†Saint Quote
"We must always remember that God does everything well, although we may not see the reason of what He does."
–St. Philip Neri †Today's Meditation
"We could surely say that the Eucharist bears a special relationship to wisdom because wisdom is the highest gift that flows from the virtue of charity. In the Eucharist we also set our minds on the highest thing, Christ Himself, Wisdom Incarnate, and are joined with Him in the most intimate of ways. Indeed, after receiving Communion in the Traditional Latin Mass, the priest prays that the body and blood of our Lord that he has received will "adhaerat visceribus meis," "cleave to my innermost parts."
—Kevin Vost, PSY.D., p.112-113 An Excerpt From
The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit †Daily Verse
"Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!"
–Psalm 139:23-24 |  click to read more | | Holy Innocents The Holy Innocents (1st c.) are the children mentioned in the account of Jesus' birth in Matthew's Gospel (2:16-18). When the Magi came to Jerusalem to find and adore the Baby Jesus, the newborn King of the Jews, King Herod requested that they inform him of the Child's location under the pretense of offering Him adoration, too. After paying the Child homage and offering Him their gifts, the Wise Men were warned in a dream not to betray Jesus' location, and departed for their home country by another route. Meanwhile the Holy Family was warned by an Angel to flee into Egypt. King Herod fell into a jealous rage over the Magi's failure to report back to him. He ordered all the baby boys aged two years and under to be killed, according to the appearance of the Bethlehem Star to the Three Wise Men, in an attempt to kill the Baby Jesus. These baby boys died not only for Christ, but in his stead. The Church venerates them as martyrs. It it is uncertain how many children were killed, whether a small number, or in the thousands. The Latin Church instituted the feast of the Holy Innocents in the fifth century. The Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome is believed to possess the bodies of several of the Holy Innocents. Their feast day is commemorated on December 28th. | Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs Reading I 1 Jn 1:5—2:2 Beloved:
This is the message that we have heard from Jesus Christ
and proclaim to you:
God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.
If we say, "We have fellowship with him,"
while we continue to walk in darkness,
we lie and do not act in truth.
But if we walk in the light as he is in the light,
then we have fellowship with one another,
and the Blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
If we say, "We are without sin,"
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just
and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing.
If we say, "We have not sinned," we make him a liar,
and his word is not in us.
My children, I am writing this to you
so that you may not commit sin.
But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous one.
He is expiation for our sins,
and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world. Responsorial Psalm 124:2-3, 4-5, 7cd-8 R. (7) Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.
Had not the LORD been with us—
When men rose up against us, then would they have swallowed us alive,
When their fury was inflamed against us.
R. Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.
Then would the waters have overwhelmed us;
The torrent would have swept over us; over us then would have swept the raging waters.
R. Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.
Broken was the snare, and we were freed.
Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
R. Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare. Alleluia See Te Deum R. Alleluia, alleluia.
We praise you, O God,
we acclaim you as Lord;
the white-robed army of martyrs praise you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 2:13-18 When the magi had departed, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
"Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt,
and stay there until I tell you.
Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him."
Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night
and departed for Egypt.
He stayed there until the death of Herod,
that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, Out of Egypt I called my son.
When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi,
he became furious.
He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity
two years old and under,
in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi.
Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet: A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more.
