Embracing Humility We cannot follow Christ when we already see ourselves in his place. If we want to be his disciple, we must let go of our inflated sense of self, our savior complex, our arrogance, our belief that we do not need help from anyone, and our implicit desire to be everyone's judge. We must take up the humility to place ourselves beneath Jesus, accept our faults and flaws, and begin to act like the people we were created to be: servants of God. If we want to follow Jesus where he's leading us, we need to let go of our false humility, self-loathing, self-doubt, and refusal to accept what is good in our lives. These are lies, burdens that will only weigh us down. We cannot take them with us. This is easy to say, much more difficult to do. Don't be afraid to seek help if you're aware of any of these issues in your own life. A good place to begin is to seriously consider this message: If we want to follow Jesus, we must accept that God has created us good, that we are loved beyond all imagining, and that, even though we may have some faults, God is capable of extraordinary things in us. Let Jesus lead, and give him all the glory. —from the book Let Go: Seven Stumbling Blocks to Christian Discipleship
by Casey Cole, OFM |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"We must stand up for the rights of our neighbour who is suffering from injustice; we must defend them all the more vigorously because we see Jesus present in them. Surely this is our duty because of our love for others for his sake. We have no right to be 'sleeping watchmen' or dumb watch-dogs. Whenever we see evil we must sound the alarm."
— Blessed Charles de Foucauld † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"When we continually 'see' the work of God in our life, there is less need for faith. When the perception of blessing or presence is removed, there is an opportunity to exercise faith on a deeper and purer level, which is very pleasing to God and unites us in a deep way with Him, even when His closeness to us might not be felt. John of the Cross tells us that it is this ever-increasing purification that most directly and immediately unites us to God. The act of deep trust and abandonment and fidelity that faith entails is very pleasing to God and brings us very close to Him."
— Ralph Martin p. 170-71
AN EXCERPT FROM
The Fulfillment of All Desire † VERSE OF THE DAY
"But this one offered one sacrifice for sins, and took his seat forever at the right hand of God; now he waits until his enemies are made his footstool. For by one offering he has made perfect forever those who are being consecrated."
Hebrews 10:12-14 |  click to read more | | BL. ANNE CATHERINE EMMERICH Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824) was born in Germany to a devout peasant family. From a young age she received divine knowledge imparted to her through extremely detailed visions of the lives of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and the saints. As a child her guardian angel often appeared to her, and Jesus himself visited her while she was tending sheep. The suffering souls in purgatory often called upon her assistance to offer prayers and penances on their behalf. At the age of 28, after many years of longing for the religious life, Anne Catherine entered the novitiate with the Augustinians. She devoted her life to waging a spiritual battle for suffering souls, and in her great charity she accepted extreme physical, yet supernatural, sufferings which ultimately left her bedridden. This strange phenomena of physical suffering for the spiritual condition of other souls was not always accepted by others, and she endured much ridicule due to the astonishing manner in which her experiences displayed themselves. Her daily visions gave her special insight into the spiritual realm which have been recorded into now-popular books, and were used to discover what is believed to be the house of Mary in Ephesus. Her feast day is February 9th. | Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 330
Reading I Gn 1:20—2:4a God said,
"Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures,
and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky."
And so it happened:
God created the great sea monsters
and all kinds of swimming creatures with which the water teems,
and all kinds of winged birds.
God saw how good it was, and God blessed them, saying,
"Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas;
and let the birds multiply on the earth."
Evening came, and morning followed–the fifth day. Then God said,
"Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures:
cattle, creeping things, and wild animals of all kinds."
And so it happened:
God made all kinds of wild animals, all kinds of cattle,
and all kinds of creeping things of the earth.
God saw how good it was.
Then God said:
"Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.
Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
the birds of the air, and the cattle,
and over all the wild animals
and all the creatures that crawl on the ground." God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them, saying:
"Be fertile and multiply;
fill the earth and subdue it.
Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air,
and all the living things that move on the earth."
God also said:
"See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth
and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food;
and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air,
and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground,
I give all the green plants for food."
And so it happened.
God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good.
Evening came, and morning followed–the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed.
Since on the seventh day God was finished with the work he had been doing, he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken.
So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,
because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation. Such is the story of the heavens and the earth at their creation. Responsorial Psalm 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 R. (2ab) O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
When I behold your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you set in place—
What is man that you should be mindful of him, or the son of man that you should care for him?
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
You have made him little less than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him rule over the works of your hands, putting all things under his feet.
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
All sheep and oxen, yes, and the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, the fishes of the sea, and whatever swims the paths of the seas.
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth! Alleluia Ps 119:36, 29b R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Incline my heart, O God, to your decrees;
And favor me with your law.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 7:1-13 When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus,
they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals
with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.
(For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,
do not eat without carefully washing their hands,
keeping the tradition of the elders.
And on coming from the marketplace
they do not eat without purifying themselves.
And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,
the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.)
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,
"Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?"
He responded,
"Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites,
as it is written: This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts. You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition."
He went on to say,
"How well you have set aside the commandment of God
in order to uphold your tradition!
For Moses said, Honor your father and your mother, and Whoever curses father or mother shall die.
Yet you say,
'If someone says to father or mother,
"Any support you might have had from me is qorban"'
(meaning, dedicated to God),
you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother.
You nullify the word of God
in favor of your tradition that you have handed on.
And you do many such things." | Daily Meditation: Genesis 1:20–2:4 Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. (Genesis 1:26) In ancient times, a king would often place statues of himself around his kingdom. These images acted as visual reminders, both to his people and to foreign powers. They said, in effect, "This area is under my protection, and I will do whatever is necessary to care for and defend my subjects." In a similar way, when God created us in his image and likeness, it was as if he was placing his image all over his kingdom as well. We are living, visible representations not only of God's kingdom on earth but of the protection he provides against the forces of evil. Of course, God didn't envision that we would act as warning signs against each other the way kings warned other monarchs to leave their realms alone. Rather, we act as warnings to our common enemy, the devil. When we grow into our heritage as the image and likeness of God, we also stand taller against the devil's schemes. We tell him, "This world and all its people—they are protected. You have no place here." This is the role that friends, parents, and grandparents can play in the world. As the image of God, they stand against the devil's subtle attempts to influence their friends, their children, and their grandchildren. This doesn't necessarily depend on any specific actions we take. What's most important is that we keep pressing in to know Jesus more so that he can shape us more into his likeness—like the way a statue is made from a mold. There's nothing more terrifying to the devil than the sight of men and women living in their dignity as children of God. Today, think about how God has intentionally made you in his image and placed you in your corner of the world to represent him and to protect his kingdom. He knows you can make a difference, just by being who you were called to be—his son or daughter. And just as he delights in all of his creation, he delights in you and the role you play in defending his people. "Father, help me learn to look and act more like you every day in order to better protect and care for your children." Psalm 8:4-9
Mark 7:1-13 |  clickable | In the crowd of people with all their needs, Jesus sees you. He sees the way you have suffered. He sees what was stolen from you. He sees what you have endured. He sees your grief and loss... He sees it all, and He cares.
— Lisa Brenninkmeyer
from her devotional Rest: 31 Days of Peace | my2cents:
"So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,
because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation." And we had heard: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness."
Why is our Lord speaking in a plural form of Himself? "Let us make man in our image" we heard. Is the Holy Trinity speaking? Father, Son, Holy Spirit? Isn't that one being already? We may never fully understand, but we do know He is not alone. And then we came to be created. And then we were called to create more. And suddenly God from God, true light from true light, everything has its being in Him. We become one in Him. I write to you simply to encourage you to be one with Him ever more. | We pray: "You have made him little less than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him rule over the works of your hands, putting all things under his feet. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!"
The Psalms always were the prayer of our Lord. Is He speaking of Himself when He entered earth, or of us who live on earth? You see, the incarnation is a revelation to all the gentile nations. And our Lord leaves the earth in Ascension, commanding that we create. Just like in Genesis. Go baptize, go preach, until I return. And has He returned? There is talk about the judgement at death and the final judgement. But He has already come to judge the living and the dead. How? He has already come in the Holy Spirit. Judgement is not far away. But what about the final, end of the world judgement? Everyone would like to know...so they can postpone...being a saint. You see? Who gets crowned with glory and honor? The faithless? No. Only those who honor forever. | Our Lord spoke to the Pharisees and to all of us today in His forever message: "...This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts." Vanity is a sin. I made a video that I intend to release during Lent about using our Lord's name in vain. What does that mean? It means to use the name without meaning, in vain, as if nothing, as if it had no value, and that is an act of desecration, sacrilege, and blasphemy. Yet, the world and all of us here, we tend to speak in vanity, speaking with lips, we are "christian from the teeth out". Where is your heart my child? | ""How well you have set aside the commandment of God
in order to uphold your tradition!" Yesterday, we helped at a funeral, and the service, not a Mass, was held by a visiting deacon who asked us ministers "how we did things" at our funerals. In my mind I was like "I just do what you say" and he was needing to know what we do, maybe to uphold certain traditions? Who gets to make traditions? And why would traditions override the love of God? How can they happen? Our Lord declared traditions to keep. Big T. And then there are little "t" traditions. The little t cannot override the big T, the core teachings.
Our Lord gives us an example right away: "'If someone says to father or mother, "Any support you might have had from me is qorban"'(meaning, dedicated to God), you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother. You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on."
It is a self written dispensation really. Because you YOURSELF declared it to be "qorban". We excuse ourselves nowadays too. We want to know the end of the world so we can know how much to get away with. And this is to live against the will of our Lord, that is, His Holy will. Our Creator Father, has willed for us His followers a special mission.
We are not here to survive with our lives.
We are not here to try just live as long as we can.
I made another video that speaks to this short shortsightedness.
I will share it when the time is appropriate.
All I can say is that sin makes us see short-sided. Limited. Another video that is coming will speak on how sin makes us stupid, just like it says in the bible and when our Lord calls people fools.
Fools for saying qorban. Fools for saying "I've done my part". FOOLS! Who told you that you are good enough? Who said you no longer are held to God's commandments? Who is teaching you that murder in the womb is "ok"? Who is teaching you that using His name in vain is no problem!? I told a priest in confession that I was making a video to honor God's name more and He said "well, that could be taken in different ways"....EXACTLY. There is only one way to take our Lord's name and it is to be taken.....
seriously. Lord, I've done my part, in being a fool. I've done my part in thinking I've done my part and there is nothing else to do. Help me to be less foolish. I want to do the part You ask for. I want to do Your Holy will forever! | from your brother in Christ our Lord,
adrian | Random online bible verse: WOW! Amazing
1 Corinthians 13:1–3 The Way of Love
13
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,1 but have not love, I gain nothing. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
