†Saint Quote
"Think well. Speak well. Do well. These three things, through the mercy of God, will make a man go to Heaven."
–St. Camillus †Today's Meditation
"Undertake courageously great tasks for God's glory, to the extent that he'll give you power and grace for this purpose. Even though you can do nothing on your own, you can do all things in him. His help will never fail you if you have confidence in his goodness. Place your entire physical and spiritual welfare in his hands. Abandon to the fatherly concern of his divine providence every care for your health, reputation, property, and business; for those near to you; for your past sins; for your soul's progress in virtue and love of him; for your life, death, and especially your salvation and eternity—in a word, all your cares. Rest in the assurance that in his pure goodness, he'll watch with particular tenderness over all your responsibilities and cares, arranging all things for the greatest good."
—St. John Eudes, p. 363 An Excerpt From
A Year with the Saints †Daily Verse
"I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world."
–John 16:33 |  click to read more | | Saint Lawrence of Canterbury St. Lawrence of Canterbury (d. 619 A.D.) was among the original band of missionaries sent from Rome to evangelize England with St. Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury. As a fruit of their labor the region's most powerful ruler, the King of Kent, became a baptized Christian along with many of his countrymen. When Augustine died, Lawrence became Canterbury's second Archbishop. He was a zealous leader and urged the Celtic bishops to keep peace and unity with Rome. When the King of Kent died, his pagan son caused great damage to the faith of the people and the mission work which had been done among them; because of this, some of the missionaries fled to Gaul. Lawrence was so upset by the abandonment of Christianity among his flock that he considered abandoning his bishopric as well. In response, St. Peter the Apostle appeared to him in a vision, rebuked him, and scourged him so badly that Lawrence had physical marks on his body from the encounter. St. Lawrence then relayed his vision to the king and showed him his wounds, causing the king to convert to the Christian faith as his father did. St. Lawrence's feast day is February 2nd. | Thursday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Reading I 1 Kgs 2:1-4, 10-12 When the time of David's death drew near,
he gave these instructions to his son Solomon:
"I am going the way of all flesh.
Take courage and be a man.
Keep the mandate of the Lord, your God, following his ways
and observing his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees
as they are written in the law of Moses,
that you may succeed in whatever you do,
wherever you turn, and the Lord may fulfill
the promise he made on my behalf when he said,
'If your sons so conduct themselves
that they remain faithful to me with their whole heart
and with their whole soul,
you shall always have someone of your line
on the throne of Israel.'" David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David.
The length of David's reign over Israel was forty years:
he reigned seven years in Hebron
and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. Solomon was seated on the throne of his father David,
with his sovereignty firmly established. Responsorial Psalm 1 Chronicles 29:10, 11ab, 11d-12a, 12bcd R. (12b) Lord, you are exalted over all.
"Blessed may you be, O LORD, God of Israel our father, from eternity to eternity."
R. Lord, you are exalted over all.
"Yours, O LORD, are grandeur and power, majesty, splendor, and glory."
R. Lord, you are exalted over all.
"LORD, you are exalted over all. Yours, O Lord, is the sovereignty; you are exalted as head over all.
Riches and honor are from you."
R. Lord, you are exalted over all.
"In your hand are power and might; it is yours to give grandeur and strength to all."
R. Lord, you are exalted over all. Alleluia Mk 1:15 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Kingdom of God is at hand;
repent and believe in the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 6:7-13 Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two
and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick
–no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic.
He said to them,
"Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there.
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,
leave there and shake the dust off your feet
in testimony against them."
So they went off and preached repentance.
The Twelve drove out many demons,
and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them. | Daily Meditation: 1 Kings 2:1-4, 10-12 Keep the mandate of the Lord, your God, following his ways. (1 Kings 2:3) We know that King David lived a far from perfect life. In addition to his most famous sin—his taking of another man's wife, Bathsheba, and the murder of her husband, Uriah, to cover up his sin—there were other ways that he failed to follow the Lord (see 2 Samuel 13:14-20; 24:2-15). Given these past sins, how could David tell his son Solomon to follow the ways of the Lord? Was he being a hypocrite? No! Solomon was probably already well aware of the sins in his father's life. And yet he learned important lessons about following the Lord from David's transgressions as well as from his successes. Today's reading has something important to teach us as well. No matter what your past mistakes or even your current struggles, you are a credible witness who can point people to the Lord. In your successes and high points, you can give credit to God for the grace he gave you to follow him and obey his commandments. And in your failures and low points, you can speak about what might have gone wrong in your life because you departed from God's ways. Perhaps even more important, you can recount how you experienced the Lord's mercy when you repented of your sins. Such stories demonstrate that God is faithful, even when we are not, and that he will never leave us, even when we stray from him. So how has God revealed his love and mercy to you through your successes and failures? Or how is he demonstrating his love to you even now, in your everyday life? Take some time to reflect and pray about this. Wherever you're at, whether it's a high point or a low point, you can testify to the presence and power and goodness of God. Like David, we are all "earthen vessels," but God's power is often more evident in our weaknesses than in our strengths (2 Corinthians 4:7; 12:9). Your testimony can stir up the faith of those around you and help them to realize that they too are qualified to witness to the goodness of the Lord. "Lord, be glorified in my weaknesses as well as in my strengths." (Psalm) 1 Chronicles 29:10-12
Mark 6:7-13 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"Take courage and be a man. Keep the mandate of the Lord, your God, following his ways..."
