†Saint Quote
"Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you. All things pass. God does not change. Patience achieves everything. Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices."
–St. Teresa of Avila †Today's Meditation
"Christ is the second person of the Blessed Trinity, true God and true man, eternally united with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Just as there can be no separation within Christ's human nature, so there can be none within His divine nature. Just as we cannot separate Christ's body from His blood, or His soul from His body and blood, so we cannot separate Christ from the other persons in the Trinity. Time after time, we hear the priest pray to the Father at the end of the opening prayer of the Mass: We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever."
—Vinney Flynn, p. 25 An Excerpt From
7 Secrets of the Eucharist †Daily Verse
"[I pray] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. May the eyes of [your] hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might."
–Ephesians 1:17-19 |  click to read more | | St. Fergus of Scotland St. Fergus of Scotland (d. 730 A.D.), also known as St. Fergustian or Fergus the Pict, Bishop of the Gaels, was a bishop serving in the north of Scotland. Little is known of his life. He is believed to have been trained as a bishop in Ireland, ministering there for many years before traveling as a missionary to Scotland. He went throughout the Scottish countryside preaching the Gospel, setting up churches dedicated to St. Patrick of Ireland, and working to convert the pagan people to Christianity. He also traveled to St. Peter's Basilica to participate in the Council of Rome in 721 A.D. He died around the year 730 A.D. and is buried in Glamis, Angus, in Scotland. Nearby is St. Fergus' Well. The site is believed to be where St. Fergus presided over religious services before the first church of Glamis was built. His feast day is March 30th. | Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent Lectionary: 246
Reading I Is 49:8-15 Thus says the LORD:
In a time of favor I answer you, on the day of salvation I help you; and I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people,
To restore the land and allot the desolate heritages,
Saying to the prisoners: Come out!
To those in darkness: Show yourselves!
Along the ways they shall find pasture, on every bare height shall their pastures be.
They shall not hunger or thirst, nor shall the scorching wind or the sun strike them;
For he who pities them leads them and guides them beside springs of water.
I will cut a road through all my mountains, and make my highways level.
See, some shall come from afar, others from the north and the west, and some from the land of Syene.
Sing out, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth, break forth into song, you mountains.
For the LORD comforts his people and shows mercy to his afflicted. But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me."
Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb?
Even should she forget, I will never forget you. Responsorial Psalm 145:8-9, 13cd-14, 17-18 R. (8a) The Lord is gracious and merciful.
The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all and compassionate toward all his works.
R. The Lord is gracious and merciful.
The LORD is faithful in all his words and holy in all his works.
The LORD lifts up all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.
R. The Lord is gracious and merciful.
The LORD is just in all his ways and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth.
R. The Lord is gracious and merciful. Verse Before the Gospel Jn 11:25a, 26 I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord;
whoever believes in me will never die. Gospel Jn 5:17-30 Jesus answered the Jews:
"My Father is at work until now, so I am at work."
For this reason they tried all the more to kill him,
because he not only broke the sabbath
but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God. Jesus answered and said to them,
"Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own,
but only what he sees the Father doing;
for what he does, the Son will do also.
For the Father loves the Son
and shows him everything that he himself does,
and he will show him greater works than these,
so that you may be amazed.
For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life,
so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes.
Nor does the Father judge anyone,
but he has given all judgment to the Son,
so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.
Whoever does not honor the Son
does not honor the Father who sent him.
Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word
and believes in the one who sent me
has eternal life and will not come to condemnation,
but has passed from death to life.
Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here
when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God,
and those who hear will live.
For just as the Father has life in himself,
so also he gave to the Son the possession of life in himself.
And he gave him power to exercise judgment,
because he is the Son of Man.
