†Saint Quote
"Quote of the Day
"Those whose hearts are pure are the temples of the Holy Spirit."
–St. Lucy †Today's Meditation
"We can open our lives and homes to people placed in our path from other walks of life and world views. With a greatly diminished number of people actually practicing the faith, it becomes more likely that our homes are a rare opportunity for someone in our acquaintance to be invited into the intimacy of Catholic family life. To do this well we must first and foremost be constantly drawing from our Lord so that He might be reflected through us. We bear a great responsibility to represent Him well."
–Carrie Gress and Noelle Mering, p.146 An Excerpt From
Theology of Home †Daily Verse
"A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."
–John 10:10 |  click to read more | | St. Lucy St. Lucy (Lucia) of Syracuse (283–304 A.D.) was born to a wealthy Christian family on the island of Sicily. Her father died when she was in her infancy. Lucy grew in piety, and at a young age secretly consecrated her virginity to Christ. Her mother pressured her into an arranged marriage with a pagan nobleman in order to provide for her daughter's future, which Lucy avoided. When Lucy's mother was struck with a long and serious illness, Lucy convinced her mother to accompany her to pray at the tomb of St. Agnes. As a result, Lucy's mother was miraculously cured of her malady. Lucy then told her mother about her vow of chastity, and her mother consented to her refusal to marry. Lucy gave herself to serving persecuted Christians hiding in the catacombs, wearing a wreath of candles on her head to illumine the dark underground caverns, with her arms full of provisions. The man to whom Lucy was betrothed, upon finding that Lucy was a Christian and had refused his hand in marriage, had her imprisoned under the persecutions of Diocletian. The judge sentenced Lucy to prostitution in a brothel, but God rendered her body immovable and the soldiers were unable to carry out the task. They then tried to set her on fire, but the wood underneath Lucy would not burn. Finally, she was killed by the sword. Among her tortures her eyes were gouged out, making St. Lucy the patron saint of eye problems and blind people, among others. St. Lucy is among the great virgin martyrs of the Church, her name appearing in the Roman Canon of the Mass. Her feast day is December 13th. | Memorial of Saint Lucy, Virgin and Martyr • Readings for the Memorial of Saint Lucy, virgin and martyr Reading 1 ZEP 3:1-2, 9-13 Thus says the LORD:
Woe to the city, rebellious and polluted,
to the tyrannical city!
She hears no voice,
accepts no correction;
In the LORD she has not trusted,
to her God she has not drawn near.
For then I will change and purify
the lips of the peoples,
That they all may call upon the name of the LORD,
to serve him with one accord;
From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia
and as far as the recesses of the North,
they shall bring me offerings.
On that day
You need not be ashamed
of all your deeds,
your rebellious actions against me;
For then will I remove from your midst
the proud braggarts,
And you shall no longer exalt yourself
on my holy mountain.
But I will leave as a remnant in your midst
a people humble and lowly,
Who shall take refuge in the name of the LORD:
the remnant of Israel.
They shall do no wrong
and speak no lies;
Nor shall there be found in their mouths
a deceitful tongue;
They shall pasture and couch their flocks
with none to disturb them.. Responsorial Psalm PS 34:2-3, 6-7, 17-18, 19 AND 23 R. (7a) The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
The LORD redeems the lives of his servants;
no one incurs guilt who takes refuge in him.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor. Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come, O Lord, do not delay;
forgive the sins of your people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel MT 21:28-32 Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people:
"What is your opinion?
A man had two sons.
He came to the first and said,
'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.'
The son said in reply, 'I will not,'
but afterwards he changed his mind and went.
The man came to the other son and gave the same order.
He said in reply, 'Yes, sir,' but did not go.
Which of the two did his father's will?"
They answered, "The first."
Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you,
tax collectors and prostitutes
are entering the Kingdom of God before you.
When John came to you in the way of righteousness,
you did not believe him;
but tax collectors and prostitutes did.
