†Saint Quote
"If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion."
–St. Maximilian Kolbe †Today's Meditation
"When will the happy time come when the divine Mary will be established Mistress and Queen of all hearts, in order that she may subject them fully to the empire of her great and holy Jesus? When will souls breathe Mary as the body breathes air? When that time comes, wonderful things will happen in those lowly places where the Holy Ghost, finding His dear spouse, as it were, reproduced, in all souls, shall come in with abundance, and fill them to overflowing with His gifts, and particularly with the gift of wisdom, to work miracles of grace."
—St. Louis de Montfort, p.118-119 An Excerpt From
True Devotion to Mary †Daily Verse
"Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to thee! Do not hide thy face from me in the day of my distress! Incline thy ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call!"
–Psalm 102:1-2 |  click to read more | | St. Nicholas of Flue St. Nicholas of Flue (1417-1487) was born in Switzerland, a devout child of pious parents. At the age of 21 he joined the army and fought in local battles. In his mid-twenties, at the advice of his parents, he married a similarly pious woman and had five sons and five daughters. He served the public by holding various civil offices, and was esteemed by all for his moral integrity. After 25 years of marriage, upon discerning a special call from God, and with the consent of his wife, he went to live in a nearby valley as a hermit. He built a dwelling out of branches and left it only for daily Mass. He wore a tunic and kept his head and feet bare, spending his days in prayer and penance on behalf of the local people. With permission from the parish priest he abstained totally from food and drink, without any negative effect on his health, which was confirmed by the Church as a miracle. He lived in this manner for 20 years and became known as a visionary and a prophet. Distinguished persons from all over Europe came to him for counsel. The civil authorities built him a cell and chapel and assigned him a chaplain. The saint intervened as an arbiter when a civil war was imminent, resulting in the enduring union of the French and German-speaking parts of Switzerland. His hermitage became a place of pilgrimage after his death. St. Nicholas of Flue is the patron saint of Switzerland. His feast day is March 21st. | Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent Reading 1 Ez 47:1-9, 12 The angel brought me, Ezekiel,
back to the entrance of the temple of the LORD,
and I saw water flowing out
from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east,
for the façade of the temple was toward the east;
the water flowed down from the right side of the temple,
south of the altar.
He led me outside by the north gate,
and around to the outer gate facing the east,
where I saw water trickling from the right side.
Then when he had walked off to the east
with a measuring cord in his hand,
he measured off a thousand cubits
and had me wade through the water,
which was ankle-deep.
He measured off another thousand
and once more had me wade through the water,
which was now knee-deep.
Again he measured off a thousand and had me wade;
the water was up to my waist.
Once more he measured off a thousand,
but there was now a river through which I could not wade;
for the water had risen so high it had become a river
that could not be crossed except by swimming.
He asked me, "Have you seen this, son of man?"
Then he brought me to the bank of the river, where he had me sit.
Along the bank of the river I saw very many trees on both sides.
He said to me,
"This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah,
and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh.
Wherever the river flows,
every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live,
and there shall be abundant fish,
for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.
Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow;
their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail.
Every month they shall bear fresh fruit,
for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary.
Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine." Responsorial Psalm Ps 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9 R. (8) The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.
Therefore we fear not, though the earth be shaken
and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea.
R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God,
the holy dwelling of the Most High.
God is in its midst; it shall not be disturbed;
God will help it at the break of dawn.
R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Come! behold the deeds of the LORD,
the astounding things he has wrought on earth.
R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob. Verse Before the Gospel Ps 51:12a, 14a A clean heart create for me, O God;
give me back the joy of your salvation. Gospel Jn 5:1-16 There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate
a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes.
In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled.
One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
When Jesus saw him lying there
and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him,
"Do you want to be well?"
The sick man answered him,
"Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool
when the water is stirred up;
while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me."
Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your mat, and walk."
Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked. Now that day was a sabbath.
So the Jews said to the man who was cured,
"It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat."
He answered them, "The man who made me well told me,
'Take up your mat and walk.'"
They asked him,
"Who is the man who told you, 'Take it up and walk'?"
The man who was healed did not know who it was,
for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there.
After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him,
"Look, you are well; do not sin any more,
so that nothing worse may happen to you."
The man went and told the Jews
that Jesus was the one who had made him well.
Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus
because he did this on a sabbath.
| Sir, I have no one . . . (John 5:7) Think of how exhausted this poor man must have been as he waited and watched for an opportunity to be the first into the healing waters. Everyone else had someone to help them, but he had "no one" (John 5:7). And perhaps after thirty-eight years, he had given up even trying. Then one day Jesus came and asked him, "Do you want to be well?" (John 5:6). We would expect the man to say, "Yes, of course!" Instead, he just poured out the disappointment and hopelessness in his heart. But Jesus didn't need a perfect response; he healed the man anyway. Just as he did for this man, Jesus seeks us out, even when we have allowed discouragement to settle in our hearts. He doesn't require that we respond perfectly to the grace he offers us. And even when we've given up asking for help or don't recognize his presence in or around us, he is still there to help us. Does this man's situation resonate with you? Perhaps you have waited a long time for a healing or a reconciliation or a change in a difficult situation—maybe even for thirty-eight years! If so, let this story encourage you. Jesus sees you. He knows your situation and comes to your aid. Perhaps, as he did for this man, he will heal you or give you a way out of your difficulties. Or perhaps, instead, he is offering you his grace to sustain you and draw you especially close to his heart. It doesn't matter if your response is imperfect or if you don't always recognize his grace or rely on it. He won't abandon you or stop pouring out his grace. The man in today's Gospel story had "no one" to help him. But you have brothers and sisters in Christ who can. They are the hands and feet and face of Jesus who can come to your aid in your time of need. They can support you in practical ways, and they can support you spiritually by interceding for you. So if you're struggling with disappointment or hopelessness, ask them to pray for you. And even in those moments when you feel that you have no one, don't forget that you still have the saints and angels in heaven. Know that through their prayers, your hope in God and his loving care for you can be restored. "Lord Jesus, help me to believe that you can and will help me." Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12
Psalm 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9 |  click to hear 2cents | Listen to my2cents audio. Share the link if you like: Click to hear it | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"I saw water flowing out from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the façade of the temple was toward the east; the water flowed down from the right side of the temple, south of the altar." From the Book of Ezekiel. Hundreds of years before Christ, we heard these words of water flowing from a temple, from the right side.
My dear my child, that water flowing from the temple, on the right side is flowing today. Moving waters are healing waters. Stagnant waters are not for healing, but can be harmful. God wants His church on the move. That water and that temple now is the body of Christ. Our Lord's heart was pierced with a lance and water and blood flowed out from the cross. These waters of salvation and reconciliation are flowing in the Holy Catholic Church and beyond, but have always had the font in Him, there on the cross, where Mother Mary witnessed for herself...the blood of the love her life...Jesus...God, and total love from Heaven. | We pray today:
"The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.
Therefore we fear not, though the earth be shaken
and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea." | In the Gospel today we heard our Lord:
""Do you want to be well?"
The sick man answered him,
"Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool
when the water is stirred up;
while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me." And then our Lord heals the sick man. It is interesting to note, that the man said that others always beat him to the pool. Meaning, others put themselves first. It is still like that today. It is a "dog eat dog" and "every man for himself" kind of world, right? Selfishness comes at a cost...the lives of others. Only when we can put others first and above you, can you find true healing. Perhaps this was the missing message, for when Christ entered, everyone was so anxious to leap into moving waters, that virtually very few, if any were being healed...less and less, because of less faith, and more chaotic frustration instead. | From a Spanish reflection I'll attempt to translate today:
"Bethesda means "House of Mercy" It is the name of the pool where Jesus performs healing. And it is that today, the Word navigates between two waters. The first, the torrent of the temple: a water that when it comes out heals and gives life to the most arid and isolated areas. The prophet Ezekiel uses the image of water as an element that fertilizes everything that it wets in its path. It is the water that comes from the temple, where God lives, and that gives abundant life, it is the strength of God. "All living beings that stir there where the current flows will have life" Ez 47, 9.
The second, the pool or pond of Bethesda, a place where all the sick who waited for the movement of the water to submerge and be healthy gathered. And it is there that the name of the pool -"House of Mercy"- gives us the clue. Like the water, Jesus is the one who heals and heals. Mercy is healing, and conversely, healing, the miracle is mercy, the cure that Jesus performs. He carries it out on a holiday, where the patient was not even authorized to transport his stretcher, as it violated the law. The spirituality that derives from this fact is that of healing, not that of condemnation. Being merciful, putting yourself in the other's place, mitigating his ailments, healing his wounds. We too can heal, even through our own wounds. Let us be more compassionate than critical ("Today is Saturday and you are not allowed to carry your stretcher on your shoulder" John 5-10), more merciful than censorious, more humble to confess our sins and to welcome sinners. Let us be for other Bethesdas, house (place) of mercy."- End quote from Spanish Reflection. It was almost as if the Jews wanted to have total control. There was no room there for the Holy Spirit. This is why our Lord breaks away this mold that was forming in the stagnant waters of their train of thought.
They believed the stirring waters of the temple could do all the healing, but not anybody, nor anything else! It's as if the temple they had built was their god! But our Lord comes and shows them that this is not possible. Only God can heal the soul, in the temple, with our without your waters. And they say that our bodies are made up of about 70% water. So can your waters become living waters? Afterall, it is His waters too! Let's pray:
....†....
Yes, Yes Lord! I want to be healing waters of mercy. Let Your water flow through me, stir inside of me, make me a living water with You!
.......... |  Hear it click | Random Bible Verse John 1:14
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son1 from the Father, full of grace and truth. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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