†Saint Quote
""What was the first rule of our dear Savior's life? You know it was to do His Father's will. Well, then, the first end I propose in our daily work is to do the will of God; secondly to do it in the manner He wills; and thirdly, to do it because it is His will."
–St. Elizabeth Ann Seton †Today's Meditation
"Winnow not in every wind, and do not start off in every direction (Sirach 5:11). It is essential to discern what the Spirit wants when we are making important choices in our lives. Through prayer, fasting, spiritual reading, spiritual advice, discernment of signs, sorting out our hidden motivations, etc., we develop a sense of what God wants of us."
—Rev. Jude Winkler, O.F.M., p. 13 An Excerpt From
Daily Meditations with the Holy Spirit †Daily Verse
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you who by the power of God are safeguarded through faith, to a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the final time."
–1 Peter 1:3-5 |  click to read more | | St. Claude de la Colombiere St. Claude de la Colombiere (1641-1682) was born to a noble family in France and became a Jesuit priest. He was known for his solid and serious sermons and his dedication to observing the rule of his order with exactness. He became the rector of a Jesuit house next to the Monastery of the Visitation where St. Margaret Mary Alacoque lived, who was given special revelations from Jesus of His Sacred Heart. Claude became St. Margaret Mary's spiritual director, and, like her, became a zealous promoter of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In 1676 he was sent to England to attend the wife of the future King James II, serving at court as preacher and confessor. When anti-Catholic persecutions broke out, Claude was falsely accused of being involved in a 'papist plot' and was thrown into prison. While there his health suffered due to mistreatment. He was preserved from execution and instead banished from England by royal decree. He returned to his native France, where his fragile health continued to deteriorate until he died a few years later. The day after his death, St. Margaret Mary received supernatural assurance that he needed no prayers, as he was already in heaven. His feast day is February 15. | Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 336
Reading I Jas 1:12-18 Blessed is he who perseveres in temptation,
for when he has been proven he will receive the crown of life
that he promised to those who love him.
No one experiencing temptation should say,
"I am being tempted by God";
for God is not subject to temptation to evil,
and he himself tempts no one.
Rather, each person is tempted when lured and enticed by his desire.
Then desire conceives and brings forth sin,
and when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers and sisters:
all good giving and every perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights,
with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change.
He willed to give us birth by the word of truth
that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Responsorial Psalm 94:12-13a, 14-15, 18-19 R. (12a) Blessed the man you instruct, O Lord.
Blessed the man whom you instruct, O LORD, whom by your law you teach,
Giving him rest from evil days.
R. Blessed the man you instruct, O Lord.
For the LORD will not cast off his people, nor abandon his inheritance;
But judgment shall again be with justice, and all the upright of heart shall follow it.
R. Blessed the man you instruct, O Lord.
When I say, "My foot is slipping, your mercy, O LORD, sustains me;
When cares abound within me, your comfort gladdens my soul.
R. Blessed the man you instruct, O Lord. Alleluia Jn 14:23 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord;
and my Father will love him
and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 8:14-21 The disciples had forgotten to bring bread,
and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.
Jesus enjoined them, "Watch out,
guard against the leaven of the Pharisees
and the leaven of Herod."
They concluded among themselves that
it was because they had no bread.
When he became aware of this he said to them,
"Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread?
Do you not yet understand or comprehend?
Are your hearts hardened?
Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear?
And do you not remember,
when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand,
how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?"
They answered him, "Twelve."
"When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand,
how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?"
They answered him, "Seven."
He said to them, "Do you still not understand?" | Daily Meditation: James 1:12-18 He willed to give us birth by the word of truth. (James 1:18)
__
In Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dr. Henry Jekyll experiments with a potion that separates his good and evil sides. When he takes the potion, he changes into the monstrous Edward Hyde. The more potion he drinks, the more Hyde's nature takes control of him, until it eventually kills him. Stevenson's story is a good illustration of St. James' teaching on temptation. God has given all of us free will to choose good or evil. But our bad choices affect us in somewhat the same way that Dr. Jekyll's potion affected him: they make us less than human. The more we give in to sinful habits and attitudes, the more they control and define us. As James writes, "Desire conceives and brings forth sin, and when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death" (1:15). If we're not careful, sin can destroy us! But James wants us to know that sin is not the end of the story. God has provided an antidote: the living word of Scripture. It is this word that is able to save us (James 1:21). That doesn't mean we will no longer have temptations. But God's word will become "the sword of the Spirit" that will help us battle temptations and sin so that we can experience the freedom that Christ won for us on the cross (Ephesians 6:17). If you don't already do so, make it a point to spend some time with at least one Scripture passage every day. Before you begin, ask the Holy Spirit to be with you. Then read the passage several times. Perhaps one word or phrase will jump out at you. If it does, sit with it for a while. What might God be saying to you through this passage or phrase? Write down whatever you are sensing, and let it stay with you as you go about the day. As you develop a habit of daily Scripture reading, your life will become a "word" of God—a word of truth and compassion. Trust him to make it happen, for he has promised that his word "shall not return . . . empty" (Isaiah 55:11). "Lord, may your word be the light that guides me each day." Psalm 94:12-15, 18-19
Mark 8:14-21 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"No one experiencing temptation should say,
"I am being tempted by God"; for God is not subject to temptation to evil, and he himself tempts no one." Temptations come from darkness. And the ones most people don't think about, are the temptations against our Lord, like following the thoughts of the world and questioning whether God is good. Watch for the leaven of men, watch for what they feed in their ideals and propagate through media. It would be better to live apart from the world, and I don't mean anything else than...being Holy. | We pray in Psalms:
"Blessed the man whom you instruct, O LORD, whom by your law you teach,
Giving him rest from evil days." Instructions come to the faithful, but not all comprehend the message to become faithful. Let us turn to the Lord. | Our Lord speaks in the Holy Gospel:
"Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened?" Our Lord had just said ""Watch out,
guard against the leaven of the Pharisees
and the leaven of Herod." What is leaven? Why watch out for Pharisaical leaven? Leaven is what makes bread rise. The Pharisees were giving rise to something untrue. But the disciples missed it, and so our Lord asked if they did not understand the feeding of thousands of people with just a handful loaves of bread.
And so he asked them to consider if their hearts are still hard...hard of hearing, hard of understanding, and hard of seeing.
It is hard at times to see what God is saying, and doing. Until He reveals it later. He reveals Himself in your life.
And so the ordeal boils down to faith.
They have no bread, but He is with them.
The Pharisees gave the wrong bread.
Jesus is the True bread of life, and eternity.
May He be honored both now and forever. | Let's Pray:
Dear Heavenly Lord,
How we starve for life when you are not in our hearts.
May You be the entirety of our consolation to satisfy our hungry hearts, with gifts of finest wheat. Come give to us Oh Saving Lord, the bread of life to eat. | from your brother in Christ,
Adrian |  click to hear | Random bible verse generator: 1 Corinthians 11:32
But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined1 so that we may not be condemned along with the world. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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