 clickable | | Leading by Example Benedict the African was a natural leader. But the way he exercised his leadership was different from the way we might expect. The son of enslaved Africans brought to Italy, Benedict was freed (either at birth or at age eighteen) and found work as a shepherd or day laborer. He was invited to join a nearby group of hermits, and spent time as their leader. When the group was forced to align more closely with the Franciscans, Benedict became a friar and relocated to Palermo, where he served as the community's cook. His confreres had so much respect for his spirituality and temperament that they selected him as their superior even though he was not a priest. After one term, Benedict asked to return to the kitchen, where he ministered not only through food but through private counsel and healing for his community and other visitors. Benedict likely found the responsibilities of formal leadership to be soul-sucking, and knew his call was to lead by example and love. We can lead from his example, and not accept promotions and titles simply because they're offered. |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"The Holy Bible is like a mirror before our mind's eye. In it we see our inner face. From the Scriptures we can learn our spiritual deformities and beauties. And there too we discover the progress we are making and how far we are from perfection."
— Pope St. Gregory the Great † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"Just as God's creature, the sun, is one and the same the world over, so also does the Church's preaching shine everywhere to enlighten all men who want to come to a knowledge of the truth. Now of those who speak with authority in the churches, no preacher however forceful will utter anything different—for no one is above the Master—nor will a less forceful preacher diminish what has been handed down. Since our faith is everywhere the same, no one who can say more augments it, nor can anyone who says less diminish it."
— St. Ignatius of Antioch, p. 194
AN EXCERPT FROM
Witness of the Saints † VERSE OF THE DAY
"Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 5:19 |  click to read more | | STS. SIMON & JUDE St. Jude Thaddeus (1st c.) was a blood relative of Jesus Christ and one of his Twelve Apostles. He was known for his preaching, healing, exorcisms, and his appearance was said to have closely matched that of Jesus'. He is the patron of impossible causes, desperate situations, and hospitals. He also wrote the book of the Bible that bears his name. St. Simon the Zealot (1st c.) was also one of Jesus' Twelve Apostles, but one of the most obscure. He earned his name for being zealous for the honor of Jesus, showing a holy indignation towards those who claimed Christ with their lips while dishonoring him with their manner of life. After the Ascension of Jesus, towards the end of his life, it is believed that St. Simon joined St. Jude to preach the Gospel in Persia, where they were both martyred in 65 A.D. St. Simon the Zealot and St. Jude Thaddeus share a feast day on October 28th. | Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles Lectionary: 666
Reading 1 EPH 2:19-22 Brothers and sisters:
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 19:2-3, 4-5 R. (5a) Their message goes out through all the earth.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day,
and night to night imparts knowledge.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth.
Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth. Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
We praise you, O God,
we acclaim you as Lord;
the glorious company of Apostles praise you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel LK 6:12-16 Jesus went up to the mountain to pray,
and he spent the night in prayer to God.
When day came, he called his disciples to himself,
and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles:
Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew,
James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew,
Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus,
Simon who was called a Zealot,
and Judas the son of James,
and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. | Daily Meditation: Luke 6:12-16 He chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles. (Luke 6:13) In 2012, a group of historians in Washington, DC, wanted to honor Abraham Lincoln for President's Day by building a tower of books written about the famous American president. When completed, the tower, displayed in the lobby of Ford's Theatre, was eight feet wide and three stories high—and still, it contained less than half of the books written about Lincoln. Impressive as that may be, there is one person who has been the subject of more books than Lincoln: Jesus. But why do we even know anything about Jesus? It's because of his apostles, whose testimonies formed the basis of the four Gospels. Considering Jesus' importance, you'd think we would know a lot about his apostles. But in fact, we know very little. Take, for example, Sts. Simon and Jude, the apostles whose feast we celebrate today. If we wrote down everything we knew about them, we could maybe fill a chapter—not even close to a tower of books! And yet, think about the effect that these two men had. Tradition holds that they traveled to Persia to spread the gospel. There, they told people about Jesus, and those people told others, who told others, and so on. The seeds they planted took root, grew, and spread throughout the region, long after they were martyred. Together with the other apostles, Simon and Jude took the message of the gospel far and wide. In fact, each of us can trace our faith, like a family tree, back to one or more of the apostles. Today, let's give thanks for these apostles, as well as for the "apostles" in our own lives. Maybe your "apostles" were your parents who took you to church. Maybe they included a coworker who prayed with you or a friend who encouraged you to return to the faith. They could be the pope or your pastor or the author of a book that helped you grow closer to Jesus. Some of these people may be remembered by history, but most won't. And that's okay. They—and you—are all important in God's plan for building his kingdom. "Thank you, Lord, for the people who have guided me to you!" Ephesians 2:19-22
Psalm 19:2-5 |  clickable | The Book of Revelation has not only a past fulfillment but also an ongoing fulfillment throughout Christian history. The fulfillments can be multiple, ever-increasing, escalating, and enlarging. At some point in the future there will be an even more magnificent fulfillment of Revelation than there was back in 70 AD.
