†Today's Meditation "Great love can change small things into great ones, and it is only love which lends value to our actions." –St. Faustina Kowalska †Today's Meditation "I desire trust from My creatures. Encourage souls to place great trust in My fathomless mercy. Let the weak, sinful soul have no fear to approach Me, for even if it had more sins than there are grains of sand in the world, all would be drowned in the unmeasurable depths of My mercy." —Jesus to St. Faustina Kowalska, (1059) An Excerpt From Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska - Divine Mercy in My Soul †Daily Verse "Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, "Be strong, fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you."" –Isaiah 35:3-4 | click to read more | | St. Maria Faustina Kowalska St. Maria Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938), baptized with the name Helena, was one of ten children born to a devout, peasant farming family in Poland. She grew up during the tough years leading up to and following the first World War, and received little formal education. She worked as a poor housekeeper before following her religious vocation at the age of 20, entering the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Krakow. There she was given simple, humble jobs which hid her deep interior life. St. Faustina was graced with mystical visions and revelations from Jesus, as well as her Guardian Angel and certain saints. Jesus gave her the mission to proclaim his infinite, powerful, loving mercy to the whole world, especially to hardened sinners and those facing the hour of their death. St. Faustina, as Jesus' "secretary and apostle of Divine Mercy", faithfully recorded these messages in great detail in a nearly 700-page diary. In it she promoted devotion to the Divine Mercy of Jesus Christ as instructed by Our Lord himself, now famous throughout the Church, and a great consolation for many souls who would otherwise fear to approach God because of their burden of sin. She died at the age of 33 from tuberculosis. Pope St. John Paul II made St. Faustina the first saint of the new millennium. Her feast day is October 5th. Find a Devotional for This Saint | Wednesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time • Readings for the Optional Memorial of Saint Faustina Kowalska, virgin Reading 1 Gal 2:1-2, 7-14 Brothers and sisters: After fourteen years I again went up to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. I went up in accord with a revelation, and I presented to them the Gospel that I preach to the Gentiles– but privately to those of repute– so that I might not be running, or have run, in vain. On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the Gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter to the circumcised, for the one who worked in Peter for an apostolate to the circumcised worked also in me for the Gentiles, and when they recognized the grace bestowed upon me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas their right hands in partnership, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. Only, we were to be mindful of the poor, which is the very thing I was eager to do. And when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he clearly was wrong. For, until some people came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to draw back and separated himself, because he was afraid of the circumcised. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not on the right road in line with the truth of the Gospel, I said to Cephas in front of all, "If you, though a Jew, are living like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?" Responsorial Psalm Ps 117:1bc, 2 R. Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News. Praise the LORD, all you nations, glorify him, all you peoples! R. Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News. For steadfast is his kindness toward us, and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever. R. Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News. Alleluia Rom 8:15bc R. Alleluia, alleluia. You have received a spirit of adoption as sons through which we cry: Abba! Father! R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 11:1-4 Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your Kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test." | Daily Meditation: Luke 11:1-4 Teach us to pray. (Luke 11:1) The disciple's request wasn't so unusual. Traditionally, followers of a rabbi would ask him to teach them to pray. It was only natural for a student to want to imitate his teacher's relationship with God. What was unusual was Jesus' response. When they prayed, he said, the disciples were to address God as their Father! Not as Lord or Creator or Almighty—although all of these are true—but as Father. Without diminishing God in any way, Jesus tells the disciples, and us, to approach God in prayer with the confidence and trust of a beloved child. In the ancient world, very few rabbis would have dared to refer to God as Father. Yes, they acknowledged him as creator and father of all peoples. But calling God your own Father was quite bold. As Pope Francis explained, daring to speak to the all-holy God as children speak to a loving father is the "great revolution" introduced by Christianity (General Audience, June 7, 2017). Father: it's a new way of relating to God, a new way of appreciating what it means to be part of his people. And it's a new way of understanding God himself. Jesus shows us that his Father—our Father—always loves us and always welcomes us. He always stands ready to receive us as beloved members of his family. Take a moment to let that sink in. God is almighty, but he's not like a stern taskmaster demanding subservience. He is righteous, but he is not like a harsh judge looking to punish even the smallest slip-up. He is holy, but he's not like a lofty monarch looking down on you or holding himself aloof from you. He is your Father. God opens the door and invites you to be with him and to pour out your heart to him. Does it take a measure of courage? Yes. But Jesus himself accompanies you to the Father's throne and calls you his brother or sister. And so, as the priest reminds us at every Mass, "At the Savior's command and formed by divine teaching, we dare to say . . . Our Father." "Father, thank you for inviting me to come to you as your beloved child!" Galatians 2:1-2, 7-14 Psalm 117:1-2 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture: ""If you, though a Jew, are living like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?" I remember at my Cursillo back in 2004, the priest, the director said something I can't forget "words can attract souls but your living example can DRAG souls to Heaven!". Indeed, even Pope Francis and Pope JP II said of Mother Teresa in the new movie that just came out last night in select theatres, that her life spoke volumes on the Gospel...by her very life, in all she did. An indeed, souls are still dragging into Heaven by her mere example of living, a life totally devoted to the love of God and neighbor. | We pray today; "Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News. For steadfast is his kindness toward us, and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever." What does it mean when we say that God is faithful...forever? It means that He cannot go backwards, only forwards in His faithfulness. And so, it is us that are the ones who go backwards. Let us move forward WITH Him. | In the Gospel today we heard our Master and Teacher: "Father, hallowed be your name, your Kingdom come." And so, the movie on Mother Teresa was very eye opening. Mother Teresa said that we could not serve the poor like her without adoring Christ first. The drive is what we must acknowledge. The driver is our Lord, IN THE EUCHARIST. If you see how involved I get in ministries, it is because it is CHRIST. He is the fuel. And there's daily communion and adoration. The sisters of Mother Teresa are joyful lovers of Christ. Their calling is to see Christ in the poorest of the poor, and you cannot see Christ without the Eucharist. Is this the only way to see Christ? There are abnormal ways to see Him but this is the normative way...to Salvation. And so, if you haven't read between the lines, I'm asking for a Eucharistic Revival. That we may come to our Lord, see Him more often...and even daily in a Holy Visit. That way, when we die, our Lord may say "I know you", instead of saying "I don't know you, evildoer". For what soul coming to Christ persistently would come away nothing else than holy, and more wholly His? Come around long enough and you will see. The world wants you to put this off, but what you don't know, is that every day is like a new life. Would this day be wasted by not seeing the Lord? | Lord, give us Your Daily Prescence...this is the Daily Bread. Give us a heart to love You and fully accept everything You ask...and may we serve Thee with true Love. Yours in Christ our Master, ...adrian | click to hear | Random Bible Verse 1 Exodus 20:16 [Exodus 20] 16 "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com God Bless You! Peace | | |
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