 |  clickable | | Trust the Heartfelt Questions The scope of every life is indeed defined by the questions we choose to live into, and if we are blessed to live long enough, we will inevitably end up shaped like a question mark. Since quest is also the start of every question, it is questions, not answers, that are the surest guideposts for any journey of faith —which necessarily means moving into the unknowable. Always trust the open, heartfelt question that lays bare the soul to unknowing. Whether they are simplistic or sophisticated, handle answers with care, for they often reflect and display, for all the world to see, the broad sweep of our ignorance. Perhaps, for this reason, wisdom teachers use stories, ballads, parables, or poems. Such lyrical musings open spaces for fresh appreciations and diverse perspectives. They foster fascination and expose imagination to wider fields of understanding, laced with mystery, which always leads us down and out to face yet another, more penetrating question. —from the book Wandering and Welcome: Meditations for Finding Peace by Joseph Grant |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
October 20, 2020
"O my God, teach me to be generous, to serve you as you deserve to be served, to give without counting the cost, to fight without fear of being wounded, to work without seeking rest, and to spend myself without expecting any reward, but the knowledge that I am doing your holy will. Amen."
— St. Ignatius of Loyola †Meditation of the Day "Whoever confesses his sins ... is already working with God. God indicts your sins; if you also indict them, you are joined with God. Man and sinner are, so to speak, two realities: when you hear 'man' - this is what God has made; when you hear 'sinner' - this is what man himself has made. Destroy what you have made, so that God may save what he has made ... When you begin to abhor what you have made, it is then that your good works are beginning, since you are accusing yourself of your evil works. The beginning of good works is the confession of evil works. You do the truth and come to the light."
— The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1458
An Excerpt From
Catechism of the Catholic Church †Verse of the Day
"Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed against me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of any one, says the Lord God; so turn, and live."
Ezekiel 18:31-32 |  click to read more | | St. Paul of the Cross (1694–1775) was born near Turin, Italy, the second of sixteen children—only six of whom survived infancy. His devout parents ensured his strong religious upbringing. In his childhood Paul went to daily Mass, spent much time before the Blessed Sacrament, and attended to his studies. He taught catechism in the local churches before experiencing a deep religious conversion at the age of 19 through the writings of St. Francis de Sales. After a brief stint as a soldier and declining an offer for a good marriage, at the age of 26 he learned through prayer that God was calling him to found a new religious order which came to be known as the Congregation of the Passion, or the Passionists. He was instructed in a vision as to what the new habit of his order should look like: a black tunic bearing a heart surmounted by a white cross, with the words "Passion of Jesus Christ" written inside the heart. To the religious vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience he added a fourth: to spread devotion to Christ's Passion among the faithful. His mission was to ignite a love for Jesus in the hearts of the faithful at a time when many saw Him only as a great moral teacher. St. Paul of the Cross was one of the most powerful preachers of his day, as well as a mystic, and he was known to bring even the most hardened sinners to tears. He also took special care of the sick, poor, and suffering. His feast day is October 20th | Tuesday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time Ephesians 2:12-22 Brothers and sisters: You were at that time without Christ, alienated from the community of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have become near by the Blood of Christ. For he is our peace, he made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his Flesh, abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims, that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile both with God, in one Body, through the cross, putting that enmity to death by it. He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Responsorial Psalm PS 85:9AB-10, 11-12, 13-14 R. (see 9) The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD–for he proclaims peace.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and salvation, along the way of his steps.
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people. Gospel Acclamation Alleluia, alleluia.
Be vigilant at all times and pray
that you may have the strength to stand before the Son of Man. Lk 21:36
Alleluia, alleluia. Luke 12:35-38 Jesus said to his disciples: "Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master's return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants." | Daily Meditation: Luke 12:35-38 . . . ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. (Luke 12:36) Her son was due back from his first year away at a distant college. The mother was waiting expectantly, maybe a little anxiously, for his arrival. As she worked in the garden behind her house, she looked up every couple of minutes to see if he was coming. She made sure the gate was unlatched so that he could easily enter. She couldn't wait to welcome him! That's the attitude of heart and mind that Jesus was hoping for when he advised his disciples to be like servants eagerly awaiting their master's return. He may have been calling them—and us—to be ready for his return at the end of the age. But the truth is, Jesus is always knocking, always coming to us. He wants us to have a daily, growing relationship with him. He is looking for hearts that are like that unlatched gate—open and able to welcome him. So what does an "unlatched" heart look like? Let's start with the opposite. When our hearts are "latched," or locked up, we close ourselves to the Lord. We might be afraid of what he might say to us or ask of us, so we don't listen; we don't even ask him. We might withdraw into ourselves because we feel shame or guilt and don't believe we can be forgiven. We might be too bitter about the past or too wounded by someone close to us to open our hearts because we don't want to be hurt again. Or we might busy ourselves with activities that we think are righteous but not see how our busyness might be keeping us from attending to God. By contrast, when our hearts are "unlatched," we are open to the Lord. We are listening for his voice instead of becoming preoccupied with activity. As the psalmist says, "Sacrifice and offering you do not want; you opened my ears" (Psalm 40:7). We don't forget that we have been forgiven, and therefore we trust in the One who has removed our shame. Our hearts are unlatched when we anticipate the future with hope. Jesus will come to you, speak to you, and knock on the door of your heart today. How can you keep it unlatched and ready to welcome him when he does? "Jesus, enter the gate of my heart. I welcome you in anytime." Ephesians 2:12-22
Psalm 85:9-14 |  clickable | The future of evangelization depends in great part on the Church of the home. This apostolic mission of the family is rooted in Baptism and receives from the grace of the sacrament of marriage new strength to transmit the faith, to sanctify and transform our present society according to God's plan.
