†Saint Quote
"The most deadly poison of our times is indifference. And this happens, although the praise of God should know no limits. Let us strive, therefore, to praise Him to the greatest extent of our powers."
— St. Maximilian Kolbe † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"There is another reason also why the soul has traveled safely in this obscurity; it has suffered: for the way of suffering is safer, and also more profitable, than that of rejoicing and of action. In suffering God gives strength, but in action and in joy the soul does but show its own weakness and imperfections. And in suffering, the soul practices and acquires virtue, and becomes pure, wiser, and more cautious."
— St. John of the Cross, p. 149
AN EXCERPT FROM
Dark Night of the Soul † VERSE OF THE DAY
"When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.""
Luke 1:41-45 |  click to read more | | ST. ANDREW KIM TAE-GON St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon (1821-1846) was born to a noble family in Korea, and was baptized at the age of 15 after his parents converted to the Catholic faith. Andrew's father, great-grandfather, and great-uncle were martyred during the government's staunch persecution against Christianity, leaving the remaining family in poverty. Andrew was later chosen to travel over 1,000 miles to the nearest seminary in China to be trained for the priesthood. He was ordained in Shanghai as the first native Korean priest in the Church's history of evangelizing in that country. He returned to Korea in secrecy to avoid detection by the authorities. Once back in his hometown, he worked to catechize the faithful until his bishop summoned him to Seoul to help smuggle French missionaries from China into Korea, with the aid of Chinese fishermen. During this operation he was caught and imprisoned by the border patrol, and charged as a traitor to his country. He was tortured and beheaded on September 16, 1846, at the age of 25. Pope John Paul II canonized Fr. Andrew Kim Tae-gon, along with 102 other Korean martyrs, on May 6, 1984. St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon is the patron saint of Korea. His feast day is celebrated on September 20th. | Memorial of Saints Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Priest, and Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and Companions, Martyrs Lectionary: 449
Reading I Ezr 1:1-6 In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia,
in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah,
the Lord inspired King Cyrus of Persia
to issue this proclamation throughout his kingdom,
both by word of mouth and in writing:
"Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia:
'All the kingdoms of the earth
the Lord, the God of heaven, has given to me,
and he has also charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem,
which is in Judah.
Therefore, whoever among you belongs to any part of his people,
let him go up, and may his God be with him!
Let everyone who has survived, in whatever place he may have dwelt,
be assisted by the people of that place
with silver, gold, goods, and cattle,
together with free-will offerings
for the house of God in Jerusalem.'" Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin
and the priests and Levites–
everyone, that is, whom God had inspired to do so–
prepared to go up to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem.
All their neighbors gave them help in every way,
with silver, gold, goods, and cattle,
and with many precious gifts
besides all their free-will offerings. Responsorial Psalm 126:1b-2ab, 2cd-3, 4-5, 6 R. (3) The Lord has done marvels for us.
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion, we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done marvels for us.
Then they said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad indeed.
R. The Lord has done marvels for us.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those that sow in tears shall reap rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done marvels for us.
Although they go forth weeping, carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing, carrying their sheaves.
R. The Lord has done marvels for us. Alleluia Mt 5:16 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Let your light shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 8:16-18 Jesus said to the crowd:
"No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel
or sets it under a bed;
rather, he places it on a lampstand
so that those who enter may see the light.
For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible,
and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light.
Take care, then, how you hear.
To anyone who has, more will be given,
and from the one who has not,
even what he seems to have will be taken away." | Daily Meditation: Luke 8:16-18 He places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light. (Luke 8:16) Would you buy a brand-new lamp and place a bulb in it, only to then put it in a closet or store it in your basement? Of course not! You bought that lamp, put a bulb in it, and then placed it in a dark room, all so that it could give light to all who enter. That's what Jesus is getting at in today's parable. We're the lamp, he's the one who has chosen us, and the "bulb" is the grace of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. And the darkness that needs to be illuminated? The world, filled with people who have yet to hear about and receive God's love and mercy. If we want our light to shine into the darkness, we need to proclaim Jesus, the Light of the World. And we should do that not only through our words but through the witness of our lives. We might not even realize it, but our faith, our hope, and our love make the transformative power of God's love and mercy visible for all to see. How does that happen? Here are some examples. We proclaim the gospel when, in faith, we trust in God's promises and hold fast to him, even as we navigate the ups and downs and twists and turns of life. We proclaim the gospel when, in the face of sickness, suffering, and death, we hold fast to the hope that we will one day live in heaven, forever in God's embrace. We proclaim the gospel when we love as Jesus did, willing to sacrifice for the good of others and to forgive those who have hurt us. This is what makes us shine in the world—living in faith, hope, and love. As we live this way, we ensure that wherever we are placed, we will be a bright light for the Lord. Remember that our light can shine not just for people far from the Lord but for one another as well. No matter how long we have been following Jesus, we can proclaim the gospel to our brothers and sisters both by our words and by how we live our lives. Then together we become a light that can never be concealed! "How can I shine for you today, Lord?" Ezra 1:1-6
Psalm 126:1-6 |  Listen to 2cents | From the book of Ezra:
"Therefore, whoever among you belongs to any part of his people,
let him go up, and may his God be with him!
