 | Is Your Work a Vocation? It doesn't take much looking in our economy to see that in fact there is a great deal of work that doesn't pray, work that disconnects us from our sources of life rather than moves us toward wholeness. For work to pray, it must have a sense of vocation attached to it—we must feel some calling toward that work and the wholeness of which it is a part, that there is something holy in good work. Vocation is a calling and prayer is a call and response, deep calling to deep. For work to pray, to be vocation, it must be brought into a larger conversation. "The idea of vocation attaches to work a cluster of other ideas, including devotion, skill, pride, pleasure, the good stewardship of means and materials," Wendell Berry writes. It is these "intangibles of economic value" that keep us from viewing work as "something good only to escape: 'Thank God it's Friday.'" — from the book Wendell Berry and the Given Life
by Ragan Sutterfield |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
APRIL 28, 2021
"Be peace-loving. Peace is a precious treasure to be sought with great zeal. You are well aware that our sins arouse God's anger. You must change your life, therefore, so that God in his mercy will pardon you. What we conceal from men is known to God. Be converted, then, with a sincere heart. Live your life that you may receive the blessing of the Lord. Then the peace of God our Father will be with you always."
— St. Francis of Paola †MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"How many souls might reach a high degree of sanctity if properly directed from the first. I know God can sanctify souls without help, but just as He gives the gardener the skill to tend rare and delicate plants while fertilizing them Himself, so He wishes to use others in His cultivation of souls. What would happen if the gardener were so clumsy that he could not graft his trees properly, or knew so little about them that he wanted to make a peach tree bear roses?"
— St. Therese of Lisieux, p. 64
AN EXCERPT FROM
The Story of a Soul †VERSE OF THE DAY
"But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust."
Matthew 5:44-45 |  click to read more | | ST. LOUIS DE MONTFORT St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673 – 1716) was born in Brittany, France, to a large farming family. As a child he displayed an unusual spiritual maturity and spent much time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. At the age of 19 he went on foot to Paris to study theology at a prestigious school with the support of a benefactor; along the way he gave his possessions to the poor and made a lifelong vow to live in poverty supported entirely on alms. He was ordained a priest at the age of 27, and at 32 discovered his calling to be an itinerant preacher, receiving the title of "Apostolic Missionary" from the Pope after his bishop tried to silence him. For the next 17 years he preached missions in countless towns and villages throughout France with an emphasis on renewal and reform. His fiery devotion, oratory skill, and identification with the poor led many souls to conversion. He was persecuted by the Jansenists, who, in their spiritual pride, poisoned him, banished him from preaching in their dioceses, and made an assassination attempt on his life. He had a profound devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and taught on the power of the Holy Rosary. He also wrote a number of classic works on Marian devotion, the most famous being True Devotion to Mary. His feast day is April 28. | Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter Lectionary: 281
Reading I Acts 12:24—13:5a The word of God continued to spread and grow. After Barnabas and Saul completed their relief mission,
they returned to Jerusalem,
taking with them John, who is called Mark. Now there were in the Church at Antioch prophets and teachers:
Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene,
Manaen who was a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,
"Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul
for the work to which I have called them."
Then, completing their fasting and prayer,
they laid hands on them and sent them off. So they, sent forth by the Holy Spirit,
went down to Seleucia
and from there sailed to Cyprus.
When they arrived in Salamis,
they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. Responsorial Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 6 and 8 R. (4) O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R. Alleluia.
May God have pity on us and bless us; may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth; among all nations, your salvation.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R. Alleluia.
May the nations be glad and exult because you rule the peoples in equity; the nations on the earth you guide.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R. Alleluia.
May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us, and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Jn 8:12 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 12:44-50 Jesus cried out and said,
"Whoever believes in me believes not only in me
but also in the one who sent me,
and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me.
I came into the world as light,
so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness.
And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them,
I do not condemn him,
for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world.
Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words
has something to judge him: the word that I spoke,
it will condemn him on the last day,
because I did not speak on my own,
but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak.
And I know that his commandment is eternal life.
