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Wednesday, January 26, 2022

† ". They are the people . ."

 
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†Saint Quote
""Listen with the ear of your heart."
–St. Benedict of Nursia

†Today's Meditation
"The shock of sorrow comes only to those who think this world is fixed and absolute, that there is nothing beyond. They think everything here below should be perfect. Hence, they ask questions: 'Why should I suffer? What have I done to deserve this?' Maybe you did nothing to deserve it. Certainly, Our Lord did nothing to deserve His Cross. But it came, and through it, He went to His glory."
—Venerable Fulton Sheen

An Excerpt From
The Cries of Jesus From the Cross

†Daily Verse
"I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us."
–Romans 8:18

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St. Timothy

St. Timothy (1st c.) was born in Galatia in Asia Minor, the son of a Greek father and a Jewish mother. Timothy was a convert of St. Paul the Apostle around the year 47 A.D. Timothy became a trusted friend and a beloved spiritual son to Paul, laboring faithfully alongside him in his apostolic work for many years. Paul mentions Timothy repeatedly in his letters and dispatched him on important missionary work to the local churches he founded. Timothy was ordained to the priesthood at the hands of St. Paul and was later made bishop of Ephesus. St. Timothy was stoned to death thirty years after St. Paul's martyrdom for having denounced the worship of the false goddess Diana. St. Timothy is the patron of intestinal and stomach problems, because Paul admonished him to ease his penance and drink a little wine for the sake of his health, instead of only water. His feast day is January 26.

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Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops

• Readings for the Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, bishops

Reading I 2 Tm 1:1-8

Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God
for the promise of life in Christ Jesus,
to Timothy, my dear child:
grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father
and Christ Jesus our Lord.

I am grateful to God,
whom I worship with a clear conscience as my ancestors did,
as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day.
I yearn to see you again, recalling your tears,
so that I may be filled with joy,
as I recall your sincere faith
that first lived in your grandmother Lois
and in your mother Eunice
and that I am confident lives also in you.

For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame
the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.
For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice
but rather of power and love and self-control.
So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord,
nor of me, a prisoner for his sake;
but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel
with the strength that comes from God.

OR:

Ti 1:1-5

Paul, a slave of God and Apostle of Jesus Christ
for the sake of the faith of God's chosen ones
and the recognition of religious truth,
in the hope of eternal life
that God, who does not lie, promised before time began,
who indeed at the proper time revealed his word
in the proclamation with which I was entrusted
by the command of God our savior,
to Titus, my true child in our common faith:
grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our savior.

For this reason I left you in Crete
so that you might set right what remains to be done
and appoint presbyters in every town, as I directed you.

Responsorial Psalm 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 7-8a, 10

R. (3) Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Sing to the Lord a new song;

sing to the Lord, all you lands.
Sing to the Lord; bless his name.
R. Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Announce his salvation, day after day.
Tell his glory among the nations;

among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
R. Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Give to the Lord, you families of nations,

give to the Lord glory and praise;

give to the Lord the glory due his name!
R. Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Say among the nations: The Lord is king.
He has made the world firm, not to be moved;

he governs the peoples with equity.
R. Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower;
all who come to him will live for ever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mk 4:1-20

On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea.
A very large crowd gathered around him
so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down.
And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land.
And he taught them at length in parables,
and in the course of his instruction he said to them,
"Hear this! A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and the birds came and ate it up.
Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep.
And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots.

Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it
and it produced no grain.
And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit.
It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."
He added, "Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear."

And when he was alone,
those present along with the Twelve
questioned him about the parables.
He answered them,
"The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you.
But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that

they may look and see but not perceive,

and hear and listen but not understand,

in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven."

Jesus said to them, "Do you not understand this parable?
Then how will you understand any of the parables?
The sower sows the word.
These are the ones on the path where the word is sown.
As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once
and takes away the word sown in them.
And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who,
when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy.
But they have no roots; they last only for a time.
Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,
they quickly fall away.
Those sown among thorns are another sort.
They are the people who hear the word,
but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches,
and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word,
and it bears no fruit.
But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it
and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold."


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Daily Meditation: 2 Timothy 1:1-8

Stir into flame the gift of God that you have. (2 Timothy 1:6)

Sometimes remodeling an old house can be harder than building a new house from the ground up. The old house will likely have settled, allowing cracks to emerge in the foundation. Decades of wear and tear might also have made parts of the house weak and in need of serious renovation. It takes a special kind of contractor to identify all the existing problems, prepare for future needs, and develop a plan that solves all of them while retaining the beauty and integrity of the original structure.

