†Saint Quote
"Quote of the Day
"Let us thank God for having called us to His holy faith. It is a great gift, and the number of those who thank God for it is small."
–St. Alphonsus Liguori †Today's Meditation
"Concerning obedience as a sign of authenticity, St. Theresa is eloquent: 'Believe me, there is no better way of acquiring this treasure [of loving fire sent from heaven] than to dig and toil in order to get it from this mine of obedience. The more we dig, the more we shall find; and the more we submit to men, and have no other will than that of our superiors, the more completely we shall become masters of our wills and bring them into conformity with the will of God.'"
—Fr. Thomas Dubay, p. 239 An Excerpt From
Fire Within †Daily Verse
"Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for [someone] to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same sufferings. The God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory through Christ [Jesus] will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you after you have suffered a little. To him be dominion forever. Amen."
–1 Peter 5:8-11 |  click to read more | | †St. Mary Magdalene St. Mary Magdalen (1st c.) was a friend and devoted follower of Jesus Christ. Formerly she had been a woman of ill repute out of whom Jesus exorcised seven demons. Mary Magdalene has a special place among the Lord's disciples and is mentioned several times in the Gospels. She stood at the foot of the Cross with St. John and the Blessed Mother, and went the next morning to Christ's tomb to anoint his body. As a reward for her great love and faithfulness, she is the first recorded witness of Jesus' Resurrection. It was Mary Magdalene who informed the twelve Apostles that Jesus rose from the dead—for this she is called "Apostle to the Apostles." After Jesus' Ascension into heaven, Mary Magdalene continued her mission as an evangelist, contemplative, and mystic in the heart of the Church. According to the Eastern tradition, she went to Ephesus with the Virgin Mary and died there. St. Mary Magdalene is the patron of women, repentant sinners, penitent women, reformed prostitutes, contemplatives, converts, pharmacists, perfumers, hairstylists, and against sexual | Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene Lectionary: 603
Reading I Sgs 3:1-4b The Bride says:
On my bed at night I sought him
whom my heart loves–
I sought him but I did not find him.
I will rise then and go about the city;
in the streets and crossings I will seek
Him whom my heart loves.
I sought him but I did not find him.
The watchmen came upon me,
as they made their rounds of the city:
Have you seen him whom my heart loves?
I had hardly left them
when I found him whom my heart loves. OR: 2 Cor 5:14-17 Brothers and sisters:
The love of Christ impels us,
once we have come to the conviction that one died for all;
therefore, all have died.
He indeed died for all,
so that those who live might no longer live for themselves
but for him who for their sake died and was raised. Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh;
even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh,
yet now we know him so no longer.
So whoever is in Christ is a new creation:
the old things have passed away;
behold, new things have come. Responsorial Psalm Ps 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 R. (2) My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
O God, you are my God whom I seek;
for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts
like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary
to see your power and your glory,
For your kindness is a greater good than life;
my lips shall glorify you.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Thus will I bless you while I live;
lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name.
As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied,
and with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
You are my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.
My soul clings fast to you;
your right hand upholds me.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God. Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Tell us Mary, what did you see on the way?
I saw the glory of the risen Christ, I saw his empty tomb.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 20:1-2, 11-18 On the first day of the week,
Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
So she ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
"They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we don't know where they put him." Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping.
And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb
and saw two angels in white sitting there,
one at the head and one at the feet
where the Body of Jesus had been.
And they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?"
She said to them, "They have taken my Lord,
and I don't know where they laid him."
When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there,
but did not know it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?
Whom are you looking for?"
She thought it was the gardener and said to him,
"Sir, if you carried him away,
tell me where you laid him,
and I will take him."
Jesus said to her, "Mary!"
She turned and said to him in Hebrew,
"Rabbouni," which means Teacher.
Jesus said to her,
"Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.
But go to my brothers and tell them,
'I am going to my Father and your Father,
to my God and your God.'"
Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples,
"I have seen the Lord,"
and then reported what he told her. | Daily Meditation: John 20:1-2, 11-18 Mary stayed. (John 20:11) Mary Magdalene had shocking news: Jesus' body was gone. Peter and John ran to the tomb to verify her report and then, discouraged (or afraid), trudged away. But Mary stayed. In her pain and disappointment, she didn't waver from the hope of finding Jesus, even if only his dead body. Imagine her joy, then, when she encountered the risen Christ! Today on Mary's feast day, let's see how her example can help us encounter him as well. She waited. Mary didn't rush off; she stayed where she was. We too need to wait on the Lord. If you're longing for an encounter with Jesus, go to a quiet place where you can be alone. Turn off your phone and the computer. Go where piles of laundry don't clamor to be folded and never-ending to-do lists don't lure you away. She persisted. Mary "bent over into the tomb" (John 20:11). She kept looking for Jesus. You can do the same in prayer. Picture Jesus sitting with you. Or imagine a scene from one of the Gospels. Visualize yourself in that scene, walking along a dusty road with him or listening with the crowd as he speaks. Even when other thoughts distract you, keep turning your mind and heart back to Jesus. She listened. When Jesus said her name, Mary realized who was speaking to her. As you sit quietly and wait, listen for the Lord's still, small voice speaking to your mind and heart. Imagine Jesus calling you by name. Or start the conversation by asking him a question, and then wait for an answer. If you don't hear anything, keep asking. He will speak to you. She remembered. Mary Magdalene announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord" (John 20:18). The remembrance of her encounter was eventually recorded in John's Gospel so that all could believe. Your own faith and trust in the Lord will be strengthened as you record and hold onto all that Jesus has said and done for you. Wait. Persist. Listen. Remember. Do this, and you too can say with Mary, "I have seen the Lord." "Jesus, I want to encounter you today!" Song of Songs 3:1-4
Psalm 63:2-6, 8-9 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"Have you seen him whom my heart loves? I had hardly left them when I found him whom my heart loves." St. Mary Magdalene is a symbol, a representation of who the bride of Christ shall be. Always expecting her love, always loving, and always looking for Him. She was once riddled with bad spirits, but once saved, she knew she needed Him to remain in Salvation. Why would she cry after being saved? Why would she be the first and last at the tomb? Gratitude and a true love go hand in hand. And then the Lover appears, for God is Love. | We pray in Psalms:
"O God, you are my God whom I seek;
for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts
like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God."
The world offers all sorts of drinks, the new "leaven" that is proposed. But God offers a drink that will never make you thirsty again, total fulfillment. In purgatory and hell there is a thirst, and nothing can quench it. In the world today, there is a thirst, and nothing can quench it, not enough alcohol, or drugs, or new fads in drinks and ideas....nothing can quench but Him whom Mary Magdelene found. | In today's Gospel we heard our Lord:
"'I am going to my Father and your Father,
to my God and your God.'"
Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and then reported what he told her." | "Friends, today we celebrate the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, the first witness of Christ's rising, who declared the Resurrection to the Apostles.
In point of fact, the Easter declaration, properly understood, has always been and still is an explosion, an earthquake, a revolution. For the Easter faith is that Jesus of Nazareth, who had been brutally put to death by the Roman authorities, is alive again through the power of the Holy Spirit—and not in some metaphorical sense.
That the Resurrection is a literary device or a symbol that Jesus' cause goes on is a fantasy born in the faculty lounges of Western universities over the past couple of centuries. The still startling claim of the first witnesses is that Jesus rose bodily from death, presenting himself to his disciples to be seen, even handled.
The hope of ancient Israel was the unification of heaven and earth in a great marriage. Recall a central line from the Lord's Prayer: "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." The bodily Resurrection of Jesus is the powerful sign that the two orders are in fact coming together."
.....
I was baptized on this day. On this day I was born anew. On this day, I was incorporated into the life and death of our Lord, and the Resurrection. This day I did not choose for myself as an infant, I see as the greatest thing ever happening in my life. And I appreciate it and now I have the Holy Spirit in me because of it. And this is the life of God in me and every baptized soul. Let Him live! Let Him be! That is our calling.
....
From a spanish reflection today's ending prayer: "Saint Mary Magdalene: you teach us that the disciple of Christ is the one who —in the experience of weakness— has had the humility to ask him for help, has been healed by him and has followed him closely. Thus, we become witnesses to the power of his merciful love, stronger than sin and death." REDACCIÓN evangeli.net |  click to hear | Random bible verse generator:
Matthew 22:37–39
37 And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