So what I say, I say as the Father told me." | Daily Meditation: Acts 12:24–13:5 Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul. (Acts 13:2) Today's first reading describes the beginning of St. Paul's missionary journeys. For the next fifteen chapters of the Book of Acts, we will follow this heroic apostle all over Asia Minor and southern Europe as he preaches the gospel and establishes churches. But what about St. Barnabas, his first partner in mission? Paul is such an outsized figure that he tends to overshadow Barnabas—and that's a shame. Because if it weren't for Barnabas, we wouldn't have a St. Paul. Barnabas' real name was Joseph, but the first apostles nicknamed him Barnabas, which is Aramaic for "son of encouragement" (Acts 4:36). And that's exactly what he was. He was always caring for the oppressed, the misunderstood, and the marginalized. He was always seeking to build them up and encourage them. For instance, he once sold a piece of land he owned and gave the money to the apostles to help them care for the poorer members of the new church (4:37). Barnabas also stood up for Paul when the Jerusalem church questioned Paul's conversion (Acts 9:26-30). And when the church at Antioch began to grow, Barnabas traveled to Tarsus to find Paul. He succeeded in convincing Paul—who still had a bit of a bad reputation in Jerusalem—to come back to Antioch and become his helper (11:25-26). Barnabas stood by his cousin John Mark after Paul refused to travel with him because John Mark had abandoned them on an earlier mission (Acts 13:13; 15:36-38). People's pasts didn't matter to Barnabas, only their futures. He didn't focus on their deficits. Instead, he sought to help them discover how they could serve the Lord. What about you? We all need encouragement. That's because we can be so accustomed to thinking about where we fall short that we lose sight of God's gifts to us and the fact that he is calling us to serve him. Don't fall into that trap! Let Barnabas' witness encourage you. God has given you special gifts, and he wants you to use them to build up his Church. He may even have a special nickname for you! "Father, help me recognize my gifts and use them for your glory." Psalm 67:2-3, 5-6, 8
John 12:44-50 |  clickable | 'Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also' (Mt 6:21). To know a man's heart, to see what state he is in, necessarily involves finding out the treasure with which the heart is concerned, the treasure that liberates and fulfills it or the treasure that destroys and enslaves it…
— Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Pope Francis)
from his book The Way of Humility |  Listen to 2cents Podcast Going4th | | my2cents:
""Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Then, completing their fasting and prayer, they laid hands on them and sent them off."
Set apart means holy. When God calls us to be set apart, this was the beginning of His relationship with us from the very beginning. What does set apart mean? Division? Only from sin. Not from each other, how else could one reach a sinner? So, they laid hands on them, and were sent off, just like when people are sent on a mission. Funny, I been real busy, and a guy came in and asked for a prayer before being sent off to work. And so I lay my hands over him and prayed with him and over him. It was a moving moment really. To the non believer, this is nothing, and to the anti-Christ, this is what they call anti-religious. But to me, it was a blessing as it was to him. He left comforted, as if to have been given something, received something, and this is where faith kicks in and the light begins to shine. Bless everyone. Whether they ask or not. Our Lord asks us to be as He is, merciful, and gracious. I was at a carnival festival, hundreds gathered, having just gone to confession, I walked among the crowds praying for everyone there...mercy. Who does that? Is that weird? To be praying for everyone you encounter? As I write, they are showing me a picture of a high school athlete in a coma right now, as of last night, on the brink, and I prayed for him instantly, and things happen when we pray, whether prayers are answered or not, things start happening, when we open up the line of communication with our Lord in Heaven, our True Father. | We pray in the Psalms: "May God have pity on us and bless us; may he let his face shine upon us. So may your way be known upon earth; among all nations, your salvation. O God, let all the nations praise you!"
And that is what I pray for when I pray for Mercy. I pray for pity. Have pity on me, a poor sinner. Have pitty on those I meet, poor sinners. Have pity on me, as I have pity on them! That's what we pray in the Lord's prayer. Dig down for the light, because we cover ourselves with sin, and put on a facade, don't we? | Our Lord speaks: "I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness. And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them,
I do not condemn him, for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world."
As I was typing another person just came in, and he messed up, and now this mess up could affect his whole livelihood. I told him that at our safety meeting, I told everyone that what everyone does matters, as we are all in the same boat. One guy got pulled over in our truck, passed everything with officers swarming the truck looking for defects as we haul our heavy equipment. He passed, and because he passed our whole family business will be given a higher score. But sometimes, a guy doesn't check his stuff right and we get a citation which affects our whole company score as a whole! So there is no such thing as "personal sin" and "what I do doesn't hurt other people". That's a lie. And it is the lie being proposed by lifestyles being propagated in the world. What you do in secret is being announced loudly in the light. Nothing will be hidden, everything is being watched, and being brought to light. Therefore, Our Good Lord has no condemnation to usher out because we condemn ourselves with sin. If there is one thing people don't like to hear is about their own sins, their own mistakes. It is a tough pill to swallow! I know I don't like to hear it. But OUT with it. Bring it out! For the sake of the whole ark of the covenant...the body of Christ! | Let us pray:
Lord, I desire mercy, help me be merciful.
I desire love, help me be more loving.
I desire to be light, help me step out of darkness.
I desire to love You, help me love Thee More and more!
In your Most Precious name Jesus I pray.... | from your brother in Christ our Lord,
adrian |  click to hear | Random Bible Verse from online generator: Romans 5:3–5
3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
