†Saint Quote
"You can do more with the grace of God than you think."
— St. John Baptist de la Salle † MEDITATION OF THE DAY†
"The Church has been uniting her praises to those which the angels and her own elect children have been giving to God in heaven. In this way, she already begins to do, here below, what is destined to occupy her for all eternity. United to the praises of the man-God, this praise, the prayer of the Church, becomes divine and the Liturgy of the earth becomes one with that of the celestial hierarchies in the Court of Christ, echoing that everlasting praise which springs forth from the furnace of infinite love which is the Most Holy Trinity."
— Dom Jean-Baptist Chautard, p. 217
AN EXCERPT FROM
Soul of the Apostolate † VERSE OF THE DAY
"We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose."
Romans 8:28 † TODAY'S FEAST DAY EXALTATION OF THE CROSS September 14th is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (also known as the Triumph of the Cross). Early in the 4th century St. Helena, mother of Roman Emperor Constantine, went to Jerusalem in search of the actual locations where the events of Jesus' life took place. She found the True Cross which immediately became an object of veneration for the Church. Constantine built a basilica on Calvary marking the site of the Crucifixion and dedicated it on this day in the year 335 A.D. The basilica was later destroyed by the Persians and the true cross was stolen. This day also marks the recovery of the cross by Emperor Heraclius II who returned it to Jerusalem, carrying it on his own back and restoring it to the Church in 629 A.D. |  click to read more | | ST. ALBERT OF JERUSALEM St. Albert of Jerusalem (d. 1215) was born to a noble family in Italy, and was well educated in theology and law. He went on to become a priest and bishop and served in important posts as a peacemaker; he served as a mediator between Pope Clement III and the Holy Roman Emperor, between the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Kingdom of Cyprus, and between the Knights Templar and the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. In 1205 he was made Patriarch of Jerusalem by Pope Innocent III during the time when the Saracens had control of the city. In this position he was respected by all for his sanctity and intelligence. Because of the Muslim presence in Jerusalem, Albert took up residence in Acre overlooking the great city, as well as Mt. Carmel where a group of holy hermits lived. Albert was asked by St. Brocard, who was prior of the group of hermits, to draw up a rule of life for them which became the beginning of the Carmelite Order. In 1214 Albert was summoned to serve in the General Lateran Council, but was murdered before he could attend. The Master of the Hospital of the Holy Spirit, whom he had rebuked and deposed for immorality, stabbed him to death on September 14th in the Church of Saint John of Acre, while he was part of the procession on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. His feast day is September 14th. | Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Lectionary: 638
Reading I Nm 21:4b-9 With their patience worn out by the journey,
the people complained against God and Moses,
"Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert,
where there is no food or water?
We are disgusted with this wretched food!" In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents,
which bit the people so that many of them died.
Then the people came to Moses and said,
"We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you.
Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us."
So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses,
"Make a saraph and mount it on a pole,
and if any who have been bitten look at it, they will live."
Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole,
and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent
looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. Responsorial Psalm 78:1bc-2, 34-35, 36-37, 38 R. (see 7b) Do not forget the works of the Lord!
Hearken, my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable, I will utter mysteries from of old.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
While he slew them they sought him and inquired after God again,
Remembering that God was their rock and the Most High God, their redeemer.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
But they flattered him with their mouths and lied to him with their tongues,
Though their hearts were not steadfast toward him, nor were they faithful to his covenant.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord!
But he, being merciful, forgave their sin and destroyed them not;
Often he turned back his anger and let none of his wrath be roused.
R. Do not forget the works of the Lord! Reading II Phil 2:6-11 Brothers and sisters: Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Alleluia R. Alleluia, alleluia.
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you,
because by your Cross you have redeemed the world.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 3:13-17 Jesus said to Nicodemus:
"No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life." For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him. | Daily Meditation: John 3:13-17 So must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. (John 3:14-15) Happy Roodmas! It's funny to think that this was a common greeting between medieval Christians on this feast day. Although it sounds strange to us, the word "Rood" is the Middle English word for "cross," so the greeting means, "Happy Cross Day!" The story behind this celebration focuses on St. Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine. She is said to have been eighty years old when she made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem around AD 326. Her goal was to restore the holy sites of the city. Once there, she ordered the destruction of a Temple to the goddess Venus that had been built on Mount Calvary. During an excavation of the site, three crosses were discovered. There was no way of knowing which cross was the one that held the Lord, so Helena had each of the crosses brought to a woman who was near death. Although the woman showed no improvement after touching the first two crosses, as soon as the woman touched the third one, she was immediately healed. The true cross had been found! To honor the Lord and commemorate this miraculous event, Helena and Constantine ordered that a grand church be built over the site. It may seem odd to hunt so fervently, build a basilica, and have a feast day to celebrate the instrument of torture that killed the Son of God. But Helena knew that this cross is also the instrument of our salvation. She knew that the cross brings us forgiveness, healing from the wounds of sin, and strength for our journey to heaven. St. Helena devoted herself to finding the true cross, and God rewarded her greatly for it. Today, let's devote ourselves to finding the power of this cross in our lives: the power to heal, to save, and to strengthen all who gaze upon it in faith. Happy Roodmas! "Lord, I come to your cross in thanksgiving for your sacrifice. Heal me. Forgive me. Strengthen me." Numbers 21:4-9
Psalm 78:1-2, 34-38
Philippians 2:6-11 |  Listen to 2cents | From the book of Numbers:
"So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses,
"Make a saraph and mount it on a pole,
and if any who have been bitten look at it, they will live."
