†Saint Quote
"To use this life well is the pathway through death to everlasting life."
–St. John Almond †Today's Meditation†
"Love proves itself by deeds, and how shall I prove mine? … I can prove my love only by scattering flowers, that is to say, by never letting slip a single little sacrifice, a single glance, a single word; by making profit of the very smallest actions, by doing them all for love. I want to suffer and even rejoice for love, for this is my way of scattering flowers."
—St. Therese of Lisieux, p. 165 An Excerpt From
The Story of a Soul †Daily Verse
"With all prayer and supplication, pray at every opportunity in the Spirit. To that end, be watchful with all perseverance and supplication for all the holy ones."
–Ephesians 6:18 |  click to read more | | St. Nicholas St. Nicholas of Myra (270 – 343 A.D.) was the only child of a wealthy Greek Christian couple living in what is today the country of Turkey. He was a pious child, and upon the death of his parents Nicholas was raised by an uncle who was a bishop. St. Nicholas grew in holiness, was ordained to the priesthood, and eventually consecrated a bishop. He was famous for generosity to the poor, protection of the wronged, zeal against heresy, and performance of miracles. Many famous legends are told of him. When a poverty-stricken man was to be forced to sell his daughters into slavery, St. Nicholas secretly tossed bags of coins into their home to serve as the girls' dowry, thus enabling them to marry and be provided for. The money was said to have landed in their stockings drying by the fireplace, which is the origin of gifts in children's stockings and shoes at Christmastime. At the Council of Nicea, Nicholas prevailed against the heretic bishop Arius; he was also instrumental in defending the doctrine of Jesus' divinity and formulating the Nicene Creed. His relics are still preserved in the Basilica of St. Nicholas in Italy. On his feast day they emit a miraculous myrrh, which is distributed around the world. Many countries have the custom of making him the secret giver of gifts to children on his feast day. In the United States, for example, he is celebrated as "Santa Claus," who distributes gifts to children on Christmas Eve. St. Nicholas of Myra is the patron saint of many causes, professions, cities, and countries; but he is most notably the patron of children, sailors, prisoners, and maidens seeking to marry. His feast day is December 6th. | Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent Reading 1 Is 40:1-11 Comfort, give comfort to my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her
that her service is at an end,
her guilt is expiated;
Indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD
double for all her sins. A voice cries out:
In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!
Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill shall be made low;
The rugged land shall be made a plain,
the rough country, a broad valley.
Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together;
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken. A voice says, "Cry out!"
I answer, "What shall I cry out?"
"All flesh is grass,
and all their glory like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower wilts,
when the breath of the LORD blows upon it.
So then, the people is the grass.
Though the grass withers and the flower wilts,
the word of our God stands forever." Go up onto a high mountain,
Zion, herald of glad tidings;
Cry out at the top of your voice,
Jerusalem, herald of good news!
Fear not to cry out
and say to the cities of Judah:
Here is your God!
Here comes with power
the Lord GOD,
who rules by his strong arm;
Here is his reward with him,
his recompense before him.
Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
in his arms he gathers the lambs,
Carrying them in his bosom,
and leading the ewes with care. Responsorial Psalm Ps 96:1-2, 3 and 10ac, 11-12, 13 R.(see Isaiah 40:10ab) The Lord our God comes with power.
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Sing to the LORD; bless his name;
announce his salvation, day after day.
R. The Lord our God comes with power.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
Say among the nations: The LORD is king;
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. The Lord our God comes with power.
Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and what fills it resound;
let the plains be joyful and all that is in them!
Then let all the trees of the forest rejoice.
R. The Lord our God comes with power.
They shall exult before the LORD, for he comes;
for he comes to rule the earth.
He shall rule the world with justice
and the peoples with his constancy.
R. The Lord our God comes with power. Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The day of the Lord is near;
Behold, he comes to save us.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 18:12-14 Jesus said to his disciples:
"What is your opinion?
If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray,
will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills
and go in search of the stray?
And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it
than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.
