†Quote of the Day
"I place trust in God, my creator, in all things; I love Him with all my heart."
–St. Joan of Arc †Today's Meditation
"All, however, cannot attain to the same degree of sacrifice. There are chosen souls whom God has raised above the ordinary callings of life, who, true to their vocation, show their love for God in heroic self-denial, in total surrender to His will, exulting in the use of all their powers to spread His kingdom. But regardless of disparity of calling, all can be led by the same spirit. It is the spirit, not the measure, of sacrifice that will decide our eternity."
—John A. Kane, p. 81 An Excerpt From
How to Make a Good †Daily Verse
"Yea, thou art my lamp, O Lord, and my God lightens my darkness. Yea, by thee I can crush a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. This God—his way is perfect; the promise of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him."
–2 Samuel 22:29-31 |  click to read more | | St. Joan of Arc St. Joan of Arc (1412-1431) was born in Domremy, France to peasant farmers during the Hundred Years War between France and England. She was a pious child, and from age 13 she received visions of saints, most notably St. Michael the Archangel, St. Margaret of Antioch, and St. Catherine of Alexandria, who became her special patrons. Through these visions, voices, and other interior promptings, Joan understood that she was to help the King of France regain his throne. After overcoming her own reluctance, and that of the military and ecclesiastical authorities, she heroically led the French army in battle. With her leadership they recaptured Orleans and Troyes, which allowed Charles VII to be restored to the throne of France. All the while she wore the dress of a soldier to protect her virtue and modesty. The following year she was captured by the English, imprisoned, and placed on trial under accusation of heresy and witchcraft. She was treated unjustly and illegally during her captivity, and her trial became a circus. Under political pressure she was condemned and burned alive at the stake, even though she proved herself to be blameless and fearless in character and faith. As she burned she kept her eyes on a crucifix and repeatedly called on the name of Jesus. A second Church trial twenty-five years later nullified the earlier verdict and found her innocent of all charges, paving the way for her veneration as a saint. St. Joan of Arc is the patron saint of captives, rape victims, soldiers, and France. Her feast day is May 30th. | Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Sir 35:1-12 To keep the law is a great oblation,
and he who observes the
commandments sacrifices a peace offering.
In works of charity one offers fine flour,
and when he gives alms he presents his sacrifice of praise.
To refrain from evil pleases the LORD,
and to avoid injustice is an atonement.
Appear not before the LORD empty-handed,
for all that you offer is in fulfillment of the precepts.
The just one's offering enriches the altar
and rises as a sweet odor before the Most High.
The just one's sacrifice is most pleasing,
nor will it ever be forgotten.
In a generous spirit pay homage to the LORD,
be not sparing of freewill gifts.
With each contribution show a cheerful countenance,
and pay your tithes in a spirit of joy.
Give to the Most High as he has given to you,
generously, according to your means. For the LORD is one who always repays,
and he will give back to you sevenfold.
But offer no bribes, these he does not accept!
Trust not in sacrifice of the fruits of extortion.
For he is a God of justice,
who knows no favorites. Responsorial Psalm Ps 50:5-6, 7-8, 14 and 23 R. (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"Gather my faithful ones before me,
those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice."
And the heavens proclaim his justice;
for God himself is the judge.
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"Hear, my people, and I will speak;
Israel, I will testify against you;
God, your God, am I.
Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your burnt offerings are before me always."
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"Offer to God praise as your sacrifice
and fulfill your vows to the Most High.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God."
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God. Alleluia see mt 11:25 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 10:28-31 Peter began to say to Jesus,
'We have given up everything and followed you."
Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.
But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first."
| Daily Meditation: Sirach 35:1-12 With each contribution show a cheerful countenance. (Sirach 35:11) Keeping the law—check! Following Church teachings—check! Serving our family and parish—check! Doing it all with a smile on your face—um . . . , Lord, have mercy on me! You probably know what this feels like, right? You know you are trying your absolute best to serve God in every situation. You don't think you have much more to offer him. Then comes the command to do all of this with a "cheerful countenance" (Sirach 35:11), and all bets are off! How can you possibly maintain such a joyful disposition? Luckily, the Book of Sirach gives us the answer in the very next verse: "The Lord is one who always repays, and he will give back to you sevenfold" (35:13). God sees your efforts. He sees your desire to please him. He sees every time you strive to greet a challenge with a sense of hope and confidence in him. And not only does he see; he promises to reward you. What could be better than that? Of course, this reward probably won't be a material reward like a pay raise or a new car. That's not what God's love looks like. He isn't a God of transactions and spreadsheets. He is a God whose love for us is so strong that every time we experience it, our joy and our desire to be like him grow stronger. The reward, in other words, is God himself. It's Jesus and his Spirit living and active in your heart, changing you and transforming you bit by bit. The Lord always repays. Sevenfold. That's quite a promise! Every diaper you change, every meal you make, every time you help someone out—it will all come back to you, not double, or even triple, but sevenfold! Just knowing this can be enough to make you smile. And for those times when you just can't muster up the energy, you can always tell the Lord that you're at least willing to be joyful if he will help you. There's no doubt that life can be hard, and being cheerful can be even harder. Jesus knows this even better than we do. So when he promises to reward your efforts, you can believe him. It's worth the effort. He is worth the effort! "Lord, help me to face each situation with a joyful, cheerful heart." Psalm 50:5-8, 14, 23
Mark 10:28-31 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"In works of charity one offers fine flour,
and when he gives alms he presents his sacrifice of praise.
