†Saint Quote
"Quote of the Day
"Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire."
–St. Catherine of Siena †Today's Meditation
"We do find, it is true, great battles to fight, and great hardships to master; but that good Mother makes herself so present and so near to her faithful servants, to enlighten them in their darknesses and their doubts, to strengthen them in their fears, and to sustain them in their struggles and their difficulties, that in truth this virginal path to find Jesus Christ is a path of roses and honey compared with other paths."
—St. Louis de Montfort, p. 82 An Excerpt From
True Devotion to Mary †Daily Verse
"[May you be] strengthened with every power, in accord with his glorious might, for all endurance and patience, with joy giving thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light."
–Colossians 1:11-12 |  click to read more | | St. Richard the King St. Richard the King (c. 720 A.D.), also known as Richard the Pilgrim, was a Saxon king born in Wessex, England, who was related by blood to the royal house of Kent. His brother-in-law was St. Boniface, and three of his children are numbered among the saints: St. Willibald, St. Winnebald, and St. Walburga. When Willibald was gravely ill as a child, Richard's prayers for his son are said to have saved his life. He wrapped his child in a blanket and took him to the foot of a large crucifix erected near their village, and the child recovered. When Willibald was grown, he convinced his father and brother to accompany him on a missionary pilgrimage to Rome and the Holy Land. St. Richard agreed, renounced his royal estate, and embarked on the journey with his two sons, while his daughter entered a convent. In Italy he became sick and died, and was buried in Tuscany at the Church of San Frediano. Numerous miracles are reported to have occurred at his tomb. Some of his relics were transported to Eichstatt, Germany, where his son Winnebald would become Bishop. His feast day is celebrated on February 7th. | Tuesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Gn 1:20—2:4a God said,
"Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures,
and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky."
and so it happened:
God created the great sea monsters
and all kinds of swimming creatures with which the water teems,
and all kinds of winged birds.
God saw how good it was, and God blessed them, saying,
"Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas;
and let the birds multiply on the earth."
Evening came, and morning followed–the fifth day. Then God said,
"Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures:
cattle, creeping things, and wild animals of all kinds."
and so it happened:
God made all kinds of wild animals, all kinds of cattle,
and all kinds of creeping things of the earth.
God saw how good it was.
Then God said:
"Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.
Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
the birds of the air, and the cattle,
and over all the wild animals
and all the creatures that crawl on the ground." God created man in his image;
in the divine image he created him;
male and female he created them. God blessed them, saying:
"Be fertile and multiply;
fill the earth and subdue it.
Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air,
and all the living things that move on the earth."
God also said:
"See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth
and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food;
and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air,
and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground,
I give all the green plants for food."
And so it happened.
God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good.
Evening came, and morning followed–the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed.
Since on the seventh day God was finished with the work he had been doing,
he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken.
So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,
because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation. Such is the story of the heavens and the earth at their creation. Responsorial Psalm Ps 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 R. (2ab) O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
When I behold your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars which you set in place—
What is man that you should be mindful of him,
or the son of man that you should care for him?
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
You have made him little less than the angels,
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him rule over the works of your hands,
putting all things under his feet.
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
All sheep and oxen,
yes, and the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, the fishes of the sea,
and whatever swims the paths of the seas.
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth! Alleluia Ps 119:36, 29b R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Incline my heart, O God, to your decrees;
And favor me with your law.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 7:1-13 When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus,
they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals
with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.
(For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,
do not eat without carefully washing their hands,
keeping the tradition of the elders.
And on coming from the marketplace
they do not eat without purifying themselves.
And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,
the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.)
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,
"Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?"
He responded,
"Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites,
as it is written: This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts. You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition."
He went on to say,
"How well you have set aside the commandment of God
in order to uphold your tradition!
For Moses said,
Honor your father and your mother,
and Whoever curses father or mother shall die.
Yet you say,
'If someone says to father or mother,
"Any support you might have had from me is qorban"'
(meaning, dedicated to God),
you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother.
You nullify the word of God
in favor of your tradition that you have handed on.
And you do many such things."
| Daily Meditation: Mark 7:1-13 You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition. (Mark 7:13) In today's Gospel, some Pharisees and scribes ask what appears to be an innocent question: why did Jesus' disciples eat with unclean hands? After all, Jewish tradition was clear about the importance of washing hands as part of ritual purification. But Jesus' rebuke is clear: traditions were meant to be at the service of God's commandments, not the other way around. They should never undermine the commandments or give us the excuse to ignore them (Mark 7:9). So how can we ensure that we are not "nullify[ing] the word of God" in favor of something less important (Mark 7:13)? Let's reflect on some of the Beatitudes, which are among Jesus' most important teachings, to see if we can find some helpful answers. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," Jesus teaches (Matthew 5:3). He invites us to let go of our attachment to material things and to trust in God's provision for us instead. Often the "smart" thing seems to be to amass and hold tightly to our resources. But can you count yourself "blessed" even when your resources are limited or when you feel prompted to give generously? "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy" (Matthew 5:7). Jesus calls us to forgive those who have hurt us, but some of our family or cultural traditions might tell us that it's acceptable to hold a grudge or a judgment, especially against someone who doesn't acknowledge their role in hurting us. Are you willing to let go of these judgments and trust that God's mercy is as much for those who might have hurt you as it is for you? "Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:10). It's hardly considered a blessing to be persecuted! In fact, people might consider us forsaken by God while we endure various trials. But Jesus asks us to consider ourselves blessed, and even to rejoice when we experience opposition or misunderstandings—because we're becoming more like him! Allow God's word, and not human traditions, to shape your perspective today. Let it help you leave behind any ways that keep you from following him with your whole heart. "Lord, I want to trust you and rely on your ways." Genesis 1:20–2:4
Psalm 8:4-9 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation. Such is the story of the heavens and the earth at their creation."
So God made the 7th day and made it holy, and do we make it holy? Or do we make it into something else? I am sad to report, that until today, the 7th day is not made holy, but less. Even our USCCB, the bishops of the United States have for decades declared that you can skip Sunday Mass by going on Saturdays, and for what? Convenience. To accommodate for work, something more important. Did you know that the rest of the world does not do this? Is it THAT bad? In accommodation for a few, the rest will suffer in a washed down faith.
For months now, I've been praying and working on how to move our Blessed Sacrament, the Tabernacle, the Holy of Holies back to the CENTER of our church, and not off to a side on a dark corner, Jesus HIMSELF. Why is He over there? Thanks to the man made changes and thoughts that have entered secretly to dethrone the King of Kings.
But good news. Many people and parishes are making a move to change things to how they are supposed to be...with Christ in the middle and not on some other day or some other spot in our lives. Something doesn't feel right about a Saturday Mass, no "Eve" mass has ever equaled the actual day of. And I've celebrated hundreds upon hundreds. The glory of the night does not equal the glory of the day. | We pray today:
"When I behold your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you set in place—What is man that you should be mindful of him,
or the son of man that you should care for him? O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!" | In the Gospel today we heard:
" "How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition!" Fools! How quickly we change God's word! I've been watching tons of NDE, near death experience videos, and one guy that puts many NDE videos together decided to write a book, and in his explanation and "statistics" and findings, he sums it all up declaring a great heresy, saying religion doesn't matter, just like a few of the NDE people come back believing. My oh my, how quickly things change. And this youtuber says he still goes to Catholic Church!
Now, allbeit, there are seeds, grains, of truth they all say, that everything depends on love, True; and if you're in the know of Catholic doctrine, we know that we are simply saved by grace no matter the religion, so that is true too, BUT, boy the way things come out of some folks is like publicizing moral relativism almost, or what one can say is Pelagianism, something already debated all the way back in the 400AD era. What does this heresies teach? That you can believe whatever you want, and that you don't carry any sin from inheritance. And all this falls on the face of disgrace. Because it spreads disunity, instead of harmony. | From Bishop Barron today:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus calls the Pharisees hypocrites because they "disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition."
For instance: "If someone says to father or mother, 'Any support you might have had from me is qorban' [meaning, dedicated to God], you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother." If you claim to be a person of love but fail to honor your parents, something is seriously off. Thus the hypocrisy of the Pharisees is a disregard of love.
In its essence, love is an act of the will—more precisely, the willing of the good of the other as other. To love is really to want what is good for someone else and then to act on that desire.
Real love is a leaping outside of the narrow confines of my needs and desires and an embrace of the other's good for the other's sake. It is an escape from the black hole of the ego, which tends to draw everything around it into itself."
And so we have to be careful on what we teach our children and all we meet.
Because you can say "I believe" and live quite the contrary. You become an excuser: "I believe....but". And this is an atrocity, because in the things of God, you are, or you are not.
Things are yes or no.
Computers and the world do not work with an in between, either things are, or they are not. It is humans alone that make meddling lukewarm, a tepidity of things.
God does not want lukewarm love. Socialists and communists love lukewarm love, because they can act like they love you, but cross them and they will hate you to death. Yet, this is how many Christians live, "we will get along fine, so long as you don't ever cross me". And this goes for faith, family, or work.
And so our Lord is challenging us, to stay near and dear to His Sacred Heart.
The Jews kept adding laws that kept people more and more distant from God Himself, Love itself.
The Jews wanted divorces, and so they made it to where they said God was ok with that, but Jesus said different.
The Jews wanted to be freed from having to take care of their folks, and so...they made laws allowing them to be freed from responsibilities, all the while they kept making more purification laws, outwards signs trying to make up for the dirty inside temple they were making.
And you? Are you teaching others differently? How close to God's commands can you teach? God didn't erase the original 10 commands, but emphasized them with Christ. And it is all about honor and glory and love. ....†....
Lord, how we need You, and we need to follow You ever closer! Help us Lord! Help us truly Love Thee!
.......... |  click to hear | Random Bible Verse 1
John 6:47 [John 6] 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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