†Saint Quote
""We should take as a maxim never to be surprised at current difficulties, no more than at a passing breeze, because with a little patience we shall see them disappear. Time changes everything."
— St. Vincent de Paul † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"When we come into church from the outside our ears are filled with the racket of the city, the words of those who have accompanied us, the laboring and quarreling of our own thoughts, the disquiet of our hearts' wishes and worries, hurts and joys. How are we possibly to hear what God is saying? That we listen at all is something; not everyone does. It is even better when we pay attention and make a real effort to understand what is being said. But all this is not yet the attentive stillness in which God's word can take root. This must be established before the service begins, if possible in the silence on the way to church, still better in a brief period of composure the evening before."
— Msgr. Romano Guardini, p. 17
AN EXCERPT FROM
Meditations Before Mass TODAY'S FEAST DAY OUR LADY OF RANSOM (OUR LADY OF MERCY) St. Peter Nolasco (12th c.) was inspired to establish a religious order for the ransom of Christians from Muslim captivity. On August 1, 1218 the Blessed Virgin appeared to St. Peter Nolasco along with his confessor, St. Raymond of Peñafort, and to King James I of the Kingdom of Aragon to verify the Divine inspiration of this mission. Word of the Marian apparition soon spread to the entire kingdom. The new religious foundation, called the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy (the Mercedarians), was established and approved by Pope Gregory IX. The order worked to raise money to ransom Christians who had been captured and enslaved by Muslims, and to offer themselves, if necessary, as payment for their release. A feast was instituted under the title of Our Lady of Ransom and observed on September 24, later extended to the entire Church. † VERSE OF THE DAY
"But you, be self-possessed in all circumstances; put up with hardship; perform the work of an evangelist; fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance."
2 Timothy 4:5-8 |  click to read more | | ST. GERARD SAGREDO St. Gerard Sagredo (980–1046 A.D.) was born in Venice, Italy. From an early age he desired to dedicate his life to God, and as a young man became a Benedictine monk. He first served as abbot at a monastery in Venice, but left to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. While passing through Hungary he met the Hungarian king, St. Stephen, who asked him to stay in his country to evangelize and minister to his people. St. Gerard agreed, and was named Bishop of Csanád and the royal tutor of the Hungarian prince. He ministered tirelessly among the Hungarian people and helped to convert the whole country to Christianity, for which he is called the "Apostle of Hungary." After the death of King St. Stephen there was a pagan uprising against the Christians, and St. Gerard was martyred for the faith along with two others. His death took place on a hill in Budapest which is now named after him; according to one tradition he was placed in a barrel lined with spikes, and rolled down the hill. He was declared a saint in 1083 by Pope St. Gregory VII. St. Gerard Sagredo is the patron saint of Hungary, and his feast day is September 24th. | Friday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 453
Reading I Hg 2:1-9 In the second year of King Darius,
on the twenty-first day of the seventh month,
the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai:
Tell this to the governor of Judah,
Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel,
and to the high priest Joshua, son of Jehozadak,
and to the remnant of the people: Who is left among you
that saw this house in its former glory?
And how do you see it now?
Does it not seem like nothing in your eyes?
But now take courage, Zerubbabel, says the LORD,
and take courage, Joshua, high priest, son of Jehozadak,
And take courage, all you people of the land,
says the LORD, and work!
For I am with you, says the LORD of hosts.
This is the pact that I made with you
when you came out of Egypt,
And my spirit continues in your midst;
do not fear!
For thus says the LORD of hosts:
One moment yet, a little while,
and I will shake the heavens and the earth,
the sea and the dry land.
I will shake all the nations,
and the treasures of all the nations will come in,
And I will fill this house with glory,
says the LORD of hosts.
Mine is the silver and mine the gold,
says the LORD of hosts.
Greater will be the future glory of this house
than the former, says the LORD of hosts;
And in this place I will give you peace,
says the LORD of hosts! Responsorial Psalm 43:1, 2, 3, 4 R. (5) Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God.
Do me justice, O God, and fight my fight against a faithless people; from the deceitful and impious man rescue me.
R. Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God.
For you, O God, are my strength. Why do you keep me so far away?
Why must I go about in mourning, with the enemy oppressing me?
R. Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God.
Send forth your light and your fidelity; they shall lead me on
And bring me to your holy mountain, to your dwellingplace.
R. Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God.