To refrain from evil pleases the LORD,
and to avoid injustice is an atonement.
Appear not before the LORD empty-handed,
for all that you offer is in fulfillment of the precepts.
The just one's offering enriches the altar
and rises as a sweet odor before the Most High."
end of verse. Is it hard to refrain from evil? It depends, because, some sins are heavily rooted in evil spirits and demons that don't want to let go of their comfortable little home they find in some people. I'd say, personally, it has taken nearly 20 years to let go of some things in confessionals. It can take an exorcist several years working on a person too. And so the answer is...it depends on the severity of the ordeal, and it depends on the willingness of a soul. Right now, as we speak, we are in a spiritual battle. It always has been. It always will be. It is a battle though, not a war, for the war has been won, the outcome has been determined, but it is for us now to consider our own battles. And to win this battle, we must stick to God's plan, and even more importantly, stick to Him ever more. | We pray today:
" To the upright I will show the saving power of God. "Offer to God praise as your sacrifice and fulfill your vows to the Most High. He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me; and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God." end of Psalm.
What is praise so that we can offer praise to God? What is our vows to Him so that we may fulfill them? Praise is when I see lifted arms to Heaven, especially in the hardest of times...like seeing our Lord on the cross, still glorifying God, or St. Joan of Arc being burned alive screaming the name of our Lord Jesus. She battled physically, but the biggest battle is the spiritual, and this is like Scriptures says, a proving of gold in the fire of this life. We suffer things, but is it for God? Or for ourselves? | In the Gospel today we heard:
"'We have given up everything and followed you."
Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age..."
End of verse. Our Lord is asking us to give up who or what? In another verse He said "If any man come to Me and hate not his father and mother, and wife and children, and brethren and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple." Luke 14:26
Our Lord came to the earth and gave up everything. And He inherited much more. | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, today's Gospel exhorts us to see the radicality and rewards of Jesus' call to discipleship, which cuts through so many of the social conventions of his time and ours. Jesus urges us to see that everyone—rich and poor, men and women, those on the inside and those on the outs—is summoned to discipleship, and that this summons is the most important consideration of all. It is the better part, to use Jesus' words; it is the one thing necessary.
St. Augustine was right: "Lord, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you." We are all wired for God. There is a hunger in us that nothing in this world can possibly satisfy. Only Jesus can lead us to the heavenly banquet; and that's why we must follow him." end of quote.
And so the question is on us, again, on praise, and glory to God our Father. I'm noticing, as I am running an oilfield services company, how finicky things can be, and business has roots in money, and people, and ideas. Another lawsuit is coming our way, after another was let go. Another report against us falsely from OSHA and nonstop breakdowns so most money just goes into repairs, insurance, problems, mad people, finicky at best. It all really feels like a bad joke, like, someone is making me go circles and circles, making me nauseous and sick, headackes, stress, anxiety, bouts of depression, as if the devil were having the greatest time with me to distract me from what is truly important....God's will. And so, on the back-burner are projects for church, dreams of bringing souls to God for salvation, none have been fulfilled, like this past lent, my dream was to knock on houses, fallen away catholics, to come back to church, to break bread with them, literally bring pizzas and spend time together building this fallen love relationship with Our Father. That's just one dream, but there are many more unfulfilled hopes and dreams. Why? Because I'm just so "damned" busy! And I say that word for the first time, because it is a suitable word for those who cannot render to God what is God's and to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. What belongs to God? EVERYTHING! Especially all honor, praise and glory. I can't even give to the needy without me whining about it. "Where's all the people at church?". LOL. Well shoot, I never went to knock on their doors! It's not all their fault! There is much hatred towards priests and the church. Why? Because WE DON'T DO OUR JOB WELL. The people blame the priests and the priests blame the people. Both are wrong and both are right. We all must do our part to bring about God's kingdom...and God's business. There is a severe lack of communication and a communication of true love. I've been amazed at how much more efficient things are when a clear communication is made between two people.
I'm hoping this communication reaches you right...in the heart. Let us pray:
Lord, let us not forget what is at the core of our lives...Your very life. | Amen! Random Bible Verse 1
Psalm 30:5 For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime.1 Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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