†Saint Quote
"He who labors as he prays lifts his heart to God with his hands."
St. Benedict of Nursia †Today's Meditation
"The story of Christ's life and ministry cannot be told without giving due space to Satan's activity. The Gospel writers carefully distinguish between cases of mere physical ailments and cases of a demonic character (both of which Jesus cures). Jesus frequently refers to the devil in his parables and other teachings, and the devil himself tempts Jesus in the desert and returns again later to engineer Judas' betrayal (cf. Jn 13:2). This Gospel motif teaches us an undeniable, if uncomfortable lesson: the devil is real, and he is interested in counteracting the work of grace. In one sense, accepting this fundamental truth, and keeping it always in the back of our minds, can comfort us tremendously: it helps us make sense of all the unpleasant influences at work in and around us. We are not crazy; we are not failures; we are simply engaged in a spiritual battle. If we believe in Jesus Christ, we must also believe in the devil—doomed as he is, he would love to take as many souls as he can along with him." — Fr. John Bartunek, p. 350 †Daily Verse
"So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:48 |  click to read more | | †St. Elizabeth of Hungary
St. Elizabeth of Hungary (1207–1231) was born in Hungary, the daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary and his wife Gertrude. As a child she was sent to Thuringa (now Germany) to be brought up with Prince Ludwig of Thuringa, whom she was to marry at the age of 14 in order to solidify a political alliance between the two nations. Their marriage was a very happy one, and they had three children together. Although Elizabeth was a princess surrounded by a magnificent court, she lived a humble life serving the sick and poor outside her castle walls. No amount of disapproval from those who considered this behavior beneath her royal status could dissuade her from her faithfulness to this task. One day, on her way to feed the poor, her husband stopped her and asked to see what she concealed beneath her mantle. The food she carried was miraculously replaced by roses, signifying God's approval of her charity. When her husband, after six years of marriage, tragically died on his way to join the crusade in Jerusalem, Elizabeth was grief-stricken. She vowed to never remarry, and eventually left her life of nobility to join the Secular Franciscans as a penitent. She continued her charitable works to an even greater degree, and helped Thuringa recover from a famine by giving them a huge gift of grain. It was this act, along with her habit of distributing bread to the poor, that made her the patron saint of bakers. She is also the patron of hospitals, the homeless, widows, charities, and nursing homes. St. Elizabeth of Hungary's feast day is November 17th.
Find a Devotional for This Saint | Memorial of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious Lectionary: 499
Reading I 2 Mc 7:1, 20-31 It happened that seven brothers with their mother were arrested
and tortured with whips and scourges by the king,
to force them to eat pork in violation of God's law. Most admirable and worthy of everlasting remembrance was the mother,
who saw her seven sons perish in a single day,
yet bore it courageously because of her hope in the Lord.
Filled with a noble spirit that stirred her womanly heart with manly courage,
she exhorted each of them
in the language of their ancestors with these words:
"I do not know how you came into existence in my womb;
it was not I who gave you the breath of life,
nor was it I who set in order
the elements of which each of you is composed.
Therefore, since it is the Creator of the universe
who shapes each man's beginning,
as he brings about the origin of everything,
he, in his mercy,
will give you back both breath and life,
because you now disregard yourselves for the sake of his law." Antiochus, suspecting insult in her words,
thought he was being ridiculed.
As the youngest brother was still alive, the king appealed to him,
not with mere words, but with promises on oath,
to make him rich and happy if he would abandon his ancestral customs:
he would make him his Friend
and entrust him with high office.
When the youth paid no attention to him at all,
the king appealed to the mother,
urging her to advise her boy to save his life.
After he had urged her for a long time,
she went through the motions of persuading her son.
In derision of the cruel tyrant,
she leaned over close to her son and said in their native language:
"Son, have pity on me, who carried you in my womb for nine months,
nursed you for three years, brought you up,
educated and supported you to your present age.
I beg you, child, to look at the heavens and the earth
and see all that is in them;
then you will know that God did not make them out of existing things;
and in the same way the human race came into existence.