Let everyone who has survived, in whatever place he may have dwelt,
be assisted by the people of that place
with silver, gold, goods, and cattle,
together with free-will offerings
for the house of God in Jerusalem.'"
Have you ever met someone that has said "I don't go to any church, I got my own thing going between me and God". Isn't that a defiant word that contradicts His word? All throughout the Bible we hear of congregations, and the only time to separate is from evil, and to have prayer time, only to come back to the congregation and share, and thus, make the light brighter! | We pray in the Psalms:
"Then they said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad indeed. The Lord has done marvels for us.
Although they go forth weeping, carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing, carrying their sheaves." | Our Lord speaks in Luke: "Jesus said to the crowd: "No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light." The story makes it very obvious that our Lord desires to be known, to be seen, to be transmitted, to be engendered, to be passed on, and to put rays forever. Light always continues as the source is continued, right? So long as we have the Son burning, we have light, right?
And in the same spiritual and even more reality, we have the Son of God shining in Heaven and to our hearts.
If you have Christ, why do you hide it? Why do you not pray in public? Why are you embarrassed at times? Why do you not speak up for Him? Why do you back away when people attack your faith? Why do you give into the ways of the world with fashions of speaking and dressing and thinking instead of the ways of God, in speaking and dressing and thinking? Do you see the countless ways we can hide the light? It can happen in a conversation with a parent with their child too, the safest haven, but something stops you from sharing the light! How can we hide the faith from our own children!? It happens. And if it happens at home, it can and will happen anywhere else. The child may never know Christ the light of all truth. Most saints were instilled light from light, God from God, that is, when the parents have light to share...they have God to share...and God is True Love and the very truth itself! | Yet our Lord continues: "Take care, then, how you hear. To anyone who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away." Take care HOW you hear. Have you ever heard someone speak and you got offended? It happens! We take things in offense instead of things as of reprimand and reproach for holy obedience. Our society has gone weak and has taught that self esteem reigns supreme.
And we hear "it's not what you say, but HOW you say it", right? And many times it is true, you can spit venom from a vile heart.
But what if I take the St. Francis approach to that quote and invert it to read: "it's not what you hear, but HOW you hear it", right?
And so an example would be when someone insults you, let's say about your body weight, or your spirituality, and let's say they made a mean remark about you in either aspect, would you take it as truth, or as a vile insult that needs a backhanded approach to spit right back at them?
I've learned that we can learn from vile comments. Some are useless rants, but some can actually help you.
So, be like Christ and take it with salt!
So, be like Christ and shine the light on it and see what's really there...a truth that needs to be taken seriously or a useless rant from the dark side which is STILL good because you can learn humility from it! Perhaps you need to deflate the head some! LOL.
Anyhow, I'm speaking of what I see with others and myself.
Can you see how important the light OF CHRIST is now?
Can you live without it? I dare not. You better not.
I don't walk outside my house out in the desert country without lights, especially now with snake season loose, you don't want venom in you suddenly.
In the same way, I don't walk around without Christ the Light in my head and heart out in the world of darkness. I don't want their venom of depravity and darkness injected in me to slowly kill me from the inside out. Let's pray:
Lord, I'm in this world You created. I am learning to fear You, and this fear means a holy fear to never leave You!
I desire to Love thee rightly, to Love thee with faith.
I pray for this for my world to see the light, and for me to be found with lights on like the virgins at the day of Your Arrival...
Now and Forever! amen | from your brother in Christ,
Adrian |  click to hear | Random bible verse generator: WOW
Romans 12:11
11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit,1 serve the Lord. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
