 clickable | | Good Work Is Like a Prayer It is in work that we find the test of our relationship to the creation because work is the question of how we will use the creation. For Wendell Berry, work done well brings us into a wholeness and cooperation with the creation in which we can find health. Bad work destroys the connections that make life possible. For Berry good work is like a prayer—it is an act of both gratitude and return. Good work accepts the gifts of creation and uses those gifts to further their givenness. There are seeds that lie for decades in the soil, waiting for the right conditions before springing to life. Good work is that which creates the conditions for such life to burst forth from the whole of the creation. —from the book Wendell Berry and the Given Life by Ragan Sutterfield |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"You are asking for something that would be harmful to your salvation if you had it—so by not getting what you've asked, you really are getting what you want."
— St. Catherine of Siena †MEDITATION OF THE DAY†
"What really hurts is not so much suffering as the fear of suffering. If welcomed trustingly and peacefully, suffering makes us grow. It matures and trains us, purifies us, teaches us to love unselfishly, makes us poor in heart, humble, gentle, and compassionate toward our neighbor. Fear of suffering, on the other hand, hardens us in self-protective, defensive attitudes, and often leads us to make irrational choices with disastrous consequences."
— Fr. Jacques Philippe, p. 47
AN EXCERPT FROM
Interior Freedom NATIVITY OF THE VIRGIN MARY
The Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated on September 8th, nine months after the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. The Blessed Virgin's parents, St. Ann and Joachim, were an aging couple praying for a child. Mary's birth was miraculous, as she was conceived without sin (Immaculate Conception), an exclusive grace God bestowed upon her because she was predestined to be the mother of the Incarnate Son of God. The birth of the Virgin Mary ushers in the dawn of the redemption of the human race through Jesus Christ. † VERSE OF THE DAY†
"For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God."
2 Timothy 1:7 |  click to read more | | ST. ADRIAN OF NICOMEDIA St. Adrian of Nicomedia (d. 306 A.D.) lived under the Christian persecutions of the Roman Emperor Galerius Maximian. Thirty-three Christians were seized in Nicomedia, brought before a judge, and ordered to be savagely beaten. With each new torture the men received, they bravely proclaimed their faith in Christ. They argued with the judge that by his tortures he was only increasing their heavenly glory, while guaranteeing his own damnation to hell. Adrian, a man of 28 years, was head of the praetorium and witnessed the steadfast faith of these men. He was moved to the point of conversion, and exclaimed that he, too, would reject paganism to suffer and die for the name of Christ along with the other Christians. One of Adrian's servants ran to tell his wife, Natalie, what her husband had done. Natalie, who was secretly a Christian, ran to the prison in joy at the news of her husband's newfound faith, and encouraged him to stay strong and steadfast in it. After Adrian refused to recant his profession of faith in Christ, he was thrown into prison with the other men and cruelly tortured. His arms and legs were severed on an anvil before finally dying as a martyr. Saint Adrian is the patron saint of soldiers, arms dealers, and butchers. His feast day is September 8th. | Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Saint of the Day for September 8 The Church has celebrated Mary's birth since at least the sixth century. A September birth was chosen because the Eastern Church begins its Church year with September. The September 8 date helped determine the date for the feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8. Scripture does not give an account of Mary's birth. However, the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James fills in the gap. This work has no historical value, but it does reflect the development of Christian piety. According to this account, Anna and Joachim are infertile but pray for a child. They receive the promise of a child who will advance God's plan of salvation for the world. Such a story, like many biblical counterparts, stresses the special presence of God in Mary's life from the beginning. Saint Augustine connects Mary's birth with Jesus' saving work. He tells the earth to rejoice and shine forth in the light of her birth. "She is the flower of the field from whom bloomed the precious lily of the valley. Through her birth the nature inherited from our first parents is changed." The opening prayer at Mass speaks of the birth of Mary's Son as the dawn of our salvation, and asks for an increase of peace.
Reflection We can see every human birth as a call for new hope in the world. The love of two human beings has joined with God in his creative work. The loving parents have shown hope in a world filled with travail. The new child has the potential to be a channel of God's love and peace to the world. This is all true in a magnificent way in Mary. If Jesus is the perfect expression of God's love, Mary is the foreshadowing of that love. If Jesus has brought the fullness of salvation, Mary is its dawning. Birthday celebrations bring happiness to the celebrant as well as to family and friends. Next to the birth of Jesus, Mary's birth offers the greatest possible happiness to the world. Each time we celebrate her birth, we can confidently hope for an increase of peace in our hearts and in the world at large. | Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Reading 1 MI 5:1-4A The LORD says:
You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah,
too small to be among the clans of Judah,
From you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel;
Whose origin is from of old,
from ancient times.
(Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time
when she who is to give birth has borne,
And the rest of his brethren shall return
to the children of Israel.)
He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock
by the strength of the LORD,
in the majestic name of the LORD, his God;
And they shall remain, for now his greatness
shall reach to the ends of the earth;
he shall be peace. Or Rom 8:28-30 Brothers and sisters:
We know that all things work for good for those who love God,
who are called according to his purpose.
For those he foreknew he also predestined
to be conformed to the image of his Son,
so that he might be the firstborn
among many brothers.
And those he predestined he also called;
and those he called he also justified;
and those he justified he also glorified. Responsorial Psalm PS 13:6AB, 6C R. (Isaiah 61:10) With delight I rejoice in the Lord.
Though I trusted in your mercy,
let my heart rejoice in your salvation.
R. With delight I rejoice in the Lord.
Let me sing of the LORD, "He has been good to me."