| Daily Meditation: 1 John 1:5–2:2 He . . . will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing. (1 John 1:9) When he heard the news about a newborn king of the Jews, King Herod felt threatened. So he ordered the massacre of all boys in Bethlehem under the age of two (Matthew 2:16). As horrible as this was, it was probably only one of many other atrocities Herod had committed in his lifetime. Clearly Herod was a sinful man! But look at today's first reading: "If we acknowledge our sins, [God] is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing" (1 John 1:9). It also tells us that Jesus is "expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world" (2:2). That's a very broad—and bold!—statement. Even Herod could be forgiven if he were to repent. On today's feast of the Holy Innocents, God is reminding us that not even the worst sinner is too far off from the mercy of God. What does that mean for those of us who live in Christ? It means that even on our worst days, there is hope. As Pope St. John Paul II once said, "We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures; we are the sum of the Father's love for us and our real capacity to become the image of his Son" (Homily, July 28, 2002). Think about that! You are a unique, unrepeatable image of Jesus. You are not primarily a sinner who sometimes does the right thing; you are a beloved disciple who sometimes falls into sin. Seeing yourself as a sinner who has been redeemed can help you be more open to God's life-changing grace. Today's first reading shows us just how high a price God has paid for that redemption: "the Blood of his Son Jesus" (1 John 1:7). Don't discount the all-encompassing power of that blood to cleanse you and to change your heart! Don't discount the wideness of God's mercy to welcome you back when you have strayed. That mercy runs deeper than any sin that you—or anyone else—could commit. Even Herod. Jesus is faithful to forgive all your sins. "Father, thank you for cleansing all my sins in Jesus' blood and calling me your beloved child." Psalm 124:2-5, 7-8
Matthew 2:13-18 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"But if we walk in the light as he is in the light,
then we have fellowship with one another,
and the Blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin." Walking in the light means something. Right? It means to walk His way, in His way. We all know what it means to meddle and wander off into darkness, it is all too easy it seems. Why does it seem to be easier to be in darkness? Well, hold up a second. I'm now walking more in light now. Now it is harder for me to walk in darkness. It is all about the path of least resistance ...to that which you have an affinity to, and this is caused by our actions, our upbringing and our training. Therefore, you must train yourself to walk only in light...this is to train for Heaven. I've about had it with protestant libertarian thoughts, that stemmed from a supposed puritan effort. It has gone to extremes that are disheartening. Why do I say? Because of all they now allow? Like divorce on demand? Like allowing woman priests, losing all its meaning. Like bashing Catholics on demand. Like allowing homosexual unions on demand no matter what kind, all things against traditional teaching. And now, my latest disheartening? I saw Merry Christmas ads in our local town newspaper. A church said Merry Christmas and that there would be no "services" on Sunday for Christmas. So now Sunday Worship takes a back seat to some other ideal. Whatever happened to the language of Heaven? What language do the speak about? God is Love yes, but it seems to me, that the way of Heaven is the light, and the way is obedience. By mere obedience I've had has caused me to be at this point...writing to you about faith. The commands of God are not suggestions. It is His Holy Will. | We pray today;
_" Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.
Had not the LORD been with us—
When men rose up against us, then would they have swallowed us alive,
When their fury was inflamed against us."_ And it turns out that the majority of the world believes there is a God, but not many believe IN God, and IN His ways and teachings. It is evident by the extreme defiance all over the world. And this causes atrocities among people. We get what we desire, and crooked desires receive crooked results, the cause of spiritual death is sin. | In the Gospel today we heard:
""Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you.
Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him." Did you know that the spirit of Herod, the spirit of death still looms today? Take a look around, what is the leading cause of deaths among babies? To the tune of millions and millions of babies being tortured and murdered, we are living in that kind of world today. The world is sadder for it. There are less smiles. Less geniuses. Less friends. Less of the Body of Christ. Less lights. Less love in the world. All because, we care less to begin with. To crooked desires, crooked results.
Families are stunted, smaller families, and the government says how many children we "should" be having for a "healthy economy". Yet, the word economy means to deal with a household. Who gets to say what goes on in your household? Who leads it? In faith matters, it is always the one with the strongest head. In money matters? Who decides what? And this becomes a fiasco. What's worse, I would dare say, most families do not actively pray together daily. They hardly eat together, much less pray together every single day of the week. And so, the state of the household is actually in disarray. Other things are more important. To crooked desires, crooked loves, crooked results for us and the whole world.
I don't know that many of us realize just how important a soul is...to be a light for God. You could be in prison, in a nursing home, or just a family person feeling lonely, and yet you matter just as much as the other and even more...if you only you knew what this faith means.
Your very state of being matters, like a light on or off. Your very holiness matters. Your very purity matters. To the degree you become this light, it changes the world. This is why our Lord wants to find us with our lights on...always.
I simply write to you, in order to remind you of the crucial fact...you matter more than you will ever know, and if God shows Himself to you this very fact, then everything changes....forever. | .......................†........................
Holy innocents, of Christ, for Christ...pray for us and the whole world!
.................................................. adrian |  click to hear | Random Bible Verse 1
Psalm 30:5 [Psalm 30] 5 For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime.1 Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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