†Saint Quote
"Be peace-loving. Peace is a precious treasure to be sought with great zeal. You are well aware that our sins arouse God's anger. You must change your life, therefore, so that God in his mercy will pardon you. What we conceal from men is known to God. Be converted, then, with a sincere heart. Live your life that you may receive the blessing of the Lord. Then the peace of God our Father will be with you always."
–St. Francis of Paola †Today's Meditation
"How many souls might reach a high degree of sanctity if properly directed from the first. I know God can sanctify souls without help, but just as He gives the gardener the skill to tend rare and delicate plants while fertilizing them Himself, so He wishes to use others in His cultivation of souls. What would happen if the gardener were so clumsy that he could not graft his trees properly, or knew so little about them that he wanted to make a peach tree bear roses?"
—St. Therese of Lisieux, p. 64 An Excerpt From
The Story of a Soul †Daily Verse
"But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust."
–Matthew 5:44-45 |  click to read more | | St. Louis De Montfort St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673 – 1716) was born in Brittany, France, to a large farming family. As a child he displayed an unusual spiritual maturity and spent much time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. At the age of 19 he went on foot to Paris to study theology at a prestigious school with the support of a benefactor; along the way he gave his possessions to the poor and made a lifelong vow to live in poverty supported entirely on alms. He was ordained a priest at the age of 27, and at 32 discovered his calling to be an itinerant preacher, receiving the title of "Apostolic Missionary" from the Pope after his bishop tried to silence him. For the next 17 years he preached missions in countless towns and villages throughout France with an emphasis on renewal and reform. His fiery devotion, oratory skill, and identification with the poor led many souls to conversion. He was persecuted by the Jansenists, who, in their spiritual pride, poisoned him, banished him from preaching in their dioceses, and made an assassination attempt on his life. He had a profound devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and taught on the power of the Holy Rosary. He also wrote a number of classic works on Marian devotion, the most famous being True Devotion to Mary. His feast day is April 28. | Thursday of the Second Week of Easter Reading I Acts 5:27-33 When the court officers had brought the Apostles in
and made them stand before the Sanhedrin,
the high priest questioned them,
"We gave you strict orders did we not,
to stop teaching in that name.
Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching
and want to bring this man's blood upon us."
But Peter and the Apostles said in reply,
"We must obey God rather than men.
The God of our ancestors raised Jesus,
though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree.
God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior
to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins.
We are witnesses of these things,
as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him." When they heard this,
they became infuriated and wanted to put them to death. Responsorial Psalm 34:2 and 9, 17-18, 19-20 R. (7a) The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Taste and see how good the LORD is; blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD confronts the evildoers, to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them, and from all their distress he rescues them.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
Many are the troubles of the just man, but out of them all the LORD delivers him.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Jn 20:29 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord;
blessed are those who have not seen, but still believe!
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 3:31-36 The one who comes from above is above all.
The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things.
But the one who comes from heaven is above all.
He testifies to what he has seen and heard,
but no one accepts his testimony.
Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy.
For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God.
He does not ration his gift of the Spirit.