When I was a child, I used to think as a child. But now it is time to be a man. Put away childish things and desires. To focus no more on wants, but on needs. And we need to focus on the task at hand given from Heaven...the Lord's will."_ | We pray in Psalms:
"In your hand are power and might; it is yours to give grandeur and strength to all." Lord, you are exalted over all" Our Lord received a crown on earth, and a crown in Heaven. What crown do you desire? The one the world offers, or the one Heaven offers? Let us do His Holy Will, a true servant. King David was a mere shepherd, and was chosen to be king. Remember this. For we are all called to be the body of Christ, the Good Shepherd. And remember He is our head, and He wears the crown of all power and might. | Our Lord speaks in the Holy Gospel:
"Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits." To this day, the Holy Church has the authority over unclean spirits. Which ones? All of them. An exorcist said that "Jesus is the Chief Exorcist" and that all evils are expelled with His power. Just because you don't see it, doesn't mean it isn't happening. And so we must be careful of what spirits we allow in us. The spirit of gossip is evil. The spirit of fornication is evil. The spirit of bad jokes is evil. The spirit of laziness in faith is evil. The spirit of indulging oneself in pleasures is evil.
So what are the good spirits? The good spirits is one...the Holy Spirit. In Him we have all the virtues and fruit that makes for a holy life. For He is one and not divided, and we are called to be one in Him. | "So they went off and preached repentance. The Twelve drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them."
If you've ever been to a charismatic prayer meeting, or if you ever watch carefully how a healing is to be had like with a healing Priest and or even a preachers, you'll witness something very important. First, the preaching, with power of the Holy Spirit, about repentance, about the very power of God. And then at the end some healings. What's more important, as our Lord made evident, was healing the soul first. God is the Divine Physician. And His Holy will is that ALL Souls be saved. And that is what you and me are doing here and now. We are in this Church Militant, where we are fighting evil spirits, where we are fighting to be holy. And the blows lately have about knocked yours truly off his balance center. There is always, my friend, an attack on the faith. It is a full on fierce battle to wash down your faith, to put out the fire. I cannot express to you how important it is for every person that is a believer in the Lord, to remain on fire for the Lord. The fire brings light, and warmth, but it requires energy. I have seen in a vision the realms above, and I would see a great light being fueled by what I could only know and sense was love. Heaven is fueled by love. Our hardened hearts must open up to love. And God is Love. How will the world know the true love if we do not show the true Love? How many countless acts of violence would cease if there was love in showing and not in hiding? Can you see the crime of not letting the light shine? I am beginning to regret my ingratitude. I am beginning to regret not smiling more to change someone's day. I am beginning to regret any little act that may leave a person the same or worse once we encounter. You see, it's not about me anymore. It's no longer about you alone. You are in charge of much, right where you are...more than you will ever know. Let's pray:
Lord, Heavenly Father,
Open up the gates of our hearts to encounter You, to let Your heart fill mine. And once it is filled, let me open up the gates to the world, to let the world know You Are our Loving Father. And that You alone are worthy of all praise, honor, and glory...all of our hearts...all of our Love. On earth, as it is in Heaven. | from your brother in Christ,
Adrian Progress Report: The one we are praying for, my dad, yesterday was able to walk from bed to the window twice. His oxygen did not suffer as much as before. Nobody knows how long to recovery, but I do pray for a healthy recovery, and if it were soon, that would be God's amazing will. I do thank you for your prayers, I believe your prayers are amazing, and for those who are praying with a loving heart...you are blessing God, for a stranger in need, could be an angel indeed. |  click to hear | Random bible verse generator: Random Bible Verse 1
Psalm 104:1–2 [Psalm 104]
O Lord My God, You Are Very Great 104 Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
2 covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
