†Saint Quote
"Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent."
–St. John of the Cross †Today's Meditation
"Let us beware of complaints, resentments, and evil-speaking against those who are ill-disposed to us, discontented with us, or hostile to our plans and arrangements, or who even persecute us with injuries, insults, and calumnies. Rather let us go on treating them as cordially as at first, or more so, as far as possible showing them esteem, always speaking well of them, doing them good, serving them on occasion, even to the point of taking shame and disgrace upon ourselves, if necessary to save their honor. All this ought to be done, first, to overcome evil with good, according to the teaching of the Apostles; and secondly, because they are our allies rather than our adversaries, as they aid us to destroy self-love, which is our greatest foe; and since it is they who give us an opportunity to gain merit, they ought to be considered our dearest friends."
—St. Vincent de Paul, p.413 †Daily Verse
"Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."" –Jeremiah 1:4-5 |  click to read more | | Thursday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 404 Reading 1 JER 18:1-6 This word came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
Rise up, be off to the potter's house;
there I will give you my message.
I went down to the potter's house and there he was,
working at the wheel.
Whenever the object of clay which he was making
turned out badly in his hand,
he tried again,
making of the clay another object of whatever sort he pleased.
Then the word of the LORD came to me:
Can I not do to you, house of Israel,
as this potter has done? says the LORD.
Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter,
so are you in my hand, house of Israel. Responsorial Psalm
PS 146:1B-2, 3-4, 5-6AB
---‐---‐
R. (5a) Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise the LORD, O my soul;
I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I live.
R. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Put not your trust in princes,
in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation.
When his spirit departs he returns to his earth;
on that day his plans perish.
R. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD, his God.
Who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them.
R. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia ACTS 16:14B R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Open our heart, O Lord,
to listen to the words of your Son.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel MT 13:47-53 Jesus said to the disciples:
"The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea,
which collects fish of every kind.
When it is full they haul it ashore
and sit down to put what is good into buckets.
What is bad they throw away.
Thus it will be at the end of the age.
The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous
and throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth." "Do you understand all these things?"
They answered, "Yes."
And he replied,
"Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven
is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom
both the new and the old."
When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there. | DAILY MEDITATION: JEREMIAH 18:1-6 Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, house of Israel. (Jeremiah 18:6) In the popular children's story The Polar Express, a number of children board a train bound for the North Pole on Christmas Eve. During the journey, unexpected and menacing events unfold that challenge each of them in unique ways. By the time they return home early on Christmas morning, each child has grown in a different virtue of the conductor's choosing. Today's first reading points to a similar trajectory in our own lives. Each of us is on a journey of faith, and along the way, we all have numerous opportunities to be changed, molded, and formed by the Lord. Just as the potter shapes the clay into something beautiful, God longs to shape us into vessels that reveal his glory and love. If we let him, he can make up all that is lacking in our lives. He can help us grow in virtue and put away sin. Just like pottery that is hand turned, each of us is a unique creation. Each of us reveals God's handiwork in a new and different way. Part of the challenge is coming to understand that we need God's hand in our lives. Whether he is just beginning to mold us or we have been with him for some time, we all have imperfections and weak spots. But that's no problem for our Father. He never gives up on us—not even if he has to turn us back into a lump of clay so that he can start over again! Don't you find it very encouraging to know that God hasn't given up on you? Even if it feels as if you've taken far too many turns on the potter's wheel, know this: your heavenly Father is committed to making you into the strongest, the most beautiful, and the most useful vessel possible. Know this as well: it's hard to see, as you're spinning around on that wheel, just how beautiful you have already become. You may not see it, but God does. And so do many of the people in your life! "Father, I am so grateful that you love me so much! Keep shaping and forming me so that I can reflect your glory to the world." Psalm 146:1-6
Matthew 13:47-53** | From today's 1st Holy Scripture: _".Can I not do to you, house of Israel,
as this potter has done? says the LORD.
Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter,
so are you in my hand, house of Israel." Our Lord once called Israel a maggot. How small can we be?
Yet...He cares. | We pray in Psalms:
_"Praise the LORD, O my soul;
I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I live. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob."_ | In today's Gospel we heard our Lord:
"The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous
and throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth." How does God supposedly low evil? He is a gentleman that steps aside when He is asked.
And He steps aside from the center.
Today....what angels separate the wicked from the righteous?
Angels appear and disappear. Where do they vanish to?
It is like the Word of God that speaks and things begin to be.
I was thinking that our world is focused on doing....like Martha...and not much is focused on being....like Mary.
The next eternal life is that of being.
And now we are asked to be holy and purely His. | And what of gnashing teeth?
Why would someone be wailing and grinding teeth? I would say it is remorse. Sufferings from remorse that knowing better...we didn't. Let's remorse now.
Let's repent now.
Let's wail now.
Let's fast for the groom.
Let's mortify ourselves for Him.
Let's pay now in short term than then in the long term. Lord, let our hearts be Your dwelling place. May we experience You deep inside and bring forth the new from the old. |  click to hear | Random bible verse generator: Philippians 4:4
[Philippians 4] 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
