God Feeds Us with Loving Kindness Food freely given exacts from us a promise to go beyond its selfish reception to the unselfish realm of deep gratitude. There we commit ourselves to give to others what we have received. My food mentors—grandmother and mother—cooked not because their sense of dignity depended on others' opinions of them but because they knew that treating tablemates to the best they could offer was the backbone of every family and nation. Though ingratitude and indifference might have come to their table, it disappeared when they left it. Poured forth from previously pursed lips was a litany of gratitude complemented by what these good souls always wanted to see: sighs and smiles of contentment. —from the book Table of Plenty: Good Food for Body and Spirit
by Susan Muto |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"If you suffer with Him, you will reign with Him. If you cry with Him, you will have joy with Him. If you die with Him on the cross of tribulation, you will possess the eternal dwelling place in the splendor of the saints. And your name, written in the book of life, will be glorious among men."
— St. Clare of Assisi †MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"The soul, enlightened by faith, judges of things in a very different way to those who, having only the standard of the senses by which to measure them, ignore the inestimable treasure they contain . . . the soul that recognizes the will of God in every smallest event, and also in those that are most distressing and direful, receives all with an equal joy, pleasure and respect. It throws open all its doors to receive with honor what others fear and fly from with horror. The outward appearance may be mean and contemptible, but beneath this abject garb the heart discovers and honors the majesty of the king. The deeper the abasement of his entry in such a guise and in secret the more does the heart become filled with love."
—Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade, p. 23-4
AN EXCERPT FROM
Abandonment to Divine Providence †VERSE OF THE DAY
"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."
Matthew 11:28-30 |  click to read more | | †Saint Quote
"If you suffer with Him, you will reign with Him. If you cry with Him, you will have joy with Him. If you die with Him on the cross of tribulation, you will possess the eternal dwelling place in the splendor of the saints. And your name, written in the book of life, will be glorious among men."
— St. Clare of Assisi †MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"The soul, enlightened by faith, judges of things in a very different way to those who, having only the standard of the senses by which to measure them, ignore the inestimable treasure they contain . . . the soul that recognizes the will of God in every smallest event, and also in those that are most distressing and direful, receives all with an equal joy, pleasure and respect. It throws open all its doors to receive with honor what others fear and fly from with horror. The outward appearance may be mean and contemptible, but beneath this abject garb the heart discovers and honors the majesty of the king. The deeper the abasement of his entry in such a guise and in secret the more does the heart become filled with love."
—Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade, p. 23-4
AN EXCERPT FROM
Abandonment to Divine Providence †VERSE OF THE DAY
"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."
Matthew 11:28-30 | CATHERINE OF ALEXANDRIA St. Catherine of Alexandria (4th c.) was born to a noble pagan family in Alexandria, Egypt, and her father was governor of the city. She was an intelligent child who devoted herself to study, and converted to the Christian faith after the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to her in a vision. Many of her fellow Christians were put to death under the reign of Roman Emperor Maxentius. Catherine, at the age of 18, rebuked the emperor to his face for this injustice, giving a skillful defense of the Christian faith. In response, Maxentius brought fifty of his best philosophers to debate with her and refute her claims. St. Catherine not only won the argument by confounding her opponents, but she caused many of them to convert to the Christian faith. The emperor offered Catherine a royal marriage if she would renounce her faith, but she refused. She was imprisoned, and while in captivity, through her newfound fame, converted the emperor's wife and two hundred of his soldiers. When this was discovered, Maxentius had them all put to death. Catherine was to be tortured and killed by being torn apart on a spiked wheel, but the wheel fell to pieces when it touched her. She was finally martyred by beheading. St. Catherine is the patroness of philosophers, preachers, lawyers, apologists, scholars, and librarians, to name a few. Her feast day is celebrated on November 25th. | Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 505
Reading 1 RV 15:1-4 I, John, saw in heaven another sign, great and awe-inspiring:
seven angels with the seven last plagues,
for through them God's fury is accomplished. Then I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire.
On the sea of glass were standing those
who had won the victory over the beast
and its image and the number that signified its name.
They were holding God's harps,
and they sang the song of Moses, the servant of God,
and the song of the Lamb: "Great and wonderful are your works,
Lord God almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
O king of the nations.
Who will not fear you, Lord,
or glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
All the nations will come
and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed." Responsorial Psalm PS 98:1, 2-3AB, 7-8, 9 R. (Rev. 15: 3b) Great and wonderful are all your works, Lord, mighty God!
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. Great and wonderful are all your works, Lord, mighty God!
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. Great and wonderful are all your works, Lord, mighty God!
Let the sea and what fills it resound,
the world and those who dwell in it;
Let the rivers clap their hands,
the mountains shout with them for joy.
R. Great and wonderful are all your works, Lord, mighty God!
Before the LORD, for he comes,
for he comes to rule the earth;
He will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with equity.
R. Great and wonderful are all your works, Lord, mighty God! Alleluia RV 2:10C R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Remain faithful until death,
and I will give you the crown of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel LK 21:12-19 Jesus said to the crowd:
"They will seize and persecute you,
they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons,
and they will have you led before kings and governors
because of my name.
