†Saint Quote
""I know well that the greater and more beautiful the work is, the more terrible will be the storms that rage against it."
–St. Faustina †Today's Meditation
"Throughout Sacred Scripture, we find that when God's people fast, the power of their prayers is increased, especially when they are engaged in spiritual warfare. In the Old Testament, the Lord told Isaiah that a fast properly undertaken would 'loose the bonds of wickedness … undo the thongs of the yoke … let the oppressed go free' (Is. 58:6) … In the New Testament, we find that Jesus fasted for forty days and nights in the wilderness in preparation for His battle with Satan, who came to tempt Him (see Lk 4:1-2) … If prayer is a spiritual weapon, fasting is the spiritual whetstone on which it is sharpened. It's the spiritual muscle that, when exercised regularly, strengthens the thrust of that weapon to pierce the Enemy and drive him away."
—Paul Thigpen, p. 42 An Excerpt From
Manual for Spiritual Warfare †Daily Verse
"But as it is written: "What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him," this God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God." 1 Corinthians 2:9-10
–1 Corinthians 2:9-10 |  click to read more | | St. Perpetua & St. Felicity St. Perpetua and St. Felicity (d. 203 A.D.) were friends who lived in Carthage, North Africa. They were both catechumens preparing to receive the Church's sacraments: Perpetua was a married noblewoman nursing her first child, and Felicity was a pregnant Christian slave who worked as a household servant. Because Christianity was forbidden, they were seized along with two companions, one of them being their catechist. Perpetua's baptism was hastened after her arrest, and God told her to pray for strength to withstand her coming trials. While in prison she kept a detailed diary of her sufferings and mystical visions, one of the oldest and most treasured of early Christian writings. Her father, a pagan, pleaded with her to deny her faith, even bringing her infant, for whom she was anxious, to the prison in order to persuade her to apostatize. She refused. Felicity also remained steadfast in her faith, giving birth to a daughter while in prison a few days before her execution. Perpetua, Felicity, and their companions were condemned to be torn by wild animals in the arena. Perpetua understood that their contest was not with animals, but with the devil. She walked into the arena and met her fate with a joy and bravery that astonished many onlookers. Perpetua, Felicity, and their companions were mauled and then beheaded on March 7, 203. St. Perpetua and St. Felicity share a feast day on March 7th. | Monday of the First Week of Lent Lectionary: 224
Reading I Lv 19:1-2, 11-18 The LORD said to Moses,
"Speak to the whole assembly of the children of Israel and tell them:
Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy. "You shall not steal.
You shall not lie or speak falsely to one another.
You shall not swear falsely by my name,
thus profaning the name of your God.
I am the LORD. "You shall not defraud or rob your neighbor.
You shall not withhold overnight the wages of your day laborer.
You shall not curse the deaf,
or put a stumbling block in front of the blind,
but you shall fear your God.
I am the LORD. "You shall not act dishonestly in rendering judgment.
Show neither partiality to the weak nor deference to the mighty,
but judge your fellow men justly.
You shall not go about spreading slander among your kin;
nor shall you stand by idly when your neighbor's life is at stake.
I am the LORD. "You shall not bear hatred for your brother in your heart.
Though you may have to reprove him,
do not incur sin because of him.
Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
I am the LORD." Responsorial Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 15 R. (John 6:63b) Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul.
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart.
The command of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eye.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever;
The ordinances of the LORD are true, all of them just.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
Let the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart find favor before you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life. Verse Before the Gospel 2 Cor 6:2b Behold, now is a very acceptable time;
behold, now is the day of salvation. Gospel Mt 25:31-46 Jesus said to his disciples:
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
he will sit upon his glorious throne,
and all the nations will be assembled before him.
And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the king will say to those on his right,
'Come, you who are blessed by my Father.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me,
ill and you cared for me,
in prison and you visited me.'
Then the righteous will answer him and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?'
And the king will say to them in reply,
'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Then he will say to those on his left,
'Depart from me, you accursed,
into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me no food,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
a stranger and you gave me no welcome,
naked and you gave me no clothing,
ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.'
Then they will answer and say,
'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty
or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison,
and not minister to your needs?'
He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you,
what you did not do for one of these least ones,
you did not do for me.'