Do not be afraid of this executioner,
but be worthy of your brothers and accept death,
so that in the time of mercy I may receive you again with them." She had scarcely finished speaking when the youth said:
"What are you waiting for?
I will not obey the king's command.
I obey the command of the law given to our fathers through Moses.
But you, who have contrived every kind of affliction for the Hebrews,
will not escape the hands of God." Responsorial Psalm 17:1bcd, 5-6, 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.
My steps have been steadfast in your paths, my feet have not faltered.
I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my word.
R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
Keep me as the apple of your eye; 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 See Jn 15:16 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I chose you from the world,
to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 19:11-28 While people were listening to Jesus speak,
he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem
and they thought that the Kingdom of God
would appear there immediately. So he said,
"A nobleman went off to a distant country
to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return.
He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins
and told them, 'Engage in trade with these until I return.'
His fellow citizens, however, despised him
and sent a delegation after him to announce,
'We do not want this man to be our king.'
But when he returned after obtaining the kingship,
he had the servants called, to whom he had given the money,
to learn what they had gained by trading.
The first came forward and said,
'Sir, your gold coin has earned ten additional ones.'
He replied, 'Well done, good servant!
You have been faithful in this very small matter;
take charge of ten cities.'
Then the second came and reported,
'Your gold coin, sir, has earned five more.'
And to this servant too he said,
'You, take charge of five cities.'
Then the other servant came and said,
'Sir, here is your gold coin;
I kept it stored away in a handkerchief,
for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding man;
you take up what you did not lay down
and you harvest what you did not plant.'
He said to him,
'With your own words I shall condemn you,
you wicked servant.
You knew I was a demanding man,
taking up what I did not lay down
and harvesting what I did not plant;
why did you not put my money in a bank?
Then on my return I would have collected it with interest.'
And to those standing by he said,
'Take the gold coin from him
and give it to the servant who has ten.'
But they said to him,
'Sir, he has ten gold coins.'
He replied, 'I tell you,
to everyone who has, more will be given,
but from the one who has not,
even what he has will be taken away.
Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me as their king,
bring them here and slay them before me.'" After he had said this,
he proceeded on his journey up to Jerusalem. | Daily Meditation: 2 Maccabees 7:1, 20-31 God did not make them out of existing things. (2 Maccabees 7:28) It's impossible to imagine what it must have been like to be the mother in today's first reading. Her seven sons were threatened with death if they didn't deny their faith. What would she say to them? She could tell them to give in and save themselves. Or she could promise that they would always be remembered as heroes if they held fast. She did neither one. Instead, as her last son was being threatened, she urged him to turn his eyes upward rather than inward. Look to the heavens, she told her son, and see that in his power, God made everything from nothing. How is that kind of advice helpful? When her son's mind was probably racing between fear and determination, between courage and grief, his mother gave him a lifeline. Look up! In the midst of the very real threat to his life, he could see that the God of heaven was greater than this cruel torturer. Surely the God who made the universe was big enough to take care of him no matter what happened. As he looked beyond the created realm to the Creator himself, he could find the hope of heaven and the strength to endure what might come. Looking up can be a lifeline for us as well. It can be easy to turn inward when we confront some type of challenge. We might be tempted to wonder why we're going through this, or feel unjustly singled out, or focus on our fears. But turning our eyes upward can give us a new perspective. It can help remind us that God is bigger than our challenges or problems. And that knowledge can help us trust in him. God knows it's not easy to shift our perspective like this. But these young men from our first reading are our examples. So are the martyrs throughout the ages who have been able to face suffering and death with joy. We also have the lived experience of our own friends and family who have endured hardship by keeping their eyes on the God who made the heavens. Let them inspire you to look up to God and find the strength to follow their example. "Heavenly Father, help me to lift my eyes to you." Psalm 17:1, 5-6, 8, 15
Luke 19:11-28 | From Today's Holy Scripture:
"What are you waiting for? I will not obey the king's command. I obey the command of the law given to our fathers through Moses."