It will lead to your giving testimony.
Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,
for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking
that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.
You will even be handed over by parents,
brothers, relatives, and friends,
and they will put some of you to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives." | DAILY MEDITATION: REVELATION 15:1-4
They sang the song . . . of the Lamb. (Revelation 15:3) The Book of Revelation is filled with elaborate imagery and apocalyptic visions of the end of all things—and that can make it difficult to understand. But the richness and beauty of this book lies in its extraordinary witness to Jesus. True to its name, Revelation unwraps the mystery of Christ and draws back the curtain to reveal Jesus in new ways. In every chapter it uses distinctive names to describe different facets of Jesus' calling and his attributes. Today, for instance, we read about Jesus as a lamb. We first encounter the image of a lamb in chapter 5 of Revelation. First, Jesus is introduced as a triumphant "lion of . . . Judah" (5:5). But then surprisingly, when that "lion" appears, he is shown to be a lamb instead (5:6). Even more astounding, he is a lamb who was slain (5:6, 9). This seems illogical because lions—and humans—win by killing. But Jesus triumphed by being killed. It's through his death and resurrection that Jesus conquered all sin, all evil, all death. No wonder all the saints sing a song to the Lamb of God! The people of Israel sang the Song of Moses after God delivered them from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 15). In heaven, everyone will sing to Jesus, the Lamb who delivered all people from slavery to sin. One day, we will join them. We too will praise the Lamb who bore our sins, who died that we might live, and whose blood has washed us clean. On that day, we will see him face-to-face and rejoice in his victory. On that day, freed from every weakness, we will join our departed loved ones and all the heavenly hosts in singing this new song. But why wait? You can sing this song right now. In fact, you sing it at every Mass: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world. It's so important, in fact, that you sing it three times! And by doing so, you sing of what Jesus has already done, what he is doing right now, and what he will do when he returns. You sing this song in faith, but one day you will sing it in nothing but pure joy. "Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world. Grant us peace." Psalm 98:1-3, 7-9
Luke 21:12-19 |  clickable | Home. It is an elegant word, at once both simple and far-reaching. Home is that place where we are meant to be safe, nurtured, known for who we are, and able to live and love freely.
— Carrie Gress and Noelle Mering
from Theology of Home: Finding the Eternal in the Everyday | my2cents:
"Who will not fear you, Lord, or glorify your name?
For you alone are holy."
I don't know about you, but holiness is a tall order. For the last several years, I've tried, in various ways to "be holy". I'm running in circles though. As much as I try, I don't think I get anywhere. I find myself though, in my search, in a most key element to obtain what seems an inroad to such a feat: grace. And the more I search for holiness, to obtain this state, I find myself binding myself more and more to our Lord. Pruning myself by letting Him prune me. | Today we pray: "Before the LORD, for he comes,
for he comes to rule the earth;
He will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with equity.
Great and wonderful are all your works, Lord, mighty God!" | Our Lord said: ""They will seize and persecute you ... because of my name."
Uh. K?
How does that make you feel?
Many of us want to say like Judas "I will never abandon you".
Who else says "I will never abandon you" or "forsake you"? Our Lord does.
Even if a mother forget you, I will not.
And so that is my holiness conundrum. You cannot trust man. But you can trust God our Father. | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, the Lord cautions us to expect persecution until the end of time: "They will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors." When will the Church stop being persecuted? When the Lord returns, and not before.
None of the saints lived a serene life, a life free of worry, threat, persecution. It always strikes me as odd that somehow it is assumed that those who believe in God expect their lives to be a bowl of cherries. Absolutely nothing in the Bible or in the great tradition of the Church should lead us to expect this.
Instead, they found courage in the struggle. The Lord himself promised to prepare them for their defense. "I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute." Their courage got them through the negativity. I'm reminded of a verse from an Eva Cassidy song: "No storm can shake my inmost calm, while to that rock I'm clinging. Since love is Lord of heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?" I want to teach my adults learning to be Catholics, that Christianity is not going to be easy, or feel good. Those who choose Christianity must know what they are getting into. In some parts of the world, Christians are persecuted to death. In other parts, Christians are voluntarily losing their faith. Like the stories of refugees who where bold in their faith where they were peresecuted, they come to the lush country and lose their faith, voluntarily. Faith grows in adversity. I am encouraging you as our Lord encourages you to do.
"By your perseverance you will secure your lives." He says you will not lose a hair on your head if you persevere.
Yet, many saints and martyrs have been murdered brutally, knowing full well these verses. How do you reconcile the thought? If you are worldly, you will not understand. But if you believe, this is easy to understand. We are not of this world and what awaits us is an even more real world. This world is our taste of what is to come, and not the full meal and deal. Taste and see, the goodness of the Lord. You are invited to walk on water. "Lord, can we obtain the holiness to enter your gates? I open my heart, another inch, with much fear and trembling, give us strength, the much needed grace and mercy, to lead us into your loving arms." | Random Bible verse from online generator Ephesians 4:31–32
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