— St. John Pual II
from Familiaris Consortio | my2cents:
"Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit."
This Holy Scripture is not to be understood by the unfaithful. Or can it? How are we built into one body, a dwelling place of God?
We don't fully know. All we know is that He does. He lives in us baptized souls and for a purpose. That we may be His hands, and heart, the full body and mind of Christ in the world, for we are not alone. | We pray today: "The Lord speaks of peace to his people. I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD–for he proclaims peace. Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him, glory dwelling in our land."
Hear what He proclaims. When someone is proclaiming our Lord, it is the Lord, and we know truth by the fruit. What is the fruit? There is fruit of the Lord and the evidence is sacrificial love. This sacrificial love is the true body of Christ. | Our Lord said:
""Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master's return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks." It is strange to hear of our Lord being our groom. And then it is strange to be heard of us being called servants. But the bride is expecting. She is expecting to bear fruit and she is expected to bear fruit for the Lord and provide fruit for the Lord. His servant is His servant. Eventually He serves too. You see? The body of Christ in full action. "Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival." And so we are called to be found vigilant, not sleepy, not distracted. I pray the rosary, and I get sleepy. I watch my kid get sleepy. The rosary is meant to awaken our life to the mysteries of Christ, so why do we become sleepy? It is strange. Where is the fervor? Why do I not have oil and oil to share for the lamps? And this happens more often than not. Could it be the true state of my light? Sleepy? But I'm super active in ministries? Am I really sleepy in my contemplative prayer and meditative prayer? Be vigilant. Be mindful my friend. Be conscious. I've just made you aware of my consciousness. I don't pay 100% attention in Mass. The same as the rosary. But I'm super active serving! LOL. You see Martha? You see Mary? I'm fighting. This whole faith thing is a fight, to remain, and to be ever more true. " Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. " I remember a few touching moments of when I was hospitalized. I will call them the 3 encounters with Christ. The first, was the time a man walked into the dark ICU room. I thought he was a protestant, but no, it was a Catholic lay person, what they call, an ExtraOrdinary Minister of the Eucharist visiting the sick. After finding out who he was, my heart trembled and my eyes filled with tears...it was Christ offering Himself. The second encounter was the abundant room with prayers filled with loved ones and actual loved ones always at my side. It was the body of Christ. The third was when I could finally and painfully stand, I showered and the one who I served all my life, my father, was there on his knees to help my dry my feet I could not bend to reach. That too made my heart tremble and tears come but I did not let him know, I knew...it was Jesus, and Our Father.
He girds Himself and waits on His love. And that is why I'm slaving away in ministries, but we can forget to serve Love with love. And so I write about it so I can remember, and help the body of Christ remember what the cross means. "And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants." Blessed are those servants found on the watch full time. Indeed, you are blessed when faithful. I live in a world where you are ridiculed for having too many children. What do I see? I see the "punishment" for being faithful to the teachings of the Church. We have 8 kids. My punishment is coming home to so many kids running to me and hugging me, all smiles and cheer. What is the punishment? The world's scorn and bad jokes, and I think I've about heard them all. Blessed is the servant found to be faithful and watchful. I think of those who have one child or two, and how quiet their households must be, and do I wish for that? No. I think of how much more joy could be in the world if there were more children. And I've even thought about adoption. Why do I bring this up? Because, it is about being faithful to God's calling to widows, orphans, and all those in need of completion of the body of Christ. And the completion is to be there, like the body of Christ was there for me. He will ALWAYS be there with us. So long as we are there for Him, all day, every day, all night, every night, with open arms, eager to serve yes, but I like to be served love, when a genuine face looks at you and says "it is so good to see your face!". And it is. Lord, help us to see your face in all of your body here in this world, as it is in Heaven. | Random Bible verse from online generator:
Ps 107 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
