†Saint Quote
"Nothing great is ever achieved without much enduring."
–St. Catherine of Siena †Today's Meditation
"If you love God, lust has no place in your heart. Saint Augustine teaches that the sin of lust is like an iron chain that binds you fast, enslaving your will to perversity. When lust gains entry to your heart, it quickly takes root as a habit. If you don't resist and uproot it, that habit inevitably becomes necessary."
—Patrick Madrid, p. 336 An Excerpt From
A Year with the Bible †Daily Verse
"For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and preserving the way of his saints."
–Proverbs 2:6-8 |  click to read more | | St. James the Lesser St. James the Lesser (1st c.), also called St. James the Just, was one of the Twelve Apostles and the cousin of Jesus. Both James and his brother, St. Jude, began to follow Jesus in the second year of his ministry. St. James the Less was the first of the Twelve Apostles to whom the risen Christ appeared. After Jesus' ascension into heaven, James was given charge as bishop of the Church in Jerusalem, making him an important leader of the early Church. He was well-known for his prayer life and holiness. It is described that his knees and forehead were calloused due to long hours spent prostrate in prayer. His sanctity was such that he was respected by the Jews and considered by many to be a holy man. James the Less is the author of the New Testament epistle that bears his name. He was martyred by being thrown from the roof of the Jerusalem temple and then stoned and beaten to death as he prayed for his murderers. He died in the year 62 A.D. during the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero. St. James the Less is the patron saint of pharmacists and the dying. His feast day is May 3rd. | Feast of Saints Philip and James, Apostles Reading I 1 Cor 15:1-8 I am reminding you, brothers and sisters,
of the Gospel I preached to you,
which you indeed received and in which you also stand.
Through it you are also being saved,
if you hold fast to the word I preached to you,
unless you believed in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received:
that Christ died for our sins
in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he was buried;
that he was raised on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.
After that, he appeared to more
than five hundred brothers and sisters at once,
most of whom are still living,
though some have fallen asleep.
After that he appeared to James,
then to all the Apostles.
Last of all, as to one born abnormally,
he appeared to me. Responsorial Psalm 19:2-3, 4-5 R. (5) Their message goes out through all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day; and night to night imparts knowledge.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Not a word nor a discourse whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds, and to the ends of the world, their message.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Jn 14:6b, 9c R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the way, the truth, and the life, says the Lord;
Philip, whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 14:6-14 Jesus said to Thomas, "I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you know me, then you will also know my Father.
From now on you do know him and have seen him."
Philip said to him,
"Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us."
Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you for so long a time
and you still do not know me, Philip?
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own.
The Father who dwells in me is doing his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me,
or else, believe because of the works themselves.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes in me will do the works that I do,
and will do greater ones than these,
because I am going to the Father.
And whatever you ask in my name, I will do,
so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it."
| Daily Meditation: John 14:6-14 Whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these. (John 14:12) Although Philip had been following Jesus for some time, he still had much to learn about the Lord. For example, when faced with a huge and hungry crowd, he only thought about how much money it would cost to feed them all, not that Jesus could miraculously feed them (John 6:5-7). And in today's Gospel, Philip doesn't yet understand that Jesus is the face of his heavenly Father. But despite his lack of understanding, Philip still believed in Jesus; he still followed him and continued to learn from him. And that's all God needed to use him. As Jesus said, "Whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these" (John 14:12, emphasis added). Philip was called, responded with faith, and God would continue to build on that faith. We too have been called by the Lord and have responded with faith—and he is still at work in us. He isn't asking us to know and understand everything, just that we would keep believing in him. That's the starting point, as it was for the apostles Philip and James, whose feast we celebrate today. And even now, we can step out in faith and do the works that God is calling us to do. In fact, the more we step out in faith, the more our understanding will deepen and grow. So go ahead and exercise your faith. Offer to pray with someone who is sick. Take on a project that you think God is calling you to do, even if you don't feel completely qualified. Share an uplifting story about the Lord with a coworker who is struggling. After the events of Easter and Pentecost, Philip and James understood what God had done in Jesus. They went on to preach the gospel and were eventually martyred for their faith. Like these two apostles, Jesus knows you believe in him, and he can work with that. As he increases your understanding, you can trust that the Lord will open even more doors to build up his kingdom in the world today. "Jesus, I believe in you. Send me out to share your good news!" 1 Corinthians 15:1-8
Psalm 19:2-5 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"Through it (the Gospel) you are also being saved,
if you hold fast to the word I preached to you,
unless you believed in vain." We are actively being saved. Let's take that as a theological reality. We are in a continuous state of salvation. It is not as protestants say "once saved always saved (no matter what you do or say)". As Catholics, we believe it is possible to lose our salvation. And this is good. What good is it to live as if you have nothing to lose? Every moment then, is precious if you have something to lose, because then you can give great value to what you value most. Every act becomes supremely important, if everything hinges on this contingency: that we live simply by the grace of God. | We pray in Psalms:
"Not a word nor a discourse whose voice is not heard; Through all the earth their voice resounds, and to the ends of the world, their message. Their message goes out through all the earth" Supposedly angels can appear, and supposedly poor souls from purgatory can appear. To whom? And supposedly God speaks through people. To whom does He speak to? What if God speaks through angels and poor souls? And what if something so crazy where to happen...as if Him speaking through holy people that choose to let Him live through themselves? And what can I do to make that happen in me? To become a pure vessel of God...of Love? | In today's Gospel we heard:
""Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip?" Supposedly our Lord would appear to His chosen ones and they could not recognize Him.
Supposedly He speaks and joins us and we cannot hear Him or see Him to this day.
What can we do to fix this problem?
How do you know when God is speaking? That is actually the title of a book written by Fr. Mitch Pacwa, which I read, and in a nutshell, and if I remember correctly, it becomes a matter of living your life according to God's will. Only then will you know when God is working and speaking in you.
Yet, on a rare occasion, He reaches to a complete sinner, who doesn't even think about God or Church.
How does this happen?
That's when we know God's mercy is well and alive and working among us. | "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." There is a big problem with liberalism; they get to decide what the truth is. And this will prove deadly. For we have our God Himself walking the earth declaring HE IS THE TRUTH, yet we have fools in the world, fooled, thinking that they have the truth. And let's forget the cornerstone of truth, because God says HE IS THE LIFE. We have no life without Him in our life. What is life? Eternal life. This life is quickly passing. Days are now turning into minutes for me as I've assumed double and even triple responsibilities at work. And all the while I'm trying to realize...what life is and should really be about. And so, we must take into account every little action we do...is it for truth? Is it for life?
The world has slaughtered millions and millions of innocent babies, and at least a million slaughtered for the faith in Christ Jesus. Why does evil hate life so much? Yet it fools people to have control over life. In the end....it is a fight for control. In faith, we must let God rule our lives, and supreme order must be fashioned to His Holy Will.
And so my life is like this: that what I do for God becomes a prayer, a life offering. And everything we do can become just that.
Our Lord has spoken, and the reality is, your faith is so very precious. Let these words speak to your heart. Time is passing, but His Word of Eternal life shall never pass. | from your brother in Christ,
Adrian |  click to hear | Random bible verse generator:
WOW KEYS TO HEAVEN:
Matthew 18:1–4
Who Is the Greatest? 18
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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