†Saint Quote
"We know certainly that our God calls us to a holy life. We know that he gives us every grace, every abundant grace; and though we are so weak of ourselves, this grace is able to carry us through every obstacle and difficulty."
–St. Elizabeth Ann Seton †Today's Meditation
"Our confidence in God must be founded on His infinite goodness and on the merits of the Passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, with this condition on our part: that we should preserve and recognize in ourselves an entire and firm resolution to belong wholly to God, and to abandon ourselves in all things, and without any reserve, to His Providence. Observe that I do not say that we must feel this resolution to belong wholly to God, but only that we must have it and recognize it in ourselves; we must not concern ourselves with what we feel or do not feel, since the greater part of our feelings and satisfactions are only the movements of self-love. Neither must it be supposed that in all this practice of abandonment and indifference, we shall never have desires contrary to the will of God, or that nature will never shrink with repugnance from the dispositions of His good pleasure, for these will often occur. The virtues of abandonment and indifference reside in the higher region of our soul; the lower region, generally speaking, has nothing to do with them. We must remain at peace, and paying no attention whatever to what that lower nature desires, we must embrace the divine will and unite ourselves to it—whatsoever this may entail. There are very few persons who reach this height of perfect self-renunciation; nevertheless, we must all aim at it, each according to his little measure."
—St. Francis de Sales, p. 22-23 An Excerpt From
The Art of Loving God †Daily Verse
"And passing along by the Sea of Galilee, [Jesus] saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men." And immediately they left their nets and followed him."
–Mark 1:16-18 |  click to read more | | St. Andrew St. Andrew (1st c.) was the first of the twelve Apostles to follow Jesus, after being a disciple of St. John the Baptist, the Precursor of Christ. St. Andrew was a fisherman by trade and the younger brother of St. Peter. Andrew recognized Jesus as the prophesied Messiah and left his fishing trade behind to follow Jesus, convincing his brother Simon Peter to do the same. After Jesus' ascension into heaven, Andrew preached the Gospel throughout the world as commanded by Christ. He ministered and preached in Asia Minor before finally being martyred by crucifixion in the city of Patras in Achaea, Greece. He was tied to an X-shaped cross by request, not deeming himself worthy to die on the same kind of cross as his Savior. Andrew suffered for two days before dying, while continuing to preach Christ from his cross. St. Andrew's feast day is November 30th. | Feast of Saint Andrew, Apostle Reading I Rom 10:9-18 Brothers and sisters:
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.
For one believes with the heart and so is justified,
and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.
The Scripture says,
No one who believes in him will be put to shame.
There is no distinction between Jew and Greek;
the same Lord is Lord of all,
enriching all who call upon him.
For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed?
And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard?
And how can they hear without someone to preach?
And how can people preach unless they are sent?
As it is written,
How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news!
But not everyone has heeded the good news;
for Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed what was heard from us?
Thus faith comes from what is heard,
and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.
But I ask, did they not hear?
Certainly they did; for Their voice has gone forth to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. Responsorial Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 11 R. (10) The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
or:
R. (John 6:63) Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul;
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple.
R. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
or:
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
The command of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eye.
R. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
or:
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever;
The ordinances of the LORD are true, all of them just.
R. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
or:
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
They are more precious than gold, than a heap of purest gold;
Sweeter also than syrup or honey from the comb.
R. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
or:
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life. Alleluia Mt 4:19 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come after me, says the Lord,
and I will make you fishers of men.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 4:18-22 As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,
Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew,
casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen.
He said to them,
"Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."
At once they left their nets and followed him.
He walked along from there and saw two other brothers,
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets.
He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father
and followed him.
| Daily Meditation: Matthew 4:18-22 At once they left their nets and followed him. (Matthew 4:20) What is most striking about today's Gospel is the immediacy with which Simon and Andrew left their nets—along with their livelihood and families—to follow Jesus. On this feast of St. Andrew, we might wonder: Did he and the other disciples go through some internal struggle first? Shouldn't they have at least talked to their families about such a radical decision? The Scriptures do not rule out that Andrew had deliberated in some way before dropping his nets to follow Jesus that day. He had probably seen Jesus in town before this moment and had heard his preaching. Maybe he was already thinking about joining him. And yet the simplicity of Andrew's response to Jesus on the shore that day teaches us something beautiful. Andrew saw in the face of Jesus something that made him say, "I want to be wherever you are." Everything else paled in comparison. Maybe we find this hard to relate to, but that's okay. Because when we are faced with a big decision or we sense God calling us to take an important step, the Lord doesn't mind it if we take our time. In fact, listening to God usually requires time and patience. That's because we may need to seek the help and prayers of fellow believers who have wisdom and experience in discernment. However, there may also be times, like the one described in this passage, when Jesus makes himself present to us and calls us by name in an especially powerful way. And in those times, we might so desire to be with him that we decide "at once" to follow him, as Andrew did (Matthew 4:20). Read this Gospel passage again, but this time imagine yourself in Andrew's place. You are hard at work next to Peter, casting your net into the sea. Then you see Jesus walking along the shoreline. He comes to a stop when he reaches you and calls your name. What is he asking you to do today? How will you respond? "Jesus, thank you for calling me. St. Andrew, pray that I might become a faithful disciple like you." Romans 10:9-18
Psalm 19:8-11 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news!" In every Mass we sing "blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord".
How beautiful are the feet of those who bring THE Good News...of Jesus our Lord.
So...my child, do YOU have beautiful feet? If you are a herald of God's word, you very well could have beautiful feet. Beauty is beyond what we see, it goes much deeper. | We pray today;
_"The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever;
The ordinances of the LORD are true, all of them just. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just."_
Those who love God's word have beautiful feet. Those who love His commands. | In the Gospel today we heard our Master and Teacher:
"Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."
At once they left their nets and followed him."
Beauty to many is subjective, but the call from God is not subjective. The call is not to be taken as a mere "invitation" but as a calling. This then becomes...your life.
Too many of us have put on things of God until later in life. As if we would live forever on earth with so many opportunities day by day to turn to Him and do His will. Every day, and every moment is precious in His eyes. Even your hairs on your head are precious, so precious that they are counted.
We can't fathom such great love. But God loves beyond measure.
And so, when Our Father calls, what should our response be? It shouldn't be anything else than what it was to Simon and Andrew; they said nothing but got up and followed immediately, at once.
If you've said one word after the calling, you've said too much.
Follow first, ask questions later.
Remember Heaven's language of love in obedience. This my dear, is true faith, and remember what I have been equating faith with...love. Then this is true love of God.
A child of God is doing His holy will right now. This is you. | ........................................
Lord, May I always be attentive to your daily call....
............................................... adrian |  click to hear | Deuteronomy 8:17–18 [Deuteronomy 8] 17 Beware lest you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.' 18 You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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