†Saint Quote
"For a Son of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is a man on fire with love, who spreads its flames wherever he goes. He desires mightily and strives by all means possible to set the whole world on fire with God's love. Nothing daunts him; he delights in privations, welcomes work, embraces sacrifices, smiles at slander, and rejoices in suffering. His only concern is how he can best follow Jesus Christ and imitate Him in working, suffering, and striving constantly and single-mindedly for the greater glory of God and the salvation of souls."
— St. Anthony Mary Claret † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"Our Lord, by descending into hell, planted (if I may thus express myself), in the spiritual garden of the Church, a mysterious tree, the fruits of which—namely, His merits—are destined for the constant relief of the Poor Souls in Purgatory. The Church Militant must cultivate the tree, and gather its fruits, in order to present them to that suffering portion of the Church which can do nothing for itself. Thus it is with all the merits of Christ; we must labor with Him if we wish to obtain our share of them; we must gain our bread by the sweat of our brow. Everything which Our Lord has done for us in time must produce fruit for eternity; but we must gather these fruits in time, without which we cannot possess them in eternity. The Church is the most prudent and thoughtful of mothers; the ecclesiastical year is an immense and magnificent garden, in which all those fruits for eternity are gathered together, that we may make use of them in time. Each year contains sufficient to supply the wants of all; but woe be to that careless or dishonest gardener who allows any of the fruit committed to his care to perish; if he fails to turn to a proper account those grace which would restore health to the sick, strength to the weak, or furnish food to the hungry! When the Day of Judgment arrives, the Master of the garden will demand a strict account, not only of every tree, but also of all the fruit produced in the garden."
— Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, p. 351-2
AN EXCERPT FROM
The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ † VERSE OF THE DAY
"'Be still, and know that I am God. I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth!' The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge."
Psalm 46:10-11 |  click to read more | | ST. MARTIN DE PORRES St. Martin de Porres (1569-1639) was born in Lima, Peru. He was the illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman and a freed slave woman from Panama, of either African or Native American descent. His parents never married. For the first eight years of his life his father did not acknowledge him, and abandoned the family after Martin's sister was born. St. Martin de Porres was raised in poverty with the societal stigma of being mix-raced. As a young man he served as an assistant to a barber-surgeon where he learned medicine and the care of the sick. When he was 15 he joined the Dominican friars as a helper, eventually becoming a Lay Brother which at the time was forbidden for the children of slaves by Peruvian law. He took on the work of nursing the sick in the Dominican infirmary as well as the sick among the townspeople, even giving a sick man his own bed. He was also made almoner, and begged money to assist his work with the poor and sick. He founded an orphanage, tended to slaves brought from Africa, and dispensed alms to the needy. His prayers and penances were so great that he soon demonstrated miraculous powers. In addition to healing the sick, his other miracles were bi-location, levitation, hidden knowledge, and the ability to communicate with animals. Word of his sanctity spread and people from all walks of life came to him for spiritual direction. St. Martin de Porres is the patron saint of social justice, bi-racial people, African-Americans, hairdressers, barbers, public education, public health, and the poor. His feast day is November 3rd. | Wednesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 487
Reading I Rom 13:8-10 Brothers and sisters:
Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another;
for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
The commandments, You shall not commit adultery;
you shall not kill;
you shall not steal;
you shall not covet,
and whatever other commandment there may be,
are summed up in this saying, namely,
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Love does no evil to the neighbor;
hence, love is the fulfillment of the law. Responsorial Psalm 112:1b-2, 4-5, 9 R. ( 5a) Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commands.
His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth; the upright generation shall be blessed.
R. Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He dawns through the darkness, a light for the upright; he is gracious and merciful and just.
Well for the man who is gracious and lends, who conducts his affairs with justice.
R. Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Lavishly he gives to the poor; his generosity shall endure forever; his horn shall be exalted in glory.
R. Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia 1 Pt 4:14 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you,
for the Spirit of God rests upon you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 14:25-33 Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
"If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
'This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.'
Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
In the same way,
everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple." | Daily Meditation: Romans 13:8-10 You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Romans 13:9) This command from God, often called the second greatest commandment, can seem impossible, can't it? Love every neighbor? How can we find the ability to do something so radical? One way is to understand how we have been loved. Maybe the following story can help. A family once experienced a damaging house fire. No one was injured, but their home was destroyed, and they were left with next to nothing. The family was able to recover largely because of all the support they received. One close friend in particular took charge of the situation. He helped them find temporary housing, recruited their other friends to help provide meals, and set about finding clothes and other necessities for them. Needless to say, the family was deeply grateful. A few years later, this same family heard about another family nearby who had suffered a similar tragedy. None of the neighbors seemed to know what to do. Without hesitating, the couple walked right over. "You are not alone in this," the wife told them. "We've been through this before; let us help you get back on your feet." They quickly began organizing, and within hours they had many resources in place. They even invited the family to stay with them until they found a more permanent living situation. This couple was uniquely qualified to help because they had received help in the same way. In short, they loved their neighbors as they themselves had been loved. How has God loved you? What concrete ways has he used, and what has his love done for you? Sometimes his love flows through other people, as it did for the house fire victims. Other times it comes as you sit quietly in prayer or as you hear God's word at Mass. No matter how you have experienced it, God's love is meant to flow in you and through you to affect the people around you. So look around today, and see if there is someone to whom you can say, "You are not alone in this; let me help you." "Father, show me how I have been loved so that I can offer that same love to my neighbor." Psalm 112:1-2, 4-5, 9
Luke 14:25-33 |  Listen to 2cents | From Today's Holy Scripture:
"Brothers and sisters:
Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law." And then scripture goes on with the commandments...of Love.
Why would you be unfaithful...to Love?
Why would you steal? Why would you lie?
Why would you never see Your Father?
Why would you want anything else? | We pray in Psalms:
" Blessed the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commands. His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth; the upright generation shall be blessed. Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need." And so we have God Himself come, and He gives, and He gives, and gives until He has nothing else to give but His own body and blood, soul, and divinity...on the cross and spills into the Eucharist....and still He gives and gives even more from a never ending font...a source...something we all need...to desire. Himself. Nothing more. | We heard from our Lord:
"Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
"If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, _
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple."_ | What must it have been like to have great crowds gather around our Lord and to hear Him say you must hate each other? LOL, is that what He said?
He says at the end of the gospel, after asking us to evaluate, analyze, the cost of His calling...a true discipleship, and then to decide. "In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple." Are my children my possessions? My spouse? My parents? My house? My anything? Is anything really yours?
This is why God says to give and to give and to renounce anything that binds us to the world, beginning with sin and then anything and everyone else that binds you to the world. For you are not of this world. What if I told you that this world is a taste of what could be? A mere, appetizer. For the main course is to come! Like the old lady who asked to be buried with a fork, and when asked why she said "because, the best part is yet to come!" So, my child, can you hate your loved ones and even your own life? I do. I hate how I sin. I hate how my life keeps me from Him. I hate being so focused on other people and things that keep me from our Lord, like as of late, we got kids in sports and now they won't be with me in a 60th anniversary of Cursillo in english (retreats that bring souls to Christ) in the world this weekend, how I hate that I cannot force them to be with me. Other passions. But do I truly hate? I don't think I hate enough. I'm not strong enough to stand up for what is right at times.
Now we need something outside of us to help us.
Now we are to focus on grace. The cross is bitter.
But the cross is sweet. One day it will be a decisive cut, I will choose either Christ...or the world.
I will choose holiness, or sinfulness.
I will choose His blood, or my own.
I will choose His life...or death.
We must be ready to be decisive, and for that, we need grace.
For that we need sacrifice. For that we need fasting, charity, and true prayer. We can do this. The world needs to see Christ.
The giving Christ. The sacrificing Christ. The Christ that goes against the ways of the world. So that they may see true hope...and in the end...true Love...God Himself. Let's pray:
Father, God, Lord in Heaven, Holy Spirit,
You say I need to hate the world and to pick up my cross,
Help us hate the world and pick up our cross.
Send us Thy grace with saints and angels and Your Blessed Mother, more than ever, because all we focus on is evil, and not You My Good Father. Help us truly Love You because You truly love us all!! | from your brother in Christ,
Adrian |  click to hear | Random bible verse generator: 2 Timothy 2:22
22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
