.: † ".As Long As They Have . ."

Monday, January 17, 2022

† ".As Long As They Have . ."

†Saint Quote
""I do not seek to understand in order that I may believe, but rather, I believe in order that I may understand."
–St. Anselm of Canterbury

†Today's Meditation
"So when we pray, we must stand in His presence, on His level. We must see His suffering in the same way that we see His greatness, and as we picture His compassion. But we must also remember that that suffering, that greatness and that compassion will one day judge us. We shall be weighed in the balance by them; and if we are found wanting in any way, we shall hear the words: 'Depart from me. . .' 'Go elsewhere; go to those who refused to be my friends.'"
— Dom Augustin Guillerand, p. 53

An Excerpt From
The Prayer of the Presence of God , p53

†Daily Verse
"Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation."
–Psalm 68:19

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St. Antony of the Desert

St. Anthony of the Desert (251–356 A.D.), also known as St. Anthony the Great (or St. Antony the Great) and also St. Anthony of Egypt, was a leading figure among the Desert Fathers, the early Christian monks who lived in the Egyptian desert in the 3rd and 4th centuries. The story of his life was written by St. Athanasius of Alexandria. St. Anthony's parents were wealthy, and after their death Anthony desired to conform himself to the manner of life of the Apostles and early Christians. On hearing these words from the Gospel of Matthew in church, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me," St. Anthony left everything behind to live a life of prayer, fasting, self-denial, and labor. Whenever he heard of other holy people living in this manner, he would visit them to learn from their virtues in order to imitate them. He eventually removed himself from all society and became the first Christian to live a life of consecrated solitude. He occasionally left his hermitage for pressing matters, once to encourage persecuted Christians, and another time to support Pope Athanasius against the heresy of Arius. St. Anthony died at the age of one hundred and five. His feast day is January 17th.

Memorial of Saint Anthony. Abbot

• Readings for the Memorial of Saint Anthony, abbot

Reading I 1 Sm 15:16-23

Samuel said to Saul:
"Stop! Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night."
Saul replied, "Speak!"
Samuel then said: "Though little in your own esteem,
are you not leader of the tribes of Israel?
The LORD anointed you king of Israel and sent you on a mission, saying,
'Go and put the sinful Amalekites under a ban of destruction.
Fight against them until you have exterminated them.'
Why then have you disobeyed the LORD?
You have pounced on the spoil, thus displeasing the LORD."
Saul answered Samuel: "I did indeed obey the LORD
and fulfill the mission on which the LORD sent me.
I have brought back Agag, and I have destroyed Amalek under the ban.
But from the spoil the men took sheep and oxen,
the best of what had been banned,
to sacrifice to the LORD their God in Gilgal."
But Samuel said:

"Does the LORD so delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices

as in obedience to the command of the LORD?

Obedience is better than sacrifice,

and submission than the fat of rams.

For a sin like divination is rebellion,

and presumption is the crime of idolatry.

Because you have rejected the command of the LORD,

he, too, has rejected you as ruler."

Responsorial Psalm 50:8-9, 16bc-17, 21 and 23

R. (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,

for your burnt offerings are before me always.
I take from your house no bullock,

no goats out of your fold."
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"Why do you recite my statutes,

and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline

and cast my words behind you?"
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?

Or do you think that I am like yourself?

I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;

and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God."
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

Alleluia Hb 4:12

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The word of God is living and effective,
able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mk 2:18-22

The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were accustomed to fast.
People came to Jesus and objected,
"Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast,

but your disciples do not fast?"
Jesus answered them,
"Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?
As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.
But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast on that day.
No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak.
If he does, its fullness pulls away,
the new from the old, and the tear gets worse.
Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins,
and both the wine and the skins are ruined.
Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins."

Daily Meditation: Mark 2:18-22

New wine is poured into fresh wineskins. (Mark 2:22)

When Jesus talks about new wine and fresh wineskins in today's Gospel reading, he's describing the way he will renew our relationship with God through a new covenant. He is telling us that he is the bridegroom who brings the love of God into our lives in a unique and expansive way (Mark 2:19). And he wants us to be ready to receive it.

"Lord Jesus, you give me new wine. This new wine is your divine love poured into me. You love me and created me to be yours. Your love is patient and kind. Your love rejoices in the truth. Your love never gives up and always endures. It is always ready to reach out to anyone in need. As your love in me grows, it can't help but flow out to those around me.

"Lord Jesus, you give me new wine. This new wine is your divine life in me. It's the presence of God in my inmost being. You show me who you are: holy, pure, right, and purposeful. You show me how much I need you, and then you draw me to yourself. The more I receive your life, the more I become like you. And that spills over to everyone I meet.

"Lord Jesus, you give me new wine. This new wine is your divine power in me and through me. Your power is limitless—nothing is too great for you. Not only do you heal and deliver me by your power, but you empower me to see things from your perspective. My prayers overflow with hope and confidence in what you can do.

"My Lord, you give me new wine. Help me to be like a fresh wineskin to hold it. I want to be flexible and able to expand as your life and love and power grow in me. I don't want to hold onto anything that closes me off from you or prevents me from living in a new way. Show me what I need to see. Do I need to forgive? Do I need to lay down my fear and resentments before you? Lord, I want to empty myself so that you can fill me with your new wine."

"Jesus, I marvel at how generous you are! As you bring me new wine, form me into a vessel to receive it."

1 Samuel 15:16-23
Psalm 50:8-9, 16-17, 21, 23

From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission than the fat of rams."

Our Lord taught "I desire mercy, not sacrifice". We need mercy...by submission to mercy. Submission with fear to our Lord.

We pray in Psalms:
"Why do you recite my statutes, and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline and cast my words behind you?" To the upright I will show the saving power of God."

"Jesus answered them,
"Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?"

Is the bridegroom with us? Are we with Him? When do you fast? When do you not fast? The Church tells us when we are to fast, like during lent and on all Fridays of the year we are to sacrifice something.

But what good is a sacrifice if that day you hate your brother or sister? Sacrifice yourself.

"No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak.
If he does, its fullness pulls away..."

Its fullness pulls away. The Jews and Scribes He spoke to were the old, and He wanted them to be anew. But fullness pulled away and the temple curtain was torn into two...The Old and The New.

And our Lord's light was revealed to the Nations.

Let's pray:

Lord, Father, we don't want to be new, we don't want to change, we don't want to be that open...yet You ask us to accept the new wine, of the new blood, of the New Testament to fulfill the old.
I pray we honor You by living Your Holy will.

from your brother in Christ,
Adrian

Please continue praying for my dad, to stop being restless in the hospital, to be still and calm and let our Lord heal Him...He is depending heavily on oxygen machines...and I pray He let's Himself depend totally in God's hands, for Him to be the Divine Physician in these tumultuous times.

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Random bible verse generator:

1 Corinthians 13:4–6

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;1 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace

Going4th

For questions or comments contact Adrian@going4th.com. For more go to www.Going4th.com

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Monday, January 17, 2022