†Saint Quote
O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, for the salvation of souls, the reparation of sins, the reunion of all Christians, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father this month. Amen. †Quote of the Day
"Do you realize that Jesus is there in the tabernacle expressly for you - for you alone? He burns with the desire to come into your heart."
–St. Therese of Lisieux †Today's Meditation
"In that blessed [Christmas] night also Joseph became the patron, the vicar, and the patriarch of the whole Catholic Church. It is certain, St. Athanasius tells us, that the stable where Jesus was born is 'a figure of the Church, whose altar is the manger, whose vicar is Joseph, whose ministers are the shepherds, whose priests are the angels, whose great High-Priest is Jesus Christ, and whose throne is the Blessed Virgin.'"
—Edward Healy Thompson, p. 233 An Excerpt From
The Life and Glories of St. Joseph †Daily Verse
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."
–Hebrews 13:8 |  click to read more | | St. Victoria St. Victoria (d. 250 A.D.) was a Christian noblewoman from Rome. She, together with her sister, St. Anatolia, were forced into arranged marriages with two pagan noblemen. Both Victoria and Anatolia desired to devote themselves entirely to God rather than marry. Upon this refusal, their suitors denounced the sisters as Christians to the authorities under the persecution of Roman Emperor Decius. The sisters were seized and put under house arrest in order to break their faith and convince them to marry. Instead of weakening, their faith in Christ became more resolute. While under house arrest they sold all of their belongings, gave their money to the poor, and converted the servants and guards who attended them to Christianity. Both St. Victoria and her sister were eventually killed for their faith; first Anatolia, and later Victoria. St. Victoria was stabbed through the heart at the request of her rejected suitor, Eugenius. Her feast day is December 23rd. | Friday of the Fourth Week of Advent Reading I Mal 3:1-4, 23-24 Thus says the Lord GOD:
Lo, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me;
And suddenly there will come to the temple the LORD whom you seek,
And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.
But who will endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears?
For he is like the refiner's fire, or like the fuller's lye.
He will sit refining and purifying silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi,
Refining them like gold or like silver that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD.
Then the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem will please the LORD, as in the days of old, as in years gone by.
Lo, I will send you Elijah, the prophet,
Before the day of the LORD comes, the great and terrible day,
To turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike the land with doom. Responsorial Psalm 25:4-5ab, 8-9, 10 and 14 R. (see Luke 21:28) Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me; teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior.
R. Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.
Good and upright is the LORD; thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice, he teaches the humble his way.
R. Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.
All the paths of the LORD are kindness and constancy toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
The friendship of the LORD is with those who fear him, and his covenant, for their instruction.
R. Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand. Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
O King of all nations and keystone of the Church;
come and save man, whom you formed from the dust!
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 1:57-66 When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her,
and they rejoiced with her.
When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,
they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
but his mother said in reply,
"No. He will be called John."
But they answered her,
"There is no one among your relatives who has this name."
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote, "John is his name,"
and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,
"What, then, will this child be?
