†Saint Quote
"Humility, obedience, meekness, and love are the virtues that shine through the Cross and the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. O my Jesus, help me imitate you!"
–St. Anthony Mary Claret †Today's Meditation
"In the old days, people demanded 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,' and to repay evil for evil. Patience was not yet on the earth, because faith was not on the earth either. Of course, impatience made full use of the opportunities the Law gave it. That was easy when the Lord and Master of patience was not here. But now that he has come and put the grace of faith together with patience, we are no longer allowed to attack someone even with a word—not even to call someone a fool without facing the danger of judgment. The Law found more than it lost when Christ said, 'Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven' (Matthew 5:44-45). This most important commandment summarizes in a word the universal discipline of patience, since it does not allow us to do evil even to people who deserve it."
—Tertullian, p. 104 An Excerpt From
A Year with Church Fathers †Daily Verse
"For he will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone."
–Psalm 91:11-12 |  click to read more | | St. Anthony Mary Claret St. Anthony Mary Claret (1807–1870) was born in Spain, the fifth of eleven children, the same year Napoleon invaded the country. He took up his father's trade of weaving before entering the priesthood. He served as a parish priest with a missionary's zeal for the salvation of souls. He often preached multiple sermons in a single day, traveled to preach parish missions and retreats for the clergy, and heard confessions for hours on end. His labors were rewarded by many people returning to a fervent practice of the Catholic faith, especially as a result of his meek and gentle manner. He was made Archbishop of Santiago and sent to Cuba from 1849-1857. His great reforms of the neglected diocese, both ecclesiastically and socially, were so sweeping and effective that his life was threatened. He was recalled back to Spain as confessor to the queen, where his tireless and fruitful priestly work continued. To increase his apostolic efforts he founded the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, known today as the Claretians. He also founded a major Catholic publisher in Spain, and wrote or published hundreds of books. He was so opposed in his efforts that he was severely persecuted and eventually exiled to Paris, along with the Spanish queen, by revolutionary enemies of religion. He took part in the First Vatican Council, his wisdom and sanctity being evident to all, before suffering a stroke and dying in exile in France. During his life St. Anthony Marie Claret had the gift of prophesy and reading of consciences, in addition to performing many miracles. A resplendent light was also observed to shine from his face as he offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. His feast day is October 24th. | Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 EPH 4:32–5:8 Brothers and sisters:
Be kind to one another, compassionate,
forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.
Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love,
as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us
as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.
Immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you,
as is fitting among holy ones,
no obscenity or silly or suggestive talk, which is out of place,
but instead, thanksgiving.
Be sure of this, that no immoral or impure or greedy person,
that is, an idolater,
has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God.
Let no one deceive you with empty arguments,
for because of these things
the wrath of God is coming upon the disobedient.
So do not be associated with them.
For you were once darkness,
but now you are light in the Lord.
Live as children of light. Responsorial Psalm PS 1:1-2, 3, 4 AND 6 R. (see Eph. 5:1) Behave like God as his very dear children.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
R. Behave like God as his very dear children.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R. Behave like God as his very dear children.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R. Behave like God as his very dear children. Alleluia JN 17:17B, 17A R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Your word, O Lord, is truth;
consecrate us in the truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel LK 13:10-17 Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath.
And a woman was there who for eighteen years
had been crippled by a spirit;
she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect.
When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said,
"Woman, you are set free of your infirmity."
He laid his hands on her,
and she at once stood up straight and glorified God.
But the leader of the synagogue,
indignant that Jesus had cured on the sabbath,
said to the crowd in reply,
"There are six days when work should be done.
Come on those days to be cured, not on the sabbath day."
The Lord said to him in reply, "Hypocrites!
Does not each one of you on the sabbath
untie his ox or his ass from the manger
and lead it out for watering?
This daughter of Abraham,
whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now,
ought she not to have been set free on the sabbath day
from this bondage?"
When he said this, all his adversaries were humiliated;
and the whole crowd rejoiced at all the splendid deeds done by him. | Daily Meditation: Ephesians 4:32–5:8 Be imitators of God. (Ephesians 5:1) Sometimes it's nice to be told what to do. Stay out of the rain. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Brush your teeth. It simplifies things. God knows that; he even gave us the Ten Commandments to teach us how to live. But when St. Paul tells us to imitate God, it might not seem quite so simple. What is the "silly talk" we should avoid? When does wanting things cross the line into the kind of greed that is idolatry? What does God think about watching Looney Toons cartoons or collecting books? If you want to know how to imitate God, examine what Scripture reveals about him. He is kind and compassionate, self-sacrificing, loving, and forgiving. Those are qualities you can imitate. And look at Jesus. He is God in the flesh. So observe his actions in the Gospels and imitate those. In today's Gospel, for example, Luke tells us that Jesus cared deeply about the people around him. He was even willing to stop his teaching in the synagogue on a Sabbath to minister to a woman who had been suffering for eighteen years (Luke 13:11-13). Can we be just as flexible? Just as compassionate? Well, we know that the more time we spend with someone, the more we start imitating them and becoming like them. We take on their characteristics as we watch what they do and how they do it. The same is true with the Lord. Spend time in his presence. Maybe imagine Jesus sitting next to you. What is he doing? Is he reminding you of a time when you experienced his forgiveness? What is he saying to you? Perhaps that his kindness will carry you through difficult times. How does he sound in your thoughts? Gentle or compassionate? Then begin to imitate him. Do you know someone you could show Jesus' compassion to, even if it means interrupting your usual schedule? Could you stifle your rant and instead speak kindly the next time someone annoys you? Look for such opportunities to imitate God in your family, at work and school, or even in line at the post office. It's difficult, isn't it? The pressures of everyday life can stretch your "godlikeness" to the max. Yet God doesn't make impossible demands. He will help you. Go and try to do as God does. "Holy Spirit, help me to be an imitator of God today." Psalm 1:1-4, 6
Luke 13:10-17 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"...Be kind to one another, compassionate,
forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.
Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love...Immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is fitting among holy ones,
no obscenity or silly or suggestive talk, which is out of place,
but instead, thanksgiving." Wow, suddenly, the Lord's prayer is becoming more clear. Recall, we pray "on earth as it is in Heaven". And there is NO impurity in Heaven. There is NO silly talk. There is NO greed to be had, just holiness and sacrificial love for one another. Sufferings on earth are of high value and so our Lord values it to the max and shows what love is on earth. How much will we dare to suffer for God's Kingdom? How hard is it to pray with your family every night on your knees? How hard is it to spread the Good News to those who treat you poorly? How hard is it to sacrifice your precious time for God's works on earth? How hard is it to suffer lies and ridicule for God? It takes something...special. | We pray today;
" Behave like God as his very dear children.
Blessed the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night." Would you walk away when silly talk begins? Hot juicy gossip starts, rumors, and what do you do? Dive in with the rock throwing to the innocent until proven guilty? Calling someone a fool can earn you some time in purgatory, or worse, how often do we call others fools or worse? You see, Heaven is for purity and holiness, not like the Heaven protestants offer, where any and all can enter filthy for they have nothing to pay, none of their conscious decisions! No! We must fight to be the light. To live the Life of Christ. | In the Gospel today we heard our Master and Teacher:
""Woman, you are set free of your infirmity."
He laid his hands on her,
and she at once stood up straight and glorified God." | From Bishop Barron (Word On Fire Ministries) today:
"Friends, today's Gospel gives us a wonderful story of Jesus performing a miracle, something he still does today. I want to draw your attention to an extraordinary book by Protestant scholar Craig Keener titled Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts. The most surprising section of the book contains his reports of some of the millions of miracles that come, even today, from all over the world.
I'll relay to you just one case from Keener's book. Ed Wilkinson's eight-year-old son was found to have two holes in his heart. Surgery was scheduled and, while he was waiting, Ed prayed, but he was struggling with doubts. When his son asked whether he was going to die, his father was honest with him.
Ed's pastor decided to hold a prayer service for the boy, during which hundreds gathered to pray for his recovery. The day of the surgery arrived, and Ed was told the surgery would take four to six hours. After about a half hour, the surgeon entered the waiting area, and Ed feared for the worst. Instead, the doctor had inexplicable news: there were no holes in the boy's heart. They had simply closed up."
........................................ I liked a reflection I read today, one of about 3 to 5 reflections I read daily before meditation and prayer and writing to you. This one was short, i'll use google translate: "Like the resurrection of the son of the widow of Nain (cf. Lk 7:11-17), here we have another occasion in which Jesus responds to the situation of a woman without being asked. Why does he do it? Of course, it is in Jesus' DNA to be moved by compassion for those who suffer. However, in this context there is something else. Perhaps Jesus was well aware of the silencing and marginalization of women in patriarchal societies. How many women, even today, can fearlessly express their needs? That is why Jesus, who knew human hearts, did not wait for the women to come to him and ask for what they needed; he reached out and met their needs even before they could find his voice." God saw the women in need and moved to them without being asked.
WITHOUT BEING ASKED. How many of us are actually asked to help and we shy away? How many of us will make the first move, without being asked...for an apology, for help in church or a person in great need! I think this comes more naturally for a woman that has DNA built for compassion, but for men, it is harder to make a compassionate move.
Yet, our Lord risks His life for a woman that was afraid to ask for healing.
I have a takeaway from this.
God sees you, in the temple.
If you were wondering, there's your answer.
God saw you yesterday my child. He saw you needed healing and He said His arms are open wide, come, and receive.
Now, the faith move is on you.
Will you make the move to Him whom has made the first move of true love?
Stop waiting. Stop being afraid. Seize not the day, but every moment of the day. Live on earth, as we are to live in Heaven: Perfect. Humble. Pure. Holy.
...............................
Lord, thank You for touching me when I felt untouchable. I will forever be grateful for Your loving touch from Heaven.
.............................. your lil bro
adrian |  click to hear | Random Bible Verse 1 Ephesians 6:16–18 [Ephesians 6] 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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