The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,
but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life,
but the wrath of God remains upon him. | Daily Meditation: Acts 5:27-33 We must obey God. (Acts 5:29) "Weeds for sale! Pick your own!" Would you pay someone just so that you could pick the weeds in his garden? More likely, you would expect that person to pay you! We all know how hard pulling weeds can be, but it's necessary if we want a bountiful harvest. That's why every avid gardener is committed to keeping weeds at bay. Knowing that his labor will produce good fruit—quite literally—makes the work worthwhile. If you want to see what the fruit of a well-tended spiritual garden looks like, then look at today's first reading. The apostles had been tending the garden of the Lord—the early Church—from the day of Pentecost. They had also been planting seeds of the gospel throughout Jerusalem. Clearly, this was not easy work. Today's reading alone describes the kind of trials they had to endure. Their very lives were at stake! So what made them so joyful and confident? From the start, the apostles were in the habit of pulling weeds out of their own hearts: weeds of self-righteousness and selfishness and pride. Weeds of arrogance and self-importance and vengeance. They worked on uprooting anything that might keep them from bearing joyful witness to Christ—even in the midst of threats and persecution. Jesus wants us to keep weeding our own gardens as well. Of course, it isn't always easy to stay vigilant. You never know when another weed is going to crop up. You never know when the seed of a temptation may sprout. At least not unless you are paying attention to the thoughts and desires of your heart. If the "work" of tending your garden ever seems too hard, remember that Jesus has promised a full and rich harvest. He promises you nothing less than the love, the peace, the gentleness, and the patience that are the "fruit" of the Spirit living within you. (Galatians 5:22-23). So fix your attention on the kind of person Jesus is turning you into, and the daily toil will be well worth the effort! "Lord, help me to focus on the bounty that you have promised for those who are faithful." Psalm 34:2, 9, 17-20
John 3:31-36 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
""We must obey God rather than men." Who do I obey? Most followers say God, but are we true? I think what we mean is that we know that we are supposed to follow God. And this is more honest. We know what we ought to do.
Should we do what we ought to do? Of course.
Let's not get ahead of ourselves..or our Lord Himself. You see, the problem is that we tend to choose ourselves...before Him and His Holy Desire. | We pray in Psalms:
"I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall be ever in my mouth. Taste and see how good the LORD is; blessed the man who takes refuge in him." When will you bless the Lord at all times?
When will we taste how good He is?
It will be in the time of life that you can taste and see. And I'm thinking mostly of suffering. I've yet to meet a soul that is not somehow suffering...therefore, in much need of prayer. And this mostly in people over the age of reason. People grow into problems, and this is why the evil spirits love to torment today's children with deviated thoughts, and now teachings of sexuality, and all sorts of distortions. Soon there is sadness, not joy. Soon there is despair, not hope, nor joy. We must turn to our Lord always, bless Him always in doing such. | In today's Gospel we heard:
"The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things." Have you ever met someone that just talks about what is above? Chances are very slim. So how can you find things about what is above? Seek. Search. Pray. For the most part, we find people speaking of earthly things, such as work, sports, family, social events, worldly events. And they are not all bad...unless, they become more. More than God Himself, more of the focus of all our interactions. So can you bless God all day at work? Take me for instance. I wear many, MANY hats, and I'm multi tasking even as we speak. But that should give you an example of how we can bless God no matter what. While I'm driving, I'm working, but I'm also in tune with God. I'm working, dealing with many issues but I'm always refocusing on God. You see, we cannot excuse ourselves from blessing God all day.
In every one you encounter, in every problem.
You cannot clockout from God.
You cannot stop faith and then resume faith, or at least we shouldn't!
Unfortunately, most of us leave Him out of the picture when we go have fun, or to work, or whatever. Some even leave Him out when serving Him in ministries!
How does that happen?
We forget what and who we are serving.
We are serving God Love.
I will forever spread this message because it is the absolute truth. We are servants of Love. | "The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him." And so we have over 2,000 years of witnesses in the Holy Church. We have thousands of witnesses to God's grace.
And how hard is it to explain grace and to live grace and to desire grace from Heaven?
What is it like to have a grace filled life?
We are in a moment in history that is starving for grace but we do not know how to eat spiritually of Christ. We do not know how to pray. We do not know...how to ask for what is good. The world preaches that God is NOT good. And what does this mean? It is a statement that says that we know better, and that we are more good and are better judges ourselves. This is an egotistical stance, and at its core is pride, a repugnance surrounds this stance.
Have you ever tasted Mercy?
Have you ever felt God's love?
Have you ever heard Him speak?
It has only taken two or three words from Him for me to be forever changed.
Meanwhile, we speak in the thousands of words to make a point.
I get tired of so much babbling of the worldly speech.
I desire mercy more.
I desire straight forward and simple love.
The kind that just loves for the sake of love. Now we are seeing something new, and always good.
Now you are called to this life...taste now...for what is coming forever............................ | from your brother in Christ,
Adrian |  click to hear | Random bible verse generator: WOW
Acts 17:24–25
24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,1 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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