†Saint Quote
""Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire."
–St. Catherine of Siena †Today's Meditation
"We do find, it is true, great battles to fight, and great hardships to master; but that good Mother makes herself so present and so near to her faithful servants, to enlighten them in their darknesses and their doubts, to strengthen them in their fears, and to sustain them in their struggles and their difficulties, that in truth this virginal path to find Jesus Christ is a path of roses and honey compared with other paths."
—St. Louis de Montfort, p. 82 An Excerpt From
True Devotion to Mary †Daily Verse
"[May you be] strengthened with every power, in accord with his glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy giving thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light."
–Colossians 1:11-12 |  click to read more | | St. Richard the King St. Richard the King (c. 720 A.D.), also known as Richard the Pilgrim, was a Saxon king born in Wessex, England, who was related by blood to the royal house of Kent. His brother-in-law was St. Boniface, and three of his children are numbered among the saints: St. Willibald, St. Winnebald, and St. Walburga. When Willibald was gravely ill as a child, Richard's prayers for his son are said to have saved his life. He wrapped his child in a blanket and took him to the foot of a large crucifix erected near their village, and the child recovered. When Willibald was grown, he convinced his father and brother to accompany him on a missionary pilgrimage to Rome and the Holy Land. St. Richard agreed, renounced his royal estate, and embarked on the journey with his two sons, while his daughter entered a convent. In Italy he became sick and died, and was buried in Tuscany at the Church of San Frediano. Numerous miracles are reported to have occurred at his tomb. Some of his relics were transported to Eichstatt, Germany, where his son Winnebald would become Bishop. His feast day is celebrated on February 7th. | Monday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 329
Reading I 1 Kgs 8:1-7, 9-13 The elders of Israel and all the leaders of the tribes,
the princes in the ancestral houses of the children of Israel,
came to King Solomon in Jerusalem,
to bring up the ark of the LORD's covenant
from the City of David, which is Zion.
All the people of Israel assembled before King Solomon
during the festival in the month of Ethanim (the seventh month).
When all the elders of Israel had arrived,
the priests took up the ark;
they carried the ark of the LORD
and the meeting tent with all the sacred vessels
that were in the tent.
(The priests and Levites carried them.) King Solomon and the entire community of Israel
present for the occasion
sacrificed before the ark sheep and oxen
too many to number or count.
The priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD
to its place beneath the wings of the cherubim in the sanctuary,
the holy of holies of the temple.
The cherubim had their wings spread out over the place of the ark,
sheltering the ark and its poles from above.
There was nothing in the ark but the two stone tablets
which Moses had put there at Horeb,
when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel
at their departure from the land of Egypt. When the priests left the holy place,
the cloud filled the temple of the LORD
so that the priests could no longer minister because of the cloud,
since the LORD's glory had filled the temple of the LORD.
Then Solomon said, "The LORD intends to dwell in the dark cloud;
I have truly built you a princely house,
a dwelling where you may abide forever." Responsorial Psalm 132:6-7, 8-10 R. (8a) Lord, go up to the place of your rest!
Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah; we found it in the fields of Jaar.
Let us enter into his dwelling, let us worship at his footstool.
R. Lord, go up to the place of your rest!
Advance, O LORD, to your resting place, you and the ark of your majesty.
May your priests be clothed with justice; let your faithful ones shout merrily for joy.
For the sake of David your servant, reject not the plea of your anointed.
R. Lord, go up to the place of your rest! Alleluia See Mt 4:23 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom
and cured every disease among the people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 6:53-56 After making the crossing to the other side of the sea,
Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret
and tied up there.
As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him.
They scurried about the surrounding country
and began to bring in the sick on mats
to wherever they heard he was.
Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered,
they laid the sick in the marketplaces
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak;
and as many as touched it were healed. | Daily Meditation: Mark 6:53-56 As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him. (Mark 6:54) In today's Gospel, we see the crowds beginning to recognize a new reality: God was powerfully present in the person of Jesus. So people flocked to wherever they heard he was. They came to him with their curiosity, their concerns, and their ailing loved ones. They came to hear Jesus speak God's words to them and to receive his healing love for them. Now, we know that we can encounter God in a unique and privileged way in our places of worship. He is there whenever his people gather to pray, and his loving presence remains in the tabernacle even when no one is around. But you might have made an important discovery during the pandemic. With most churches off-limits, at least for a time, you might have come to recognize that Jesus' presence isn't limited to your church building. The challenge of being cut off from your parish church or favorite shrine might have convinced you that Jesus never abandons his beloved people. He makes his home with every believer and whispers his invitation to every seeker. Think back over the ways Jesus met you during that time when it wasn't safe to come to church. Perhaps he touched you in the pages of Scripture, or over a Zoom link as you prayed with friends or family. Maybe you recognized Jesus in the ways your neighbors came together to meet one another's needs. Jesus was there in those situations and in so many more. He is always eager to be with us, wherever we are. And while nothing compares to his presence in the Eucharist, that is not the only way you can encounter him. So where will Jesus "get out of the boat" in your life today? Like the crowds in Mark's Gospel, rush to meet him with your deepest needs and your loving praise. He will make himself known to you, both in church and in your everyday life! The more clearly you discern him in one place, the easier and sweeter it will be to recognize him in another. "Jesus, open my eyes to recognize your presence in my life more swiftly." 1 Kings 8:1-7, 9-13
