†Saint Quote
""The true measure of loving God is to love Him without measure."
— St. Bernard of Clairvaux † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"Voluntary poverty restores to man the nobility of his condition, liberating him from vile servitude and reinstating him his noble freedom and mastery of all things. The soul is never more a mistress than when she despises them, and only then has she the more firm possession and makes the more excellent use of riches, when she gives them away or leaves them of her own free will; only then her appetite for them is best satiated, when she does not care to possess them. Then above all is the heart set free and made capable of the treasures of the Divinity, for which it is furnished by the Creator with almost infinite capacity."
— Ven. Mary of Agreda, p. 85
AN EXCERPT FROM
Mystical City of God †VERSE OF THE DAY
"But thou, O Lord, knowest me; thou seest me, and triest my mind toward thee."
Jeremiah 12:3a |  click to read more | | POPE ST. LEO THE GREAT Pope St. Leo the Great (c. 400–461 A.D.) was born in Tuscany to an aristocratic family. After serving as deacon under two popes he became the Roman Pontiff from 440 to 461 A.D. He was one of the greatest Holy Fathers the Church has known; he was the first pope, and one of only two, to bear the title "Great." He guided the Church through the turbulence of the collapse of the Roman empire, waves of barbarian invasions, widespread disintegration of morality, and many dangerous heresies including Pelagianism and Manichaeanism. His feats include persuading the Emperor Valentinian to recognize the primacy of the Bishop of Rome; preventing a doctrinal split in the Eastern churches; persuading Attila the Hun to turn back and forsake his invasion of Italy; and convincing the Vandals under their leader Genseric not to pillage the city of Rome or harm its inhabitants. He championed the Church and the Catholic faith in an uncertain era by maintaining unity, defending orthodox doctrine with clarity, and preaching vigorously against false teaching. By his strong influence he changed the course of European history; he was known not only as a leader of the Church but also as the protector of all of Rome. Pronounced a Doctor of the Church in 1754, many of his writings survive today. St. Leo the Great's feast day is November 10th. | Memorial of Saint Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church Lectionary: 493
Reading I Wis 6:1-11 Hear, O kings, and understand; learn, you magistrates of the earth's expanse!
Hearken, you who are in power over the multitude and lord it over throngs of peoples!
Because authority was given you by the Lord and sovereignty by the Most High, who shall probe your works and scrutinize your counsels.
Because, though you were ministers of his kingdom, you judged not rightly, and did not keep the law, nor walk according to the will of God,
Terribly and swiftly shall he come against you, because judgment is stern for the exalted–
For the lowly may be pardoned out of mercy but the mighty shall be mightily put to the test.
For the Lord of all shows no partiality, nor does he fear greatness,
Because he himself made the great as well as the small, and he provides for all alike; but for those in power a rigorous scrutiny impends.
To you, therefore, O princes, are my words addressed that you may learn wisdom and that you may not sin.
For those who keep the holy precepts hallowed shall be found holy, and those learned in them will have ready a response.
Desire therefore my words; long for them and you shall be instructed. Responsorial Psalm 82:3-4, 6-7 R. (8a) Rise up, O God, bring judgment to the earth.
Defend the lowly and the fatherless; render justice to the afflicted and the destitute.
Rescue the lowly and the poor; from the hand of the wicked deliver them.
R. Rise up, O God, bring judgment to the earth.
I said: "You are gods, all of you sons of the Most High;
yet like men you shall die, and fall like any prince."
R. Rise up, O God, bring judgment to the earth. Alleluia 1 Thes 5:18 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
In all circumstances, give thanks,
for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 17:11-19 As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem,
he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.
As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him.
They stood at a distance from him and raised their voice, saying,
"Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!"
And when he saw them, he said,
"Go show yourselves to the priests."
As they were going they were cleansed.
And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.
He was a Samaritan.
Jesus said in reply,
"Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?"
Then he said to him, "Stand up and go;
your faith has saved you." | Daily Meditation: Luke 17:11-19 One of them . . . fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. (Luke 17:15-16) At an ATM, we insert our card, punch in the PIN number, select what we want, and voilà , cash is dispensed. Swift, efficient, uncomplicated. Wouldn't you like your interactions with God to be like that too? Just acknowledge him, ask for what you need, follow his instructions, and voilà , divine solutions are dispensed! But Jesus is something far more, far better, than a "blessing machine." And he wants something far more for us. He does heal and provide for us—but above all, he wants to save us and make us whole (Luke 17:19). In today's Gospel, all ten lepers began with some measure of faith, and all ten were miraculously healed. Yet only one—a Samaritan—came back to thank Jesus. So however small his faith was, it was growing, and it drove him to worship. He bowed down before Jesus and glorified God. Imagine his words: "Jesus, thank you! Thank you for having mercy and healing me!" Whatever the man said, he proclaimed his faith in Jesus' power to heal, because Jesus responded, "Your faith has saved you," a word that means "made whole" (Luke 17:19, emphasis added). Because this man returned to worship God and express his gratitude, he received the wholeness that Jesus wanted for all ten. He was healed in spirit as well as in body—something better even than being healed of leprosy! You may have many needs and desires. Jesus cares about them all, but what he most cares about is to make you whole: filled with faith, freed from sin, and confident in God's love. He wants you to live with him forever. That can happen as your faith, whatever size it is, expresses itself in worship. Your worship opens your heart to God's power to heal and restore. And it begins with simple words of gratitude. Fall at the feet of Jesus today and thank him for one thing he has done for you. Thank him for his mercy, and then worship him. "Jesus, thank you for caring so deeply about me. I worship you with all my heart!" Wisdom 6:1-11
Psalm 82:3-4, 6-7 |  Listen to 2cents | From Today's Holy Scripture:
"For those who keep the holy precepts hallowed shall be found holy, and those learned in them will have ready a response. Desire therefore my words;
long for them and you shall be instructed." Want to be holy? Good. Only the Holy is in Heaven. Then keep Holy the will of God, the command of God, the calling of God Almighty Father. Make this known and well known, that you are a lover of holiness, that you desire it because this is the proper vestments for Heaven. | We pray in Psalms:
"Defend the lowly and the fatherless; render justice to the afflicted and the destitute.
