.: 09/22/21

Wednesday, September 22, 2021

† " ...Proclaiming The Good News . . ."

†Saint Quote
"September 22, 2021
"Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you."
— St. Thomas Aquinas

†Meditation of the Day
"All our perfection consists in being conformed, united and consecrated to Jesus Christ; and therefore the most perfect of all devotions is, without any doubt, that which the most perfectly conforms, unites and consecrates us to Jesus Christ. Now, Mary being the most conformed of all creatures to Jesus Christ, it follows that, of all devotions, that which most consecrates and conforms the soul to Our Lord is devotion to His holy Mother, and that the more a soul is consecrated to Mary, the more it is consecrated to Jesus."
— St. Louis De Montfort, p. 65
An Excerpt From
True Devotion to Mary

†Verse of the Day
"One of the scribes, when he came forward and heard them disputing and saw how well he had answered them, asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus replied, "The first is this: 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
Mark 12:28-31

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St. Ignatius of Santhia (1686-1770) was born in Italy to an upper-class family. He received his early education from a devout priest, a relative of his mother, who inspired him to join the priesthood. He studied philosophy and theology, and after his ordination served as a diocesan priest for six years. St. Ignatius earned a reputation as an excellent preacher of retreats and missions, and he had a promising future within the diocese. His family and parishioners were surprised and disappointed when he decided to join the Capuchin Franciscans in Turin as a poor, humble friar. However, St. Ignatius flourished in the poverty and simplicity of the Franciscan way of life. He became well-known for his wisdom and sanctity, and many people from all walks of life came to him for confession and spiritual direction. He had a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and prayed the rosary faithfully. He served God with humble obedience and inspired this virtue in the Franciscan novices over whom he had charge. He spent his last years on a sickbed where he continued to hear confessions and give direction to his visitors. St. Ignatius of Santhia's feast day is September 22nd.

Wednesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 451
Reading I

Ezr 9:5-9

At the time of the evening sacrifice, I, Ezra, rose in my wretchedness,
and with cloak and mantle torn I fell on my knees,
stretching out my hands to the LORD, my God.

I said: "My God, I am too ashamed and confounded to raise my face to you,
O my God, for our wicked deeds are heaped up above our heads
and our guilt reaches up to heaven.
From the time of our fathers even to this day
great has been our guilt,
and for our wicked deeds we have been delivered up,
we and our kings and our priests,
to the will of the kings of foreign lands,
to the sword, to captivity, to pillage, and to disgrace,
as is the case today.

"And now, but a short time ago, mercy came to us from the LORD, our God,
who left us a remnant and gave us a stake in his holy place;
thus our God has brightened our eyes
and given us relief in our servitude.
For slaves we are, but in our servitude our God has not abandoned us;
rather, he has turned the good will
of the kings of Persia toward us.
Thus he has given us new life
to raise again the house of our God and restore its ruins,
and has granted us a fence in Judah and Jerusalem."

Responsorial Psalm

Tobit 13:2, 3-4a, 4befghn, 7-8

R. (1b) Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
He scourges and then has mercy;

he casts down to the depths of the nether world,

and he brings up from the great abyss.
No one can escape his hand.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
Praise him, you children of Israel, before the Gentiles,

for though he has scattered you among them,

he has shown you his greatness even there.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
So now consider what he has done for you,

and praise him with full voice.
Bless the Lord of righteousness,

and exalt the King of ages.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
In the land of my exile I praise him

and show his power and majesty to a sinful nation.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
Bless the Lord, all you his chosen ones,

and may all of you praise his majesty.
Celebrate days of gladness, and give him praise.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.

Alleluia

Mk 1:15

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Kingdom of God is at hand;
repent and believe in the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Lk 9:1-6

Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority
over all demons and to cure diseases,
and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God
and to heal the sick.
He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey,
neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money,
and let no one take a second tunic.
Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there.
And as for those who do not welcome you,
when you leave that town,
shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them."
Then they set out and went from village to village
proclaiming the good news and curing diseases everywhere.