Yet even when you saw that,
you did not later change your minds and believe him."
| Daily Meditation: Matthew 21:28-32 Tax collectors and prostitutes are entering. . . before you. (Matthew 21:31) Tax collectors and prostitutes—those were two categories of persons looked down on by many Jews. Yet these, according to Jesus, were finding it easier to enter the kingdom of heaven than many of the religious elite. The contrast between them and the chief priests and elders, who were at the center of religious society, couldn't have been greater. So why did some at the center reject the message of John the Baptist and then Jesus, while so many at the outer edges flocked to them? The parable of the two sons, which Jesus tells in today's Gospel, hints at the answer. A seemingly obedient son says yes but does not actually do his father's will. The other son, on the contrary, refuses to go, but then turns around and obeys his father. Like that second son, the tax collectors and prostitutes—and everyone seeking out Jesus—realized that they had sinned. They also knew they were hurting and needed healing. They came to Jesus because they knew how much they needed him. Just think of the friends of the paralyzed man who broke through the roof to get to Jesus (Luke 5:18-19). In contrast, many religious leaders didn't see their need for the healing and forgiveness that Jesus offered, so they didn't come to him. Every Advent, God calls us to respond to Jesus' offer of grace and mercy. Maybe we think we're self-sufficient: I have everything under control, thank you very much. But the call of John the Baptist to repent, and the greater call of Jesus to humbly embrace his mercy, best reaches our ears when we recognize our need. That's why churches throughout the world offer increased opportunities for the Sacrament of Reconciliation during Advent. Confession is a sacrament of healing, a place where we can unearth the attitudes that keep us from seeking out Jesus and receive the strength we need to follow him. This Advent, find an opportunity to go to Confession. Join the "tax collectors and prostitutes" falling at the feet of Jesus in repentance and entering his kingdom. "Jesus, I need you." Zephaniah 3:1-2, 9-13
Psalm 34:2-3, 6-7, 17-19, 23 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"But I will leave as a remnant in your midst
a people humble and lowly,
Who shall take refuge in the name of the LORD:" As I read these words, a remnant comes to my mind...a humble and lowly people left behind as the shoot from a stump...and this shoot to the sky is our Lord Jesus in the manger, rejected at birth and rejected at death. And there, the Holy Family with Him. And today it exists in the humble and lowly...the holy family. | We pray today;
"Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him. The Lord hears the cry of the poor" | In the Gospel today we heard our Master and Teacher:
"'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.'
The son said in reply, 'I will not,'
but afterwards he changed his mind and went. " What did you come to see in the Gospel today? Did you see what I saw? The son repented.
And this is our ultimate calling when we decide to repent of our ways, and to follow His way.
Yet, the other son, sadly, does what many of us do today. We say yes. Everyone that says yes and goes to church, but fail to do what God is asking us to do.
And so, sometimes, I see a non-church goer actually do what God asks us to do when it comes to humility and charity. And I see a church goer that is inflated with pride and is not willing to give of their time or their money, or their talents...for God's Kingdom.
And this is ultimately why our Lord says in the end "get away from me you evil doers" and does not let them in Heaven. "Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him." And so what is the solution? Everyone stop going to church and do what God asks like that? LOL. NO! What about His 3rd command? No, rather, adhere and hear, but more than hear, listen! The call is exactly where it needs to be, right before you. Those who do not know of their sin shall be beaten to the degree of justice. But it is a MAJOR sin when we do not go to church. The world is that much dimmer for it. Your sin is not a private sin. Your sin affects the greater whole. But, we have a lesson to learn from each other.
I know I learn from the humble both in and out of Church. Can we learn from the pure of heart though?
What if our Lord is asking us for that much more?
What keeps me from God? Sin. What keeps me in the dark? Self. I see some that don't want to come to the light for different reasons. Many...have given up hope. And so what do they live for?
Can you imagine living a life without God?
I read a daily quote that made me reflect on that today. I thought to myself, "I believe life would be pointless, and everyone would make life to be whatever they wanted it to be". Yet, that is kind of like what we see in our world we live in. No hope.
But we do have a living hope in the world.
Back to the holy family.
Back to the calling of our Lord.
Back to the saying Yes to our Lord's wishes...after-all, His wish is a command, and the true lover of God loves everything about God...especially His commands.
I believe that this is something that I miss from my dad now that he's passed. I miss being yelled at and being told what to do.
And so when people tell me what to do now and put me in my place, I think of that, and I rather enjoy it, and take it with a ray of light, like a grain of salt added for taste...of humility.
I hope this makes sense. Because our world needs to be obedient to God.
Repent, He says. | ........................................
Lord, if only I could have a true and contrite heart for you and to fall into Your light rather than to stick with darkness. May your light of Advent make my love grow, when I repent.
............................................... adrian |  click to hear | WOW WOW WOW! Random Bible Verse 1
James 1:22–25 [James 1] 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