R. With delight I rejoice in the Lord. Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, deserving of all praise;
from you rose the sun of Justice, Christ our God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel MT 1:1-16, 18-23 OR 1:18-23 The Book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham became the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah,
whose mother was Tamar.
Perez became the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab became the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
Salmon the father of Boaz,
whose mother was Rahab.
Boaz became the father of Obed,
whose mother was Ruth.
Obed became the father of Jesse,
Jesse the father of David the king.
David became the father of Solomon,
whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.
Solomon became the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asaph.
Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,
Joram the father of Uzziah.
Uzziah became the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.
Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amos,
Amos the father of Josiah.
Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers
at the time of the Babylonian exile.
After the Babylonian exile,
Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel the father of Abiud.
Abiud became the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
Azor the father of Zadok.
Zadok became the father of Achim,
Achim the father of Eliud,
Eliud the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar became the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.
Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
"Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins."
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means "God is with us."
or
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
"Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins."
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means "God is with us."
| Daily Meditation: Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said. (Matthew 1:22) If there's one thing the genealogy in Matthew's Gospel shows us, it's how much care God took in bringing his plan of salvation to fruition! Just look at how many events had to converge before Jesus could come into the world. Or think about how many characters had to play out their parts in order to prepare God's people for the fulfillment of his promises. Praying about Jesus' genealogy can give us a bigger picture of God's work. And that's important, because the broader our grasp of God's goodness and his wisdom, the easier it will be to trust the Lord with our lives. Think, for instance, about how many things came together before your own birth. Your ancestors paved the way with their lives. There were formative events in the world that affected your family. God's intervention shaped your family tree until that moment in history when you were born. You aren't an accident of genetics. You didn't just show up randomly without a history or without a future. No, God has a plan for your life—a plan centuries and centuries in the making. It's likely that the ancestors of Jesus didn't have a clear sense that they would be immortalized in Scripture. Surely Mary didn't fully grasp her significance as she was growing up in Nazareth. It unfolded over time, and she was able to embrace it as she sought the Lord and his wisdom. It's the same for us. We may not know the part we are meant to play in God's plan, and we certainly will never know just how many people we will influence in our lifetime. But we can still choose to follow the Lord and watch as his plan unfolds for us. You probably don't see it fully now, but your life is woven into the tapestry of God's perfect plan for the world. So don't get caught up in minor squabbles. Don't let small concerns become sources of deep anxiety. Instead, take a broader look at your life and know that your God has great things planned for you. "Thank you, Lord, for the beauty of your plan! I trust in your wisdom and in the way you are forming me." Micah 5:1-4
Psalm 13:6 |  clickable | Perhaps the most mocked of Humanae Vitae's predictions was its claim that separating sex from procreation would deform relations between the sexes and 'open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards'. In a day when advertisements for sex scream from every billboard and webpage and when almost every Western family has its share as never before of broken homes and divorce and abortion, some might wonder what further proof could possibly be offered.
— Mary Eberstadt
from Adam and Eve after the Pill | my2cents:
"From you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; Whose origin is from of old,
from ancient times." How old is old? They say from centuries before Christ He'd be from ancient times already. This is Christ chosen from the beginning. What does all this have to do with us?
"Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time
when she who is to give birth has borne, And the rest of his brethren shall return to the children of Israel." Now we begin to hear about Mother Mary. The Universal Mother. Now we begin to hear about children...children of God. Now we are turning into...family. The family of God! | We pray today: "Let me sing of the LORD, "He has been good to me." With delight I rejoice in the Lord."
In Mother magnificat, she says and sings "For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is from age to age
to those who fear him." And on that note from age to age, we turn to our Lord. | In the Gospel we heard: "Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ".
From the age of old until today, Christ is of old and the new, because in God is everything.
He did not change the past. He fulfilled the past. He did not make the future, He is the future. In time everlasting, things are in the forever now. This day you read this in the now, it could've been yesterday, or tomorrow, but it is now. And this is how it is with the Word made flesh. He was born and is born and is forever Christ our Lord. | And we heard something that's not so different from today when speaking about marriages, divorce is the immediate easy way out and option: "Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly." That is, he decided to remain quiet and not say why he was divorcing Mary. Nowadays it is opposite. Ultimately he did not divorce her but accepted the cross from heaven. Nowadays things are opposite. Abortion is thought of. Divorcing is then next. Most couples that have abortions divorce or split, most split because they are not married in the first place. Death divides. And the first thing is to shame the others, putting the nasty news out for everyone to see how bad the other person is.
We have much to learn still, this day, when marriages are becoming extinct, as well as priests, and what follows are children, and children of God. They asked me to sing at a 50th year anniversary this weekend. I did, in the afternoon, but in the morning I was at my friend's funeral. At the anniversary Mass they tried to pay me for helping and I rejected the cash. My godson said 'but you're making me feel bad for not taking the money' and I said "but you're making ME feel bad because I never in my life have accepted donations, because I have been asked to come pray with you...what's more, I have been blessed to witness such a rare ceremony...50 years of marriage, I enjoyed doing it" and for love and in the name of Love.
Joseph the father of Jesus in this world, he gave his life to Jesus and Mary. That was his cross. Nowadays, well, you know full well we need to be this living example of true love of God and neighbor. St. Joseph and Mother Mary, pray for us, we need fully surrendered glory to God in Holy Matrimonies all over the world to show that love exists...therefore God LIVES! | Random Bible verse from online generator: 2 Tim 2:2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men,1 who will be able to teach others also | 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 | |
