†Saint Quote
"He took what is mine in order that He might impart to me what is His. He took it not to overturn it but to fill it."
–St. Ambrose †Today's Meditation
"[Jesus] sees in children traits and attitudes that are essential in anyone if he is to gain heaven, and, even in this life, if he is to enter the kingdom of faith. A child is devoid of even the slightest feeling of self-sufficiency. It is in constant need of its parents, and knows it. A child is fundamentally a being in need, and this is what a Christian should be before his Father God, a being in total need. A child lives fully in the present and nothing more. The adult's less admirable predisposition is to look restlessly to the future, ignoring the here and now, the present moment, which ought to be lived to the full."
—Fr. Francis Fernández Carvajal, pg 170 An Excerpt From
In Conversation With God - Vol. 1 - Advent and Christmas †Daily Verse
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
–1 Corinthians 3:16-17 |  click to read more | | St. Hilary of Poitiers St. Hilary of Poitiers (300–368 A.D.) was born in France to noble pagan parents. He was well instructed in philosophy and converted to Christianity after studying the Old and New Testaments. He was baptized into the Church along with his wife and daughter. He was widely respected by the people of Poitiers, so much so that they elected him their bishop. Hilary worked hard to defend the Catholic Church against the entrenched heresy of Arianism which resulted in his four-year exile to Phrygia, and his popular title, "Hammer of the Arians." Although he was a gentle and courteous man, he was labeled a 'disturber of the peace' for defending Jesus' sacred humanity and divinity against the Arian heretics, the only orthodox bishop in his region doing so. He was renowned for his great learning and sanctity, and for defending the Church valiantly in word and by pen. While in exile he wrote numerous and important theological works resulting in his title as a Doctor of the Church. St. Hilary's feast day is January 13. | Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 308
Reading I 1 Sm 4:1-11 The Philistines gathered for an attack on Israel.
Israel went out to engage them in battle and camped at Ebenezer,
while the Philistines camped at Aphek.
The Philistines then drew up in battle formation against Israel.
After a fierce struggle Israel was defeated by the Philistines,
who slew about four thousand men on the battlefield.
When the troops retired to the camp, the elders of Israel said
"Why has the LORD permitted us to be defeated today
by the Philistines?
Let us fetch the ark of the Lord from Shiloh
that it may go into battle among us
and save us from the grasp of our enemies." So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there
the ark of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned upon the cherubim.
The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of God.
When the ark of the LORD arrived in the camp,
all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth resounded.
The Philistines, hearing the noise of shouting, asked,
"What can this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?"
On learning that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp,
the Philistines were frightened.
They said, "Gods have come to their camp."
They said also, "Woe to us! This has never happened before. Woe to us!
Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods?
These are the gods that struck the Egyptians
with various plagues and with pestilence.
Take courage and be manly, Philistines;
otherwise you will become slaves to the Hebrews,
as they were your slaves.
So fight manfully!"
The Philistines fought and Israel was defeated;
every man fled to his own tent.
It was a disastrous defeat,
.in which Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers.
The ark of God was captured,
and Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were among the dead. Responsorial Psalm 44:10-11, 14-15, 24-25 R. (27b) Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.
Yet now you have cast us off and put us in disgrace, and you go not forth with our armies.
You have let us be driven back by our foes; those who hated us plundered us at will.
R. Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.
You made us the reproach of our neighbors, the mockery and the scorn of those around us.
You made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples.
R. Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.
Why do you hide your face, forgetting our woe and our oppression?
For our souls are bowed down to the dust, our bodies are pressed to the earth.
R. Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy. Alleluia See Mt 4:23 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom
and cured every disease among the people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 1:40-45 A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said,
"If you wish, you can make me clean."
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand,
touched the leper, and said to him,
"I do will it. Be made clean."
The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once.
Then he said to him, "See that you tell no one anything,
but go, show yourself to the priest
and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them."
The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter.
He spread the report abroad
so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly.