For surely the hand of the Lord was with him." | Daily Meditation: Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24 He will sit refining and purifying silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi. (Malachi 3:3) Here we are, at the end of Advent, reading from the last book of the Old Testament, about to step into the New Testament. At this critical moment, the prophet Malachi uses the image of a silversmith to describe how God wants to purify his priests ("the sons of Levi") so they could "offer due sacrifice to the Lord" (3:3). And here we are, just two days before Christmas, and God's desire for us is the same. He wants to purify us so that we are ready to receive Jesus in a deeper way this Christmas. Do you know how silver is refined? A silversmith must place it in a crucible and then hold it in the middle of the fire, where it is the hottest, so that impurities, the "dross," can rise to the surface and be burned away. It's precise, exacting work: the silversmith sits by the fire the entire time, always looking for just the right moment when he should remove the silver from the heat. Like that silversmith, our heavenly Father wants to hold us carefully and attentively as he refines us. He knows which impurities will rise to the surface this year, and he already has a plan to help us remove them. Maybe it's envy of a prosperous neighbor who lavishes gifts on his family. Or the impulse to snap in anger when we're feeling overwhelmed by holiday preparations. Or long-standing resentments that become apparent during family gatherings. Or any number of other "impurities." No matter what it is, God longs to clear it away. So trust in his deep love for you. Imagine his joy as he anticipates the freedom, hope, and love that you can experience as the dross of sin is burned off. Just as a silversmith knows what purified silver looks like, God knows what a refined "you" will look like. In these last days before Christmas, give him permission to keep working. Let him bring you closer to that vision day after day. "Father, I trust you. I open my heart to you and ask you to purify my thoughts and desires. Make me ready to receive Jesus this Christmas." Psalm 25:4-5, 8-10, 14
Luke 1:57-66 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
" I will send you Elijah, the prophet, Before the day of the LORD comes, the great and terrible day,
To turn the hearts of the fathers to their children,
and the hearts of the children to their fathers..." Did you know this actually happens...that Elijah has been sent and that his message still resounds? Ever heard "prepare a way for the Lord?". Make room! Repent! He seeks! Is there any room in your life? Can you make more room? Is there any place in your heart? Can He not have it all? Why should anyone or any thing take the better part of your heart? | We pray today;
"All the paths of the LORD are kindness and constancy toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees. The friendship of the LORD is with those who fear him, and his covenant, for their instruction." In conversation with a technician on one of our bulldozers, as he took a break from the below freezing weather, we talked about our children. I relayed to him that it seems fathers are like regulators, and people call him bad, and mean, but it is for our own good, in the end, a child that is grown in His ways, becomes a light for Christ. The conversation went silent...I'm not too sure he was a believer until I said these things, maybe opening his eyes to faith and a good God that loves no matter what we see. And then he went off into the cold world, figuring out the way...perhaps to the true Way...our Lord among us. | In the Gospel today we heard:
"Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her." They rejoiced at what? The mercy of God. Right? We too should rejoice at the mercy our Lord offers us. The reason the world is not rejoicing is because they are not experiencing God's mercy...and faithfulness. Rather, we see darkness, and faithlessness everywhere. Right? How can I rejoice this Christmas? Give. Give with your heart. Give your heart to the one who will love you forever...truly...it is God our creator, our Father, our redeemer, all in the light bore to us on earth...our Lord Himself. |
From Bishop Barron today:
"Friends, today's Gospel tells the story of the birth and naming of John the Baptist. John's father Zechariah had been rendered speechless after his vision in the sanctuary, but we hear that "his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God." What follows this passage is the wonderful Canticle of Zechariah, which puts Jesus and John in the context of the great story of Israel. I would like to explore two lines of that great prayer today.
The God of Israel, Zechariah prays, "has come to his people and set them free." This is what God always wants to do. He hates the fact that we've become enslaved by sin and fear, and accordingly, he wants to liberate us. The central event of the Old Testament is an event of liberation from slavery. We are, as sinners, enslaved to our pride, our envy, our anger, our appetites, our greed, our lust—all of which wrap us up and keep us from being the people that we want to be.
Zechariah continues: "He has raised up for us a mighty Savior, born of the house of his servant David." God will effect this liberation through the instrumentation of a mighty Savior. This should be read against the background of Israel's long history of military struggle against its enemies. A great warrior has come, and he is from the house of Israel's greatest soldier, David. God had promised that he would put a descendant of David on the throne of Israel for all eternity, and Zechariah is prophesying that this will take place." .......................†........................
Lord, I pray that we learn to rejoice, and be glad in You and find all our happiness and truth and You forever and ever. You've offered Yourself as a light in the dark, as a fire in a cold world, and I find thee, and I sit by Thy fire of Love, calling, always You call me to be that fire for others to find solace and love, of sacrifice for one another, bread, food for the hungry.
.................................................. adrian |  click to hear | Random Bible Verse 1
Psalm 37:27–29 [Psalm 37] 27 Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever.
28 For the LORD loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
29 The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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