†Saint Quote
"Behold Jesus Christ crucified, Who is the only foundation of our hope; He is our Mediator and Advocate; the victim and sacrifice for our sins. He is goodness and patience itself; His mercy is moved by the tears of sinners, and He never refuses pardon and grace to those who ask it with a truly contrite and humbled heart."
–St. Charles Borromeo †Today's Meditation
"We do not come to church to attend the service as a spectator, but in order, along with the priest, to serve God. Everything we do—our entering, being present, our kneeling and sitting and standing, our reception of the sacred nourishment—should be divine service. This is so only when all we do overflows from the awareness of a collected heart and the mind's attentiveness."
—Fr. Romano Guardini, p. 28 An Excerpt From
Meditations Before Mass †Daily Verse
"So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all [the] flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
–Ephesians 6:14-17 |  click to read more | | St. Charles Borromeo St. Charles Borromeo (1538–1584) was born into an ancient and wealthy family in Lombardy, Italy. When his uncle became Pope Pius IV, Charles was brought to Rome to take over several important assignments connected with the Vatican. He was ordained to Holy Orders at the age of 25 and was later made Archbishop of Milan, a position of high influence in the Church, and Cardinal. He initiated large-scale reform of his enormous and dilapidated diocese, which had not seen a resident bishop in 80 years. Clergy were ignorant and disobedient, religious were negligent and scandalous, and the laity had drifted from Church teaching. He rectified abuses and maintained the integrity of the Church's internal structure, all for which he encountered strong opposition and threats against his life. He also established hospitals, seminaries, orphanages, and the first Sunday School classes. He was a key player in the Council of Trent and kept it going when it was in danger of breaking up. He was a prominent defender of Church teaching in the Counter-Reformation and helped produce an official catechism. His counsel was widely sought, especially by the Catholic kings and queens of Europe and the popes under whom he served, and his virtue was evident to all. Throughout his life he held his rank and authority with humility, living austerely and constantly striving for sanctity. When plague and famine hit Milan in 1576, Charles stayed in the city to care for those in need and borrowed large sums of money to feed tens of thousands of people each day. Exhausted from his reforming labors, he died at the age of 46. St. Charles Borromeo is the patron of catechists, catechumens, seminarians, spiritual directors, and bishops. His feast day is November 4th. | Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop • Readings for the Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, bishop Reading 1 PHIL 3:17—4:1 Join with others in being imitators of me, brothers and sisters,
and observe those who thus conduct themselves
according to the model you have in us.
For many, as I have often told you
and now tell you even in tears,
conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ.
Their end is destruction.
Their God is their stomach;
their glory is in their "shame."
Their minds are occupied with earthly things.
But our citizenship is in heaven,
and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will change our lowly body
to conform with his glorified Body
by the power that enables him also
to bring all things into subjection to himself.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters,
whom I love and long for, my joy and crown,
in this way stand firm in the Lord, beloved. Responsorial Psalm PS 122:1-2, 3-4AB, 4CD-5 R. (1) Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced because they said to me,
"We will go up to the house of the LORD."
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord. Alleluia 1 JOHN 2:5 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever keeps the word of Christ,
the love of God is truly perfected in him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel LK 16:1-8 Jesus said to his disciples, "A rich man had a steward
who was reported to him for squandering his property.
He summoned him and said,
'What is this I hear about you?
Prepare a full account of your stewardship,
because you can no longer be my steward.'
The steward said to himself, 'What shall I do,
now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me?
I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.
I know what I shall do so that,
when I am removed from the stewardship,
they may welcome me into their homes.'
He called in his master's debtors one by one.
To the first he said, 'How much do you owe my master?'
He replied, 'One hundred measures of olive oil.'
He said to him, 'Here is your promissory note.
Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.'
Then to another he said, 'And you, how much do you owe?'
He replied, 'One hundred measures of wheat.'
He said to him, 'Here is your promissory note;
write one for eighty.'
And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.