Is government asking you to betray your faith?
How is it happening today? Little by little. With little permission. When you are a little permissive in your own little world, the bigger world is more permissive.
What's that? You haven't been permissive?
Have you stood up for our religion when someone has attacked it? As we sit here, there are bishops and cardinals in favor (permissive to a degree) of abortion. Can you believe the blasphemy? And this is why I've heard that there are even bishops burning in hell as we speak. Why? Permissiveness.
In my own world, a beloved priest was (semi permissive), to some homosexuals and these folks took it to the extreme, now these homosexuals are getting married to homosexuals, all because they took this little "permission" to the next degree. What did the beloved priest say? "It's ok to be homosexual, don't let others judge". Something like that. Now there are two ways to read this. It's one thing to be going through homosexual tendencies, but it is quite another to act them out, a blasphemy against humanity. The worst part? Eternal death. Hate the sin, not the sinner. But the sinners today call us haters for calling out the sin! What we are doing with our little world matters. Every thing you do or you fail to do matters. This is why we are to be highly conscious and righteous in our religion, all things holy. And what does our religion call us to do? Love God above all. Then we will love each other rightly, with life at hand. Now we speak of eternity.
Am I preaching intolerance? Am I like the world that is intolerant to God's law?
Who gets to define the laws? They have already been defined by Our Father. He has commanded. | We pray in Psalms:
"Hear, O LORD, a just suit; attend to my outcry; hearken to my prayer from lips without deceit. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full." | We heard in the Gospel today:
"A nobleman went off to a distant country
to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return. He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins and told them, 'Engage in trade with these until I return.'
His fellow citizens, however, despised him
and sent a delegation after him to announce, 'We do not want this man to be our king.' Wait, what just happened?
Our Lord was made King, but the people did not want Him as king. They wanted...someone they preferred, someone to suit their ideas and ideals. This happens in Christianity. Many fine tune their religion to suit their fancy, their whims, their ideas. If you do not believe it, just investigate as to why there are over 60,000 different denominations of Christianity which continues to grow with a new splinter called "non denominational". Which is just a fancy way of saying "we don't know what we are, we don't claim any roots". Is this the basis of "cancel culture" that aims to cancel where we came from? It is an act against creation. "We do not want this man to be king", they said. But regardless, He is King, Jesus is made King and He will return to ask for what we done with His money, His investment into you! | In the gospel we heard the King gave servants 10 coins.
So how many coins do you got?
10.
Where are they? What are they?
God's laws are 10. Right? 10 is a number of covenant, a pact, a binding relationship.
Now that you know the coins, what will you do with them?
Hide them in a handkerchief? "'Sir, here is your gold coin; I kept it stored away in a handkerchief, for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding man...".
What happened to the man that was afraid to invest himself? The King said: "'With your own words I shall condemn you,
you wicked servant."
He was stripped of what he had, the man went away in self-condemnation.
You see, God doesn't put anyone in hell...we put ourselves in it.
Where then is the true fear of God? Someone who fails to acknowledge His Word is then against His word. But the opposite can be true, if you truly invest yourself.
Teach God's laws. Invest in people. Put it into their hearts, beginning with God, the true love of God above all. "'Take the gold coin from him
and give it to the servant who has ten.'
But they said to him,
'Sir, he has ten gold coins.'
He replied, 'I tell you,
to everyone who has, more will be given..." What am I looking forward to in Heaven my friend?
This Scripture, God's word, has been planted in my soul. I've been asked to reach you through this medium.
I am working for God's Kingdom on earth, so that perhaps, I will be given even MORE work when the time comes...eternity.
I believe saints are working tirelessly in our favor. Both saints on earth and in Heaven.
You are special in that you have heard this to be non-special. An elite force is called in this militant Church. Sainthood.
You are nothing. Now, be everything to God, Church, God's body on earth...as it is in Heaven. | from your brother in Christ,
Adrian |  click to hear | Random bible verse generator: WOW!! Colossians 3:12–14 12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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