†Saint Quote
"If we but paused for a moment to consider attentively what takes place in this Sacrament of the Eucharist, I am sure that the thought of Christ's love for us would transform the coldness of our hearts into a fire of love and gratitude."
–St. Teresa of Avila - Teresa of Jesus †Today's Meditation
"[Purity of intention] which is intimately connected with zeal, enables us to forget ourselves in all things, and to seek first the glory of God and the accomplishment of His good pleasure, persuaded that the more we sacrifice our own interests in His service, the greater advantage and blessing we shall reap. For this reason we must examine the motives of all our actions, that we may labor purely for God, since nothing is more subtle than self-love, which insinuates itself into every work, unless we maintain a constant guard. … The practice of the moral virtues and the most severe mortifications are meritorious before God only inasmuch as they are animated by His Divine Spirit. The temple of Jerusalem contained nothing which was not either of gold or covered with gold. It is no less fitting that in our souls, the living temples of the Divinity, there should be nothing that is not charity or animated by it. Let us bear in mind that God values the intention more than the action, and that the simplest work becomes noble when performed with a noble intention, while the greatest will be of little value if performed from an indifferent motive. By endeavoring to acquire this purity of intention we shall follow the example and counsel of Our Saviour, who tells us to love as He has loved – that is, purely and disinterestedly. Happy is he who imitates this noblest characteristic of the divine love. Rapid will be his growth in the likeness of God, and consequently in His love, for resemblance usually begets love. Let us rid ourselves of human respect, and, keeping God ever before our eyes, let us not suffer selfish or worldly motives to mar the merit of our good works and rob us of their reward, which is Heaven and the possession of God Himself."
—Venerable Louis Of Grenada, p. 406 An Excerpt From
The Sinner's Guide †Daily Verse
"Who has commanded and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and evil come? Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins? Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord! Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven."
–Lamentations 3:37-41 |  click to read more | | Bl. John Fenwick and Bl. John Gavan Bl. John Fenwick and Bl. John Gavan (d. 1679) were Englishmen and Jesuit priests who were martyred for their faith in England during the monarchy's persecution of the Catholic Church. John Fenwick's Protestant parents disowned him when he became a Catholic. The two priests, along with three other Jesuits, were falsely accused of involvement in the "Popish Plot," a fabricated conspiracy that mounted to anti-Catholic hysteria in England over the course of three years. The men were charged with complicity to assassinate King Charles II and condemned on the charges of High Treason and subversion of the nation's Protestant religion. During their trial, John Gavan acted as the principal spokesman for the group; one historian called him one of the ablest priests of his generation. Both priests were condemned to be hung, drawn, and quartered. It is said that the King, knowing they were innocent yet unwilling to grant them pardon, permitted them to be hanged only. After giving a rousing speech declaring their innocence, Bl. John Fenwick and Bl. John Gavan were martyred together on June 20th, 1679. They share a feast day on June 20th. | Monday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time Reading I 2 Kgs 17:5-8, 13-15a, 18 Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, occupied the whole land
and attacked Samaria, which he besieged for three years.
In the ninth year of Hoshea, king of Israel
the king of Assyria took Samaria,
and deported the children of Israel to Assyria,
setting them in Halah, at the Habor, a river of Gozan,
and the cities of the Medes. This came about because the children of Israel sinned against the LORD,
their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt,
from under the domination of Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
and because they venerated other gods.
They followed the rites of the nations
whom the Lord had cleared out of the way of the children of Israel
and the kings of Israel whom they set up. And though the LORD warned Israel and Judah
by every prophet and seer,
"Give up your evil ways and keep my commandments and statutes,
in accordance with the entire law which I enjoined on your fathers
and which I sent you by my servants the prophets,"
they did not listen, but were as stiff-necked as their fathers,
who had not believed in the LORD, their God.
They rejected his statutes,
the covenant which he had made with their fathers,
and the warnings which he had given them, till,
in his great anger against Israel,
the LORD put them away out of his sight.
Only the tribe of Judah was left. Responsorial Psalm 60:3, 4-5, 12-13 R. (7b) Help us with your right hand, O Lord, and answer us.
O God, you have rejected us and broken our defenses;
you have been angry; rally us!
R. Help us with your right hand, O Lord, and answer us.
You have rocked the country and split it open;
repair the cracks in it, for it is tottering.
You have made your people feel hardships;
you have given us stupefying wine.
R. Help us with your right hand, O Lord, and answer us.
Have not you, O God, rejected us,
so that you go not forth, O God, with our armies?
Give us aid against the foe,
for worthless is the help of men.
R. Help us with your right hand, O Lord, and answer us. Alleluia Heb 4:12 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The word of God is living and effective,
able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 7:1-5 Jesus said to his disciples:
"Stop judging, that you may not be judged.
For as you judge, so will you be judged,
and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?
How can you say to your brother,
'Let me remove that splinter from your eye,'
while the wooden beam is in your eye?
