†Saint Quote
"Dismiss all anger and look into yourself a little. Remember that he of whom you are speaking is your brother, and as he is in the way of salvation, God can make him a saint, in spite of his present weakness."
–St. Thomas of Villanova †Today's Meditation
"Undertake courageously great tasks for God's glory, to the extent that he'll give you power and grace for this purpose. Even though you can do nothing on your own, you can do all things in him. His help will never fail you if you have confidence in his goodness. Place your entire physical and spiritual welfare in his hands. Abandon to the fatherly concern of his divine providence every care for your health, reputation, property, and business; for those near to you; for your past sins; for your soul's progress in virtue and love of him; for your life, death, and especially your salvation and eternity—in a word, all your cares. Rest in the assurance that in his pure goodness, he'll watch with particular tenderness over all your responsibilities and cares, arranging all things for the greatest good."
—St. John Eudes, p. 363 An Excerpt From
A Year with the Saints †Daily Verse
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately corrupt; who can understand it? "I the Lord search the mind and try the heart, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings."
–Jeremiah 17:9-10 |  click to read more | | St. Abraham of Edessa St. Abraham of Edessa (300-360 A.D.), also known as Abraham of Kidunaia, was a rich nobleman from Mesopotamia. He married according to his parents' wishes, despite his desire to give himself totally to God. After the wedding ceremony he fled to a cave and hid himself, leaving only a small window to receive food. He lived there as a hermit, and after the death of his parents gave his inheritance to the poor. The Bishop of Edessa ordained him as a priest and sent him to lead a notoriously sinful city. There Abraham was beaten and maligned for three years until his prayers prevailed and every citizen came to him for baptism. He then returned to his hermitage and lived there the rest of his life. After his brother's death his young niece was left to his care. He set her up to live as a religious in a cell next to his, which she did for twenty years until she succumbed to the seduction of a rogue hermit. She was so ashamed of her sin that she despaired of God's mercy and became a prostitute. St. Abraham prayed for his niece earnestly for two years; then, discovering her location, left his cell and came to her disguised as a suitor. When they were alone he revealed his identity to her, and, pleading with her throughout the night, prevailed upon her to return with him to her life of prayer and penance. She came back to her cell, which Abraham relocated directly behind his own for her protection, and became St. Mary of Edessa. St. Abraham's feast day is March 16th. | Thursday of the Third Week of Lent Reading 1 Jer 7:23-28 Thus says the LORD:
This is what I commanded my people:
Listen to my voice;
then I will be your God and you shall be my people.
Walk in all the ways that I command you,
so that you may prosper. But they obeyed not, nor did they pay heed.
They walked in the hardness of their evil hearts
and turned their backs, not their faces, to me.
From the day that your fathers left the land of Egypt even to this day,
I have sent you untiringly all my servants the prophets.
Yet they have not obeyed me nor paid heed;
they have stiffened their necks and done worse than their fathers.
When you speak all these words to them,
they will not listen to you either;
when you call to them, they will not answer you.
Say to them:
This is the nation that does not listen
to the voice of the LORD, its God,
or take correction.
Faithfulness has disappeared;
the word itself is banished from their speech. Responsorial Psalm Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
"Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works."
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. Verse Before the Gospel Jl 2:12-13 Even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart,
for I am gracious and merciful. Gospel Lk 11:14-23 Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute,
and when the demon had gone out,
the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed.
Some of them said, "By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,
he drives out demons."
Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.
But he knew their thoughts and said to them,
"Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste
and house will fall against house.
And if Satan is divided against himself,
how will his kingdom stand?
For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.
If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul,
by whom do your own people drive them out?
Therefore they will be your judges.
But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,
his possessions are safe.
But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,
he takes away the armor on which he relied
and distributes the spoils.
Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters."
| Daily Meditation: Jeremiah 7:23-28 They have stiffened their necks. (Jeremiah 7:26) The word "stiff-necked" originally referred to oxen who were slow to turn their necks when goaded to change direction. An ox that was stubborn or difficult to control was "hard of neck"—exactly what the Lord calls the people in today's first reading from the prophet Jeremiah (7:26). What frustration God must have felt with those who did not "listen to the voice of the Lord . . . or take correction" (7:28)! But why didn't the Israelites listen to God? Why did they continue to worship false gods and transgress his laws after he had repeatedly warned them what would happen if they didn't change their ways? There are many reasons, but at the root of it was pride. They thought they knew better than God. They thought his laws didn't apply to them. And they thought they would escape the consequences and prosper in spite of their disobedience. Pride is one of those vices that often finds a way into our hearts without our even being aware of it. It might go by another name, like stubbornness or disobedience. But pride is considered the first of the seven deadly sins for a reason. It was what brought down our first parents and what led to Israel's defeat and exile. And if we're not careful, it can be our downfall as well. To combat pride, we first have to see where it might be subtly operating in our lives. Maybe we think we know better than God what's best for our lives. Maybe we have found a way to rationalize some sinful behavior. Or maybe God is speaking to us through the advice of a spouse or good friend, but we refuse to listen; we think that we will somehow escape the consequences of our actions. Today, try to examine your heart to see if you are being "stiff-necked" in some way or another. If you notice something, repent. As he did for the Israelites, God will forgive you—not just once, but every time you turn to him. Not only that, but he will give you the humility to follow him more closely, even in those times that you'd rather go your own way! "Father, you always know what's best for me. Help me to become more docile to you and your ways." Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9
Luke 11:14-23 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"This is the nation that does not listen
to the voice of the LORD, its God, or take correction.
Faithfulness has disappeared; the word itself is banished from their speech." Before the pandemic, things were looking gross for the faithful. I felt inside that a drastic change was needed in the world. Our Lord takes drastic measures to wake us up. He does it for our own good, we all know. But why do we have to go to that point of terrible suffering? Why can't we learn now and turn around now? Why can't we learn to love God in the good times? I'm seeing people turning around, and this is good, but how can we turn around for good and and not turn back? | We pray:
"Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts." I've learned lately, that a way to know God's path, is one of peace. I've noticed that it is a natural, spiritual gravitation, a pull you cannot deny, and it always pulls towards the greater good...for God's Kingdom. | In the Gospel today we heard our Lord:
"But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils.
Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters." Who is the one who is "stronger"? I hate an image someone drew that has our Lord arm wrestling the devil. Why do I hate it? Because, it is no match, our Lord defeated the armor of the dark side by spewing out water from His side, His Sacred Heart. God created the devil, and that too is for good reason. God is good and we who doubt find that hard to believe. The dark side wants you to doubt. That is all it took for Eve to bring about evil into the world, by allowing a doubt inside. When people doubted Jesus, nothing happened. Absolutely NOTHING! No miracles. No healings. No transformations. No conversions. Everything is null and void when there is doubt.
But when there is faith? All the opposite happens. When there is faith, miracles, healings, transformations, conversions, everything starts happening.
Like right now, I've no idea how to farm, and I'm trying to make grass grow for my dad's cattle, now that he passed away in the pandemic. I'm having our hands plow the fields. I'm asking others what to do. I'm getting input from experienced people. Think of spirituality. How can you have faith. Ask the experts. Pray! Get with experienced people. Be with Holy people, and if you don't easily find one, then be that one.
That's kind of where I got started. I don't see the light, then I better BE THE LIGHT.
I don't see faithfulness? I better do the opposite.
I don't see love? I better be that love.
I don't see sacrifice? I better sacrifice!
Because to be honest, I do see love and sacrifice. I see it out there with a sparatic holy person, but mostly and always...I see our Lord in Mass. He's loving. He's giving. He's sacrificing. And where He is, I want to be.
Don't you? | " ....†....
Lord, thank You for being the Way, the Truth, and the Life!
.......... |  Hear it click | Random Bible Verse 1
Philippians 4:8 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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