Look at it.
Look at the cause of your dying self.
Look at what happened.
Your sin. Your sin is the cause of this.
Look at it!
I have a hard time looking at video footage of my accident that caused me severe pain, a broken pelvis. It doesn't feel good to role the tape.
What if I told you that, it is that what you love in sin, that is the cause of the pain of Christ...the living body of Christ today?
Ouch. | Let's pray:
"But they flattered him with their mouths
and lied to him with their tongues,
Though their hearts were not steadfast toward him, nor were they faithful to his covenant.
Do not forget the works of the Lord!"
Have you ever heard someone say "I love you" to your face, and then go and backstab you? It happens. It even happened to today's saint, a priest who was stabbed in the back in the middle of today's Feast Holy Mass. Can you trust in human loves? Not very far, you can trust only to a certain extent. But God loves more than humanly possible. Just try to think about it...true love. | In the Holy Gospel according to John, we heard:
"Jesus said to Nicodemus:
"No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life." The serpent was innocent, right? But God allowed serpents to bite the wretched people, the ungrateful, and perhaps a few grateful souls too, and many hypocrites along the way. But the animal itself is innocent, the creature, right?
Think Jesus our Lord. He is innocent. But He has been given authority for right judgement overall the world. Jesus is King and there is no other. Jesus has been lifted up by none other than sinners. So we can see the wretchedness of how we are with God. Ungrateful, and ungodly we become. How bad we treat Him, to this day.
To me, the pandemics we face is an eye opener. Look at how ill we treat God. Now your finances will hurt, for not sharing. Look at how we have forgotten God on Sundays, now you will not be allowed to go anywhere, stay home, you are grounded! Look at the sacrilege and how freely people use GOD's name in vain "Oh my GOD!" they say for anything, even dead things, or a slanderous remark. They call themselves "Christian" they say.
Look!
And so the devil flees from the crucifix, yeah evil, it helped put Jesus on the cross but then...it flees...guilt, shame, remorse, or down right pride. Pride makes us run from the cross, to turn from the cross as if to say "I don't need YOU" to our Lord.
But our Lord says from the cross to you: "Look at Me".
When I saw Him, literally, in my vision, my physical body was crying and I didn't know it, and my soul spirit was entranced and mesmerized by My Father on the Cross. And it was an invitation...to Love.
So when He says "Look at ME", He is saying "Love Me".
Imagine you beat someone, gave them a black eye, and now you have to look at them, a year later, and they have scars, and you remember your temporary thrill you had...perhaps a temptation you had succumbed to, and now...look at them...what have you done? They are scarred forever, and you? What about you? Is it fair?
Now we must face selfishness, the abuse to God Himself.
Therefore, to look at the cross, the crucifix, is to look at humility.
God doesn't ask for help from the cross.
God asks for an outpouring of love...if no longer for Him...then for one another. Such is Christ, and such is true Christianity. | "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him." They said that in Heaven, God chose Christ, in the book of Revelation, to be ruler of the whole world. Christ has the ultimate say now. Jesus is Christ, Christ is Savior. His love design is that of salvation. Lifted on the cross, His Love design is manifested in His manifesto, "I desire Mercy, not Sacrifice". And then, our sacrifice becomes mercy. Think of dying to self. Think of true humility, a meek soul, for the cause of God, Love. Let's pray:
Lord Jesus, My Christ, Our Savior,
I desire You above all things.
I long for You in my soul.
Help me and help us make a true return to Honor You with a true heart, in Your precious body on earth, so that we may Heal You, and tend to You, by always turning to You, and holding the crucifix so near and dear, and thus illuminating our souls and scattering the darkness...for good, and forever....
Amen. | from your brother in Christ,
Adrian |  click to hear | Random bible verse generator: WOW Psalm 24:7–8 7 Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle! | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