You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter from your brother's eye."
| Daily Meditation: Matthew 7:1-5 Stop judging. (Matthew 7:1) In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives this simple command. But is he telling us never to recognize someone else's faults? That would be impossible! And what about his instruction about beams in our eyes and splinters in our neighbor's (Matthew 7:5)? Jesus isn't telling us to ignore people's faults. He's telling us to stop passing judgment on them for their failings while ignoring our own. This doesn't come easily. We might encounter someone with an annoying habit or a different approach to parenting, and instantly, we make a judgment! Sometimes, we don't even realize what we are doing. But why is it so important to stop judging? Perhaps one reason is that Jesus knows that our judgments can quickly lead to division—and his greatest desire is that we love one another (John 13:34). When we make a judgment about someone, it's as if we are building a wall between them and ourselves. With our first judgment, "I would never do that," our wall of separation is low, but with each added judgment, it grows higher and higher. We may soon think so negatively about that person that we can't relate lovingly at all. Eventually, we might be tempted to push them away entirely. Yet Jesus is giving us a choice. When we are tempted to judge someone, we can decide to step closer to them. Instead of choosing separation, we can ask the Spirit to help us find connection. We might just find that connection by recognizing the "beam" in our own eye (Matthew 7:5). Do they have a bad habit? We probably have some too. Did they offend us? Surely, we've offended people! Did they make bad choices? Who knows? We might have acted the same way in their shoes. This is not just about redirecting the judgment to focus on ourselves; it's about recognizing our common humanity. When we realize that we all fall short in one way or another, we discover that we can relate and even empathize with the person we are tempted to judge. Instead of cutting off the relationship, we can open the door to compassion and love. We need one another. Let's not let judgments separate us. "Holy Spirit, help me not to judge anyone today." 2 Kings 17:5-8, 13-15, 18
Psalm 60:3-5, 12-13 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"This came about because the children of Israel sinned against the LORD, their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt, from under the domination of Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
and because they venerated other gods." How did it happen that God's own people were moved out of the promised land that was for them to take hold of and to hold? What did they do? "They rejected his statutes, the covenant which he had made with their fathers, and the warnings which he had given them, till, in his great anger against Israel,
the LORD put them away out of his sight." | We pray in Psalms:
"You have rocked the country and split it open;
repair the cracks in it, for it is tottering.
You have made your people feel hardships;
you have given us stupefying wine.
Help us with your right hand, O Lord, and answer us." | In today's Gospel we heard our Lord:
"Jesus said to his disciples: "Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you." I hear this line quoted very often, especially from those choosing to live "alternative lifestyles".
I've even heard it from a priest asking another parishioner not to judge.
What does this mean? Don't judge? Never point out a sin? This all has gone way out of proportion. And as usual, one needs to look at the grains in the jar to decipher what's truly in it. Why do I say this? Because, as sad as it makes me to say, there is always a grain of truth in the jar of heavy lying sand particles. You cannot "throw out the baby with the dirty bath water". And the same is for the sinner. We cannot just dismiss them as a sinner and throw them away. That is not what God came to earth for. And that is not how we would want our Lord to treat us either, when we meet Him when we die.
How did you treat the sinners in your life?
How do I treat sinners myself?
I'm not going to say. I have a severe distaste when I see someone flamboyant in sin. How about you? Let's talk about the group out there for instance, "Ruth's Revenge" or something like that, that promote violence to all Life Centers, places that help pregnant women. They are wanting violence, they've already fire bombed some, and interrupted many Masses and are actively rioting. What about the homosexual upheaval across social media and in the government now? If they get their way, they will want control over all aspects of life, including your church. How does this happen?
Take a look at a picture of 3 buildings below, from left to right, and quickly, before looking further below to see what they are, tell me which looks like a bonified church that they spent much money and effort trying to make it look like a glorious place to worship God?
Is it the furthest left, dark building with small windows, or is it the center building small but looks quaint...or is it the furthest right large structure with bell towers and arches, huge in stature pointing upwards? | I asked my kids yesterday the same as we drove by these buildings in a nearby city.
They were amazed that the huge church looking one was a place for bars, restaurants, and trampoline park. The center one was a bank, and the church was a "modern" building that looked more like a commercial office building. Back to our world. A recent gallup poll once again states that atheists are on the rise, which means believers percentages are steadily going down over time, over the last decade.
"According to Gallup, in 2013-17, 87% of American adults said they believed in God. In 2022, however, that percentage had fallen to 81%, a decline of six percentage points.
Among 18-29 year olds, belief in God fell 10 points, from 78% to 68%. For unmarried Americans, belief fell 8 percentage points (85% to 77%). For Democrats, belief in God fell from 84% to 72%, a decline of 12 percentage points. For liberals, there was an 11 point drop (73% to 62%). " and the story goes on click: | As much as I'd like to be optimistic, there's only way we can go when we hit bottom, and that is to go up. But do we need to hit bottom to try to bounce back up?
If this where a business (and it is Our Father's business), what would you do when things are looking like this?
We need ideas. We need a meeting. We need to gather. We need to do our part right where you are at.
Why are people not going to church around you? Notice more and more empty pews, and seats?
Look at where people go to worship, entertainment and banks. Look how ugly we are making churches. One major thing is to have a sinner go to church and meet a frowny face, and go to a bar and find a smiley face. What does this mean? We have fierce competition...for souls. What is vying for attention, your attention? What is most important to people nowadays?
Now, let's ask you, what is most important to you? Money and entertainment? What would produce a desire for God? What does God need to do for YOU? LOL, right? Isn't that how we like things? What can people do for ME!? Right? We like to be served and not to serve.
We like mercy but not to give mercy.
If I had the answers I'd tell you right away.
But I've laid out some clues I bet.
Priorities.
Charity.
And one clue is hidden...sacrifice. Our Father's business is all about that.
"You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother's eye." OUCH! Don't judge ME! I don't need to repent! Isn't that what the mantra says nowadays? They get to say what all the rules are? So, who is their ruler? By now, I hope you've been led to a little more thirst...for truth, and righteousness. The Truth will prevail. There is no way around it. Jesus is waiting. Your brother in Christ our Lord and Savior, our Love in Heaven,
adrian |  click to hear | Random bible verse generator: WOW!
1 John 2:4–6 4 Whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
