†Saint Quote of the Day
"When we go to confession, we ought to persuade ourselves to find Jesus Christ in the person of our confessor."
–St. Philip Neri †Today's Meditation
"Our Lord's love shines out just as much through a little soul who yields completely to His Grace as it does through the greatest . . . Just as the sun shines equally on the cedar and the little flower, so the Divine Sun shines equally on everyone, great and small. Everything is ordered for their good, just as in nature the seasons are so ordered that the smallest daisy comes to bloom at its appointed time."
—St. Therese of Lisieux, p. 4-5 †DAILY Verse
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." –Luke 14:27 |  click to read more | | St. Sixtus II Pope St. Sixtus II (d. 258 A.D.) became the Roman Pontiff in the year 257 A.D. His early life is uncertain, and he is mentioned by name in the Roman Canon of the Mass. He helped mend the relationship between Rome and the Eastern and African churches over the problem of the rebaptism of converted heretics, a controversy which threatened schism. St. Sixtus II, a peaceful man, restored friendly relations and maintained unity. However, he served as Holy Father for only one year due to the persecution of Christians by Roman Emperor Valerian. As a result, Pope St. Sixtus II was suppressed and forbidden to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. He continued to worship in secret in defiance to the unjust law, and while offering Mass in a cemetery chapel he was ambushed and beheaded by Roman soldiers. His feast day is August 7th. | Monday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Nm 11:4b-15 The children of Israel lamented,
"Would that we had meat for food!
We remember the fish we used to eat without cost in Egypt,
and the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks,
the onions, and the garlic.
But now we are famished;
we see nothing before us but this manna." Manna was like coriander seed and had the color of resin.
When they had gone about and gathered it up,
the people would grind it between millstones or pound it in a mortar,
then cook it in a pot and make it into loaves,
which tasted like cakes made with oil.
At night, when the dew fell upon the camp, the manna also fell. When Moses heard the people, family after family,
crying at the entrance of their tents,
so that the LORD became very angry, he was grieved.
"Why do you treat your servant so badly?" Moses asked the LORD.
"Why are you so displeased with me
that you burden me with all this people?
Was it I who conceived all this people?
Or was it I who gave them birth,
that you tell me to carry them at my bosom,
like a foster father carrying an infant,
to the land you have promised under oath to their fathers?
Where can I get meat to give to all this people?
For they are crying to me,
'Give us meat for our food.'
I cannot carry all this people by myself,
for they are too heavy for me.
If this is the way you will deal with me,
then please do me the favor of killing me at once,
so that I need no longer face this distress." Responsorial Psalm Ps 81:12-13, 14-15, 16-17 R. (2a) Sing with joy to God our help.
"My people heard not my voice,
and Israel obeyed me not;
So I gave them up to the hardness of their hearts;
they walked according to their own counsels."
R. Sing with joy to God our help.
"If only my people would hear me,
and Israel walk in my ways,
Quickly would I humble their enemies;
against their foes I would turn my hand."
R. Sing with joy to God our help.
"Those who hated the LORD would seek to flatter me,
but their fate would endure forever,
While Israel I would feed with the best of wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would fill them."
R. Sing with joy to God our help. Alleluia Mt 4:4 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 14:13-21
--------‐----
When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist,
he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.
The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns.
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.
When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said,
"This is a deserted place and it is already late;
dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages
and buy food for themselves."
He said to them, "There is no need for them to go away;
give them some food yourselves."
But they said to him,
"Five loaves and two fish are all we have here."
Then he said, "Bring them here to me,"
and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples,
who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied,
and they picked up the fragments left over–
twelve wicker baskets full.
Those who ate were about five thousand men,
not counting women and children. | DAILY MEDITATION: NUMBERS 11:4-15
I cannot carry all this people by myself. (Numbers 11:14) Poor Moses! Despite all the miracles the Israelites had witnessed, they were turning against God and complaining bitterly. They longed for the foods they had enjoyed in Egypt but were completely overlooking the fact that they had eaten those meals as slaves. Instead of lashing out in frustration against the people, Moses went straight to the Lord: I can't possibly give the people what they're demanding! You made me their leader, but it's more than I can handle by myself. We read later in this chapter how God provided a solution beyond anything Moses probably could have envisioned. God met the people's immediate need for food by sending meat, in the form of quail, for a whole month (Numbers 11:31-32). But God also provided a long-term solution to the leadership challenge by anointing elders to share the burden with Moses (11:16-17, 24-25). These men could settle disputes and handle administrative details so that Moses could be freed up to prayerfully seek the Lord's guidance for his people. Like Moses, each of us faces challenges in our workplace, family, or church that we don't immediately know how to handle. Where do we turn first? It may be tempting to react with frustration at the situation. But Moses shows us a better course of action: go first to God, confident that he has the entire situation in hand. It's fine to begin, as Moses does, by honestly complaining. But don't get stuck in the complaints. Openly acknowledge your need and confidently trust that the Lord will provide for you. As you keep working through your challenges, keep your eyes, ears, and especially your heart open to signs of God's help. He may solve the dilemma and see you through. Or he may move you to ask for help from other people. And as Moses found out, receiving help from others is nothing to be ashamed of! "Father, thank you for the challenges that remind me how much I need you and my brothers and sisters in Christ." Psalm 81:12-17
Matthew 14:13-21 |  click to hear 2cents | https://drive.google.com/file/d/15kgtZjYOU7hx8RkHK7fz5AOPNOj_fEJ1/view?usp=drive_link
Reflections with Brother Adrian: | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"Where can I get meat to give to all this people?