Psalm 132:6-10 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"Then Solomon said, "The LORD intends to dwell in the dark cloud; I have truly built you a princely house..." Can we build a house, a temple for God too? So that His glory dwells within? We can, together. And we ourselves are that temple creation. He desires to dwell in us individually and together. Every temple matters. Your body is a temple...for God, and His glory. | We pray in Psalms:
"Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah; we found it in the fields of Jaar. Let us enter into his dwelling, let us worship at his footstool. Lord, go up to the place of your rest!" As I'm writing I'm listening to Mass on EWTN, and there is a part where we are told to give the sign of peace. And it is right to remember, that upon arrival to a house, (the temple of the body too), we are to wish peace upon the house. If there is peace, peace will be accepted, if not, then rejected. And then the penitent says "Lord I am not worthy that You should enter unto my house...but" and there is the faith words that follow "only say the word, and I shall be healed". And so, He makes us worthy, when we praise Him with a true heart. | Our Lord speaks in the Holy Gospel:
"Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak;
and as many as touched it were healed." Are there miracles like this today? There should be, why not? Why not amazing faith? They say much faith has dwindled in the last few decades. Few believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Many have stopped going to church. So what has happened? A bitter taste in Heaven...for ingratitude. What makes us turn away from Him? I'll tell you what it is...a lie called "the good life". So good that you don't even need no god to worship or give thanks to. Oh sure, you may say it, but you don't mean it, by the way you live out your daily life and on Sundays. Eucharist means Thanksgiving. To receive Him is to give thanks, and to receive Him with true love for Him is pure thanksgiving. Saints, and holiness, fruit of the Spirit lived in us...our temples. Lately I've been on my knees every single day, much longer than usual...praying even with tears, for mercy on us and on the whole world. We have been cruel by our indifference to God's heart. How can we fix this? What can one meager person do? What can a person like me who feels useless do for such a great problem we live in again in our world? For this is not the first time.
The only thing we can do is repent of our sinful ways, our sinful lives, and ask the world to repent with you. And attach ourselves to the Atonement, Christ. And that is me, asking you to repent with me. God deserves love, true love above all created things in Heaven and earth. Or else, I love other things more... and this is the same as damnation, living thwarted loves, as the world is teaching to love wrongly, with false marriages, and teachings, and the list goes on and on to separate us from the true Love of God our Father in Heaven.
So where is the faith? I've little to say on that, as I've been severely challenged. Do I believe it exists? Yes. Do I believe I have faith? Yes. Is my faith tested every day? Yes. Every hour? Yes. Every minute? Yes. There are forces at work that do not stop for a moment to dominate your soul. I heard God tell me that I should not stop praying. Nobody should stop praying. For the moment we stop praying, other things tend to come into us. Temptations. Dark spirits.
So perhaps the world stopped praying, and the darkness is trying to run the show.
Prayer is our breath with God. And we need it now more than ever. You would be shocked to know how much I'm praying...not solely for the recovery of my dad's health, but really, for the world, for atonement, as if backpaying prayers I should've been praying long ago...nonstop. How can I catch up ? I can't. I need, we all need God's mercy at this point.
So do miracles exist? Sure. I've seen them throughout my life. Just this morning before walking out of the house, I touched my boy's head to see how his fever was. He felt to me like 100, and I prayed and rebuked the fever and went to work. I texted my wife later see how we woke up and she said it was at 98.9. Closer to normal than when I touched him.
With my dad in the hospital, I wish so much to see a big time miracle, like when they'd touch the tassel of our Lord and be healed immediately. But, so far, it's been mostly little miracles. Is there a reason for little miracles? God knows. All I can do is be more holy, so I can give greater thanks, because my conundrum is "how do you give thanks to God after receiving a miracle?" It is almost impossible. How do you pay back for a life? You can't give a life like God does. So all I can do is be humbled to great fear of God, to say, He is so great, and I no longer desire to live any other way...than in His holy will and save souls. | Let's Pray:
Dear Heavenly Father,
You sent our Lord to touch our lives, so that we may see that You love us and desire us to love You too. Where is the tassel today so that we may touch You Lord? We still believe You can do great things with the poor, the struck, the separated, everyone, for everyone needs You. Touch us, as we strive to touch You. | from your brother in Christ,
Adrian Progress report: It was a hard week last week, heart rate was high even at resting when I was with him all day Saturday. I fasted all day, prayed with him all day even as he slept on and off. Before leaving, he said "if I don't make it through the night...." and went on. So after a full day of praying and tending to him, I was proposed with a sad goodbye, as for me to leave broken. And I was for a second, but then I remembered that God is in control. They tell me to let go and let God. Let God do the healing. And I feel I'm standing in the way and messing things up by praying too much, or trying different things on dad that seemingly don't work but seem to hurt him. Another dagger to my heart. But here is the truth. I know that even with all my supposed goof ups, God is in control and He can turn bad things into good. I take the daggers out of my heart and let darkness have them back. I don't need daggers in my heart. I need our Lord Jesus and God the Father in my heart, and let the Holy Spirit dwell. The following day, the day of fishers of men, his heart was at 84 bpm instead of 110 at rest. And even the doctors who were telling us things were bad all those days, as of Sunday said that day "it appears he is making slow progress".
And right now as I type, they say he's getting therapy which he hasn't done since we had a bad week allbeit on high power mask which he says this morning hurts throat. We are in a weird zone in life. And this is the zone where true faith is called for. I thank you for praying, that is our breath, not just for yourself...but for others. We are the body. |  click to hear | Random bible verse generator: Acts 16:31
31 And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