Daily Meditation: Ezra 9:5-9

He has given us new life to raise again the house of our God and restore its ruins. (Ezra 9:9)

Ezra and the exiles had finally returned home to Jerusalem. But their city lay in ruins, and the Temple had been ransacked. Nehemiah had begun to rebuild the walls of the city, but Ezra could see that more than the walls needed reconstruction. God's people had crumbled; they needed to return to the Lord by renewing their covenant with him. Many had married foreigners, embraced the customs of the surrounding nations, and fallen away from their faith. So what should have been a joyful reunion felt more like a rescue mission to orphans living amid the rubble.

Grief-stricken, Ezra tore his clothes and knelt in repentance on behalf of his people. But even in his sorrow over their sins, he held fast to the faithfulness of the Lord, who had "brightened our eyes and given us relief" (Ezra 9:8). Ezra knew that by giving the people a chance to restore the Temple, God had given them a new beginning, not only in Jerusalem, but in their hearts as well.

We all go through times when we drift away from the Lord or falter in living out his call for us. The "temple" of our own hearts can be broken down, cluttered by sin and in need of renovation. Like Ezra, we might feel overwhelmed by the consequences of our sins. But just as he did for Ezra and the people of Judah, God wants to "brighten our eyes." He wants to give us the grace and strength we need to return and rebuild.

When we turn back to the Lord in repentance, he fills us with hope and the energy of the Spirit to take the steps to build up our temple. Our building materials aren't bricks and mortar; they might be the decision to return to daily prayer or Confession or to seek the encouragement of a brother or sister in the Lord. In all these ways, God reminds us that he is with us and will give us the tools and divine grace for the task before us.

"Thank you, Lord, for brightening my eyes and giving me the chance to begin again."

(Psalm) Tobit 13:2-4, 7-8
Luke 9:1-6

Listen to 2cents

From Ezra:

For slaves we are, but in our servitude our God has not abandoned us;

rather, he has turned the good will

of the kings of Persia toward us.

Thus he has given us new life

to raise again the house of our God and restore its ruins,

and has granted us a fence in Judah and Jerusalem."

We pray in the Psalms:
"Bless the Lord, all you his chosen ones, and may all of you praise his majesty.
Celebrate days of gladness, and give him praise. Blessed be God, who lives for ever."

And we pray on more:

"So now consider what he has done for you, praise him with full voice.
Bless the Lord of righteousness, and exalt the King of ages."

I'm called to sing. Sometimes, and lately, I've been wondering, why I don't sing with FULL VOICE. I hold back, for many reasons. Because I think I drown out the quiet singers, and because I am afraid to be overbearing, and because sometimes well, I'm just not putting my 100% into it, for whatever is CHOKING me back!

What is choking our faith my friend?

Our Lord speaks in Luke:

"Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority

over all demons and to cure diseases,

and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God

and to heal the sick.

He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey,

neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money,

and let no one take a second tunic."

May we all be reminded that we are a missionary Church.
All the churches in our country were at one point missions.
This is a powerful symbol of our Holy Church. We are on a mission. That is why at the end of Mass we are called in what is called the "great commissioning", what we know as the final blessing, which is what Christ our Lord does before ascending into Heaven. We have to take a look around. Everything is fleeting, except one thing...our Faith, our Bond with God, our relationship.

Our Lord has given power to the Church to cast out demons, to cure diseases! Do you believe?

Then why do so few of us take to the Church...our very selves, our very loved ones, to be freed and to be cured?
Do you know that spiritual maladies can become physical maladies more often than not?

If we are not well with God, we may take on diseases that we may get well with God. Does that make sense?
Once I get sick, I hit my knees, first things first, get well with God.
Confessions are healing. Anointing of sick is healing. Being truly united to God is healing. Touching God with faith is healing.
Now, how are people going to be touched by God Himself?

He Himself went to the people, because the crippled and the lame cannot come to Him.
Remember the story of the calling from God. How it changes everything, and healing begins.
We are a pilgrim Church. On a Journey. On a Mission.

I am calling on you to remain steadfast in your walk towards our end. That you may be strengthened. That you may be healed and that the healing may let us help one another to Him.

Let's pray.
Lord, You've said to take nothing with us, and indeed I will take nothing but one thing...Love of God, in Holy Faith.
May we be strengthened today by Your grace, and may we find healing, soothing Words to our Soul, that we may make this mission on earth a victorious mission, which You have already proclaimed in the end. I Love Thee My Lord, My General, My Father, My ALL!

amen

from your brother in Christ,
Adrian