 clickable | | In the Middle of Every Heart Each person's center of gravity, the place where he or she is in tune with the universe, balanced and serene, is different. Musical harmonies shift from chord to chord. The same note cannot be sustained indefinitely. Spiritual balance is unique to each person and varies throughout the days of a person's life. Yes, we undulate. We are not all asked to balance on point like a prima ballerina or strike a perilous pose on the circus trapeze. Yet the same he same inward grace is required. —from the book A Retreat with Saint Anthony: Finding Our Way, by Carol Ann Morrow |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote "The name of Jesus, pronounced with reverence and affection, has a kind of power to soften the heart."
— St. Philip Neri † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"As we have seen, there is sometimes a big difference between what God is actually asking of us, and what we imagine he is asking. We won't have the grace to do what God is not asking of us. But for what he is asking, he has promised us his grace: God grants what he commands. When God inspires us to do something (if it really is God who is the source of the inspiration), at the same time he supplies the ability to do it, even if it is beyond our capacity or scares us at the start. Every motion that comes from God brings both the light to understand what God intends, and the strength to accomplish it: light that illuminates the mind, and strength that gives power to the will."
— Fr. Jacques Philippe, p. 21
AN EXCERPT FROM
In the School of the Holy Spirit †VERSE OF THE DAY
"Hark, your watchmen lift up their voice, together they sing for joy; for eye to eye they see the return of the Lord to Zion. Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God."
Isaiah 52:8-10 |  click to read more | | ST. JOSEPH OF CUPERTINO St. Joseph of Cupertino (1603-1663) was the son of a poor Italian carpenter. His father died before he was born, leaving his mother destitute. As a result Joseph was underfed and often sick. He was an intellectually dull child who constantly found himself the worse off in every situation. He was awkward, absent-minded, unintelligent, and difficult to be around. Many people thought he was good for nothing–including his own mother, who treated him harshly and considered him a burden. Added to the scorn he received from everyone, at the age of eight he began receiving ecstatic visions for which he was also ridiculed. At the age of seventeen Joseph found work with the Capuchin Franciscan friars, eventually joining their order once they recognized his holiness beneath his irritating demeanor. His ecstasies became more pronounced, and he would often levitate or float as they happened. These ecstasies could be triggered easily through the mention of anything heavenly, or by any mortification. These occurrences became a spectacle and disturbance to others and caused Joseph much suffering; they were a cross he would bear his whole life. For example, as a priest he could not celebrate Mass publicly due to his distracting ecstasies. He was even reported to the Inquisition for fear he was involved in witchcraft. Yet St. Joseph lived a life of deep prayer and severe penance through continual fasting, subjecting himself every year to seven Lents of forty days each. Sometimes called "The Flying Saint," St. Joseph of Cupertino is also the patron of air crews and aviators. His feast day is September 18th. | Friday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 COR 15:12-20 Brothers and sisters:
If Christ is preached as raised from the dead,
how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead?
If there is no resurrection of the dead,
then neither has Christ been raised.
And if Christ has not been raised, then empty too is our preaching;
empty, too, your faith.
Then we are also false witnesses to God,
because we testified against God that he raised Christ,
whom he did not raise if in fact the dead are not raised.
For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised,
and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain;
you are still in your sins.
Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
If for this life only we have hoped in Christ,
we are the most pitiable people of all.
But now Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. Responsorial Psalm PS 17:1BCD, 6-7, 8B AND 15 R. (15b) Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
Hear, O LORD, a just suit;
attend to my outcry;
hearken to my prayer from lips without deceit.
R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
incline your ear to me; hear my word.
Show your wondrous mercies,
O savior of those who flee
from their foes to refuge at your right hand.
R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
Hide me in the shadow of your wings,
But I in justice shall behold your face;
on waking, I shall be content in your presence.
R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full. Alleluia MT 11:25 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel LK 8:1-3 Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another,
preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God.
Accompanying him were the Twelve
and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities,
Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,
Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza,
Susanna, and many others
who provided for them out of their resources.