For they are crying to me,
'Give us meat for our food....." end of verse. People get hangry, no? Hunger produces anger. Let this hunger be known that it is a hunger for God. Our God let the people be hungry, for a reason. It was for faith. The whole deal with wondering for 40 years was about faith, with all the struggles, trials, and tribulations. It was so that we would trust in our Lord, Amen? Hard lesson learned. Or have we learned yet? | We pray today:
"My people heard not my voice,
and Israel obeyed me not; So I gave them up to the hardness of their hearts; they walked according to their own counsels."
Sing with joy to God our help.
"If only my people would hear me, and Israel walk in my ways, Quickly would I humble their enemies;
against their foes I would turn my hand."....."_ end of Psalm. | In the Gospel today we heard:
"When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said,
"This is a deserted place and it is already late;
dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves."
He said to them, "There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves."....." end of Gospel verse. Our Lord said to feed them on the spot, with what they had.
What they had was very little. And God would make the mustard seed parable come true.
What they had was very little faith. The impossible was not possible until our Lord made it a reality. Anything is possible for those who trust in Him.
And what is the greatest impossible feat? Coming back to life from death. Isn't it? Putting flesh on dead bones. Yet, even that is written in Holy Scripture.
I say that, because my friend just passed away from last night in the nursing home. A blind man. We were just talking yesterday afternoon, I always made him laugh, and he always made light of all things. He made me see, although he could not physically see, and I would try to visualize things for him. He had me take his guitar to get a strap put on. I immediately did it yesterday evening and was planning on dropping it off this morning, and then his stepdaughter called crying with the sad news.
He wasn't complaining about anything, just normal conversations.
Someone said, "well, he was probably doing good, but now he is doing better."
Faith. Right? My consolation would be that he can see now, like when he was a kid and could see before a shotgun accident in the house and he lost his sight.
Now he can see. What was impossible is now possible. Our consolation was his consolation, my mom gave Him Holy communion yesterday as we gathered with the elderly and singing songs and reading scripture.
There's much I could say about my relationship with him. Because many aspects baffled me. Why was he alone so long? Why was he so positive and loving? How does the love of the Eucharist last for so long, like when the pandemic hit and nobody could enter to see him for years, much less receive our Lord.
He needed sweets and always had me bringing him cookies and candies for his blood sugar. They think this is what took him out last night. Our Lord also is alone in tabernacles. Our people are fed up with Him in the bread. Ouch! That sounds harsh, right?
How can I say that?
First of all, there are only about 30% that believe our Lord is in the Holy Eucharist. And of those 30%, very few actually adore Him.
There is a very small amount of people actually loving and adoring Him.
But my hope is that for the sake of those few, that our God would relent. If we repent, He will relent of the evil that can happen. Communists are continuously trying to take over. And it is a battle of man vs. God Himself. Because in communism, you have man making themselves out to be above God Himself. Yet, this is the very deal, the very hatred being lived out when we do not love our Lord. Either you love Him or you do not. To not care is just that! To be in the middle, and neutral, means just that! You do not care. You are like Pilate who washes his hands on the issue of crucifying the Messiah. | So what is the solution? Adoration. Yes. True love of God, yes. To surrender to God the very little we have...even that very small amount of true love you have for Him.
Watch what He does with the little we have. He can multiply it over and over.
Such was the joy of my blind friend Manuel Hinojos, blind, alone, yet making the biggest of differences in lives, like mine, for now I am here, with more faith because of him, his faith. Everyone's faith matters!
Let us pray today:
Lord, how can the little I have make a big difference? Let us let go and let You do what You Can Do! Help us let go of ourselves and give love to Love. |  Click To Hear | Random Bible Verse 1
1 John 3:1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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