 clickable | | Empty Your Pockets When we allow others to do things for us, God's goodness shines through them. Poverty is not so much about want or need; it is about relationship. Poverty impels us to reflect on our lives in the world from the position of weakness, dependency and vulnerability. It impels us to empty our pockets—not of money— but the pockets of our hearts, minds, wills—those places where we store up things for ourselves and isolate ourselves from real relationship with others. Poverty calls us to be vulnerable, open and receptive to others, to allow others into our lives and to be free enough to enter into the lives of others. While Clare (and Francis) call us to be poor so that we may enter into relationship with the poor Christ, they also ask us to be poor so as to enter into relationship with our poor brothers and sisters in whom Christ lives. —from the book Clare: A Heart Full of Love by Franciscan Sister Ilia Delio |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"It is the duty of every man to uphold the dignity of every woman."
— Pope St. John Paul II † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"Indeed, the glory to which God raises the soul through grace is so great that even the natural beauty of the Angels is as nothing compared with it. The Angels themselves wonder how a soul that was sunk in the desert of this sinful earth and robbed of all natural beauty can be clothed with such a wonderful splendor. But this wonder of the Angels will not surprise us when we see and hear that God Himself considers the beauty of grace with astonishment and rapture. For how otherwise can we explain what He says in The Canticle of Canticles to the soul: 'How beautiful art thou, my love, how beautiful art thou!' (Cant. 4:1)."
— Fr. Matthias J. Scheeben, p. 133
AN EXCERPT FROM
The Glories of Divine Grace † VERSE OF THE DAY
"Thus says the Lord: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practice steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, says the Lord."
Jeremiah 9:23-24 |  click to read more | | ST. RAYMOND NONNATUS
St. Raymond Nonnatus (1200-1240) was born in Catalonia, Spain, to a noble family. His life was saved by caesarean section after his mother died in childbirth, earning him the name 'Nonnatus' meaning 'one not born'. Raymond was a pious child drawn to the religious life, but his father had plans for him to serve in the royal court of the King of Aragon. To distract Raymond from his vocation, his father sent him to tend the family fields. This had the opposite effect and gave Raymond greater opportunity to pray in the country chapel. His father eventually allowed him to join the Mercedarians, a religious order which ransomed Christian slaves from their Muslim captors. Raymond became Master General of the order and personally freed hundreds of prisoners. When he ran out of money, he ransomed his own life to release Christians held in captivity. St. Raymond was tortured throughout his imprisonment, yet he converted numerous people to the Christian faith. To prevent him from preaching Christ, his captors pierced his lips with a red-hot iron and closed them with a padlock. He was eventually ransomed by his order and returned to Spain, and died a year later. After his death there was a dispute over who had the right to bury his body. To settle the matter, his body was placed on a blind mule and set loose. The mule went to the country chapel where Raymond had prayed in his youth, and it was there that he was buried. Many miracles were attributed to St. Raymond Nonnatus both before and after his death. He is the patron of children, childbirth, pregnant women, infants, and midwives. His feast day is August 31st. | Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 COR 2:1-5 When I came to you, brothers and sisters,
proclaiming the mystery of God,
I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom.
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you
except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling,
and my message and my proclamation
were not with persuasive words of wisdom,
but with a demonstration of spirit and power,
so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom
but on the power of God. Responsorial Psalm PS 119:97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102 R. (97) Lord, I love your commands.
How I love your law, O LORD!
It is my meditation all the day.
R. Lord, I love your commands.
Your command has made me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me.
R. Lord, I love your commands.
I have more understanding than all my teachers
when your decrees are my meditation.
R. Lord, I love your commands.
I have more discernment than the elders,
because I observe your precepts.
R. Lord, I love your commands.
From every evil way I withhold my feet,
that I may keep your words.
R. Lord, I love your commands.
From your ordinances I turn not away,
for you have instructed me.
R. Lord, I love your commands. Alleluia LK 4:18 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me;
he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel LK 4:16-30 Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom
into the synagogue on the sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
Rolling up the scroll,
he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them,
"Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
They also asked, "Is this not the son of Joseph?"
He said to them, "Surely you will quote me this proverb,
'Physician, cure yourself,' and say, 'Do here in your native place
the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.'"
And he said,
"Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you,
there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian."