He remained outside in deserted places,
and people kept coming to him from everywhere. | Daily Meditation: Mark 1:40-45 A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him. (Mark 1:40) Under Jewish law, a person with leprosy wasn't supposed to approach another person without a warning that he was coming. Yet the man in today's Gospel reading not only came to Jesus but knelt down before him. He was clearly taking a risk. Why? Because he believed that Jesus could heal him. This man's humility and expectant faith provided the opening for Jesus to heal him—not only physically but emotionally and spiritually as well. Imagine the way the Lord might have looked into the man's eyes as he knelt before him. The love and compassion in his gaze, the touch of his hand, and his words, "I do will it," signified that Jesus received not only this man's body but his heart, his whole person (Mark 1:41). Jesus loved him completely; he saw more than a man with leprosy; he saw a beloved child of God. We don't suffer from leprosy, but we are all in need of Jesus' healing touch. We might be suffering from physical sickness, but we might also be struggling with a spiritual or emotional problem like fear, anxiety, a sinful habit, or trauma from the past. And we long for what the man with leprosy received: healing, acceptance, and God's unconditional love and mercy. The good news is that when you come to Jesus in humility and with faith, you can have just as tender an exchange with him as the man in today's Gospel did. Jesus is already "moved with pity" for you, and he wants you to experience his personal love for you (Mark 1:41). So tell Jesus about your pain—be it physical, emotional, or spiritual. Ask him questions and share your thoughts and feelings with him. This is how you "kneel down" with humble faith. Then ask him to heal you. Keep acknowledging your need and keep asking in faith. Your troubles may not dissolve instantly, but Jesus will pour his love into every area of your heart that is hurting. His love is the core healing we all need and desire, and this love will heal you, perhaps in ways you can't even imagine. "I kneel before you today, Lord. Come and heal me!" 1 Samuel 4:1-11
Psalm 44:10-11, 14-15, 24-25 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
""Why has the LORD permitted us to be defeated today by the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the Lord from Shiloh that it may go into battle among us and save us from the grasp of our enemies." "Let's fetch the ark" they said, "that it may go into battle with us". These words sound like "let's use God to do what we want". No consulting with God. No fasting or prayer. Nothing of the sort we heard about, and theologians can assume all they want. But the Scripture is clear. Last night I prayed outside to the stars in Heaven, speaking with our Lord, profusely asking for mercy, because I have been presuming my dad's healing especially that very day for some odd reason or thought that had entered my head. In the end, I just hurt myself.
And so did Israel. They had "fetched the ark" and were all happy and confident, but no clue had been given by God, no consultation. So had God turned His back on Israel? 30,000 died, they retreated, like a dog with a tail between its legs. I too had to retreat, go back inside the house to face so many problems I've been faced with that very day. But stay tuned. Just because there is doom, it doesn't mean it is the end. Eventually just one chosen One will come, and triumph...David, and the Son of David. | We pray in Psalms:
"Why do you hide your face, forgetting our woe and our oppression? For our souls are bowed down to the dust, our bodies are pressed to the earth. Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy." | We heard in the Gospel today:
"A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said, "If you wish, you can make me clean." Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched the leper, and said to him, "I do will it. Be made clean." Now we all see the externals. Leprosy, a physical disease, a touch, a healing. Those are all externals. But the leper and Jesus knew what was going on...inside.
A Holy Sacrament is an outward sign of an inward reality.
And the leper had asked to be made clean.
Most people do not make this prayer to God.
We do not desire to be made clean, we just desire the external, without the internal.
We want then, to be whitewashed tombs, with dead man bones inside.
To look pretty outside and in front of everyone, even as a holy person, but inside...evil and plunder reside. | "Then he said to him, "See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed."
And what did the leper do? The opposite. He became the biggest public announcer. Did he do it with wrong intent? Did Judas the betrayer do what he did with wrong intent? The leper's actions was said: "He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly." No longer could he enter to preach in temples, now He had to remain in deserted places.
So was the leper true? Did he really want to be made clean?
We do not know. What we do know is that God does desire us to be made clean, to be made whole again, to be one with His precious Body. That we know for sure.
And so my prayer is always one of confusion, "Lord, am I being thankful? How can I be thankful?". Last night on the internet video, I heard an exorcist Priest say that we should not try to do God any favors by going to Holy Communion to "take Him". As if to fetch the ark, right? But rather Fr. Blount says, that we are to go to receive Him in the Holy Eucharist with a true hunger, as if gasping for Him, even more than oxygen. My question to you is this: "What if God gave you everything you wanted...and none of what you had asked for was ...Himself?" Let's pray:
Lord, how many times have I reached in prayer to fetch something I want?
How many times have I prayed to be clean, and never really desire purity, holiness, to be made one and whole with You dear Lord?
Teach me to pray, to love, to make Holy Reparations for all the wrongdoings we have done against Your Precious Body.
For all of us reading the Words inspired from Heaven...help us develop a true hunger for You Oh Lord, whatever that means, help us learn and discern...to desire You above all things...
In your Precious name we pray... | from your brother in Christ,
Adrian |  click to hear | Random bible verse generator: Mt 18:21 21 Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" 22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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