| Daily Meditation: 1 Corinthians 15:12-20 If Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain. (1 Corinthians 15:17) It's likely that if you are reading this meditation, you believe that Jesus rose from the dead. After all, this is a central truth of our Catholic faith. But have you ever considered how this belief can make a difference in your everyday life? Jesus wants the good news of his resurrection to be more than something intellectual or something we just recite at Mass on Sunday. He wants us to experience the power of his resurrection in a personal way. What might that look like? When Jesus rose from the dead, he conquered sin and death. And because we are united with Christ, that victory is ours as well. In whatever situation we might be facing, we can hold onto the truth that sin and death do not have the final word in our lives. The power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power that the Lord wants to unleash in our own lives to give us the faith and hope to endure and even triumph. We all have experienced situations that feel like mountains that won't move. It could be a difficult family relationship, a loved one who has strayed from the faith, or a struggle with a persistent temptation. But these are also precisely the situations in which Jesus wants to bring his resurrection power! He wants to breathe faith and hope into our minds and hearts and to encourage us to not give up believing that he is working, even if we can't see or sense anything on the surface. To all appearances, on Good Friday it looked as if all was lost and over—Jesus had been crucified. But then on Easter Sunday, the stone was rolled away from the tomb, and Jesus was raised from the dead. And because God raised him up, our faith that the tough situations in our lives can turn around is not in vain. On the contrary, we have the right to hold onto our faith that Jesus will bring good out of any situation. Remember, Jesus' resurrection is more than a doctrine. It's his power, working in your life, even now. "Jesus, bring your resurrection power to every aspect of my life and all the concerns on my heart." Psalm 17:1, 6-8, 15
Luke 8:1-3 |  clickable | More than a personal relationship, God wants to make us part of his family. That happens through covenants which are not the same thing as contracts. A covenant is a permanent exchange of persons. It creates a family. Covenants are made by an oath sworn in God's name.
— Matthew Leonard
from The Bible and the Sacraments | my2cents:
"If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all."
There is a large country right now that is seeking to re-write the bible, and the things they are editing, cutting out are those things in the bible that speak about eternal life. They are cutting out hope, the very hope that Christ has brought forth. Everything we work for, they want to cut out. They want you to focus on the temporal, and the ego, and the immortality of man to be about man, and not God. This is called communism. This is what some movements in our country are all about. At the base, they are debased. But this is common from the onset of the world, where ultimately you choose things over God's will, things contrary to humility. | We pray today: "I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my word. Show your wondrous mercies, O savior of those who flee
from their foes to refuge at your right hand. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full."
Let us read now about those who flee from their foes and take refuge at His right hand, like little kids with their daddy. | We heard in the holy Gospel: "Accompanying him were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities...". One time I heard that women are weaker than men, and this because of what happened in Genesis. If this is the case, spiritually, then why, daily do I find myself in daily mass with mostly women? Very few men, we are outnumbered 3 to 1 everywhere I go. And so this statement is not necessarily true. Women have been for decades more seen in church than men. And for decades we have a man crisis. Men think they don't belong in church and women in feminism say men shouldn't be men. What am I saying? Hogwash! All of this is smoke and mirrors from hell.
Genesis speaks about God and man (humanity), his very children. Creation. | And so we heard about disciples with Jesus and laity, me and you, clergy and laity. Together. Lately, I've witnessed attacks against clergy, bad mouthing. What is worse? Those spreading the deadly gospel called gossip. Juicy gossip to make things worse. From one mouth to another, the whole story could change! This is horrible. What should be first hand reliable news is twisted...lies!
What am I saying? Turn to Christ. Be faithful. To have faith we need humility. Humility calls on faith. One person showing the nasty gossip about clergy on his phone, I turned to him and said "people hate the priest don't they? Lots of haters right?" He didn't say a word, I think he knew what I meant, because I was speaking to him directly. You see, you're not helping the situation by spreading the bad news. For example, one police man was shot in the face, and it makes headline news, and suddenly, it happens again and again. That what you spread, spreads!
What kind of news do you spread my friend? It is a struggle to write to you, because I have to put light on the darkness. Many people do not want to hear the good news. They do not want to be...irritated.
Ahh. They do not want to be told...what to do!
Let me give you a secret if you ever find yourself desiring to do God's will...you will have to do what you don't want to do.
You will have to take some abuse. Verbal? Yes, frequently. Physical, we'll leave that for holy honored martyrs. Spiritual? Lots of it, lots of onslaught from darkness. Get ready for it, because this is a spiritual battle.
I told a loved one yesterday, "brother, you are going to have to forgive, and this means just giving...totally, for free". He knew exactly what I meant, as he put his head down "for free???", meaning, he was going to have to lose this one, he was going to be the loser in the deal. And it wasn't about money, it was about his life, his wife, his entire future.
Mother Teresa and many saints asked us to consider losing arguments for the sake of love. Not all, but let people win some times man. That is a secret of winning hearts and souls.
I struggle daily with this. I won't let evil have an upper hand, but it still happens. When I'm irritated, I get frustrated, for trying to do something good, I get slammed and insulted. And I have to take it.
Join the battle my friend.
The battle of Victory.
The women that followed Christ, they were healed people.
Spiritually.
They were freed from demonic spirits. We should be so honored as to be so free and to walk with Jesus...
just like in Genesis...in the beginning... Lord, we are Yours, and Yours we wish to be; but to be more surely united with You, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to Your Most Sacred Heart. Lead us by the hand most gracious and wonderful Master, Father, brother and lover...
Guide us through the valley of tears, guide us and let us shine with you...forever My Lord and My GOD!!! | Random Bible verse from online generator: 1 Peter 3-5
Born Again to a Living Hope 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. | 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 | |