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away.
| Daily Meditation: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 Not with persuasive words of wisdom . . . (1 Corinthians 2:4) "Out of the mouths of babes oft times come gems." So goes the old proverb. The pure-hearted perspective of children, along with their lack of inhibition, can often bring rare clarity to complicated situations. Children don't "know" very much by worldly standards, and that can be a blessing, for their simplicity can lead us sophisticated adults to God. Think about the heartfelt "I love you" coming from a young toddler. Or think about how easy it is for young children to become friends and show affection to each other. Such simple innocence has a way of boiling things down to their most important elements—and softening our hearts in the process. This might help us understand St. Paul's words to the Christians in Corinth. The Corinthians were so taken with the brilliant words of different apostles—including Paul himself—that they began to split into factions based on whomever they favored. But Paul never wanted to gain a following for himself. All he wanted to do was preach the simple gospel message of a humble man who turned out to be the Lord of all creation. No matter how much theology or philosophy Paul knew, it didn't mean much if it didn't lead people to "Jesus Christ, and him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2). This is exactly how Jesus himself lived. He made it a point to call simple, unsophisticated people to be his disciples, not just the wealthy and influential. He honored the widow who placed her last two coins in the Temple collection box (Luke 21:1-4). And he warned his followers, "Unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3). Jesus identified not with the worldly wise but with the "least ones" (25:45). Today, try to take a step in the direction of simplicity. Think of someone you know who manifests a humble, childlike faith. What is it about that person that attracts you? Their sense of trust? Their quickness to forgive? Their ability to listen patiently? Let whatever it is inspire you—and tell the Lord it's something you want too. "Jesus, teach me how to be simple like you." Psalm 119:97-102
Luke 4:16-30 |  clickable | You commit the sins that tempt you, and I the sins that tempt me. And we all feel virtuous for not committing other people's sins, whereas there is no virtue at all in not committing sins for which one lacks either the temptation or the constitution.
— Frank Sheed
from Society and Sanity | my2cents:
"I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling, and my message and my proclamation
were not with persuasive words of wisdom,
but with a demonstration of spirit and power,
so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom
but on the power of God."
I'm not sure where St. Paul was going with this, but it is amazing. Because it speaks volumes on the will of our God. And it speaks volumes on frailty, humility, and what He can do with our will. Just think of the cross. What amount of power was unleashed by not lifting a finger? Total forgiveness and vanquishing of death, all by Jesus being humble and obedient. And He is our model of the cross. | We pray tdoay: "Your command has made me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me."
His commands are wisdom. We must trust. Especially in the first....to Love God above all...with all our hearts and minds, and souls, our strength. | Our Lord read Scripture about Himself:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord."
The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me. The same Spirit was delivered into the world when it descended after His ascension. Angels ascended and descended. How many descended? Enough. Various were speaking to the people when He ascended. Various spoke upon His resurrection. And many speak today. Be ready for when they speak.
Have you ever met an angel? Encountered one? Usually, they are a stranger. Usually you will never see them again. And the Spirit speaks now that He is upon us. | Our Lord continued: "...he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. " He brought good news to the poor. Like this morning, I walk into daily Mass this morning, and I heard of a friend that had passed away, his name was pronounced at the beginning of Mass as we'd offer prayers for him. He was my childhood best friend, but we grew apart with the years, until we were almost strangers. We were altar boys together. He was adventurous and full of life. Our lives grew apart and now death does us apart. His kids look just like him though. Smart, outgoing. So where did the good news come to the poor? I prayed all during Mass, got choked up singing thinking of him. Where's the good news? Was that it? The prayers? Yes, but stay with me. And let's pray for John Pedro still. After Mass, I spoke with Father, and he said he'd just visited John last week and gave anointing of the sick. For those of you who don't know, this is a most amazing Sacrament, just like all of them are. I've had this and my wife has had this, she did when she had cancerous cells when we were first married, and I had the Holy Sacrament a couple years ago when I was badly hurt in a motorcycle racing accident.
In this Holy Sacrament, yes, we ask for healing, but it is Spiritual healing....even your sins are completely forgiven. How amazing is that for one in bad shape? It heals my friend. It heals from the inside out, as far out as God sees fit.
Glad tidings to the poor are brought...the poor so honored, and the poor so chosen. Good news is salvation my friend.
And the news is spread by angels, and angel helpers...me and you. "He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind..."
Know any captives? Know any blind people? What prisoners did He free? What blind are able to see? This hits on all realms. From the dead to the living, and from the living to the dead. And He preached to the blind and the blind chose to stay blind, and for this they chased Him to stone Him to death. You see, sin leads to death. Sin desires death. Sin calls for death. And you not forgiving is sinning. This is a shocker, but the truth cuts to the bone.
"...to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord."
What if you had power to let oppressed people free? Would you use it? You have the good news. You have the Spirit upon you.
You have been anointed. You are called to do just this. What's keeping you? How can you knock down doors? Knock, and knock, until they knock down. Think Jericho. Think the tenacity of holy prayers. We must persist on holy prayers. | Random Bible verse from online generator:
Psalm 118:24
24 This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. | 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 | |
