Love Overflowing While we are quite familiar with being disappointed by the worst we see in the world, we cannot deny the extraordinary heroism of which humanity is also capable. All around us, ordinary people are performing acts of sacrifice, giving up their own lives so that others may live. It is nearly impossible to look into the world and not see love overflowing at every turn. Science cannot explain it; logic doesn't understand it. And yet, love emanates more powerfully than any substance we can measure. Truth transcends any instrument or equation. In moments of pessimism, when we find ourselves impatient with the world, do not grow hopeless, but trust in the unexplainable love lived by so many. Trust the goodness you see. Be still, and know that God is the source of all that is Good, Beautiful, and True, and that all love exists because God wills it. —from the book Let Go: Seven Stumbling Blocks to Christian Discipleship
by Casey Cole, OFM |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"Totally love Him, Who gave Himself totally for your love."
— St. Clare of Assisi †MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"When we make a good resolution, we merely consider the beauty and excellence of virtue, which attracts even the most vapid minds, but we never consider the difficulties of attaining it. Consequently, cowardly souls are dismayed at the first sign of trouble and they hurriedly abandon their project. For this reason, it would be better for you to consider the difficulties which occur in acquiring virtue, rather than the virtues themselves, and to prepare yourself accordingly. You may rest assured that the greater courage you show in conquering yourself or defeating your enemies, the sooner will your difficulties diminish, and they will gradually vanish."
— Dom Lorenzo Scupoli, p. 94
AN EXCERPT FROM
The Spiritual Combat † VERSE OF THE DAY
"The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
1 Corinthians 1:18 |  click to read more | | ST. SCHOLASTICA St. Scholastica (480–542 A.D.) was born in Nursia, Italy, to a noble Roman family, along with her twin brother, the famous St. Benedict of Nursia. Their mother died in childbirth. Scholastica was dedicated to God as a child, and from a young age both siblings sensed a special divine calling. They both entered religious life and established communities within five miles of each other; St. Scholastica led a convent near Monte Cassino where Benedict established his world-renowned monastery. Because of the isolated nature of their vocations, the siblings only met once a year at a local farmhouse to discuss spiritual matters. During what was to be their final meeting, St. Scholastica had a premonition that her death was imminent. She asked Benedict to spend the night at the farmhouse so they could continue their visit, but he refused as it was forbidden in his monastic rule. Scholastica turned her request to God and prayed that her brother would stay with her. Suddenly a great thunderstorm erupted that made travel impossible, and Benedict was forced to stay. Scholastica died a few days later, and in a vision St. Benedict saw her soul leave her body in the form of a dove. St. Scholastica is the patron of nuns and against lightening, rain, and storms. Her feast day is February 10. | Memorial of Saint Scholastica, Virgin Lectionary: 331
Reading I Gn 2:4b-9, 15-17 At the time when the LORD God made the earth and the heavens
while as yet there was no field shrub on earth
and no grass of the field had sprouted,
for the LORD God had sent no rain upon the earth
and there was no man to till the soil,
but a stream was welling up out of the earth
and was watering all the surface of the ground
the LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground
and blew into his nostrils the breath of life,
and so man became a living being. Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east,
and he placed there the man whom he had formed.
Out of the ground the LORD God made various trees grow
that were delightful to look at and good for food,
with the tree of life in the middle of the garden
and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The LORD God then took the man
and settled him in the garden of Eden,
to cultivate and care for it.
The LORD God gave man this order:
"You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden
except the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
From that tree you shall not eat;
the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die." Responsorial Psalm 104:1-2a, 27-28, 29bc-30 R. (1a) O bless the Lord, my soul!
Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
You are clothed with majesty and glory, robed in light as with a cloak.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul!
All creatures look to you to give them food in due time.
When you give it to them, they gather it; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul!
If you take away their breath, they perish and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul! Alleluia See Jn 17:17b, 17a R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Your word, O Lord, is truth:
consecrate us in the truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 7:14-23 Jesus summoned the crowd again and said to them,
"Hear me, all of you, and understand.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile." When he got home away from the crowd
his disciples questioned him about the parable.
He said to them,
"Are even you likewise without understanding?
Do you not realize that everything
that goes into a person from outside cannot defile,
since it enters not the heart but the stomach
and passes out into the latrine?"
(Thus he declared all foods clean.)
"But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him.
From within the man, from his heart,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile." | Daily Meditation: Genesis 2:4-9, 15-17 God made the earth and the heavens. (Genesis 2:4) Whether our universe was created in a few days or a few billion years, one truth is clear: God is the One who started it all. He created everything out of nothing, and he sustains everything by the power of his love. Isn't that amazing? Not even the most talented scientist has been able to make life out of nothing—or even to create life from an inanimate substance, like the clay that God used to create Adam (Genesis 2:7). No scientist can fully explain how that first spark of life emerged on our planet. Although science has important truths to reveal, it was God who designed the universe and guided its development. And because God had us in mind as the apex of his beautiful creation, he made certain that all our needs would be met. This included not only our physical need for food, water, and sunlight, but also our inner need for beauty and order. We see this in the way the Book of Genesis describes the Garden of Eden: its trees were "delightful to look at" as well as "good for food" (2:9). Take a moment to thank God that he has put you on this beautiful planet, right now, right where you are. Not only has he created the sun, the stars, the seas, and the mountains, but he brought you into existence! You are unique, wonderfully made in his image, and deeply beloved by him. But with these great blessings come responsibilities. God entrusted Adam to "cultivate and care" for the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:15). That's a task for all of us. He wants us to tend to this world and its many creatures so that it can continue to sustain us and reflect his glory. When you do what you can to care for creation, you are treasuring this gift and preserving it for future generations. Not only that, but when you carefully attend to the creation God loves and cares about, you become an expression of his own love for the world. "Thank you, Lord, for the gift of life—my own and the life that surrounds me. Help me to think of you every time I enjoy your creation." Psalm 104:1-2, 27-30
Mark 7:14-23 |  clickable | O my God, I do not ask you to keep me from suffering, but to be with me in affliction. Teach me to seek you as my only comforter; sustain my faith; strengthen my hope; purify my love. Grant me the grace to recognize your hand in the midst of suffering and to want no other comforter than you.
— St. Bernadette Soubirous
from the private notes of St. Bernadette, collected in the book A Holy Life | my2cents:
"the LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life,
and so man became a living being."
And that man eventually ate of the tree of knowledge that brought about sin, and death. But let's rewind to the first point, the beauty of man, that is truly a work of art. Man. In reality, Man is our Lord. Stay with me. And wo-man, comes from man. He desired to not be alone. No-thing could satisfy Him except wo-man. And we are that wo-man. His. And because of our temptation, He had to taste sin and death. In the rosary, in the second sorrowful mysteries, we have to meditate on the scourging of Christ our Lord, the lashings that are actually our sins put upon the original Man. When we delve into sin, we hurt ourselves when we hurt Him. In the end, what we do unto others, we do unto ourselves. Watch your eyes, your mouth, your nose, your nose, your very heart. | What we pray today is actually what we pray in the prayer to the Holy Spirit: "If you take away their breath, they perish and return to their dust. When you send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth. O bless the Lord, my soul!" I have to remind you that time passes by, and many things happen in time. What things have you done that will flourish souls and salvation? What is at stake here? And what of the breath that was breathed into nostrils of Man and then to wo-man? It is the Holy Spirit. When our Lord speaks of "being" it is a whole new being. Now we are speaking of the Spirit of Life inside of us granted by Himself. From God, from light, from eternity to us...who are invited to be with Him who desires not to be alone...either. | Our Lord speaks:
""But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him. From within the man, from his heart, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile."
Recall what was said. Remember. What we spew out to others, spews out to you. This is the truth of our Lord's prayer "forgive me AS I FORGIVE them". The measure with which you measure my friend, will be used to measure yourself. And so, some decide to live permissively. Fools. I may make another video, LOL, please share! This one I've been thinking about a 12 year old nephew who got in a pickup truck last week, and was driving down his grandpa's ranch about 70 miles an hour, and grandpa spotted the incident, got a hold of the grandson and made him shake in his boots with a scolding. I told the college brother of that nephew yesterday as I was trying to write to you "if grandpa doesn't do it, then who will?" We cannot allow danger and evil to happen under our watch. Sin is the most extreme danger to souls. If you allow it, if you tolerate it, then you are measuring out sin to be heaped upon your judgement day. | What enters cannot defile. Now we are speaking of the temple. We are speaking about what we allow inside of us. I told my college nephew, that I am pretty well attuned to things spiritual, and I have a sense that drugs are laced...with evil spirits. The same can happen with foods, and other things, like things we watch and listen to, they can be laced with evil spirits that can enter your temple. Our Lord declared pigs and things can be eaten, thank God for bacon! Back to tradition and TRADITION. The Pharisees had made puritan laws, upwards of 600 to try to avoid sin. "You wash the inside of the cup, but inside you are filled with filth". In reality, our Lord is saying once again "take care what you hear". Take care of what you allow to enter you in spirit. Because these things take root. And then vile, that is, disgusting things begin to happen, like pride, all things like He said: "unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly."
Unchastity is another thing I preached to my college nephew, for where there is nudity, there is violence...remember the scourging.
Theft, means instead of giving, you are taking.
Murder, the act of death, and we speak of spiritual death to the killer...eternal.
Adultery, the act of infidelity...to God.
Greed, the very act of hoarding, and causing great damage to the greater good.
Malice, the act of doing evil with the heart, disdain, even korban, calling others names, and malice leads to more evils in its production of evil.
Deceit is a tool of the devil. And by fooling others, we fool ourselves. Deception is hypocritical. Deception is against truth.
Licentiousness is a license to pleasure, and pleasure becomes a false god.
Envy, is to desire what others have and causes animosity in some cases. Envy has caused many souls to die and to die forever.
Blasphemy, I just made a video on keeping the Lord's name Holy, stay tuned. But it is to degrade, to desecrate our Lord's name. To speak against our Lord. And we do this more often than we care...to admit.
Arrogance comes from a proud heart. Others are less. Others are stupid. Others are less than you. "Let them get what they deserve" is the mantra of the evil arrogant spirit. Lord have mercy on us!
Folly is to be fooling around, being wasteful, instead of being good stewards of our time, talent, and treasure. Fools again! like the unwise virgins. Lord, I have participated in these grievous sins, and I continue to fight against these evil spirits that roam the world, seeking the ruin of souls. They say "misery loves company" but You Lord, you desire our company, otherewise, you would've not created me as Your child! I pray that You be our light and our salvation, to be a holy nation, Your people for the good of the whole world! | from your brother in Christ our Lord,
adrian | Random online bible verse:
WOW Psalm 30:2 2 O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
