†Saint Quote
""No one can make excuses, because anyone can love God; and he does not ask the soul for more than to love him, because he loves the soul, and it is his love."
— Blessed Angela of Foligno † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"The vow of poverty is a generous renunciation and detachment from the heavy burden of temporal things. It is an alleviation of the spirit, it is a relief afforded to human infirmity, the liberty of a noble heart to strive after eternal and spiritual blessings. It is a satiety and abundance, in which the thirst after earthly treasures is allayed, and a sovereignty and ownership, in which a most noble enjoyment of all riches is established. All this, my daughter, and many other blessings are contained in voluntary poverty, and all this the sons of the world are ignorant and deprived of, precisely because they are lovers of earthly riches and enemies of this holy and opulent poverty."
— Ven. Mary of Agreda, p. 85
AN EXCERPT FROM
The Mystical City of God †VERSE OF THE DAY
"We know that we belong to God, and the whole world is under the power of the evil one. We also know that the Son of God has come and has given us discernment to know the one who is true. And we are in the one who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life."
1 John 5:19-20 |  click to read more | | POPE SAINT CALLISTUS I Pope St. Callistus I (d. 223 A.D.) was a Roman by birth and a Christian slave. He was the servant of a fellow Christian serving in the Roman imperial household. He was entrusted with the task of managing his master's wealth, which he used to operate a bank into which many Christians invested their money. When the bank failed due to unpaid loans, Callistus fled the city in fear of retribution. He was soon caught, and in punishment was sentenced to hard slave labor in the Sardinian mines. He eventually obtained his freedom when he and the other Christian slaves working in the mines were released, or perhaps ransomed, with special pardon from the Emperor. Callistus was later recalled to Rome by Pope Zephyrinus to serve as his deacon, top adviser, and the caretaker of the important Christian cemetery along the Appian Way. This cemetary, which now bears Callistus' name, contains the relics of many martyrs. As the Holy Father's adviser, St. Callistus drew the ire of Tertullian and St. Hippolytus of Rome who were his constant theological opponents. When Pope Zephyrinus died, Callistus was elected to the Chair of St. Peter in 217 A.D. As pope, St. Callistus was known for his leniency and forgiveness. He upheld the teaching of the Church that grave sins could be forgiven with true contrition and due penance, which was controversial at the time. He reigned for five years and died a martyr; one account holds that he was killed by an anti-Christian mob, being thrown from his house and stoned to death. His feast day is October 14th. | Thursday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 470
Reading I Rom 3:21-30 Brothers and sisters:
Now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law,
though testified to by the law and the prophets,
the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ
for all who believe.
For there is no distinction;
all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.
They are justified freely by his grace
through the redemption in Christ Jesus,
whom God set forth as an expiation,
through faith, by his Blood, to prove his righteousness
because of the forgiveness of sins previously committed,
through the forbearance of God–
to prove his righteousness in the present time,
that he might be righteous
and justify the one who has faith in Jesus. What occasion is there then for boasting? It is ruled out.
On what principle, that of works?
No, rather on the principle of faith.
For we consider that a person is justified by faith
apart from works of the law.
Does God belong to Jews alone?
Does he not belong to Gentiles, too?
Yes, also to Gentiles, for God is one
and will justify the circumcised on the basis of faith
and the uncircumcised through faith. Responsorial Psalm 130:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6ab R. (7) With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD; LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive to my voice in supplication.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
If you, O LORD, mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness, that you may be revered.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
I trust in the LORD; my soul trusts in his word.
My soul waits for the LORD more than sentinels wait for the dawn.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption. Alleluia Jn 14:6 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord;
no one comes to the Father except through me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 11:47-54 The Lord said:
"Woe to you who build the memorials of the prophets
whom your fathers killed.
Consequently, you bear witness and give consent
to the deeds of your ancestors,
for they killed them and you do the building.
Therefore, the wisdom of God said,
'I will send to them prophets and Apostles;
some of them they will kill and persecute'
in order that this generation might be charged
with the blood of all the prophets
shed since the foundation of the world,
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah
who died between the altar and the temple building.
Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood!
Woe to you, scholars of the law!
You have taken away the key of knowledge.
You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter."