For the children of this world
are more prudent in dealing with their own generation
than the children of light." | Daily Meditation: Philippians 3:17–4:1 Join with others in being imitators of me. (Philippians 3:17) Does Paul sound a bit boastful to you in today's first reading? Instead of asking his readers to imitate him, shouldn't he ask them to imitate Jesus? It's true that we have no better model than Jesus for how we should live and share God's love. We should always try to imitate him. But Paul provides a different sort of example for us. Where Jesus was pure and sinless and holy, Paul was a sinner like us. Just like us, he had his good moments and his not-so-good moments. He had times of great joy and peace, but he also had times when he lost his temper or gave in to sarcasm and anger (see Galatians 5:10-12; 2 Corinthians 11:16-20). But for all of his ups and downs, Paul never lost sight of the love that God had for him. He also never lost sight of the mercy that Jesus had on him—a mercy that covered all of his sins and failings. So it's one thing to try to imitate Jesus in all of his perfection. But we know we'll never attain the sinlessness he had from the beginning. And that's exactly why we have saints like Paul: sinners just like us who, despite their sin, never gave up on following the Lord. It's their humility that we should imitate. It's their repentant hearts and their eagerness to reconcile with anyone they may have hurt that we should follow. It's their determination to love all God's people—even if they didn't always succeed at it—that we should take up for ourselves. Writing to the believers at Ephesus, Paul proclaimed that all of us who believe can have "boldness of speech and confidence of access" to Jesus (3:12). This man, who was keenly aware of his sins and weaknesses, still believed that he could come before the Lord. And, he said, so could we. All because of God's mercy and love. So by all means, strive to imitate Jesus. Strive to "be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). But don't give up if you fall short. In that case, imitate St. Paul and rest in Jesus' mercy and grace. "Jesus, help me to imitate all the saints who have followed you throughout the ages." Psalm 122:1-5
Luke 16:1-8 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"Their minds are occupied with earthly things." What occupies our minds? And how often do you think about eternal things?
Truly, in our every day and every way, we should relate everything, to the everlasting Way. He is the Lord. | We pray today;
"I rejoiced because they said to me, "We will go up to the house of the LORD." And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord." Funny, I've been singing this song all week in daily Masses; "I rejoiced when I heard them say, let us go to the house of the Lord.". I remember when I was a child, I used to watch a cartoon I think was called "the cities of Gold" and the memory gives me nostalgia, of a child in wonder and awe, of how things could be, in new sights and new sounds, like an inspiring adventure. I don't know if this is how Heaven could be, but it is an inspiration to me, to expect the unexpected, in the good sense and to have faith in the unexpected. | In the Gospel today we heard our Master and Teacher:
"For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than the children of light." How true it is, that we are more prudent in things of the world, than that of the light.
The dishonest steward started making shady deals, to gain the care of those around him. Why? Because, it was do or die. He was about to lose his life as he knew it, and so...in a twisted way, he began seeking reconciliation, mercy from those he was stealing from. The people knew what he was up to. The Master knew too.
Yet, the shrewd sinner knew. He knew what to do. He just had to finally do it. Make things better between the people and the master.
And so, the message is for all of us. We are called to reconcile each other...with God.
We are too going to be called to the Master and He will ask for accounting. Protestants dismiss this notion. But let's not get confused. They say we ain't got nothing to do but accept our Lord as Savior and all our sins are paid. This is a false notion. All of our little actions matter, for good or for worse. If I fail to smile at someone, it could set off a disaster for someone else. If I smile at someone, in the name of God's love, then it could save lives. And what happens in the material world we live in also happens in the spiritual world. We can lose lives or gain lives forever. To gain lives though...is a gift to God and you may even save your own life...like a good steward in the end. | .................
Lord, I pray we become Thy Holy, Good, and Pure stewards to usher in Your Heavenly Kingdom, Thy Holy Will !
............................................... adrian |  click to hear | Random Bible Verse 1
Proverbs 19:11 [Proverbs 19] 11 Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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