In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father
that one of these little ones be lost." | Daily Meditation: Matthew 18:12-14 He rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. (Matthew 18:13) If you were to make a list of the areas in your life that you needed to work on, how long would it be? Would it dwarf a list of the areas you are doing well in? Most of us would answer yes, even if it weren't true. And that could make us think that we can never be good enough for God or worthy of his love. But is that how God looks at us? No! God looks at us with great love and tenderness even when we sin and wander away from him. And when he finds us, he doesn't condemn us; he rejoices over us! That's the beautiful image of the Good Shepherd that Jesus gives us in today's Gospel. Imagine that you are the stray sheep. You have wandered from the shepherd and now you're trying to take cover from a storm or hiding from predators. Can you see the shepherd's face as he finds you? You don't see any anger in his eyes or hear any harsh rebukes coming from his mouth. Instead, his gentleness melts away the fear and shame you felt in your wanderings. Then he embraces you and carries you back to his flock. St. Paul once wrote, "All have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). The truth is, none of us are among the ninety-nine that did not stray. We all have times when we wander away from the Lord. We all have areas of temptation that we struggle with, and we all have times when we give in to those temptations. So we shouldn't be surprised by our weaknesses and failures. At the same time, we shouldn't be surprised to discover that our God is a Good Shepherd who rejoices when he rescues us. And we shouldn't be surprised to discover that he continues to search for us every time we go our own way. He never tires of lavishing us—or anyone else—with his love and his mercy. It can be exhausting tallying our spiritual shortcomings or trying to be good enough to earn God's love. Next time you feel disheartened by your weaknesses, recall his goodness, turn to him, and allow him, your Good Shepherd, to carry you home in his arms. "Jesus, thank you for loving me and rejoicing over me even in my weakness." Isaiah 40:1-11
Psalm 96:1-3, 10-13 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"Go up onto a high mountain, Zion, herald of glad tidings; Cry out at the top of your voice, Jerusalem, herald of good news! Jerusalem is to be the herald of Good News. But is it? Today, is Jerusalem a place of propagating God's word? The city of Jerusalem is the mecca of all 3 of the world's biggest religions. And the place is strife with unrest, and this is supposed to be the city of "Peace" kind of like Los Angeles supposed to be the city of "angels". Well, we don't fill our names very well do we? So what's up with Jerusalem and Zion then? Truth is, we are speaking of the Jerusalem of God, the city we make up, as humanity for Him, and Zion is the place of uniting to make our prayers heard. We are speaking about Church. And we are speaking about a church that unites with God our Father, creator..and the Good Shepherd.
"Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, Carrying them in his bosom,
and leading the ewes with care." | We pray today;
"They shall exult before the LORD, for he comes;
for he comes to rule the earth. He shall rule the world with justice and the peoples with his constancy. The Lord our God comes with power."
Do you want a ruler? Those who don't want God as a ruler choose other gods...and self. Anything else than our Father in Heaven is a dark ruler that asks for the highest price possible....our very souls, the gift of God in life. | In the Gospel today we heard our Master and Teacher:
"In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost."
Who are the "little ones"? Most of the time, our Lord sought the ousted. Right? He'd bring them back into the fold, right? He'd heal the ones who people gave up on. He'd touch the despised, the lepers, and speak with the those who had evil spirits running and ruining their lives.
And so, our Lord says something peculiar here at the end: "...your heavenly Father..." and He expresses His wish, that He desires "that one of these little ones" not be lost.
There are lost souls, just take a look around. They have lost their way.
They have stopped going to church. They have lost all notion of good. Many are so lost that they cannot even speak, or speak right.
And who else is lost? I'd say those of us who have lost or have never desired to be in the light, like in confession, or right in the middle of church.
We are lost when we do not desire to be holy, and perfect, and truly His.
But there is good news. Our Father seeks us out. Through others. Through inspirations. Through His loving touch. Ever felt your heart burning for Him? That's Him making a fire of love for His Kingdom, for Him to be King, for us to do His Holy will. I don't know about you, but I think the church needs a revival. To see people in love with God and knocking down walls and doors to save souls, to find those who are lost, and to bring them back to the fold...the harbor of truth and eternal life. Are you in? | ........................................
Lord, I don't know if I am in the fold or if I am the lost, sometimes I feel lost, and so, I thank You for finding me, help me never lose sight of Your precious will, for I want You to be my Shepherd FOREVER
............................................... adrian |  click to hear | Random Bible Verse 1
2 Corinthians 5:17 [2 Corinthians 5] 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.1 The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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