When Jesus left, the scribes and Pharisees
began to act with hostility toward him
and to interrogate him about many things,
for they were plotting to catch him at something he might say. | Daily Meditation: Luke 11:47-54 Woe to you, scholars of the law! You have taken away the key of knowledge. (Luke 11:52) So just how did these scholars of the law take away the "key of knowledge" (Luke 11:52)? If we look at the rest of this Gospel passage, we can get some clues. Jesus accused these scribes of not embracing the kingdom that he preached—not "entering" it (see verse 52)—and of thereby preventing other people from embracing it as well. Their witness of hostility and opposition to Jesus made other people suspicious and kept them from following Jesus. What's more, it's possible that they openly kept people away by spreading false rumors about Jesus or threatening any who followed him with God's judgment. We can also assume that their hypocrisy prevented people from seeing the true nature of God. But just as these scribes took away the key of knowledge by their words and actions, we can pass on that key by our own Spirit-filled words and actions. One powerful way we can do this is by trying to treat everyone around us with the same love and respect that we have received from Jesus. Of course, our words can be effective at times, if we can find a way to talk about our relationship with the Lord without sounding pushy. But the words we speak will have a far greater effect if they are backed up by acts of love, generosity, mercy, and compassion. Because the truth is, the harder we push when we try to persuade people, the more we risk alienating them—or even misrepresenting the Lord. As with everything else in the Christian life, sharing the key of knowledge starts with love—Christ's love for you, which humbles you and teaches you to love the people around you. Begin with that, and you'll find it easier to know when the Spirit is prompting you to share about your faith or your relationship with the Lord. Jesus wants all of us to be his witnesses. He wants all of us to share the key to knowing him and loving him. Let's take up that call. "Lord, help me find a way to share the key of knowledge with everyone I meet today." Romans 3:21-30
Psalm 130:1-6 |  Listen to 2cents | From Today's Holy Scripture:
"Brothers and sisters:
Now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law,
though testified to by the law and the prophets,
the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe."
What does this mean?
It is a realization, a real manifestation, that everything in the Old Testament has been realized in Jesus. Jesus is God. God from God. True light from true Light. He is the full expectation of everything we've desired.
Now...what is your desire? If it is anything apart from Himself...we've aimed our hearts for the future and eternal life.
There is an eternal life we can shoot for, eternal love, eternal rest, or the opposite, eternal unrest, and aren't you already tired of that? Eternal fire, aren't you tired of being thirsty? | We pray in Psalms:
"Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD; LORD, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to my voice in supplication. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption." | Our Lord speaks, the TRUTH speaks:
"Woe to you who build the memorials of the prophets whom your fathers killed.
Consequently, you bear witness and give consent to the deeds of your ancestors,
for they killed them and you do the building." | We like to think ourselves holy and good enough. Most think they don't need to lift a finger. These are all the exact thoughts of the "fools", the Pharisees.
We like to pay homage to the saints and say "oh if we only had the opportunities they had". That's another lie. We actually perform the opposite with the exact same opportunities they had.
Mother Teresa sought the poor.
Do you seek the poor?
And if Jesus hides in the poor, then, do you really seek Jesus?
We listen to TV and Radio and Social Media too much.
We need to listen to the Holy Spirit that transmits much more clear, if we tune in, seek and find, knock and find the door be opened.
And His call is clear. "my child, would you come help Me? Would you come spend time with me? Can you call me? Can we talk? Can we do things together?" And the call is of being evangelized, and then to do the evangelization.
To who? How?
Right where you are, to everyone you meet, both at home and abroad. That's who, and that's how.
This is the light.
This is the truth.
And you must be one with the light to be the light.
You must be one in the truth to share the truth. Otherwise it will be a hypocritical Christian life. One who says they believe, and do nothing. One who says they love, and does nothing to show it. One who says they come to sacrifice, and have nothing to sacrifice. One who says they come to offer, and they have nothing to offer. The Lord speaks. And the Word is designed to cut open the heart of the flesh...just as His heart was cut open and poured out. You and I are Church. You and I are the Body. You and I are the beings of God in the world today. Let's pray.
My Lord, My God,
If I am to honor You truly, let me love You truly.
If I am to praise You, let me truly be grateful.
If I am to be with You, let me seek You at every moment of my life.
And this is the beginnings of life eternal..that my gaze my always be set on Thy Precious Face. amen. | from your brother in Christ,
Adrian |  click to hear | Random bible verse generator: Colossians 2:6–7 Alive in Christ 6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