Do not be amazed at this,
because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs
will hear his voice and will come out,
those who have done good deeds
to the resurrection of life,
but those who have done wicked deeds
to the resurrection of condemnation. "I cannot do anything on my own;
I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just,
because I do not seek my own will
but the will of the one who sent me." | Daily Meditation: John 5:17-30 Whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life. (John 5:24) When we think about eternal life, we think of heaven and the life that awaits us after we die. But in John's Gospel—and especially in this verse in today's Gospel reading—"eternal life" also means the life we experience now as believers in the Lord Jesus. Let's reflect on what that means for each of us, personally. As Jesus said, whoever believes in him "has passed from death to life"—from the slavery of sin to the freedom of life in Christ (John 5:24). Because we have eternal life, we can live even now in the grace of God. No sin is so great that it can't be forgiven. Through Jesus' cross and resurrection, we will always be forgiven when we come to him with a repentant heart. Because we have eternal life, we never have to ask, "Who am I?" or "Does my life really matter?" We believe that we were created in love by our heavenly Father and that we are loved eternally in Christ, his Son. Those basic truths give our lives meaning and direction. We know who we are—sons and daughters of God—and we know who we are called to be—disciples of Christ. Because we have eternal life, suffering is no longer meaningless. In prayer, we can unite our suffering and sacrifices with the sufferings of Christ to aid those most in need of God's grace and mercy. Not only that, but we can trust that God will bring some good even out of our most painful difficulties and trials. Because we have eternal life, we are united to our fellow believers. Whether they are still here on earth or already enjoying heavenly glory, we are in communion with them because Christ lives in each of us. Bodily death won't separate us forever. In some mysterious way, we are all one in our Lord. Jesus said that he gives life to whomever he wishes (John 5:21). He chose to give that life to you! It is a life that will never end because Christ himself is eternal and lives in you. May we begin and end each day in awe and thanksgiving for this incredible, priceless gift! "Lord God, with all my heart, I thank you for the gift of eternal life!" Isaiah 49:8-15
Psalm 145:8-9, 13-14, 17-18 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you." Why do we read about infants, and babies so often? Because, we are God's children. Sadly, "modern" couples don't want babies, children. They are opting for "fur babies" and I was looking online for a garage opener and a gadget was available for "pet parents". What's going on? What do we have against children? And did you know that there are new "marriages" that are designed to be totally against children? I won't say who they are or what they do exactly, but they are teaching that children are not a priority, they teach otherwise. And speaking of which, I read in the book last night (Get Us Out of Here!) that failing to tend to our children can be cause to head to purgatory instead of straight to Heaven. It is a sin then to neglect children, to abuse them by our neglect. What is the greatest neglect? The book said that we shower kids on their birthdays with gifts, and we name them strange names that will never be remembered in the cause of prayer like when named after saints. They are still bound to mercy, yes but there is more opportunity for grace if we are careful what we do with them and name them and teach them.
And so, if we choose TV for instance, over paying attention to them, this is cause for future suffering.
And back to the Word of God. Can a mother forget her child? Today, in abortions, they kill the child, but I can assure you they will never forget. And this is cause for great pain, if not now...then later. For now, some are "proud" of slaughtering their child, as is evident when movie stars and singers tout in pride that they wouldn't be where they are now in their careers had it not been for the murder of their child through abortion. To me, this is satanic talk, because this is what you do when you sell your soul to darkness. And the pay off is terrible.
Can a mother forget her child? What does this mean in God terms? It is a rhetorical question, because He who knows the number of hairs on your head would never forget you. It is us who can forget...easily, when distracted, when anxious, when busy, when...other loves come in..other...gods. | We pray in Psalms:
"The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. The LORD is good to all and compassionate toward all his works." Sometimes I feel like a failure, like if I don't talk positive about someone, like when I complained about that worker not coming in, or always late and costing us so much. But on the flip side, what you don't know, like this morning, I had a private conversation with him and I encouraged him to keep doing good, and said "we're in this together, if you lose, I lose". He seemed to have appreciated it. I know he can do better, because he actually had been better lately. The secret to success is that when others win, you win. This my friend is how humility works. Just try in an argument, even if you're totally right, let the other win, say sorry, and let the truth come out humbly on its own time. God let those have their way with Him, let them win, but ultimately, He won. And through Him we are triumphant in glory to God. Not as the world desires but as God our Father desires. | In today's Gospel we heard:
"Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life."
At the end of the Gospel today, our Lord speaks about deeds and who will be saved through deeds, right? Many new churches teach against deeds, albeit indirect. They tout "faith alone" saves. That is a half truth and half lie. We cannot just state we believe and not live it. There are too many chiefs and not enough indians. Too many bossy people, and not many servants. Not many...slaves. Slaves are humble to God's will. So what happens when you pass from death to life? A new life with Christ becomes a transformational life. You are transformed and you transform others. So what is God asking us? Our Father is asking us to believe in Him. Believe in the one He has sent. He is even sending me to you through these words. Believe. Belief is transformational. Everything happens when you believe. I believe God has sent me and I believe God sends you, and I believe people who God sends to me...that need help, that I need to listen to. | And what is eternal life? Life without time with God. The book says there are no "neutral angels". You are either with God or you are not as is stated in the book of Revelation when God our Father says He wants us hot or cold, and our Lord Jesus wants us ablaze on fire for love of Him.
And lastly, my experience of our Lord on the cross made my soul know this was Our Father on the cross. Suffering, dying, out of pure love, making the way for eternal love that is beyond human comprehension. I look forward to the resurrection and believe it or not, it is completely your choice of how much purgatory you're willing to suffer, and it can happen now, rather than later, and it is better now to burn and yearn for God with all your heart mind and soul. | from your brother in Christ,
Adrian |  click to hear | Random bible verse generator:
WOW! Proverbs 22:6
6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment