†Saint Quote
"The life of the body is the soul; the life of the soul is God."
–St. Anthony of Padua Today's Meditation
"Francis [de Sales] insists that true devotion must touch every area of our life. True devotion is not just a matter of spiritual practices but of bringing all our life under the lordship of Christ. Francis is known for his slogan: 'Live, Jesus! Live, Jesus!' What he means by this is an invitation to Jesus to 'live and reign in our hearts forever and ever' . . . In other words, for Francis, to live the devout life is to reach the point in our love for God and neighbor that we eagerly ('carefully, frequently, and promptly') desire to do His will in all the various ways in which it is communicated to us: in the duties of our state in life, in the objective teaching of God's Word, in opportunities and occasions presented to us, in response to our interior inspirations."
—Ralph Martin, p. 107 An Excerpt From
The Fulfillment of All Desire †Daily Verse
"He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"
–Micah 6:8 |  click to read more | | St. Canute IV of Denmark St. Canute IV of Denmark (1042 – 1086 A.D.), also known as Canute the Holy, was one of thirteen sons born to the king of Denmark. Canute later succeeded his brother to the throne and reigned as king from 1080 to 1086. He was a devout Catholic, a zealous propagator of the faith, and a brave warrior, in addition to being a man of prayer, penance, austerity, and charity towards the poor and weak among his people. The happiness of his people and the interests of the Church were his motivation, often putting him in opposition to the aristocracy. He fought against the barbarian nations and worked to strengthen the power of the monarchy, but some of his laws were unpopular and caused unrest among the people. Canute sought to expand Denmak's territory and believed he had a claim to the English throne. In 1085 he gathered his fleet and planned an invasion of England to overthrow William the Conquerer, a plan which was never realized. Instead, a revolt broke out against Canute, causing him to take refuge inside St. Alban's Priory in Odense. Canute, his brother, and seventeen of his men were pursued and killed by rebels in front of the altar. He was named a martyr for the faith, and many miracles were reported at his tomb. He was canonized in the year 1101, the first Danish saint. St. Canute is the patron saint of Denmark. His feast day is January 19. | Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Heb 7:25—8:6 Jesus is always able to save those who approach God through him,
since he lives forever to make intercession for them.
It was fitting that we should have such a high priest:
holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners,
higher than the heavens.
He has no need, as did the high priests,
to offer sacrifice day after day,
first for his own sins and then for those of the people;
he did that once for all when he offered himself.
For the law appoints men subject to weakness to be high priests,
but the word of the oath, which was taken after the law,
appoints a son, who has been made perfect forever.
The main point of what has been said is this:
we have such a high priest,
who has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne
of the Majesty in heaven, a minister of the sanctuary
and of the true tabernacle that the Lord, not man, set up.
Now every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices;
thus the necessity for this one also to have something to offer.
If then he were on earth, he would not be a priest,
since there are those who offer gifts according to the law.
They worship in a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary,
as Moses was warned when he was about to erect the tabernacle.
For God says, "See that you make everything
according to the pattern shown you on the mountain."
Now he has obtained so much more excellent a ministry
as he is mediator of a better covenant,
enacted on better promises. Responsorial Psalm 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 17 R. (8a and 9a) Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not, but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Burnt offerings or sin-offerings you sought not; then said I, "Behold I come."
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
"In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
To do your will, O my God, is my delight, and your law is within my heart!"
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly; I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
May all who seek you exult and be glad in you,
And may those who love your salvation say ever, "The LORD be glorified."
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will. Alleluia 2 Tm 1:10 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 3:7-12 Jesus withdrew toward the sea with his disciples.
A large number of people followed from Galilee and from Judea.
Hearing what he was doing,
a large number of people came to him also from Jerusalem,
from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan,
and from the neighborhood of Tyre and Sidon.
He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd,
so that they would not crush him.
He had cured many and, as a result, those who had diseases
were pressing upon him to touch him.
And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him
and shout, "You are the Son of God."
He warned them sternly not to make him known.
| Daily Meditation: Hebrews 7:1-3, 15-17 He was also "king of Salem," that is, king of peace. (Hebrews 7:2) Who was Melchizedek? A "priest of God Most High," he greeted Abraham with bread and wine after Abraham's victory in battle (Genesis 14:18, 20). According to today's first reading, Melchizedek was "without father, mother, or ancestry" (Hebrews 7:3). Because his ancestry is never identified in Scripture, some Jews believed that Melchizedek was eternal. Which brings us to Jesus. Hebrews tells us that he is the great and eternal high priest, "a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek" (7:17). Scripture also tells us that Melchizedek was the "king of Salem," which translates as "king of peace," (Genesis 14:18; Hebrews 7:2). Jesus is the King of peace. He himself is our way to peace. Through his cross and resurrection, he has healed the rift between God and humanity. And by uniting us into one body, he has opened the door for us to experience healing in every relationship wounded by division. Today begins the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. When we look at all the division in the world today, perhaps we don't necessarily think of the denominational divisions that exist among Christians. But God desires to heal the broken body of Christ. Why? Because it is through his united Church that he can bring peace and healing to the world. So how can we cooperate with the God of peace in the great work of Christian unity? We can begin by taking on God's heart and praying for unity among believers, especially during this week. These prayers can transform our own hearts as we come to see just how much we hold in common with our separated brothers and sisters. And even if we never live to see all Christians visibly united in one Church, we can still be united with each other in our love for Christ. That spirit of unity can even carry over to help us bring peace wherever we encounter division. Jesus wants us to work with him in bringing together his beloved people. May our prayers and actions give witness to the love God has for all those who believe in him. "Father, help me to be a part of the work for peace among my brothers and sisters in Christ." Psalm 110:1-4
Mark 3:1-6 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"For God says, "See that you make everything
according to the pattern shown you on the mountain."
And the people of Israel, the people of God did just as the Lord said, with lots of flaws, and additions, until the coming of the Son of Man, our Lord Himself. And still the very word of God remains true, as His will: "...see that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain"_
And this time, the mountain of the new covenant, the new everything renewed in Christ is the new pattern. See to it that we follow this Way, the Way of the Christ. | We pray today;
"To do your will, O my God, is my delight, and your law is within my heart!" Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will"
And I can equate much of our Lord with my own life, in the way that I am the only son of my dad, and I worked in my father's business, and many would ignore me, the son and do only what my dad would want. But my dad is now gone, and they cannot ignore me, some try to bypass me by going to my mom, but that's family members. But I'm only mentioning that I am now in charge, because we often, myself included, try to bypass Jesus, and Jesus is the boss now, we can try to go to His mother, but He is the boss, and our Father said that Jesus is the new pattern, the new Way He desires us to live, and to die for. | In the Gospel today we heard:
"And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him and shout, "You are the Son of God." Isn't it amazing that evil spirits proclaim that the Lord is the Son of God and that they would run and ask Him to depart from them? Why? They don't like the light, they don't like the truth, and they don't want to be exposed, and they don't want to convert.
I'm having trouble helping some men convert. Most of the time, conversions around me happen as some offshoot of another experience the men have, and I just help them along the way. And so, maybe, my prayers should be that they have that offshoot experience, hitting rock-bottom, or someone said something that made them think. And we shouldn't give up ever. Because for some people, it takes a long time for the seed to sink into their hardened soil; it takes lots of weathering and stomping to make the seed enter in, and these seeds last years and years, just like some real seeds in our world.
And so, the question is, on yourself; how can I let this seed sink into my heart?
Expose yourself! LOL. How? When someone does something really Christian-like, they stand out. They dress different. They talk different. They walk different.
How else? Expose yourself to the light in the Holy Sacraments. Re-immerse yourself in Holy water for baptism renewals by taking Holy Water home and blessing yourself and your loved ones daily. Go to confession and expose your sins to the light and ask the darkness to leave you forever. Once your glass is emptied, your soul, then you can go receive the light of God in the Holy Eucharist. The light of God is Christ Jesus.
We've much to learn about our Lord, don't we? But even more...much to do, for God Our Father said to follow the pattern, and we should do it perfectly, as Christ our Lord has done. | .......................†........................
Lord, help me hunger for Your light, Your Love, and then, receive it worthily, and then, help me share it forever.
.................................................. adrian |  click to hear | Random Bible Verse 1
Psalm 23:4 [Psalm 23] 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,1 I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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