That might be one way to describe St. Paul, the "master builder" who wrote these words of encouragement to St. Timothy. As time progressed and the Church settled into place in various cities, strains started mounting and cracks began to show. Paul knew he couldn't address all of them personally so he began training younger believers to guide and "renovate" the different churches. Sts. Timothy and Titus, whose feast we celebrate today, were two of Paul's favorite "contractors."

Paul sent Timothy to Ephesus and Titus to Crete with the charge to steady the churches there. You can imagine how challenging that must have been, considering their youth, but history tells us that both men showed great diplomacy and love.

Let's honor Timothy and Titus today by praying for all those who minister in the Church. Let's pray that they strike a Spirit-inspired balance, building on the good and renovating the areas that might be wearing down. It's not always easy, and their work often goes unnoticed. But they play a vital role in helping us deepen our faith.

Let's also look at any renovations that our homes—the domestic church—might need. Let's ask the Spirit to help us identify the cracks that might be forming in the foundation of our faith. And let's ask him to give us the wisdom to know how to strengthen whatever may be weak, even as we celebrate what is already strong.

"Thank you, Lord, for the examples of Timothy and Titus. Teach me how I can continue to build your Church on earth."

Psalm 96:1-3, 7-8, 10
Mark 4:1-20

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From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice
but rather of power and love and self-control.
So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord..."

What strength our Lord had to carry His cross. It is supernatural, right? Bleeding out so much, body weak and dehydrated perhaps...carrying a heavy cross, falling 3 times. What strength is this? What strength to still embrace the cross, and one said that he even smiled a bit when He embraced it once. What strength is that? What love is that? It is only strength and love from Heaven...for us, and for God our Father. We too can have that strength, and boy, in our deep sufferings do we need it. Thank our Lord the provider, Divine Providence, for this gift.

psalms

We pray in Psalms:
"Give to the Lord, you families of nations, give to the Lord glory and praise; give to the Lord the glory due his name! Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations."

I read a sticker on someone's SUV a few days ago, and it said on the driver's side "Glory goes up to Him" and the other side said "and the Blessings fall down on me".

Can I give Glory to God in the toughest of times. I sure am trying. What is glory? They said our Lord Jesus gave glory to God on the cross.

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Our Lord speaks in the Holy Gospel:
"But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it
and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold."

All other soils really produced little or no fruit...for God. What produces fruit? Glory. Glory from the heart. Glory where God remains the center and source and summit of all things. There is much unrest, sadness and conflict in the world, and more is to come...unless, we look to each other, and decide to say..."I no longer wish to live for myself...but for God". As if to set sail and with our Lord, and declare with our daily lives....that He is the center of conversation, in praise, in glory, and not merely by external actions, but internal too. Yesterday I saw a family on a street corner, and me with all my inner turmoil and prayers, saw them, and I said "Look at me, pleading for mercy, can I not look to help them?". Many would judge them, they have a car, (little old minivan) they have clothes, and they looked like foreigners. And many indeed just drove by. But several were giving them money. And I had to make some turns and a U turn to give to them on the right lane. I emptied my cash into the man's hands as I said "pray for my dad" and he said 'prayers are said" and the exhcange took about 2 seconds. What is the purpose here? Love is at work. The Love of God united me to that family, that man, and thus, our Lord. If God is not our center and goal, then, this world will remain a dog eat dog at all pleasures kind of place.

The seed, the Word of God must be the life guide and source of Truth that is already interpreted by the Holy Church, not perfect, but Holy, because we live and aim to die for Him.

Let's pray:
Lord, God, Our Father,
We are living still in tumultuous times, much unrest has broken, and still brews across the world. The chaos belongs to that darkness that divides. Only You can unite us, and save us.
I pray we can all pray for Divine Mercy, every single day, throughout the day. We need You Lord, every day...more than ever.

from your brother in Christ,
Adrian

Progress report as of this morning, dad's levels of inflammation seem to be decreasing a bit, a good sign. He is very anxious, hard to breathe, needs serenity. I pray for the inflammation and gunk in his chest to be cleared up, and for today to be a day of healing and restoration to God's fold, for we have seen his good works, leading even myself to a more beautiful faith, and pray for this servant to have God's mercy and love, for the good of God's Kingdom on earth...as it is in Heaven. We give glory to God for everything.

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Random bible verse generator:

Proverbs 16:28
28 A dishonest man spreads strife,

and a whisperer separates close friends.

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God Bless You! Peace

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