Rescue the lowly and the poor; from the hand of the wicked deliver them. Rise up, O God, bring judgment to the earth." Now, who is to defend the lowly? The fatherless? Who are the lowly? Who are the poor? The lowly are the ones who have no one to stand for them...like the unborn, like the elderly, the ones with little or no voice. Usually they are the poor, but at times, it may be someone in need to stand in for them as an advocate like God Himself would do. Think Jesus our Lord, and the Holy Spirit. | We heard of our Lord:
"They stood at a distance from him and raised their voice, saying,
"Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!"
And when he saw them, he said,
"Go show yourselves to the priests." Pause:
Go show yourselves? What does that mean? Expose yourself? Spiritually, yes. Show him the accidents of the accidents of life. This means that there are things that will inevitably make you sin. But our Lord is the only one who can fix it all. Think of your calamities and the world calamities. Think of no one else than our Lord, for the whole world is in His hands. Play:
"As they were going they were cleansed. _
And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. _
He was a Samaritan." Pause:
One out of ten returned and it wasn't even a Jew from Galilee? It was a Samaritan? Not even a person of the original tribes? Yes. This then, is the good Samaritan, the thankful one. Thankfulness will lead to righteousness, and righteousness to holiness. And it starts with being thankful. And the Eucharist means to give thanks. What if I told you that in my life of ministry, all I see is one out of ten thankful souls? It is still true today. And out of them...few are sincerely thankful, like, life-rendering thankfulness, gratitude. Can you be one of those? Oh yes, it starts now, say thank you. It moves mountains. Play:
Jesus said in reply,
"Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine? _
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?" _
Then he said to him, "Stand up and go;
your faith has saved you." Do not be amazed then, about who God chooses to be in Heaven, often the least, and the last you'd expect, like the "good thief". You'd be a poor judge even if you tried to judge who'd be in Heaven. So today, let's take a lesson from Heaven. God is good, and we are made in His image and likeness, "like gods" says Holy Scripture. But we are "Like", not the original, but like Him. So be like God, and God is Love. Find yourself giving mercy, giving of your life to the voiceless, and this means reaching out to the poor, not rioting and looting. And here comes a biggie, "reach out to the fatherless". Oh boy. There are prisons filled with fatherless. And there are millions in the free world living fatherless. All the sexcapades of selfish pleasure have caused havoc among our society. We run into vagabonds, pilgrims lost on the journey. | So how can we provide a father to them? I have a loved one that finally communicated with his blood father late in life, in college years. He says his father needs help, he's on drugs, spends money on luxury, on everything but him. He's not the father he desired to meet. I keep telling everyone that I have seen the True Father. I am telling you as I told this loved one and all his brothers and my son was there too "we have earthly fathers but they are not the true father, for these earthly fathers will fail you, but God the Father will not, so trust in Him, listen to Him". These earthly fathers will die. But God the Father stands outside of time and space. He is unbelievable and terrible, and this means more immense than your brain can begin to fathom. He is more than amazing. And once you begin to live amazed, you'll begin to live thankful, and once you begin to be thankful to God, you'll find yourself more and more humble. I am nothing, and God is everything. I've done nothing, He's done everything. And so I let myself be moved by Him and soon He begins to live and act in me. Let's pray:
Lord, God our Father,
Let all who hear these words be moved to life and action, because Love is an action, not an idea. Help us be moved to sacrificial love for one another, and please, let our lives be a living prayer for Heaven, and Heaven's sake, a place of greater glory, and let it begin inside of me, inside of us all right now...let the next 700 years be the covenant time of fulfillment of God's word. And let us be the foundation for those generations alongside all the saints and angels...and of course the Capstone of all Love and Sacrifice, JESUS CHRIST! | from your brother in Christ,
Adrian |  click to hear | Random bible verse generator:
WOW! 2 Corinthians 1:21–22 And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, 22 and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.1 | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