— Dr. Scott Hahn
from The End: A Study of the Book of Revelation | my2cents:
"Through him the whole structure is held together
and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord."
What a spectacular reading, right? Through HIM the whole structure is held together. Some say that in the smallest of human anatomy, there is a particular cell that holds everything together. Some have a theory, that in outer space there is a particular "black matter" that holds everything together or is present in everything. They've been spending millions of dollars and years of time trying to prove it. So how do you prove something you cannot measure? That is the conundrum of science; you need to be able to see with your own eyes. You need to be able to compute with your own head. And so, some theories are just accepted without a definite answer, until...proven otherwise. And even in this silly thought, God works with us in Scripture, the Word, and says to us that we will know by the fruit. And for that we have the Apostles and super Apostles and the lesser Apostles. More on that, but first, let us pray. | "Not a word nor a discourse whose voice is not heard; Through all the earth their voice resounds, and to the ends of the world, their message." There are some out there that believe they are worthless, have no point in living. There are some who believe they cannot make a difference in the world by the circumstance that have been handed them. I think of many I've met, in the free world, and in prisons. It is a defeated mentality. Free or not, this mentality is the real imprisonment. That is why, we must believe, that to be set free, we must live in the truth, speak in the truth, and make the truth our Way and our Life. | And on the Way, and LIFE, we must make the way and life, the truth, and that is Jesus. And on that note, we heard about Him showing the way of life and truth, "Jesus went up to the mountain to pray,
and he spent the night in prayer to God."
Why did He spend all night in prayer? Who does that kind of thing anyway?
We all can, and should...pray upon important decisions. Decisions should not be made with feelings. Feelings come and go. Sadly, the worldly are based on feelings, and this is to be debased. Because of feelings, the world has lost over half its marriages. Because of feelings, the world is seeing suicide on the rise. Because of feelings, the world has faced many wars. And because of feelings, many have turned away from our Lord. And sin leads to death, and we speak of eternal things here. | And so, our Lord teaches us to pray. Pray about decisions. Pray and sacrifice. Many value sleep, and yes sleep is valuable to health, but what is more important, your health, or the decisions of world shaping and Kingdom of God realities? Like last night, many of us went through freezing weather to a Life banquet. Some decided not to go, the banquet hall prepared was about 70% filled with paid for tables, probably for fear of the weather. Turns out, the seas parted, the weather cleared just enough for travel. We walked in faith, those of us who chose to go. It is a statement of sacrifice. Fear cannot lock you, if you are confident in our Lord. This kind of fear keeps many on the outskirts saying "I'm Christian" but when faced with threats, they hide. There is nothing harder to do than what the Apostles did. They stuck their neck out. And what happens when you stick your neck out? It means you are risking your life. What or who threatens you? Did you hear about the priest that was beheaded this month? I asked some, and they said no. I said "if you are tuned into the news I tune into, you'd hear it", but instead the other news is tuned into, the ones that actually call for a beheading of ...the priest, the person in Christ.
You see, things are black or white.
What calls on the beheading? I spoke with a man that said the church he went to had a bad priest, a bad leader, and I'm being gracious with words, because he speaks with vile hatred of others in the church.
It saddens me a bit, because he is speaking about me, for I am in the Church. We are held together by Christ, therefore, we are the body of Christ. A priest is anointed by the Apostles, the bishops today. And 11 out of 12 are good. Aren't they?
But the world says otherwise. Lies from Gehenna.
So, what news are you hearing? Here, you will hear the Good News that many do not wish to hear.
That Christ is here. That Christ calls for sacrifice of the heart. That Christ calls us to holiness and purity, and not one without the other. That Christ desires us to lose our lives for His sake. That your pride must fall and that your humility must rise. That Christ must increase and I must decrease.
And if you've been baptized....you've been anointed and chosen by Christ Himself, to bear fruit like no other. Lord, thank you for sacrificing, praying, and teaching us the way to Our Father. Help us with Your Holy Spirit to be a child of light...no matter the cost St. Jude, pray for us. St. Simone, pray for us. | Random Bible verse from online generator:
Romans 5:17 For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | |
