God Hears Our Cries What startled me over and over in so many of the psalms is the emotional contrast. First there's often a lament, not sugar-coated or minimized, not swept away or judged. Instead, the suffering is eloquently described. For example, the early lines of Psalm 69: "I am wearied with crying out, my throat is sore." Guilt, shame, reproach, and bitterness follow. Then, a but appears. "But I lift up this prayer to thee." Over and over I found these sudden reversals. How did they make sense? After a few months of a daily morning practice, I understood the pattern. I would read many lines of anguish. Once the painful truths are expressed, in detail, not rushed, there's a sense of being deeply heard and listened to—heard by God. Once that internal, intimate ache is honored, we find space in our heavy hearts to move around. We can take that leap of faith and trust, again and again. What the psalms began to teach me is to stay true to my human grief, to articulate it, to bring the fear and frustration straight to God. By doing that, faith will appear, often suddenly, always the balm we have been seeking. —from the book What Was Lost: Seeking Refuge in the Psalms
by Maureen O'Brien |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"O Sacred Heart of Jesus, fountain of eternal life, Your Heart is a glowing furnace of Love. You are my refuge and my sanctuary."
— St. Gertrude the Great †MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"The Eucharist is alive. If a stranger who knew nothing about the Eucharist were to watch the way we receive, would he know this? When you and I approach the Eucharist, does it look like we believe we are about to take into our bodies the living person, Jesus Christ, true God and true man? How many times, Lord, have I forgotten that the Eucharist is alive! As I wait in line to receive you each day, am I thinking about how much you want to unite yourself with me? Am I seeing your hands filled with the graces you want to give me? Am I filled with awe and gratitude that you love me so much as to actually want to come to me in this incredibly intimate way? Or am I distracted, busy with other thoughts, preoccupied with myself and my agendas for the day? How many times, Jesus, have I made you sad, mindlessly receiving you into my body, into my heart, with no love and no recognition of your love? How many times have I treated you as a dead object? The Host that we receive is not a thing! It's not a wafer! It's not bread! It's a person – He's alive!"
— Vinny Flynn, p. 8
AN EXCERPT FROM
7 Secrets of the Eucharist † VERSE OF THE DAY
"At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known. So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love."
1 Corinthians 13:12-13 |  click to read more | | ST. DAVID OF WALES St. David of Wales (6th c.), also called Dewi Sant by the Welsh, was a missionary priest, Celtic monk, archbishop, miracle-worker, and the founder of many monasteries in Wales and western England. He was descended from Welsh royalty, and in medieval times many believed he was the nephew of the famed King Arthur. His great leadership abilities gave him influence over many Church affairs. In the dozen monasteries he founded he established strict asceticism modeled after the early desert hermits. St. David is often depicted standing on a mound with a dove on his shoulder. According to legend, one day while preaching a dove rested on his shoulder, and the earth rose to lift him above the crowd so that all could hear him speak. During a battle with the Saxons, St. David advised the Welsh soldiers to wear leeks in their hats to distinguish themselves from their enemy; this is the origin of the leek as an emblem of Wales. St. David is one of the great saints of the 6th century whose work helped to establish Christianity in Europe. He is the patron saint of Wales, and his feast, "St. David's Day," is a popular cultural celebration. The Cathedral of St. David's in Pembrokeshire was built over his remains and became a pilgrimage destination for centuries. St. David of Wales' feast day is March 1st. | Monday of the Second Week in Lent Lectionary: 230
Reading I Dn 9:4b-10 "Lord, great and awesome God,
you who keep your merciful covenant toward those who love you
and observe your commandments!
We have sinned, been wicked and done evil;
we have rebelled and departed from your commandments and your laws.
We have not obeyed your servants the prophets,
who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes,
our fathers, and all the people of the land.
Justice, O Lord, is on your side;
we are shamefaced even to this day:
we, the men of Judah, the residents of Jerusalem,
and all Israel, near and far,
in all the countries to which you have scattered them
because of their treachery toward you.
O LORD, we are shamefaced, like our kings, our princes, and our fathers,
for having sinned against you.
But yours, O Lord, our God, are compassion and forgiveness!
Yet we rebelled against you
and paid no heed to your command, O LORD, our God,
to live by the law you gave us through your servants the prophets." Responsorial Psalm 79:8, 9, 11 and 13 R. (see 103:10a) Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.
Remember not against us the iniquities of the past; may your compassion quickly come to us, for we are brought very low.
R.Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.
Help us, O God our savior, because of the glory of your name;
Deliver us and pardon our sins for your name's sake.
R. Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.
Let the prisoners' sighing come before you; with your great power free those doomed to death.
Then we, your people and the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; through all generations we will declare your praise.
R. Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins. Verse before the Gospel See Jn 6:63c, 68c Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life;
you have the words of everlasting life. Gospel Lk 6:36-38 Jesus said to his disciples:
"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. "Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you." | Daily Meditation: Luke 6:36-38 A good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing. (Luke 6:38) Have you ever seen coffee being ground and watched the powdered grounds fill the container? Even when the coffee rises right up to the top, the process is not finished. You can still shake the can gently a few times and watch the grounds settle, leaving room for just a bit more. That's the way to get what you're paying for! People in Jesus' time used this same approach when they brought their grain to a miller to be ground into flour. Everyone knew a bag might look full, but it could still have room for more. When it's truly full, then you have "a good measure" (Luke 6:38). In today's Gospel, Jesus uses this everyday phenomenon to teach us about God's mercy. He offers us mercy in "good measure" to the degree that we show mercy to the people around us (Luke 6:38). By saying these words, Jesus expanded the original commandment, "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18). Few people need to be taught how to love themselves; it's our normal instinct. We all want to get our own "grain sacks" filled to the brim (even if we fill our sack with cheap substitutes for God's good grain!). Our natural care for ourselves, however, is but a dim reflection of the love Jesus wants us to have for other people. He wants us to reflect his own love and generosity. God does not give stingily to us—he gives "a good measure" of mercy, "packed together, shaken down, and overflowing" (Luke 6:38). And he gives this way even though we don't deserve it. So whenever you want to judge or condemn, whenever you feel hurt or rejected, he calls you to forgive in an overabundant way. Today, thank God for his mercy to you. Even more, ask the Holy Spirit to help you give this kind of "good measure" to someone else. For some offense against you, whether real or perceived, bring your hurt, indignation, or humiliation to Jesus. Ask him for the grace to forgive the other person, and imagine pouring your forgiveness lavishly on them, exactly the way you want to receive mercy from God. "Jesus, teach me to be merciful as my heavenly Father is merciful." Daniel 9:4-10
Psalm 79:8-9, 11, 13 |  clickable | From the time of my childhood I felt that one day I should be set free from this land of darkness. I believed it, not only because I had been told so by others, but my heart's most secret and deepest longings assurred me that there was in store for me another and more beautiful country–an abiding dwelling place.
— St. Thérèse of Lisieux | my2cents:
"Justice, O Lord, is on your side; we are shamefaced even to this day".
Today, our worldly people call many things injustice. There is one problem though. Who is saying what is unjust? Because if you ask one group, they have their opinion. Where does the truth lie? Where is the truth? You see, whence they throw out the bible, God's word, immorality rules. When this happens, the atrocious jungle law kicks in. Every man out for themselves. Dog eat dog. Pride fights begin. But we heard today that Justice is on God's side. And we are shamefaced when we are not on that side. | We pray today: "Help us, O God our savior, because of the glory of your name;Deliver us and pardon our sins
for your name's sake. Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins." It's a prayer that asks God not to be fair...to Himself, when we ask for mercy, isn't it? We deserve punishment for our sins, but we ask Him to overlook them. And protestants preach that there is no punishment for sins "once saved always saved". But, there is justice my friend. As Catholics, the first Christians in the world, we believe there is punishment, and forgiveness. There is a cleansing, that is actually a gift from above, something we need...to enter Heaven. | Our Lord said "Stop judging and you will not be judged." Oh how the worldly love this phrase to use against Christians. You see, the devil knows the bible than most Christians, for it is a super creature, way smarter, for if we were smarter we would've never fallen for temptation. Stop judging. What does that mean? We can't stop judging! Everything we do in life is a judgement! So what is our Lord really meaning? Well, as in the case of all protestant protests against Catholics, we must take what they say and read everything else that was meant by that phrase. In this case, we heard ""Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." TADA! You see? That's what our Lord means. Stop judging un-mercifully. That's what He means. We must condemn sin, but not condemn sinners to hell! Are you merciful my child? When I ask you that, you may think you are. Most people have a picture of themselves as a saint, just perfect, and to make sure you know it they will say "I'm not perfect" as if to paint themselves with a humble brush. That's the dumbest remark we could've ever invented, but we love to live by it, don't we? A perfect cop out excuse from sanctity. | Our Lord said "Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you". I am going to make a video to let people know who is NOT going to make it to Heaven. It's very simple my friend. You may think of mean murderers. You may think of thieves. You may think of adulterers and liars. There's a few of those in hell. But there's way many more for other reasons. Many are there simply because they cannot forgive. Many, because they cannot be merciful with their words.
EEP! Say what? Merciless people are in hell. Why? Because they refuse to forgive...our Lord. Ouch! And many more are there because they refuse to sacrifice themselves. They rather give themselves to the worldly sensations and pleasures, all things they coin "happiness". I'm guessing that's what their false idol is named, twisted name now "Gay" which actually is supposed to mean happy, merry, and cheerful right? The world twists the truth. The rainbow is a symbol of God's promise, and now it supposedly means something else. You see how the world changes things? Stop judging Adrian! I have an alcoholic loved one in my family. Another one I just heard is on drugs. If I love them, I will help them break from their horrible habits. And perhaps even save their life. But if I do not love them, truly, I will say I "accept" them for all their decisions and just let things slip and slide to avoid any conflict.
My dilemma is then, and I ask myself, "do I really love them?".
Because I'm not breaking down their doors to do an intervention. I'm not walking them to AA, or to a drug rehab center. I haven't even called to see how they are doing, in years! I'm just kind of wishing them well, and maybe I'll say a prayer if I remember.
You see? I think I am merciless.
You know I'm a choir guy. Choir director, forced now. I'm forcing myself to do what I did not ever want to do. But, it's been a blessing. For instance, there's this one song that said yesterday in Mass "Christ In Me Arise" and we sang "be now my footsteps taking Me where I must go".
We must take Christ to the People, His Flock.
And so, when I can't help someone from bad habits or living in lies, in a way, I am merciless.
And remember I said the merciless are in hell, or suffering in Purgatory at best, all the same. For being kept from God within self is a hell.
I've asked several within this past week about giving money to those asking for money on the street. Some say they refuse to give them money because they know what they are going to do with it. But how do you know without a doubt? Stop judging. Stop being merciless. When someone says "the people don't care" it's actually the person talking, pointing fingers, that don't care.
My job is to give and to give and to give until it actually hurts.
I was reading a scripture with my RCIA class yesterday that said our Lord asked a person to sell what they have and give to the poor. I noticed it didn't say "sell ALL you got". It just said to give to the poor, and if you don't got cash, then make some cash happen, and give! You can. Where there's a will, there's a a way. Give when asked.
I'm sorry I'm late in writing. I rushed to daily Mass and got caught up at work. But the Holy Spirit is working and living and active.
And if He is speaking, we must listen.
Give, in order to receive. Let go, and watch what happens. I gave up something new this Lent, I can't tell you what it is, but I'm having to let go and depend on God. I'm living day by day like this. I've failed already a couple times, but, boy do I want to get back on again! I am encouraging you. We can do this.
If you want Heaven, to be with God forever, let us do His will.
You can be forgiven. You can receive mercy. You can give. You can sacrifice your desires. You can sacrifice your dependencies. You can actually be a living and effective Saint, a true light in the world. Forget how many miracles or lives you know were saved. Forget all that. You be that light where you are, and let God Himself watch what happens in the eyes of millennia, thousands of years and days. Lord, we are here because we come to Hear You speak to us. Let us hear those words of soothing and healing grace over our souls, "I love you" and "I forgive you". So we can share that with the world that needs to hear it every day, and every moment we turn away. | from your brother in Christ our Lord,
adrian | Random online bible verse from a random verse generator: WOW
Titus 3:4–7
4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