And these will go off to eternal punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life." | Daily Meditation: Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18 Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy. (Leviticus 19:2) Doesn't this command—to be holy as God is holy—sound impossible, and therefore a little frightening? We know that God is holy; we repeat it three times at every Mass when we pray, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts." And somehow we are supposed to be holy as he is? It does give us pause. So pause. Then remember that the job of being the all-holy God has already been taken. That is not his call for you. Rather, to become holy is to acknowledge God as the source of life—both of your life and of his life in you. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church says, God is "the fullness of Being and of every perfection"; from him we receive all that we are and all that we have (213). God, the source of all life and all holiness, is already living in you through his Holy Spirit. You received this life in Baptism, and it was strengthened in you in Confirmation. Once you recognize that your holiness can come only from God's life in you, you can begin to "be holy" by doing the things that nourish that life. You can spend time in his presence by praying and receiving the sacraments. You can study the Gospels so that you can learn from Jesus what holiness in a human being looks like. You can determine to follow God's commandments as best you know how, examining your conscience often and repenting when you realize you've fallen short. You can care for the people who are most in need. As you do these things, God's life in you will grow and spill out to the people you encounter each day. God has made you unique so that you can manifest his holiness as no one else can. So trust him when he tells you to be holy. Trust that as you cooperate with him, he will show you, day by day, how to grow in his love. Trust him to give you all that you need—wisdom, vision, strength, and energy. As you go through your day, keep opening your heart to the One who is the source of all life and holiness. And don't be afraid—holiness is not impossible! "Father, thank you for inviting me to be holy. Show me how I can respond to that call today." Psalm 19:8-10, 15
Matthew 25:31-46 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD." How often do you hold a grudge? What if your grudge is part of a greater grudge? We have a "mass mentality" as all humans are somehow connected. What goes on in your heart has an effect on the greater whole, and this is 100 times more evident in the body of Christ. Your private world is actually not private. What goes on in your heart is important. There is no such thing as "private sin". We must repent. Lent is a calling to repent. We weaken the body if we are weak. So we can strengthen the body if we are strong. How can we be strong? We can be strong by tapping into strength itself...power from above, and this requires an opening of the heart, into His Sacred heart. A channel. A connection. A bond. Everything that happens in life is a calling to Himself. And it is important to do so...for this world is not about me, but about Him, who is all deserving of goodness, holiness, purity, that what belongs to Him in Heaven. | We pray in Psalms:
"Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; The ordinances of the LORD are true, all of them just." I've let you know, but perhaps not too clearly...that with the ordeal with my dad's suffering, and experience of a strange light I experienced during Divine Mercy with my dad in the hospital, I have become even more fearful of God. As we all should. But not afraid of Him, but afraid to offend Him, and not afraid of what He will do, but of what I will do to myself if I do not fear Him as I ought. What is this Holy reverence? I don't know what all it entails, but I know if I love truly, I will not hurt them. And so, can we trust God? Or, how about his question: do we hurt those that we do not trust? I think we do hurt those that we doubt. | Our Lord speaks:
"He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.'
And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." Since this is the bit where I share my daily faith, then I have to relay what is in the heart, at the crux of the matter. I've told you before, that I was taken in a vision in the veils of Mother Mary, hidden in her mantle, to the Kingdom of God, whereupon I could see allbeit with a blur through the veil, as if sitting in the biggest temple in the universe, because this expanse could've been easily the size of the world, and there at the center of the altar...the central focus of the temple, myriads, millions and millions of souls brought their offerings of light and poured them into the light at the center of temple, and the light was immense and intense. What was I witnessing? What was this deposit? It remains more of a mystery but I felt as if it were acts of love that we offer when we offer our lives to God.
For example, if we live on earth as it is in Heaven, think about our offerings to God in Holy Mass. Think about what your soul is offering to God when you go to the altar.
What does this being offer to His being? It is more than nuptial vows or intense communion. It is life offering. It is love offering.
I was zapped back into my studio where I prayed and used to record songs.
And I was left forever changed. Love offerings. What am I offering to God at the altar every time I approach our Lord? Probably less than I should or could!
What can a person really do?
How little do you feel? How insignificant are you?
God knows the ants in the fields, and the hairs on your head. He has not made an insignificant soul. You are His. | Perhaps today, you've woke up already with stress, like me. Stress about lots of unknowns. For me, I've been left with much responsibility at work, and many things I do not know to do, since my dad was the boss and handled basically everything. Now I have to be master mechanic, which I'm not. Now I have to be farmer and rancher, which I'm not. Now I have to be master planner and construction manager, which I was being groomed to be but I've not the expertise! And that's just work. My mom is widowed after 45 years. How do I take care of her and all her house and things like he did? My sisters? And zoom out, what about the world which continuously faces violence on all sorts of levels, from the unborn in abortions in murders to the worldwide threats of wars and insurrections that we see on front page news all the time? What does our Lord say? What did He say to the young women martyred as today's saints, Felicity and Perpetua who were fed to lions to pleasure the governments and pagan peoples blood thirsty for violence and lust? He said for them to pray for strength.
We too need to pray for spiritual strength. For grace. For humility. We need to tap into the source of all powers. God Himself. Who do you fear? Evil...or God Almighty? Who do you fear more?
Who do you love more?
"How do you love God?" someone asked me. For sure it is by doing God's will. But today, God says "whoever you did it to, you did it to Me". Therefore, you can love God in people.
Have you ever converted an enemy? Have you ever saved your enemies' souls? An enemy doesn't have to be someone you hate, but perhaps someone you can't get along with or had a weird vibe, or relationship. This weekend, I was asked to be the choir for a funeral, for a lady, parishioners that have been gone for what seems like decades. I remember growing up seeing them always, but I don't know what happened. Anyhow, after the Mass, a man came up to me, the dad of a friend of mine that passed away couple years ago, as he was trying to give me condolences and words of encouragement, the widower of the lady saw me and came to shake my hand in thanks. We said a few words, and in the conversation I said "look at us three, this man lost his son not long ago, I just lost my dad, and you have just lost your wife, we are all hurting here together, we need each other" and then I looked to the man, bigger than me, and said with words of everlasting repercussions, "come back" and he knew exactly what I meant, and he took me into his arms for the biggest heartfelt hug I've felt in a long time. As if to say "thank you" with his heart. And I could sense his heart from my heart.
Those are the being-to-being offerings we need to have for one another, and in doing so, have acceptable offerings in Heaven to offer in Communion.
Earth is an extreme opportunity for sacrificial love. This is not a playing field to play with emotions or life itself. This is real, and Heaven is more real than this earth.
We are in a church militant, battling temptations against good. And for good reason.
I hope these words give you strength to sacrifice yourself to God Almighty...Love Almighty. Peace be with you my child. | from your brother in Christ,
Adrian |  click to hear | Random bible verse generator: Strikes my Heart, Amazing: Psalm 18:1–2 The Lord Is My Rock and My Fortress
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who addressed the words of this song to the LORD on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said: 18 I love you, O LORD, my strength.
2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