Then will I go in to the altar of God, the God of my gladness and joy;
Then will I give you thanks upon the harp, O God, my God!
R. Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God. Alleluia Mk 10:45 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Son of Man came to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 9:18-22 Once when Jesus was praying in solitude,
and the disciples were with him,
he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"
They said in reply, "John the Baptist; others, Elijah;
still others, 'One of the ancient prophets has arisen.'"
Then he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Peter said in reply, "The Christ of God."
He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone. He said, "The Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised." | Daily Meditation: Haggai 2:1-9 Greater will be the future glory of this house than the former. (Haggai 2:9) Imagine how encouraged Zerubbabel and his companions must have been when they heard this prophetic word. After forty years of exile in Babylon, they had returned to a Jerusalem in ruins. And yet the Lord was telling them to "take courage" and not to lose heart (Haggai 2:4). If they restored the Temple, he would not only fill it with his glory, but that glory would become even greater (2:7, 9). The Temple was ultimately restored, and it stood for several hundred years afterward. Certainly, the Jewish people experienced God's glory there. But Haggai's prophecy also hinted at something greater than God dwelling in a physical building. It was foreshadowing the promise that God would fill us with his glory. Together, as "living stones," we make up the Church (1 Peter 2:5). God's presence dwells in each of us, and the clearer it shines forth from each of us, the brighter the glory of the Church becomes. One of the best ways to keep God's glory shining out of us is through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Confession clears away the sin that obscures God's presence in us. We are restored to the grace we've lost and are reconnected to the one who is the source of grace and glory. Many parishes offer Confession on Saturdays. That makes tomorrow an opportunity to be restored! So be encouraged. Remember that Confession is not only about your sin. It's also about God's goodness. It's about receiving the grace of his presence so that you can live as a new creation and shine with his glory. Think of Zerubbabel and the people who rebuilt the Temple with him. When you go to Confession, you are doing your part to restore God's temple, the Church. After you make your confession, stay in church for a while and thank God that he has cleared away everything that blocks you from him. Rejoice that you carry his presence within you. Resolve that you will share that presence with the people you encounter. And remember that you are an essential part of the glory of God shining through the Church. "Lord, may your light shine in me today!" Psalm 43:1-4
Luke 9:18-22 |  Listen to 2cents | Our Lord speaks:
"And take courage, all you people of the land,
says the LORD, and work!
For I am with you, says the LORD of hosts.
This is the pact that I made with you
when you came out of Egypt,
And my spirit continues in your midst;
do not fear!" | We pray Psalms:
"Do me justice, O God, and fight my fight against a faithless people; from the deceitful and impious man rescue me.
Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God."
What does it mean to fight the faithless? It doesn't mean physical abuse, like the faithless do, when they slap and punch and stab the faithful, literally. It means to over come them, and now we have to think of how our Lord overcame death into life from the beginning and even in Mother Mary, overshadowed, overcome with a new life. | Our Lord speaks:
"Once when Jesus was praying in solitude,
and the disciples were with him,
he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"
They said in reply, "John the Baptist; others, Elijah;
still others, 'One of the ancient prophets has arisen.'"
Then he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Peter said in reply, "The Christ of God."
He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone. He said, "The Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised." | Who do people say God is? You will get thousands of variations in Christianity alone! Let alone all the non believers that will range in sayings from "Spaghetti Monster" to "the super power" and "the spirit".
Is God only Spirit? Is He only a power? Is He a monster really? Indeed to me He is terrible, meaning life shaking, but He doesn't operate that way. He operates in subtleness. He operates through the meek, the lowly, the humble.
Who is God to you?
It has been revealed to me and now I prophesy in His name: God is Our Father, our True Father and Father Savior. And this man that has been crucified, is TRUE MAN, and Our Father.
I want you to know, What He does forever is astounding, like Samson's feats of devastating entire armies and destroying a temple alone, causing his own death, but this rubble would cause something greater...an explosion of God's love for the whole world.
Light to the Nations. And it is now an invitation.
Come TO ME! Let's pray:
God our Father,
You Are Amazing, and I'm amazed.
Everything is amazing, and I now have faith.
I have faith that You live and that You Love.
I come to You Father, to spend time with You, in hopes that this time becomes eternal!!! Love Me, Love YOu!! | from your brother in Christ,
Adrian |  click to hear | Random bible verse generator: Ephesians 2:4–7 But1 God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
