145:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 R. (1) I will praise your name for ever, Lord.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.
R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord.
Generation after generation praises your works
and proclaims your might.
They speak of the splendor of your glorious majesty
and tell of your wondrous works.
R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord.
They discourse of the power of your terrible deeds
and declare your greatness.
They publish the fame of your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your justice.
R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord. 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 MT 24:42-51 Jesus said to his disciples:
"Stay awake!
For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
Be sure of this:
if the master of the house
had known the hour of night when the thief was coming,
he would have stayed awake
and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.
"Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant,
whom the master has put in charge of his household
to distribute to them their food at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so.
Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property.
But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is long delayed,'
and begins to beat his fellow servants,
and eat and drink with drunkards,
the servant's master will come on an unexpected day
and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely
and assign him a place with the hypocrites,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."
| Daily Meditation: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 He will keep you firm to the end. . . . God is faithful, and by him you were called. (1 Corinthians 1:8, 9) A popular children's book revolves around a young boy's "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day." We all have them—days when we try hard to love God, care for our families, and curb the excesses in our lives—and yet everything still seems to go wrong. Sin and failure happen. Doubt and worry creep in. We wonder if we will ever be able to change, especially when the devil whispers in our ears, "You're beyond redemption." The community in Corinth had its bad days as well. Founded in a relatively new, prosperous, and cosmopolitan city, the Corinthian church struggled with internal divisions, arguments about spiritual gifts, and immoral practices among its members. Yet despite all that, Paul remained hopeful. He even began his letter by thanking God "for the grace . . . bestowed on you in Christ Jesus" (1 Corinthians 1:4). On those difficult days, you can follow Paul's lead and thank God because he has called you and he will keep you firm to the end (1 Corinthians 1:8). Thank the Father who loves you so much that he sent his Son to save you. Thank him for calling you before you had even decided to follow him, however imperfect that path now looks to you. On your worst day, that call hasn't changed, and if all you can do is say, "Here I am, Lord," that's a start. As you seek to take hold of the faith to which you were called, striving your best toward holiness, God will continue to pour out grace to help you, especially on those very bad days. Remember, even your desire to answer his call is grace! The drive to hold onto what you profess and live a life of faith is also grace. Even the awareness of falling short always comes wrapped in the grace to repent and proceed anew. The next time you have a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day," stop and thank God, who is faithful, who has called you, and who will keep you firm to the end. "Thank you, God, for your call, for your grace, and for promising to keep me firm to the end." Psalm 145:2-7
Matthew 24:42-51 |  clickable | Prayer is a relationship. It is a personal relationship of growing intimacy with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is a dialogue of Love. Like any relationship, intimacy with God grows as I come to know and love Him and as I experience being known and loved by Him.
— Father Scott Traynor
from The Parish as a School of Prayer | my2cents:
"....to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy, with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours."
Listen my child, you have been called to be holy, with all those who call upon Jesus our Lord. | We pray today: "They discourse of the power of your terrible deeds and declare your greatness.
They publish the fame of your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your justice.
I will praise your name for ever, Lord."
You keep singing the good news. In your heart, all day, and through the night. Sing says our Lord. Saints sing even in prison. What has you locked you up? Sing! I went to a Mass last week in a big city where they asked us not to sing. I am a singer. I was singing in my heart. I was repeating the words and speaking them in tune. Is it wrong to sing? What makes you sing? It is your heart. | Our Lord says: "Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come."
Be found singing. Be found living the faith. The day He comes will be judgement for all. These words we repeat at some funerals "stay awake, for you do not know when He will come". | "Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time?" That one will be in charge of all the property. Who is found being a hypocrite, will be assigned to the place of hypocrites...a place of extreme suffering.
My friend, Jesus has been granted the whole world. He is King. And where He is, He desires us to be.
Stay awake.
Be faithful.
But not just a little faithful. To be awake is to be fully conscious. I look back at my younger years...I believe I was not fully conscious, especially when it came to a life of God. That is, to know what I know now is on a whole new level. What makes things on a whole new level? Grace upon grace.
Jn 1:16
"From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace. 17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."
And I find myself in a perplexing position. I speak things in the highest of longings for a soul...to understand the yearnings of Christ.
I explain to someone the realities, and they do not understand, they cannot injest or digest the food from Heaven.
And so the first step for all is grace. And then grace comes to take the place of that first grace. It builds up, and this is the edification of God's Kingdom.
Bring your fears and sufferings, repent from your atrocious sins, however little you may make them to be.
Let Him provide the oil for the virgins. They were wise to seek purity oil. They were wise to be prepared. They were wise to be awake in the wake service of our Lord. And He came and took them away.
In the same way, if you remain, remain true to Him, He will come and take you too, where He is, the true love of Heaven.
It is so interesting that all we have to give is our sinful lives, let that die, and let Him live. That's it. Turn in your sins. And then your flask is ready for oil. Grace. Heavenly Lord Jesus, I ask for this grace for everyone reading this now. Let us be ready as of right now. Ready for your love with ours... | Random Bible verse from online generator: 2 Tim: 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God1 may be complete, equipped for every good work. | 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 | |
