 clickable | | What Would You Do? If this were your last day, hour, minute, or breath, imagine how you might drink in the daylight, taste the twilight, touch the stars, smell the sunshine, delight at songbirds, listen to the look of your loved ones, bow before the sanctity of a stranger, be carried away with astonishment, and be beside yourself with awe at the wonder of it all. Perhaps we engage life in its fullness when we stop asking if we are "there" yet and live into the unfolding and radical realization that we are always already "here. For it is only "here" that we can really be, wholly present and fully engaged; and no matter where you go, there you are. —from the book Wandering and Welcome: Meditations for Finding Peace by Joseph Grant |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"Often, actually very often, God allows his greatest servants, those who are far advanced in grace, to make the most humiliating mistakes. This humbles them in their own eyes and in the eyes of their fellow men."
— St. Louis de Montfort † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"We do not come to church to attend the service as a spectator, but in order, along with the priest, to serve God. Everything we do—our entering, being present, our kneeling and sitting and standing, our reception of the sacred nourishment—should be divine service. This is so only when all we do overflows from the awareness of a collected heart and the mind's attentiveness."
— Fr. Romano Guardini, p. 28
AN EXCERPT FROM
Meditations Before Mass † VERSE OF THE DAY
"So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all [the] flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
Ephesians 6:14-17 |  click to read more | | ST. CHARLES BORROMEO St. Charles Borromeo (1538–1584) was born into an ancient and wealthy family in Lombardy, Italy. When his uncle became Pope Pius IV, Charles was brought to Rome to take over several important assignments connected with the Vatican. He was ordained to Holy Orders at the age of 25 and was later made Archbishop of Milan, a position of high influence in the Church, and Cardinal. He initiated large-scale reform of his enormous and dilapidated diocese, which had not seen a resident bishop in 80 years. Clergy were ignorant and disobedient, religious were negligent and scandalous, and the laity had drifted from Church teaching. He rectified abuses and maintained the integrity of the Church's internal structure, all for which he encountered strong opposition and threats against his life. He also established hospitals, seminaries, orphanages, and the first Sunday School classes. He was a key player in the Council of Trent and kept it going when it was in danger of breaking up. He was a prominent defender of Church teaching in the Counter-Reformation and helped produce an official catechism. His counsel was widely sought, especially by the Catholic kings and queens of Europe and the popes under whom he served, and his virtue was evident to all. Throughout his life he held his rank and authority with humility, living austerely and constantly striving for sanctity. When plague and famine hit Milan in 1576, Charles stayed in the city to care for those in need and borrowed large sums of money to feed tens of thousands of people each day. Exhausted from his reforming labors, he died at the age of 46. St. Charles Borromeo is the patron of catechists, catechumens, seminarians, spiritual directors, and bishops. His feast day is November 4th. | Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, bishop Lectionary: 487
Reading 1 PHIL 2:12-18 My beloved, obedient as you have always been,
not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent,
work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
For God is the one who, for his good purpose,
works in you both to desire and to work.
Do everything without grumbling or questioning,
that you may be blameless and innocent,
children of God without blemish
in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,
among whom you shine like lights in the world,
as you hold on to the word of life,
so that my boast for the day of Christ may be
that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
But, even if I am poured out as a libation
upon the sacrificial service of your faith,
I rejoice and share my joy with all of you.
In the same way you also should rejoice and share your joy with me. Responsorial Psalm PS 27:1, 4, 13-14 R. (1a) The Lord is my light and my salvation.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life's refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Alleluia 1 PT 4:14 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you,
for the Spirit of God rests upon you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel LK 14:25-33 Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
"If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
'This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.'
Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
In the same way,
everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple." | Daily Meditation: Philippians 2:12-18 Even if I am poured out . . . upon the sacrificial service of your faith, I rejoice. (Philippians 2:17) Have you ever felt wrung out like a rag, dry and spent? That's likely how Paul felt when he wrote this letter. Not only was he in prison—yet again—but he had spent much of the past year or so trying to solve problems that had cropped up in other places like Corinth and Colossae. So how could he say, "I rejoice" (Philippians 2:17)? That's not usually our reaction when we feel worn-out. But look what Paul was pouring himself out on: "the sacrificial service" of the Philippians' faith (Philippians 2:17). Paul focused not so much on how he felt or his circumstances as he did on his mission. He thought about how much he loved God and the people he was called to serve. He recalled the fruit of his work among the members of the community there. And that led him to rejoice. We know what it's like to pour ourselves out for something or someone. It's exhausting and can make us feel sad, resentful, or anxious. That's a natural human response. But if you are spending yourself on something that God is calling you to do, and if you are doing it out of love for him and his people, then you can rejoice, just like St. Paul. You may not feel joyful at each moment, but you will experience a sense of contentment and peace knowing that you are doing God's will the best you can. So put your trust in the Lord. Trust that he will give you the grace and strength you need to keep going every day. Trust that every choice, every sacrifice you make to love and serve will bear fruit, not only now, but in eternity. That's what Paul did. He knew that the goal of all his efforts was salvation, not just for him, but for all those he labored for. Trust too that God is with you, especially in those moments when you feel as if you can't do one more thing. He will not abandon you! Not only will you feel his presence, but you may even feel his delight in your willingness to serve. And that will surely make you rejoice! "Lord, although I may feel 'poured out,' fill me with your grace today so that I can keep loving you and the people I serve." Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14
Luke 14:25-33 |  clickable | All earthly joys are finite glimpses of eternal bliss. But because we tend to hold on to what we see with our physical eyes, we tend to forget what can be seen only with the eyes of Faith. And so it is that Heaven is always remote from our thoughts and removed from our daily experiences.
— Mother Angelica
from God, His Home, and His Angels | my2cents:
"Do everything without grumbling or questioning,
that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish...".
We should proclaim this message from all the rooftops. No more grumbling! No more...questioning? Be blameless and innocent? God calls us to present ourselves without blemish, as true children of God. Is all of this even possible? I think of the creed. I think of what we say we believe:
I believe in one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. There are many who will not join the church because they don't see holiness. Why don't they see holiness? I'm teaching RCIA and a student mentioned a person that goes to church once or twice a week and they talk bad about others. I said "it's not me is it?" Wouldn't this Judas like to know?
So how are we to believe we are one Holy Church? Easy. Christ is with us. I tell my students that we are a people that is trying to do God's will.
I'm tired of the backstabbing with words and grumbling with wretched hearts, yes, and so what do I do? What do we all need? Less of self, more of Christ. Lord hear our prayer. | We pray:
"The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear? The LORD is my life's refuge; of whom should I be afraid?"
Exactly, what should you be afraid of? Whom should you fear? That question is perplexing, if you are in Heaven, whom do you fear? In hell, you fear everything. In Heaven, you fear...to offend God, His righteousness, His Holiness, His just cause. If you are in Heaven, you know what this means, and if you are in the world, you know what this call invites us to. | "If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple."
I told this to co-workers a few years back in an after-hours bible study. A worker stomped out of the room saying "how could I ever hate my wife!". And he never came back. This talk was foolishness to him. He never gave the Word, our Lord, a chance. And this is what can happen to any of us, if we do not trust, and wait, and hope, that is, have an open door to our Lord always. | "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple."
I asked a student what he thought this meant, and he understood this as handling all the burdens, physical problems, material things, problems...and I pointed him to the reality of the message, "yes, but it means more in the offering, and we are speaking about the will of our Lord". The cross is the burden of proof. The cross means something. To the faithless, it means nothing, and modern protestants want to remove all crosses in churches. But the cross means something, and it is foolishness to those who are perishing. Jesus our Lord and our God embraced the cross as He poured His life blood on it and blessed it and honored God with it. It is what the world throws at us for choosing God. For me, it comes as heartaches, headaches, insults, lies and accusations. And this is the case for most who are caught trying to live a holy life. Christ gets slaughtered. Why the abuse? Why to this day does this happen, when supposedly everyone is nice?
Let's rewind the tape, to the Holy Scripture that said today "...that you may be blameless and innocent...". I have a problem with this, and why or how? Because in the modern heresy called moral relativism, everyone becomes their own gods and judges. In the heresy, you can consider yourself blameless and innocent, because you have established your own morals. This is most evident in those who believe they need no church to tell them what to do, or how to live.
Moral authority is trumped and usurped. This means the apple in the Garden of Eve, to try to say you know as much or more than God. Humility gone, and the fruit of pride is bitten and digested and becomes part of your body. Biting into lies. We must now face the truth.
And then our Lord goes on to speak about building towers and marching into battle.
Our Lord is the General and we follow His orders in this battle. Where it leads us, we don't know, but He knows. And this is the message of St. Paul as He is imprisoned and trying to spread a message of faith, hope, and trust to God's people.
To live confident and unafraid...this means, being children of God. This means everything to Him when you entrust your whole being to His. Lord, we are Yours and Yours we wish to be. We wish to be more intimately united to Your Sacred heart, and so we consecrate our lives, designated for a specific charge...the positive cross, the love for You above all... | Random Bible verse from online generator: 1 Peter 5 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | |
